The NIU InterFraternity Council won two awards at the Mid-America InterFraternity Council Association conference held the weekend of March 3-5.

IFC President Jim Valentine said this year’s conference was the first one at which NIU competed for the Jellison award, which emphasizes excellence in overall IFC programming.

NIU’s council competed against all the IFC’s in the Midwestern region competing in the division that includes councils composed of between 14 and 23 organizations.

The NIU council was awarded the runner-up position in the competition for the Jellison award, second to the IFC of Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Valentine said NIU’s IFC was well-recognized in community relations. NIU’s IFC won a first place award for community service, which Valentine said was due to their commitment to support of the DeKalb community.

“We meet with the DeKalb mayor once or twice a semester to discuss issues which involve DeKalb, NIU, and the greek community. Also, we’re active in organizing blood drives and helping out with the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of DeKalb Bowl-a-thon,” he said.

Dave Stewart, temporary greek activities coordinator at NIU, said, “The recognition is really long overdue. The greek system at NIU has really done a lot and hasn’t gotten any recognition until now.

“NIU’s Interfraternity Council is just beginning to be a well-established and well-known leadership body. It still has a long way to go, but it’s really putting its act together,” Stewart said.

Valentine added, “as far as leadership development goes, NIU probably has the best IFC in the Mid-America region.”

Stewart said that at the conference, NIU was one of the few campuses represented that offered both a course in organizational leadership and a course in greek leadership.

Valentine said between 18 and 20 delegates from NIU’s IFC and Panhellenic Councils attended the educational seminars and workshops offered at the conference.