CMU's Pi Sigma Epsilon ranked No. 1 nationally
The Zeta Nu chapter of Pi Sigma Epsilon is ranked No. 1 in the nation by its national headquarters.
Known as the "gold chapter," Central Michigan University's sales fraternity beat out 67 other colleges including Ohio State, Louisiana State and the University of Connecticut for the title.
Adam London, former president and a current member, said this is the first time in the chapter's history to receive the award.
"To do something that has never been done, you have to go about it in a way that has never been done," the Ann Arbor senior said. "We decided in the beginning to focus on teamwork and building our chapter as a unit instead of one or two people."
To become a gold chapter, members must achieve points through a system called chapter operation guidelines, known as COG Points. These points are earned through the chapter completing events and projects.
Jacob Mitchell, vice president of public relations and an Alto freshman, said COG points are not easy to achieve and putting on "Taste of Mid Michigan" in the fall helped in their success.
Zeta Nu has won four of the last five regional competitions. Last year, the chapter had members win first and second place in the national competition. However, competitions are separate from the COG system.
"Before, we never really focused on the COG points. It was more focused on winning at competitions," said Tyler Wallner, president and Lowell junior. "But now we are in the mindset of teamwork."
The chapter was founded in 2009 with nine members.
Faculty advisor and assistant professor Kenneth Cherry said it has been amazing to see how much the fraternity has grown.
"Chips sales students have proven through hard work, good planning and smart strategy that they are the best in the country," Cherry said.
It will retain its rank until the next fiscal year, which ends Jan. 31, 2015. At that point, all chapters will be ranked again.
Wallner said he plans on maintaining the rank by continuing the group's focus.
"There is nothing more important than the mentality of teamwork," Wallner said. "One person cannot make this happen."
London said in the past year, he has learned it takes a group effort to achieve an award of this magnitude.
"It takes everyone doing their job, and doing it well, to accomplish something like this," London said. "Without everyone working hard, we would be going for top gold"
