Bart Sheeler Awarded Medallion of Merit

Bart Sheeler Presented with Medallion of Merit

Bart Sheeler (Dayton ’81) was presented with the Medallion of Merit during the 2022 Shonk Undergraduate Leadership School.

The Medallion of Merit is the highest honor awarded annually by the Fraternity. A nominee for this award shall be an alumnus:

a. who has distinguished himself through broad public service, or b. who has become a national public figure, or c. who has rendered outstanding service to Phi Sigma Kappa or to the fraternity system, or d. whose achievements have commanded national respect and recognition in a professional, business, or educational field.

Brother Sheeler is a best-selling author and career entrepreneur. He has founded and built multiple million-dollar-plus businesses from the ground up in various industries, including consumer services, information technology, and healthcare advocacy. He earned a reputation for forward-thinking, innovation, and collaborative leadership during his 15-year health and wellness partnership with Duke University.

His entrepreneurial spirit began at an early age. He mowed lawns in high school and by the time he went to college, he and his brother had 60 clients. He also had a job making pizzas, where he learned that a $10 pizza actually costs less than $1 to make. He immediately knew on which side of the fence he wanted to be! Sheeler and his brother began Prolawn Proscape, which they ran from the trunk of his car. The siblings nurtured the business to the $4 million mark with 115 employees across Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus. Brother Sheeler authored numerous articles and trade publications, including Engaging Wellness (2012), the Corporate Wellness Specialist Certification Handbook. He also served as a contributing author to the Amazon #1 bestseller Life and Death Decisions in the C-Suite. He currently organizes panel discussions and presents sessions for industry conferences.

Brother Sheeler is a former Grand Council Director, Phi Sigma Kappa Foundation Trustee, and has served on various national committees. He has also served as Chapter Adviser to the Eta Hexaton Chapter at Dayton and President of the PSK Alumni Club of Dayton. He currently serves as chair of the Grand Chapter’s Finance Committee.

He received the Fraternity’s Devoted Service Award in 2003 and received a named chair in the Order of the Diamond Circle in 2017.

In his acceptance speech, Brother Sheeler pointed out that there are correlations between fraternity values and business values. In business, values are spelled out in areas like teamwork, excellence, and integrity—qualities that foster leadership. Within the Fraternity, those values are Brotherhood, Scholarship, and Character.

He said his personal journey of Brotherhood, Scholarship, and Character is tied to his career development. He realized early on that volunteerism is an accelerator. What you know gets you in the door, but who you know can accelerate progress. The more he participated in Phi Sigma Kappa, the more he achieved. He explained that his experience as a Chapter Adviser, Grand Council Director, and Foundation Trustee all helped in his personal life and professional career.

Bart Sheeler (left) accepts the 2022 Medallion of Merit from Grand President Chris Hoye (Ferris State ’91).

Brother Sheeler Remembers His First General Convention

Jim Ziemba (Dayton ’83), Pat Rooney (Dayton ’82), and I took a road trip to experience our first General Convention in 1981. It was exciting and memorable, to say the least—and it opened our eyes to a whole new level of Phi Sigma Kappa far beyond the University of Dayton.

We met Al Shonk (Southern Cal ’54), Tony Fusaro (Rhode Island ’58), Chuck Loring (UC/Santa Barbara ’72), and many other Phi Sigs from across the country. All new and exciting—but most memorable was going to a Cubs game with fellow brother Jim Ziemba.

Back then, the Cubs only played afternoon-day games. We secured seats in the left-field bleachers and had a wonderful time. That could have been enough for a great time, except in the middle of the game, Hubie Brooks stepped up to the plate and hit a long fly ball to left field. You guessed it—it was coming right at us. Just as it was about to fall to the row ahead of us, Jim leaned forward and snagged the ball right out of the air—with his bare hands. Fans cheered and many yelled “throw it back,” as it’s a tradition at Wrigley to toss opposing team home runs back onto the field. The moment was just too much, and Jim decided to hold on to it.

Again, that could have been plenty to mark a memorable day, but not yet.

I don’t remember who won, but after the game, back in the car, fighting traffic, suddenly Jim yells, “STOP!” Before I knew it, he jumped out of the car right in the middle of the street, leaving the passenger door open. I made my way around Wrigley Field, where Jim was waving the ball in his hand to get my attention. Back in the car, he says, “You won’t believe it, I saw a bus down the block and thought it might be the Mets team bus. It was! And I got on the bus and Hubie Brooks signed the ball for me.” Jim is from New Jersey, and while he’s a lifelong Yankees fan, he could not have been more excited about the opportunity to take a signed “home run ball” from a Cubs game back home to show his friends and family.

The whole experience, the Convention, meeting new brothers on a national stage, the Cubs Game, home run ball, and the camaraderie of it all set the foundation for decades of friendships and success that would follow. And now—40 years later — it’s still a great memory and a fun story to pass along about the value of lifelong friendships and how Phi Sigma Kappa has helped to shape the successes in my career ever since that first memorable week at a Convention in Chicago! He went on to add that, “Brotherhood comes with the camaraderie of your initial chapter brothers and the opportunity to make lifelong friendships with brothers beyond your alma mater. Scholarship is something you aspire to and work on; and character is the result of all your actions along the way.”

In closing, Brother Sheeler said he wants to “help Phi Sig grow and hopes that in another 20, 30, or 40 years that each of you have dared to dream, been a doer, and found ways to help others. With hard work and a little good fortune, it will be some of you up here speaking to a whole new generation of Phi Sig brothers and receiving this Medallion of Merit.”

Of all his accomplishments, Brother Sheeler is most proud of his family, who was in attendance. He and his wife, Jennifer, are parents to Brandin (Rachel) and Brice (Carrie), and grandparents to 8-year-old Sawyer, 1-year-old Maverick, and infant Dawson.

In his words, Brother Sheeler “loves building things—companies, products, and relationships.”

Brother Sheeler shared his special evening with members of his family.

Brother Sheeler with past Grand President Bob Zillgitt (Cal State/LA ’60) and Jim Ziemba (Dayton ’83) at the 55th General Convention in Washington, DC in 1995.