Members of the Chanticleer Intelligence Brief (CIB) met for the culmination of the semester on May 1, to recognize the hard work of officers, analysts and members, and to renew their pledge to make the organization even stronger in the coming year. This was the seventh CIB Banquet, in the tradition of the group’s first-ever banquet, which was held in May of 2016. As always, the event featured free food provided to all CIB members, which was enjoyed in a relaxed atmosphere.

At the opening of the awards ceremony, CIB faculty mentor Dr. Joseph Fitsanakis recognized the departing CIB Executive Team members, Maddy Scholar (Honorary Executive Officer), Kyle Brossard (Head, Special Topics Desk), and Tyra Bjorlo (Head, Africa Desk), who are graduating this month. Following the recognition of the graduating officers, the CIB officially welcomed its new Executive Team, which consists of Fabio (Executive Director), Alex Clark (Chief Operations Officer), Kaitlin Presnell (Vice President of Finance), Michael Gompper (Director of Communications), Jackson Hauf (Recruitment Officer), Joseph Cain (Records Officer), Marissa Morini (Director of Alumni Relations), Derrick Storzieri (Counterintelligence Officer), and Shannon Brophy (Counterintelligence Officer).

Later on, Dr. Fitsanakis, recognized the hard work of our Executive Director, Fabio, who was awarded thee CIB Achievement Award. This recognition is offered by the CIB Executive Team to an individual member of the organization who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in contributing to the CIB’s efforts.

Four awards were presented to CIB Analysts during the ceremony. The Intelligence Analysis Award, presented for delivering the highest-quality oral analytical product during the semester, was won by the CIB’s Latin America Section, which consists of analysts Kennedy Smith, Joseph Cain, Ryan Lawrence, and Derrick Storzieri. The Intelligence Forecast Award, given for achieving the most successful analytical forecast record in the semester, was presented to the CIB’s Lebanon Section, which consists of analysts Jacqueline Bibb, Dillon Gibbons and Jarame Parker. The Intelligence Progress Award is given to an individual analyst whose work has shown the most progress during a single semester. This award recognizes a person who rose to meet the high standards of the CIB though constant improvement, dedication and hard work. This award was presented to CIB Analyst Alan Siceloff, who is a member of the the organization’s Transnational Issues Section.

The Best Intelligence Essay Award recognizes the best written analytical product of the semester. It went to Audrey Oien (pictured right), a Russia and China analyst. Audrey’s analytical question for the semester was: “What is the current and projected state of Russian-Chinese relations?” Her final analytical product was deemed to be the best quality by a review committee composed of intelligence professionals.

In addition to Analysts, the CIB recognized its most promising members based on the consistency of their work this semester. The head of each membership desk nominated a member for the Regional Expert Award, which is given for distinguished semester-long performance as a CIB member. The award winners were: Michael Knapp (North America); Cole Hancock (South America), Courtney Woods (Europe); William Marro (Russia); Maegan Herman (Africa); Morgan-McKay Hoppmann (Asia); Kaitlin Presnell (Middle East); and Scott McDonald (Special Topics);

The final recognition of the evening went to the CIB Special Topics Desk, headed by CIB Officer Kyle Brossard. The desk won this semester’s CIB Weekly News Trivia Quiz with 52 points, just 6 points ahead of the Asia and Europe Desks, which came in second place with 46 points each. The Middle East Desk came in third with 44 points.

The CIB wishes to thank all of its Executive Team Officers, its Analysts and its Members, for a highly successful semester, and looks forward to continuing to strengthen our organization in the future to come. We also want to congratulate our graduating members and wish them our very best as they embark on their next steps in life.