In Memoriam: Kevin F. Reilly, Jr. (Tau/Florida 2008)
Theta Chi Fraternity is saddened to report Kevin Reilly, Jr. has joined the Chapter Eternal. He was two weeks shy of his 39th birthday, the same age Brother Reginald E.F. Colley entered the Chapter Eternal in 1927.
Kevin pledged Tau Chapter on August 28, 2004, was initiated February 3, 2005, and assigned Roster Number 2012. During the 2006/2007 school year, he served Tau as Chapter President and was elected Student Body President of the University of Florida for the 2007/2008 academic year. In 2008, he served as Theta Chi's collegiate representatives during visits to Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. and met with various members of Congress. In 2006/2007, he was named the Reginald E.F. Colley Award 2nd Runner Up and following his graduation, he was named the 2007/2008 Reginald E.F. Colley Award recipient. The Colley Award is the highest honor bestowed upon a collegiate member of Theta Chi Fraternity and is presented annually to the brother who best demonstrates distinguished service to alma mater, Fraternity, and chapter.
As an alumnus, Kevin served on Tau Chapter's Alumni Corporation as President (2014-2017); At Large Member (2017-2022); and was its current Vice President (2022-).
He served the International Fraternity on several committees and facilitated at various leadership education programs. As a collegiate brother, he served on the International Standards Committee and also served a term as one of Theta Chi's representatives on the Fraternity/Sorority Political Action Committee. Following graduation, he served on the Fraternity's Colley Award Selection Committee (2008-present).
Brother Reilly attended the 150th Anniversary Convention (2006), CLC XII (2007), Deranian Presidents Conference (2008), the 152nd Anniversary Convention (2008), the 158th Anniversary Convention (2014), and the 160th Anniversary Convention (2016). At each event, Kevin went out of his way to meet and befriend brothers from all chapters and to impart wisdom, best practices, and words of encouragement.
Beyond the Colley Award, Brother Reilly was also a recipient of the Citation of Honor (2008) from the Grand Chapter; the David E. DeVol Award (2014); and the George T. Kilavos Alumni Award presented by the Grand Chapter (2016). He was also an Honorary Member of Alpha Chapter.
In addition, Kevin was a recipient of two Sherwood and Janet Blue Memorial Scholarships (2007, 2008) and paid it forward with his financial contributions to the Foundation Chapter, attaining the Chase Council Lifetime Giving Level and as a participant in the Cornerstone Capital Campaign.
Kevin's passion was politics, and he served in various capacities after earning his Master's degree from Florida. He served as a legislative assistant for Florida Representative John Tobia (2009-2011); as legislative affairs director for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs (2011), the Florida Parole Commission (2013-2014), and for Florida Governor Rick Scott (2016-2018); and as deputy staff director for the office of the majority leader for the Florida House of Representatives (2014-2016) and as chief of staff to U.S. Representative Laurel Lee (2022-2024). In addition, Kevin worked on a number of campaigns and, most recently, had been serving as an advisor for the Mike Haridopolos for Congress team.
Former Florida Governor and current U.S. Senator Rick Scott posted, “Ann and I are heartbroken to hear about Kevin Reilly. He was such a gifted and talented member of our team in Tallahassee. He was funny, kind and caring. He played such a big role in our legislative success. We will miss him dearly.”
U.S. Representative Laurel Lee wrote, “I am heartbroken to hear of the passing of my former Chief of Staff and dear friend, Kevin Reilly. Kevin was an integral part of my office and my freshman term, playing a key role in building a strong and dedicated team. Kevin's leadership, dedication, and unwavering support made a lasting impact on all of us. My thoughts and prayers are with his family during this incredibly difficult time. He will be missed.”
U.S. Representative Mike Haridopolos shared, “I’m deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Kevin Reilly. Kevin was a valued member of our team and played an important role in helping me get elected. I’ll always be grateful for his friendship and for the time I had working alongside him. Stephanie and I are praying for his family and will miss him dearly.”
Within Theta Chi, there are always a select few brothers who stand out amongst all the other faces and personalities. After meeting Kevin Reilly, you knew and realized you had just met someone of importance and significance. You just knew Kevin was going to be a chapter officer. Hearing that Kevin was elected student body president was not astonishing news to anyone; It was expected. Kevin was one of those brothers, without any doubt, who would eventually become governor of Florida, or a U.S. Senator, or perhaps even move into that home at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He was someone we all saw, at some point, serving on one of Theta Chi's International boards, if not as our International President. We saw him behind the curtain playing the kingmaker, but we knew it was just a matter of time before Kevin himself became the king.
But it was not meant to be.
The pain of those dreams unfulfilled is nothing compared to the loss of our very dear friend.
Despite his greatness, Kevin was one of us - his humility and ability to build intentional teams and consensus - all in an atmosphere of fun - created the fraternal bond. His integrity earned our respect. His strategic mind, quick wit, kindness, ability to see potential, and unending work ethic made him our leader. His welcoming presence, listening ear, and genuine compassion made him our lifelong friend.
When Kevin ran for student body president at the University of Florida, his campaign slogan was “Tomorrow Starts Today.”
Tomorrow will be less bright without you, Kevin, but we will never forget you as we follow your example and try to begin anew - today.
Please keep Brother Reilly's family, brothers, friends, and colleagues in your prayers during this time of sorrow.
Speech announcing Kevin Reilly's selection as the 2007/2008 Colley Award recipient:
This year’s recipient of the Reginald E.F. Colley award has truly earned his title of “Brother” in Theta Chi.
His dedication to our Fraternity, the entire Greek community, his University, his local community, and even his entire state is unparalleled. This brother continuously goes above and beyond the call of duty when accepting a leadership position. His achievements throughout college and the impact he has had on society thus far are astounding.
One of his little brothers said, “…There have been few people that can command and lead the brotherhood with such poise and charisma…He has been a dramatic influence on all of our members.” When you meet this brother, it is easy to understand the truth to this statement.
This brother has served his chapter in many capacities. Some of these positions include Chairman of the Social Committee, member of the Risk Management Committee, Chairman of the Awards Committee, elected member of the Standards Board, Historian, Assistant Treasurer, and Assistant Marshal. In the spring of his sophomore year, this brother was elected President of his chapter. As President, he worked to deepen alumni relations through alumni barbeques and similar events; increase the safety and quality of living conditions (greatly decreasing the number of violations during a fire safety inspection to only one violation); better the chapter’s relations with the university through regular meetings with the administrators, as well as hosting various administrators as dinner guests; developing an officer transition plan; and updating chapter bylaws that had not been updated since 2004.
During his tenure as President, this brother’s chapter received two prestigious awards. The first was being recognized as one of six IFC fraternities to pass his university's Greek Standards; the other award was the 2006/2007 Howard R. Alter, Jr. Award for Chapter Excellence.
Not only has this brother been extremely involved within his chapter, but he is a prominent member of numerous campus organizations. Most notably, this brother has been involved with the Student Government. He has served varying roles that include the Campaign Executive Committee for two Presidential campaigns, Student Senator, Chairman of the Allocations Committee, Senate President Pro-Tempore, Chairman of the Senate Replacement and Agenda Committee, Senate President, and finally, Student Body President.
Through all of these positions, this brother had a significant impact on campus. He was in charge of allocating $65,000 to various student organizations, increased the hours of operations of the main library by 2 hours during the week before finals and finals week, worked to get credit and debit cards accepted at all campus food vendors, and initiatives that included upgrading the e-mail system, expanding the recreation center, and providing safe alternatives to drunk driving for students.
This brother has also been involved with Florida’s oldest and most prestigious leadership honorary, the Florida Blue Key. His freshman year, he was the Director of Solicitations and Assistant Director of Technology for the Gator Growl. He was inducted into the organization shortly after his position as Director of Solicitations expired.
In addition, this brother has attended many leadership conventions; both through Theta Chi, as well as other organizations. These include two MYLCs, the 150th Anniversary Convention, Chapter Leadership Conference XII in 2007, the 2008 B. Nelson Deranian Presidents Conference, his university's President’s retreat in 2007, and most recently as Theta Chi’s collegiate representative for the NIC in Washington, D.C., performing Congressional visits, lobbying for the passage of bill’s favoring Theta Chi’s interests.
All of these very impressive attributes are the reasons that this member of the Tau Chapter at the University of Florida is the 2008 recipient of the Reginald E.F. Colley Award… Brother Kevin Francis Reilly, Jr.