Crowned for a cause

Kayla Webley
2004-04-19

For the past year, one fraternity and 13 sororities have participated in a fund-raising project for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Last night, 13 sorority representatives donned gowns and performed, marking the completion of this endeavor.

The Delta Tau Delta fraternity hosted the 18th annual Miss Greek pageant last night in Meany Hall.

Claire Cordner of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority was crowned Miss Greek, winning a $1,000 scholarship. Laura Bates of Gamma Phi Beta was named fund-raising winner and received $1,000, while Amy Galbraith of Delta Gamma won $500 for her baton display in the talent competition.

At the pageant, Delta Tau Delta presented a check of $55,000 to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

The pageant representatives had individual goals of raising $7,000 that, in addition to ticket and T-shirt sales, helped the fraternity reach its goal of exceeding last year's total of $50,000.

The contestants were judged on a fashion walk that displayed personality, a talent portion that showcased artistic ability, a philanthropic address and fund raising.

Bates won the fund-raising portion for raising $11,241. Bates put on a number of events, including a fajita feed, holiday babysitting and a basketball tournament. She also wrote letters to donors.

Cordner, whose house has now taken the Miss Greek title for the past two years, said she raised her money through a taco feed.

"Our cook will supply us with the materials to make tacos and then we take out fliers to the fraternities and so they can pay a certain amount of money to come eat at our house for the evening," she said.

Every Tuesday, starting in October, each Miss Greek participant met with her coach, who is a freshman member of the fraternity, to brainstorm and plan fund-raising ideas.

Dominic Byrd, philanthropy co-chair for Delta Tau Delta, described how the fraternities and sororities worked with the Seattle Sonics to raise money.

"This year we sold tickets to a Sonics game," Byrd said. "Then two of the sorority representatives came with us and we set up in the outer walk area of the KeyArena to ask for donations."

In the talent segment of the evening, participants showed off a variety of skills.

"This isn't like a beauty pageant, it's more of a talent pageant," said Byrd. "The girls are really talented, they do all kinds of things, from opera to jazz to hula, and one girl is doing a magic trick this year."

Galbraith won over the crowd and judges with her baton performance. At one point, Galbraith twirled batons on her elbow and neck, throwing them high into the air and retrieving them from under her leg. The win was determined by her skill, creativity, originality and the entertainment of her talent presentation, according to Byrd. Galbraith, who serves as the UW's feature twirler and performs at sporting events, has been twirling since she was 5.

Cordner performed an opera piece from The Masked Ball by Giuseppe Verdi. She has been competing vocally since 13 and taking voice lessons once a week.

In the fashion walk, participants wore everything from surfboards and sports gear to cocktail dresses to showcase their personalities. The contestants were judged on their poise and presentation during the walk.

"Instead of a swimsuit walk, they do a 'personality walk,' where they would wear something that they want to show off their personality through," Byrd said. "In an outfit, you can exude a lot of personality."

The final category, a philanthropic address, required participants to reflect on what philanthropy meant to them.

"It's my favorite part because you can really see why the girl got into this and why it matters to them that Fred Hutchinson gets all this money donated to them," Byrd said.

In the 18 years it has been running, the event has raised more than $900,000 for the center.

"Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is thrilled to have such a strong partner in the UW Greek system," said Eileen Sullivan, event manager for the center. "We are grateful for their energy, vision and support."

After participating in the four categories, the top-five contestants were decided. The finalists were asked one final question, upon which the winner was decided. The impromptu questions, such as, "If you could change one thing in the world what would it be and why?" and "If crowned Miss Greek 2004 what would the title mean to you?" required the participants to detail an answer within two minutes that would win the judges over.

In the end, a night's worth of talent, speeches and preparation aided a bigger cause.

"I wish our house could do more to keep in touch with the community. I think it is the best thing any house in the Greek system can do," said Byrd. "The money is out there somewhere, they can find it, why not donate it to a good cause?"