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.
