Kevin Lampe to Receive Prestigious Fraternity Award

Kevin Lampe (Western Illinois University, ’83)

Indianapolis, IN. May 26, 2023 – Kevin Lampe (Western Illinois University, ’83) will be presented with the Edward R. Solvibile Distinguished Service Award at the 64th Biennial Convention at an evening event on Saturday, August 5, 2023, at The Hilton Hotel in Lexington, Kentucky, 369 W Vine St. Lexington, KY.

The Edward R. Solvibile Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor awarded to a Fraternity brother and is voted on by the National Fraternity’s Board of Trustees. The award recognizes brothers who have demonstrated outstanding service and leadership for the betterment of Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity. Phi Kappa Theta’s Distinguished Service Award was recently renamed in honor of Brother Solvibile; Lampe will be the first Brother to receive the award since it was renamed.

Lampe will be recognized during the Convention’s closing banquet on Saturday, August 5, in Lexington, KY, where alumni and collegiate members from chapters nationwide will gather to celebrate and honor his contributions to Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity.

“Brother Lampe exemplifies the ideals of Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity. I look to him as a role model to become a better brother and more fully ‘give, expecting nothing thereof.’ I'm thrilled our Fraternity can honor his consistent, decades-long commitment to our Fraternity with Edward R. Solvibile Distinguished Service Award,” said National Fraternity President Matthew Runkle.

“I am deeply honored to receive this award from the Brotherhood of Phi Kappa Theta. Brother Ed Solvibile was a mentor and an inspiration in my fraternity life. It is humbling to receive this award that is a tribute to Ed’s legacy,” said Lampe. “Since 1979, the servant leadership of the Brothers of our fraternity has guided and shaped my life.”

In 1979, Lampe joined Phi Kappa Theta at Western Illinois University. As a collegiate, Lampe served as his chapter’s president, recruitment, and chapter installation chair, as well as ritual chair. He began his service to the National Fraternity on the Undergraduate Advisory Council (UGAC) in 1980. First elected to the Fraternity Board in 1999, he served as National Fraternity President from 2009 to 2011. Lampe currently serves on the Phi Kappa Theta Fraternity Foundation Board of Trustees.

Lampe is recognized internationally as a political strategist, media/speech trainer, and media relations expert. He co-founded Kurth Lampe Worldwide, a strategic communications firm with clients across the United States, Europe, and Africa. He is well-known as a crisis manager helping his clients through difficult and complex situations.

In his career, he has worked on campaigns from US Presidents to local school boards. A few of his clients include civil rights icon Rosa Parks, former President Barack Obama, and President Joe Biden.

The Art of Painting Down from Earth and Up Toward Heaven

Matthew Sestak painting Saint Nicholas.

Brother Matthew Sestak, a world history and psychology teacher in Nebraska, has found a love for painting Catholic icons. He was first exposed to the art of painting in high school. His art teacher at the time left an impression on him through his faith and love for Jesus Christ. Matthew recalls him being a helpful and kind man who was filled with faith and inspiration.

Later, Matthew pursued teaching as a career and learned a lot about the art of painting along the way. It may have been his past art teacher’s impression on his life that indirectly influenced him to take this path. He now inspires students as his teacher once inspired him.

It was in 2018 that Matthew painted his first icon. However, it wasn’t until the fall of 2021 that he began working diligently toward producing paintings for friends and family. When asked what inspired his interest in painting Catholic icons, Matthew reflected on a trip to the Holy Land in 2018.

The Holy Land attracts religious visitors due to its biblical background. It is a mesmerizing experience to visit sites in today’s world known for biblical occurrences. The Holy Land is an area in Jerusalem, a city located in the Middle East between the Mediterranean and the eastern bank of the Jordan River. Traditionally, the River of Jordan contains Holy water due to the river symbolizing Jesus Christ’s baptism site. Upon visiting this location on a trip with friends, Matthew collected a small amount of the Holy water to take back home, something many visitors often do. When he returned home, he saw an opportunity to put it to good use. He now puts a few drops of Holy water in the paint he uses for religious icon paintings. Each brushstroke and every detail are a prayer that the recipient of his painting will see themselves as worthy. Matthew will continue this practice for as long as he has the collected Holy water in his possession.

Each painting takes him about two weeks to finish, working about three to six hours a day. Matthew begins by painting the icon's body and working his way up to the subject's face. He prefers to finalize the artwork with the face and background. Matthew compares this act to “painting down from Earth and up toward Heaven.” This is a technique that he has developed due to his own preferences. However, the best practices of painting that we typically learn when studying brush stroke technique might point you in a different direction. Typically, it is best to paint the background before the main focus as it prevents smears in the paint from occurring. All artists develop their own unique techniques. Matthew is a great example of an artist who has found significance in his own process.

Matthew chose to paint an image of St. Thomas Aquinas, pictured below, as a gift to the Fraternity. The reasoning behind this thoughtful gift has to do with the Fraternity’s motto, “Give, Expecting Nothing Thereof…” a phrase coined by this Catholic icon. The painting will be gifted to Kevin Lampe (Western Illinois University, ’83), who will be presented with the Edward R. Solvibile Distinguished Service Award at this year’s Biennial Convention for exemplifying the motto throughout his service to the Fraternity.

As an artist, it is easy for Matthew to see his mistakes or how things could have been better. He takes this opportunity to remind the reader of this article that if you give all the credit to Christ, you will be surprised at how far you will go. Take a leap of faith and diligently work toward doing the things you love, even if you could be better at it.

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Phi Kappa Theta is Coming to Christian Brothers University - Fall 2023

Pictured left to right: Andrew Leborious, '24, Lance Avist, '24, Brayan Ortiz, '24, Lex Caballero, '24, Gabriel Pop, '26.

Phi Kappa Theta recently partnered with Christian Brothers University (CBU), a private Lasallian university in Memphis, Tennessee, to bring a chapter to campus to support the growth of their Greek community. Fraternity staff traveled to Memphis in February to meet with CBU staff and students and were so incredibly impressed with the mission fit for the organization and the quality of the students that we immediately formed an interest group with the support of the administration and the Interfraternity Council.

Joseph Preston (Lewis University, ‘10), currently serving as the Vice President for Mission and Identity at CBU, noted, “Phi Kappa Theta is a perfect fit for CBU. CBU’s values of faith, service, and community are very complimentary to the values of Phi Kappa Theta. As an alumnus of Phi Kappa Theta, I know firsthand how much impact Phi Kaps can make on campus. Our students are excited to start the process of having a chapter here.”

Travis Smith, Director of Fraternal Growth for Phi Kappa Theta, echoed similar sentiments saying, “The mission fit for Phi Kappa Theta at CBU is palpable, and we are excited to be able to support our interest group and the larger fraternity community in their growth as men who serve society, fraternity, and God.”

Christian Brothers University represents an entirely new campus and area for Phi Kappa Theta, and we are currently looking for additional mentors, coaches, and advisors for the interest group. If you are interested in supporting the group at CBU, please click the button below to fill out the interest form.

Movember Stache Bracket Recap

Phi Kappa Theta held its annual Movember Stache Bracket in November to spread awareness of men's health. Over the years, members have participated in Movember to support their mission of helping men live happier, healthier, longer lives. They strive to tackle mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer. Movember has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world.

Our successful campaign took place on Instagram and created a platform for Phi Kap brothers to support each other through voting for the bro with the best stache.

Six total entries were selected for participation in the bracket. Our followers voted 63 times for the brother with the best stache. The three brothers below received the highest number of votes from our followers.

2022 Movember Stache Bracket winners: 

·      1st Place: John Schroll (University of Nebraska - Lincoln, '24) 

·      2nd Place: Kyran Peters (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, '24) 

·      3rd Place: Travis Barnhardt (University of Wisconsin - Madison, '23) 

First Place
John Schroll
(University of Nebraska-Lincoln, ‘24)

Second Place
Kyran Peters
(Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, '24)

Third Place
Travis Barnhardt
(University of Wisconsin - Madison, '23) 

When asked what Movember participation meant to him, John Schroll said he was “Happy to be able to participate and help bring attention to the importance of men's health.” 

Kyran Peters also says, “Participating in Movember means spreading awareness for prostate cancer research and men's mental health.” 

We are proud to highlight some of our chapters that also participated in Movember with their own campaigns to help spread awareness and raise donations. Scroll through the images below to see how our chapters supported Movember in 2022.

Phi Kappa Theta is committed to the idea that we directly impact the communities around us and take pride in participating annually in the Movember campaign. If you wish to participate this year, be on the lookout for our Stache Bracket announcement on Instagram in November!