Recognizing a lifetime of service and loyalty to the Fraternity, the Distinguished Service Award is the highest individual award a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon may receive. Their actions exhibit their understanding of the Fraternity’s teachings, adherence to Fraternity Laws, attention to the promotion of its welfare, and exemplary conduct that guards well its honor and high standing.
The Fraternity has 345,000+ initiated members; only 169 have been recognized with the Distinguished Service Award. James L. Skaggs (Oklahoma State ’78) is the most recent recipient, who was presented with the award during the Phoenix Area Alumni Association Founders Day celebration of Sigma Alpha Epsilon in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 5, 2026.
“A man with whom honor is sacred and virtue safe. This concluding phrase of our creed encapsulates what we strive to be and embodies the idea that you should always be true to yourself and to others. After all, our Brotherhood is built on openness and honesty among us. And you, Brother, are the personification of someone whose honor and virtue do not waver.
Like many of our most renowned leaders, you credit our Fraternity for molding you into the person you are today. Purple and gold built your demeanor, and continue to define who you are to this day. Even as an undergraduate, it was obvious that you felt a profound impact from being part of something bigger than yourself, leading your chapter as Eminent Deputy Archon and Recruitment Chairman.
Never straying far from Minerva, you immersed yourself by giving back to “the thing that gave you everything and made you who you are today,” a testament to how much you believe in the ideals of our fraternal experience. For the better part of three decades, you dutifully held leadership positions for both your chapter’s Alumni Association and House Corporation. Through your guidance and mentorship, your chapter has become one of the exemplary models across the country, including its Alumni Association and House Corporation.
Yet this was not enough to quell the burning desire you have for our Fraternity. So you became a Province Archon and a Leadership School faculty member. From there, you served on a variety of committees, notably those related to expansion, diversity, risk management, philanthropy, and Ritual. You even helped establish a new chapter near your hometown and served as its Chapter Advisor for many years. Astonishingly, you still had more to give.
Using your decades of experience with local and regional groups, you joined the SAE Financial and Housing Board of Directors to help chapters across the Realm with their housing needs. You resigned only because you were elected to the Supreme Council, where you now lead our organization as Eminent Supreme Deputy Archon.
Beyond your Fraternity service, you have built a career in the insurance industry. After serving in senior roles for some of the nation’s major firms, you eventually founded your own financial services and insurance group, where you still serve as CEO. Your professional expertise led you to establish an innovative health and safety program at Oklahoma Mu, which eventually became the model for the entire Greek-letter community at Oklahoma State.
For your decades of steadfast and consistent leadership, the Fraternity has already awarded you with the Outstanding Chapter Advisor Award, Order of the Lion, Order of DeVotie, Order of Minerva, and the Merit Key. Not surprisingly, your wife also shares your passion for the Fraternity and has deservingly received the Order of the Violet.
Accordingly, the Supreme Council of Sigma Alpha Epsilon awards you, James L. Skaggs, the 169th Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor bestowed upon a member of our Beloved Fraternity, granted on the 5th day of March in the year 2026.”
