Mac McClure Reflects on Recognition at Balfour LTW

When Order of Constantine Sig Mac McClure, WILLIAM & MARY 1975, heard his name called at the closing session of the 2016 Balfour Leadership Training Workshop on July 30, announcing him as the winner of the William H. Carlisle Jr. Outstanding Workshop Faculty Award, he says that his first reaction was surprise.
“It was quite a shock to hear my name get called,” he says. “The first thing that went through my mind was to think of my mentor, [Order of Constantine Sig] Al Cuite, [TULSA 1966, who entered the Chapter Eternal on June 20, 2016]. I’m sure Al is up in heaven laughing his butt off at the whole thing.”
The Carlisle Award is presented every year at the end of Balfour LTW, and honors the event’s best alumni facilitator, as voted by the facilitators themselves. McClure says that the key to being an effective facilitator is forming a close bond with undergraduates as soon as the event begins.
“Ninety percent of the battle is just getting the undergraduates to feel at ease,” McClure says. “[Balfour LTW] takes place over an incredibly intense two-and-a-half day period, so you have to really work to establish that relationship as quickly as you can.”
Asked what advice he would give to other facilitators, McClure suggests not trying to over-think processes.
“A lot of first-time facilitators arrive at [Balfour LTW] and think that they should reinvent the wheel. That’s not the case,” he says. “What’s most important is being upfront and honest with the undergraduates you’re working with.”
For more information about Balfour LTW and the Carlisle Award, contact Andrew Nepp, MINNESOTA 2015, leadership programs and data coordinator at Sigma Chi International Fraternity Headquarters, at (847) 869-3655, ext. 229.