The Loyalty Award is the highest and most prestigious honor Kappa Kappa Gamma bestows upon a member. Only one is awarded in a biennium, reserved for an alumna whose many years of dedicated service have enriched the Fraternity, who has inspired members and who is loyal to Fraternity ideals.
Given in memory of Helena Flinn Ege, Pittsburgh, Fraternity President from 1948 to 1952, it was first presented in 1956 by Helen Cornish Hutchinson, Oklahoma, who said, "The beginning of Kappa experience must come in the chapter, continue in alumnae work and close only with life itself. ... If I were to choose one Kappa quality, I think it would be loyalty to the Fraternity, for Kappa loyalty implies the acceptance and execution of Kappa ideals."
Helena Ege exemplified loyalty throughout her life, working to promote and improve the Fraternity until her death August 23, 1956, at the age of 57. She was too ill to attend the Convention at which the Loyalty Award was first dedicated in her honor. Helena served as Director of Alumnae from 1944-1948 and as Fraternity President 1948-1952.
Like Helena, some Loyalty Award recipients have also served as Fraternity President, but many have not, including the first recipient, Marie Bryden MacNaughtan,Missouri, who spent many devoted years as a Council officer, Convention Committee transportation chairman and Kappa Magazine Agency chairman. She was the last Grand Registrar to serve the Fraternity, 1930-1934, after which the office was discontinued.
From 1956 until 2012 Loyalty Award recipients were given an engraved piece of silver, chosen specifically for the individual. In 2014 Fraternity Council created a Loyalty Award pin to be given to recipients.
Media related to the Loyalty Award
| Year | Name | Chapter | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Marie Bryden Macnaughtan | Theta | Missouri |
| 1958 | Elizabeth Bogert Schofield | Mu | Butler |
| 1960 | Florence Burton Roth | Beta Delta | Michigan |
| 1962 | Beatrice Stanton Woodman | Phi | Boston |
| 1964 | Edith Reese Crabtree | Beta Gamma | Wooster |
| 1966 | Agnes Guthrie Favrot | Beta Omicron | Tulane |
| 1968 | Rheva Ott Shryock | Beta Alpha | Pennsylvania |
| 1970 | Frances Fatout Alexander | Iota | DePauw |
| 1972 | Mary Turner Whitney | Beta Rho Deuteron | Cincinnati |
| 1974 | Dr. Miriam Locke | Gamma Pi | Alabama |
| 1976 | Mary Agnes (Gray) Graham Roberts | Upsilon | Northwestern |
| 1978 | Pauline Tomlin Beall | Gamma Chi | George Washington |
| 1980 | Helen Snyder Andres Steiner | Beta Pi | Washington |
| 1982 | Ruth Hoehle Lane | Phi | Boston |
| 1984 | Martha Gallaher Cox | Rho Deuteron | Ohio Wesleyan |
| 1986 | Phyllis Brinton Pyor | Beta Mu | Colorado |
| 1988 | Jean Hess Wells | Delta Upsilon | Georgia |
| 1990 | Marjorie Cross Bird | Beta Mu | Colorado |
| 1992 | Marjorie Matson Converse | Gamma Delta | Purdue |
| 1994 | Wilma Winberg Johnson | Delta Nu | Massachusetts |
| 1996 | Gay Chuba Berry | Delta Alpha | Penn State |
| 1998 | Vera Lewis Marine | Delta Zeta | Colorado College |
| 2000 | J. Dale Brubeck | Gamma Kappa | William and Mary |
| 2002 | Lois Catherman Heenehan | Beta Sigma | Adelphi |
| 2004 | Marilyn Nichols Bullock | Gamma Alpha | Kansas State |
| 2006 | Susannah Erck Howard | Epsilon Zeta | Florida State |
| 2008 | Jean Schmidt | Delta Lambda | Miami (Ohio) |
| 2010 | Julie Martin Mangis | Gamma Chi | George Washington |
| 2012 | Martha Hay Streibig | Delta | Indiana |
| 2014 | Linda Price Patton | Delta Sigma | Oklahoma State |
| 2016 | TBA |