On Friday, March 30, 2012, the men of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., will host a reception celebrating the Honorable Judge Carl Anthony Walker’s induction into its Distinguished Service Chapter, at the Metropolitan Club of Chicago. Several international officers of the fraternity and local dignitaries are expected to attend.

The Distinguished Service Chapter is the highest honor bestowed on a member that has been active in the Fraternity for at least 10 years and who has distinguished himself with outstanding contributions and extraordinary service to the Fraternity and/or in his respective communities. Membership in the Distinguished Service Chapter must be recommended and approved by the awardees’ Chapter, Region and by the General Board of the Fraternity prior to being voting upon at the International Conclave.

Judge Walker is a native of Chicago. He was appointed to the Circuit Court of Cook County in April of 2006. He is assigned to the Juvenile Justice Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County. Prior to ascending to the Bench, Judge Walker matriculated through the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, where he received an academic achievement award, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accountancy. While in Champaign-Urbana, Judge Walker served as a Resident Advisor, and a student justice of the Judicial Commission. After earning an undergraduate degree in Accountancy, he became a Certified Public Accountant. 

Judge Walker attended The University of Iowa School of Law, where he was Vice President of his law school class, served on the Iowa Law Review and the executive board of the Iowa Black Law Student Association. Judge Walker’s efforts to make the law school atmosphere more hospitable to students of all backgrounds made him a recipient of the law school’s prestigious Human Rights Award.

Judge Walker is extremely active in his community. He has been a Junior Achievement volunteer, coach of biddy basketball, mentor for the Shell Youth Program, voter registrar, election central attorney, active member of the PTA and Local School Council, chairmen of the school improvement committee, Chicago Public School Principal For-A-Day, member of the Chesterfield Community Council, math tutor, graduation speaker, and coordinator of the mentor program for Positive Force Youth Foundation.

Judge Walker has given extraordinary service to Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity by serving as International Auditor, Great Lakes Regional Legal Counsel, State Director of Iowa, International Conclave Parliamentarian, Chairman of the Conclave Audit Committee as well as the Law and Revision Committee, and president of both Zeta Zeta Sigma Alumni Chapter and Epsilon Chi Sigma Alumni Chapter. As a member of the Upsilon Sigma Alumni Chapter, he is the current co-chairman of the Membership Intake Committee, the Wellness Committee and the Annual Scholarship Dinner Dance Committee.

Judge Walker is married; he and his wife have three children. They are members of the Trinity United Church of Christ. He continues to participate in many community activities.

“We are happy to welcome Brother Judge Walker among our ranks. His dedication to Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., and the community over the years has been immeasurable. He is a hard worker who is always prepared, and he certainly deserved induction into the Distinguished Service Chapter”, says Clarence Johnson, a member of the Distinguished Service Chapter and the member who nominated Judge Walker for the honor.

ABOUT PHI BETA SIGMA FRATERNITY, INC.

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C., January 9, 1914, by three young African-American male students. The founders, Honorable A. Langston Taylor, Honorable Leonard F. Morse and Honorable Charles I. Brown, wanted to organize a Greek letter fraternity that would truly exemplify the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service.

The founders deeply wished to create an organization that viewed itself as a part of the general community rather than apart from the general community.  From its inception, the Founders also conceived Phi Beta Sigma as a mechanism to deliver services to the general community. Rather than gaining skills to be utilized exclusively for themselves and their immediate families, the founders of Phi Beta Sigma held a deep conviction that they should return their newly acquired skills to the communities from which they had come. This deep conviction was mirrored in the Fraternity's motto, Culture For Service and Service For Humanity.