HOUGHTON - According to Lee Wright, becoming overall Winter Carnival award winner took him and his Michigan Technological University Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity brothers a few months of thought and preparation.
"We always start doing planning before Christmas," Wright said.
Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity received a large traveling trophy for its efforts during Winter Carnival Saturday night in the Tech Memorial Union Building commons area, along with about 25 other first, second and third place winners in various categories.
Winter Carnival is organized by the Tech Blue Key Honor Society, and Ellen Pokorney, publicity committee member, said all groups who participate in Winter Carnival are given points for their efforts. The number of points determines whether the group will receive an award. There are awards of first, second and third for specific categories, such as statue building and stage revue, and there is a single overall traveling award given to the group with the most points in all categories.
Pokorney said groups participating in Winter Carnival don't have to be fraternities or sororities. They can be other campus groups, including residence halls or off-campus community groups.
Wright said the fraternity's snow statue was based on the television game show The Price is Right, and it even has an image of former host Bob Barker. Its stage revue was based on the board game Life, and concerns a young man experiencing college life.
In 2008, Wright said Sigma Phi Epsilon received a second place award, so winning first place overall is very satisfying for the members, and the publicity for it may help with recruitment for the fraternity.
"We worked for a month and a half on this," he said. "(The award) means a lot."
Kurt Hauglie can be reached at khauglie @mininggazette.com.
