Before Southeast Missouri State University's campus was teeming with energy from freshmen getting situated with their new homes and upperclassmen reuniting with friends they hadn’t seen in months, there was a fraternity on campus receiving its organization's most prestigious award for brotherly love.

Sigma Phi Epsilon sent six of its executive board members and the chapter adviser to the Grand Chapter Conclave in Nashville, Tennessee, from Aug. 12-16. The conclave is held every two years and roughly 1,700 SigEps from all corners of the nation convened at the event. During their five day stay at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Sigma Phi Epsilon received two awards: The Buchanan Outstanding Chapter Award and the Honor of Philias.

The Buchanan Outstanding Chapter Award is given out every two years to chapters that have shown excellence in all areas of chapter operations over the two-year period.

There also are two forms of The Buchanan Cup — silver and a gold. For a chapter to receive a gold Buchanan Cup, they have had to be awarded a Buchanan Cup for five or more consecutive conclaves. Southeast’s chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon has received this award for the past eight consecutive opportunities, landing them the golden Buchanan Cup. At the conclave, 32 chapters received silver and nine received gold.

“After winning a Buc Cup it feels like everyone knows you, it's also good to know that all of our hard work and dedication is not going unnoticed,” Eric Bassett, resident assistant and vice president of housing, said.

While The Buchanan Cup is an award a chapter should be praised for winning, it is not quite as stunning as their triumphant winning of the Honor of Philias.

In the entire history of Sigma Phi Epsilon, only 14 chapters have ever shown exceptional brotherly love and met the requirements needed to receive the Honor of Philias.

“It was our eighth Gold Buc Cup,” Edward Radetic, vice president of chapter development, said. “That represents a 16 year legacy of excellence on this campus. I wouldn’t say it was expected, but we, as a chapter, made it our goal to continue that legacy. However, the Honor of Philias award was unexpected. We did what we did in the wake of Bobby’s death out of respect. We did it to reunite our chapter. It was the perfect way to provide closure for a mourning chapter.”

Bobby Christman was a brother of Sigma Phi Epsilon before his tragic passing in January. Christman died on Jan. 11 while his car was parked in downtown St. Louis. A gunman fired into Christman's car, hitting him in the head.

To be awarded the Honor of Philias, a chapter must show unprecedented love for their brothers and must also show that they have gone the extra mile to make a difference not only for their community, but also in themselves. The chapter spent hours making sure that all of the applications that needed to be completed were impeccable. They were also scrutinized for two years by the regional directors and district governors. Southeast’s chapter received this award by raising more than $40,000 for the Bobby Christman Memorial Scholarship Fund, all during the spring semester this past year. After Southeast’s chapter received the award, Sigma Phi Epsilon national headquarters donated $5,000 to the cause.

“It was definitely eye opening to see the support that we received from other chapters,” Bassett said. “We never did any of this for ourselves, it was always for Bobby and his family. But after all of this it reassures us that we did the right thing.”