Announcements

The Delta Chi of the Year Award is presented to alumni who have distinguished themselves in such a manner that their peers recognize them across the United States, Canada and/or the world.  Their contributions to Delta Chi are not a part of the criteria for this award.

The 2019-20 award recipient is:

Representative James E. Banks, Indiana ’01

A member of the Indiana Delta Chi Chapter and past two-time officer, Brother James E. Banks was born and raised in Columbia City where he and his family still reside. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Grace College. Banks worked in both the commercial construction and real estate industry in Fort Wayne, Indiana over the past decade and served in the Indiana State Senate from 2010 to 2016.

In the State Senate, Banks chaired the Senate Veteran Affairs and the Military Committee and led the charge on many significant pro-growth, pro-family, and pro-veteran reforms.  Congressman Banks served in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a supply corps officer and took a leave of absence from the Indiana State Senate in 2014 and 2015 to deploy to Afghanistan during Operation: Enduring Freedom and Freedom’s Sentinel. He received the Defense Meritorious Service Medal for his military leadership in Afghanistan.

In 2008, Banks was named to Northeast Indiana’s “Future 40 Leaders under 40,” and in 2011, he was recognized as one of the top rising Republican legislators by Governing Magazine. Ivy Tech Community College awarded Banks the Distinguished Public Official Award in 2013, and he received the American Legion’s Distinguished Public Service Award in 2013, 2014 and 2016 for his work on behalf of Hoosier veterans. In 2014, he was invited to speak at the American Conservative Union’s CPAC conference in Washington D.C. as a top conservative under 40 years old.

On January 3, 2017, Banks began representing Indiana’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Banks currently serves on the House Armed Services; Veterans Affairs; and Science, Space, and Technology Committees.  Banks lives in Columbia City with his wife, Amanda, and their three daughters, Lillian, Elizabeth, and Joann.

The Delta Chi of the Year Award is presented to alumni who have distinguished themselves in such a manner that their peers recognize them across the United States, Canada and/or the world.  Their contributions to Delta Chi are not a part of the criteria for this award.

The 2018-19 award recipient is:

John M. Hairston, Mississippi State ’87

John M. Hairston is President and Chief Executive Officer of Hancock Whitney Corporation, the $30 billion parent company of Hancock Whitney Bank. Hancock Whitney has earned recommendations as one of America’s strongest, safest financial institutions for 120 consecutive quarters from BauerFinancial, Inc., the nation’s leading independent bank rating and analysis firm.

Gulfport, Mississippi, native John Hairston joined Hancock Whitney in 1994 following a career in financial services consulting with Anderson Consulting. Serving as CEO since 2006 and President since 2014, John Hairston was also Hancock Whitney’s Chief Operating Officer (2008-2014), Chief Operations Officer (1994-2006), and Executive Vice President (1994-2006).

Hairston is a longtime advocate for the financial services industry, having served in industry leadership roles such as a member of the American Bankers Association Board of Directors and Audit
Committee, member of the Financial Education and Advocacy Committee in Washington, D.C., past co-chair of the American Bankers Association Dodd-Frank Task Force, past chair of the Mississippi
Bankers Legislative Committee, and chairman of the American Bankers Council.

He has also taught on the faculty of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and currently lectures at the Georgia School of Banking in Athens.

Hairston has played major roles in numerous business, economic, civic, and charitable organizations in Mississippi, across the Gulf South, and in Washington, D.C.

In 2004 and 2009, Governor Haley Barbour appointed him as Director of the Board of Mississippi Information Technology Services, which Hairston chaired in his second term. He received appointments in 2005 and 2010 to the Mississippi Gaming Commission, one of the three-member body regulating the state’s gaming industry. In 2012 Governor Phil Bryant appointed him chairman of that commission. Hairston also co-chairs Governor Bryant’s GoCoast 2020 Commission Tourism Committee.

Hairston is a past commissioner of the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, appointed by Chief Justice Jim Smith; past commissioner of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Recovery and Revitalization Commission; and past co-chair of the Gulf Coast Business Council Premier Destination Initiative, which sponsored legislation to form the first Gulf Coast Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau. He is also immediate past chairman of the Gulf Coast Business Council.

Hairston currently serves on the National WWII Museum Board of Trustees in New Orleans as board vice-chair and audit committee chair.
Additionally, he is on the New Orleans Business Council Board of Directors.

One of The Sun-Herald’s Top 10 Business Leaders under 40, Top 10 Community Leaders, and Mississippi Business Journal’s Top 40 under 40 Business Leaders, Hairston also received the Mississippi Business Journal’s Top CEO Award, One Coast Ambassador of the Year award, and the Pat Santucci Spirit of the Coast award. He is a past chair
of the United Way of South Mississippi campaign and past chair of the American Heart Association Heart Walk.

Hairston is a graduate of Gulfport High School and a magna cum laude graduate of Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering. He is a member and past chair of the MSU’s College of Business Executive Advisory Board.

The Delta Chi of the Year Award is presented to alumni who have distinguished themselves in such a manner that their peers recognize them across the United States, Canada and/or the world.  Their contributions to Delta Chi are not a part of the criteria for this award.

The 2018-19 award recipient is:

John M. Hairston, Mississippi State ’87

John M. Hairston is President and Chief Executive Officer of Hancock Whitney Corporation, the $29 billion parent company of Hancock Whitney Bank. Hancock Whitney has earned recommendations as one of America’s strongest, safest financial institutions for 120 consecutive quarters from BauerFinancial, Inc., the nation’s leading independent bank rating and analysis firm.

Gulfport, Mississippi, native John Hairston joined Hancock Whitney in 1994 following a career in financial services consulting with Anderson Consulting. Serving as CEO since 2006 and President since 2014, John Hairston was also Hancock Whitney’s Chief Operating Officer (2008-2014), Chief Operations Officer (1994-2006), and Executive Vice President (1994-2006).

Hairston is a longtime advocate for the financial services industry, having served in industry leadership roles such as a member of the American Bankers Association Board of Directors and Audit
Committee, member of the Financial Education and Advocacy Committee in Washington, D.C., past co-chair of the American Bankers Association Dodd-Frank Task Force, past chair of the Mississippi
Bankers Legislative Committee, and chairman of the American Bankers Council.

He has also taught on the faculty of the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and currently lectures at the Georgia School of Banking in Athens.

Hairston has played major roles in numerous business, economic, civic, and charitable organizations in Mississippi, across the Gulf South, and in Washington, D.C.

In 2004 and 2009, Governor Haley Barbour appointed him as Director of the Board of Mississippi Information Technology Services, which Hairston chaired in his second term. He received appointments in 2005 and 2010 to the Mississippi Gaming Commission, one of the three-member body regulating the state’s gaming industry. In 2012 Governor Phil Bryant appointed him chairman of that commission. Hairston also co-chairs Governor Bryant’s GoCoast 2020 Commission Tourism Committee.

Hairston is a past commissioner of the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission, appointed by Chief Justice Jim Smith; past commissioner of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Recovery and Revitalization Commission; and past co-chair of the Gulf Coast Business Council Premier Destination Initiative, which sponsored legislation to form the first Gulf Coast Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau. He is also immediate past chairman of the Gulf Coast Business Council.

Hairston currently serves on the National WWII Museum Board of Trustees in New Orleans as board vice-chair and audit committee chair.
Additionally, he is on the New Orleans Business Council Board of Directors.

One of The Sun-Herald’s Top 10 Business Leaders under 40, Top 10 Community Leaders, and Mississippi Business Journal’s Top 40 under 40 Business Leaders, Hairston also received the Mississippi Business Journal’s Top CEO Award, One Coast Ambassador of the Year award, and the Pat Santucci Spirit of the Coast award. He is a past chair
of the United Way of South Mississippi campaign and past chair of the American Heart Association Heart Walk.

Hairston is a graduate of Gulfport High School and a magna cum laude graduate of Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering. He is a member and past chair of the MSU’s College of Business Executive Advisory Board.

The Richard McKaig Outstanding Greek Professional Award is typically awarded to one campus-based professional per year.  This award was previously known as the Outstanding Greek Professional Award and was renamed after Brother Richard McKaig, often referred to as the “Fraternal Dean”, in 2009 to coincide with his retirement from Indiana University.  To qualify for this award, an individual must be a student affairs professional who has given exceptional service to the Greek Community.

The 2018-19 award recipient is:

Matthew Richardson, Duquesne ’09

Dr. Matthew Richardson currently serves as the Director of the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Life.  Brother Richardson is a change agent and a passionate servant to the fraternity and sorority movement.  Reaching the Summit: Plan for Excellence in Fraternity & Sorority Life was authored by Matthew (in consultation with other university administrators, students, alumni, and headquarters partners) and is evidence of his innovative response to serious challenges facing our movement today.

Brother Richardson’s plan established a working group of students, alumni, and national headquarter partners that were tasked with creating a strategic plan for the future of Fraternity and Sorority Life at West Virginia University.  Long and short range goals were established in terms of membership and academic achievement, which included minimum requirements for joining and maintaining membership in Greek Life.  New community standards were developed and mandated by the office of the President regarding social fraternity and sorority activity.  Some of theses standards include regular advisor trainings sponsored by Fraternity and Sorority Life, stronger partnering with NIC/NPHC/NPC for support, and a shorter period (four weeks) for new member education. 

Reaching the Summit also recognized major hurdles that hindered the success of the WVU fraternity and sorority life in the past, resulting in a plan that includes continuous education surrounding sexual misconduct, hazing, alcohol and other drugs, racism and prejudice, physical violence, and community standards. 

Reaching the Summit was adopted in 2018 to serve as a strategic plan to better align each Greek organization with the values of WVU.

Brother Richardson is steadfast  in his mission to develop students holistically.