Local youth were in for a treat earlier this week. The brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon helped celebrate Dr. Seuss’s Birthday with the national reading event Read Across America.

The annual event began 1998 when the National Education Association (NEA) decided to launch the national campaign to help children get excited about reading.

Even the mischievous “Cat in the Hat” who was portrayed by both Tucker Leigh and Jamey Hawkins got in the spirit of the celebration.

“They did a good job; they had a tremendous amount of enthusiasm when they read to the children. The ‘Cat in the Hat’ really made the event come alive,” Leanne Snider,Director of the UT Children Center, says.

“The children really enjoyed the reading sessions with Sig Ep.”, said Snider.

This year SigEp was able to expand the program to two locations in Martin. In addition to reading at the UT Children’s Center, Martin Primary, and Martin Elementary third grade students.

Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, who was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. Geisel’s contributions as an author have recognized for many years. The most recent award has been from the U.S. Postal Service. Geisel now has a stamp dedicated in his honor. Geisel made his first sale the Saturday Evening Post after sending his work to several magazines. He later traveled to New York to work with the staff of the humor magazine, ‘Judge.’The name Dr. Seuss came from Geisel’s maiden name and his own middle name. Seuss was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Mass.

The brothers of Sigma Phi Epsilon plan on sharing Dr. Seuss’s works with more children in the future.