The Tennessee Kappa chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon held its annual Balanced Man Scholarship Banquet Tuesday, Sept. 7.

Festivities for the night began with discussions over dinner. Following the meal a round of speeches began.

Kevin Teets, vice president of recruitment for the chapter, briefly explained the Balanced Man ideal. Luther Mercer, director of Multicultural Affairs for UTM, followed with his own take on what the balanced man strives to accomplish.

“Becoming a balanced man or woman is not a destination,” Mercer remarked. “It is a journey. One should shrive everyday to become better.”

He added that the journey of becoming balanced begins by fixing one’s body, one’s mind, and one’s spirit.

To bring the night to a close, the three winners of the Balanced Man Scholarship were announced. Each will receive $500 in the spring semester.

Winners were chosen on the basis of how well they exemplified in high school the four aspects of the Balanced Man: scholar, leader, athlete and gentleman.

Those honored included Michael Keatts of Indian Mound, Sam McDaniel of Paris, and Lucas Jones of Savannah.

Sigma Phi Epsilon began the Balanced Man Program in 1992 as a means of changing the traditional pledge model of a fraternity and continuing to the development of each brother throughout his life.

This goal is made easier to accomplish by living according to the Balanced Man Ideal: sound mind, sound body and sound spirit.

For further information about SigEp or the Balanced Man Program, visit SigEp Nationals online at http://sigep.org or Tennessee Kappa at http://sigep.utm.edu.