This year's Greek recognition banquet was given a new twist. For the first time ever, the Order of Omega, also known as the Greek Honor Society, presented a Greek man and woman of the year award at a ceremony held in Reynolda's Magnolia Room, Dec. 3.

Receiving these awards were Brett Bechtel, a brother of the Theta Chi fraternity, and Tyler Overstreet, a sister of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

These winners, selected from a group of seven female nominees and eight male nominees, were seen as Greek members who made not only large contributions to the campus community, but to the Winston-Salem area as well. Order of Omega treasurer Gretchen Crook said the selection process whittled down many deserving candidates for the award.

"Each fraternity and sorority was able to nominate one member of another fraternity or sorority whom they thought were deserving of such an award," Crook said.

"After nominations were made, each nominee filed a brief application and short interviews were conducted by the Order. From these applications and interviews, the final choices of Brett and Tyler were reached," she said.

Wishing to recognize positive contributions of the university's Greek community, the Order of Omega thought that the man and woman of the year award would be a positive start.

"It is important for us to notice the beneficial impact of the Greek community not only on campus, but in the greater area as well," Crook said.

Aside from the two recipients, several other individuals were singled out for achievement in the departments of both scholastic achievement and community service. The newly formed Minority Greek Council provided several honorable distinctions to members of historically black fraternities and sororities as well.

However, the highlight of the night for many, especially members of Pi Kappa Alpha, came with an announcement from the national order of this fraternity. Dec. 4, the National Order of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity presented the university's own with its national award of recognition for best chapter.