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The Binghamton University chapter of Alpha Phi Omega has spent the past two years working on community-service projects such as cleaning up the local riverbank, helping build stairs at The Nature Preserve, ushering at Tri-Cities Opera shows and assisting Girls Scouts on Badge Day.

That generosity has resulted in the chapter, Theta Kappa, receiving the Dean Arno Nowotny National Service Award. The honor is presented every other year to the chapter judged to have the best overall service program in the country. The four areas of service are campus, community, fraternity and nation.

“We were excited just to have a nomination submission, because it’s a great record,” said Linda Torricelli, a member of the co-ed service fraternity who led the application committee and accepted the award at the APO national convention in Boston on Dec. 30. “It’s going to be great to have at (general interest meetings) and to show pledges and alumni.”

Binghamton was one of nine schools considered for the award. APO has more than 350 chapters.

Group members were encouraged by advisers to enter the competition last spring and spent most of the fall semester working on the application, Torricelli said. The 40-page- application featured summaries of campus and community events the group worked on, complete with personal descriptions of each event from members. The application also includes statements of support from officials who worked with Theta Kappa.

Service logs also were part of the application. An average of 38 members per semester completed more than 2,600 hours of community service over the past two years.