The Beaufort County chapter of East Carolina University’s Pirate Club won top honors last week at the annual Pirate Club banquet in Greenville.

Based on the number of members, the number of service projects and general enthusiasm, Beaufort County’s Pirate Club was chosen Chapter of the Year out of a field of Pirate Clubs spanning North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and Tennessee.

“It’s the best numbers and the best overall performance of all the Pirate Clubs,” said Amy Ward, one of Beaufort County’s Pirate Club reps. “We’re just a group of people that works to make sure that we raise money for the Pirate Club.”

The local club is roughly 300-members strong, and it’s their fundraising that puts money in the coffers for ECU athletic scholarships.

Some of those members stand out from the purple and gold crowd: Sue Francis, a representative of the local chapter, was singled out at the banquet for her Pirate Club work, winning the Hustle Award, one of the highest honors for Pirate Club reps, according to Ward.

“She’s super-active and gets lots of new members — it’s kind of like an MVP of Pirate reps,” Ward said.

But the club isn’t solely about raising money. It’s about having a strong network and making ECU visible in the public eye. To that end, the Pirate Club hosts events throughout the year to which the public is invited, Ward said.

Tonight, ECU baseball’s Head Coach Billy Godwin will be speaking at one such event. Godwin will be talking about the coming season at the downtown Washington restaurant On The Waterfront. With Monday’s announcement that ECU’s right-handed pitcher Jeff Hoffman was named Preseason First-Team All-America by Baseball America, the season is looking promising.

“We do a kickoff for each major (sports) season: football, baseball, basketball,” Ward said. “Basically, it’s him giving us a look at what’s going on for the season.”

The baseball season kickoff starts at 6:30 p.m. and will be held in the oyster bar of On The Waterfront. For more information, visit the Beaufort County Pirate Club Facebook page.