Sophomore Taylor White spikes the ball during a game of volleyball at the Gamma Sigma Phi Clam Bake. Members and their dates took part in a fun day of swimming, grilling out and playing games. Courtesy of Carlton Norris Senior Ted Wheetley shows off a few tricks to some other Gamma Sigs members. The Heber Springs reservoir was nearly the highest it had ever been, causing some interesting cliff dives. Courtesy of Carlton Norris Gamma Sigma Phi members and queens gather together for a group picture at the Gamma Sigs Paintbowl function. The Paintbowl function had been a tradition of the club for the past three years. Courtesy of Stephanie Collunt • 1n c:.-o The men of Gamma Sigma Phi looked forward to one function in particular every year, and it was rapidly gaining more recognition. The function was the annual Clam Bake in Heber Springs, Ark., an event so popular it was documented in the club's constitution. The function guaranteed a lot of relaxing, outdoor activity, grilling and socializing. It was also a time for the guys to catch up with fellow club members and de-stress during the week before finals. A sort of last hoorah before the end of the school year, it was not a function to miss. "It lets everyone just go and be with each other by the lake without having to dress up in crazy costumes," junior Preston Pugh said. "Everyone has a great time with friends by being themselves." The 2011 Clam Bake marked the event's 1Oth anniversary. Contrary to popular belief, the club actually did not bake clams. In standing with tradition, the menu featured grilled chicken and steak, salad and a secret mashed potato recipe that had been passed down for years from a member's grandmother. Seniors David Schilling and Wes Collum were the activity directors responsible for planning the Clam Bake, and the project turned out to be more than they had anticipated. Their responsibilities included designing t-shirts, which had 12 colors on them, and getting steaks from Doc's Grill, along with all the other cookout necessities. In the confusion, they forgot to thaw the steaks before the function. "We had to get a meat tenderizer and hit them as hard as we could and just basically put them in hot water in a guy's bathtub until they thawed," Schilling said. The steaks and the function turned out to be successes, and Gamma Sigma Phi ended the event with a club slideshow of the year and awards presented by the queens. Awards ranged from serious to silly, including "Most Fratastic," "Best Pledge" and "Cutest Couple," which was comically presented to seniors Chris Briggs and Kevin Newton instead of an actual couple. "It was a pretty funny situation," Newton said. "At first I thought they were talking about my girlfriend and me, joking because she had been overseas the entire semester." It was safe to say that the majority of Gamma Sigma Phi waited in high anticipation each year for the Clam Bake. Nothing could have been better than pigging out, being outdoors and seeing friends one last time before leaving for the summer. Stacy Hall Social Clubs b'l
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