Kansas Business Hall of Fame

Hall of fame recognizing business figures in Kansas, U.S.

38°24′56″N 96°10′52″W / 38.41556°N 96.18111°W / 38.41556; -96.18111TypeHall of fameWebsitewww.ksbhf.org

The Kansas Business Hall of Fame (KBHF) recognizes business leaders who have contributed to the economic growth of the state of Kansas. It was established in 1988 by the Emporia State University School of Business, where it remains housed on the second floor of Cremer Hall.^[1]

History

The KBHF was established by the School of Business at Emporia State University in 1988 to recognize Kansas business leaders and create awareness of the state's history of business leadership.^[2]^[3]

The first inductees to the KBHF in 1989 were Olive Ann Beech, co-founder of Beech Aircraft; Cyrus K. Holliday, a railroad executive and one of the founders of Topeka; and Bernhard Warkentin, who introduced Turkey red wheat to Kansas.^[4] The induction ceremony was held on February 7, 1989, as part of a meeting of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Ramada Inn in Topeka.^[5]^[6]

In 2019, the Kansas Department of Commerce faced criticism over the criteria for its Kansas Job Creation Program Fund awards, including $80,000 given to the KBHF in 2018, which were used as matching dollars to build a new facility.^[7]

Inductees

Each year, the KBHF inducts one historical business figure and one contemporary leader.^[8]

The Historic Heritage Award is given to significant figures who have contributed to Kansas business, and the Contemporary Honors Award is awarded to those who display outstanding leadership in the contemporary business of Kansas, or a native Kansan who has earned national recognition. The KBHF also has the ability to give special awards to Kansans for unusual service to businesses.^[9]

Historical inductees

Cyrus K. Holliday

Bernhard Warkentin

The first two historical honorees of the KBHF in 1989

Nominees for the Historic Heritage Award are solicited from the general Kansas business community, and recipients must have added to the growth of Kansas, been deceased for at least ten years, and be approved by a majority of KBHF board members.^[9]

The following people have been inducted as historical figures.^[10]

Cyrus K. Holliday (1989)^[4]
Bernhard Warkentin (1989)^[4]
William Coffin Coleman (1990)^[11]
Dane G. Hansen (1990)^[11]
Walter Chrysler (1991)^[12]
Arthur Capper (1991)^[12]
Clyde Cessna (1992)^[13]
Fred C. Koch (1992)^[13]
Ray Hugh Garvey (1993)^[14]
Thomas McNally (1994)^[15]^[16]
Kenneth A. Spencer (1995)^[17]
Earl C. Brookover (1995)^[a]^[17]^[18]
Charles H. Hyer (1996)^[19]
Warren A. Bechtel (1997)^[20]
Albert A. Hyde (1998)
Lloyd Stearman (1999)
Alva Lease Duckwall (2000)
Cleyson L. "C. L." Brown (2001)
Charles Quarles Chandler II (2002)
Clara and Russell Stover (2003)^[21]
William Powell Lear (2004)
John J. Vanier (2005)
William Allen White (2006)
Walter Anderson and Edgar Waldo (E.W.) 'Billy' Ingram (2007)
Fred Harvey (2008)
W. Frank Barton (2009)
George E. Powell Sr. (2010)
Joseph G. McCoy (2011)^[22]
Dwane Wallace (2012)^[23]
Mark L. Morris Sr. (2013)
William B. Strang (2014)
Jess Cornejo (2015)
Georgia Neese Clark Gray (2016)
A. B. 'Bob' Hudson (2017)
Robert M. Wright (2018)^[24]
Henry David Lee (2019)
Walter H. Beech (2020)
Junius George Groves (2021)
Joseph and Louis Wenger (2022)
Charles W. "Charlie" Walker (2023)^[25]

For example, Clara Stover and her husband Russell founded Russell Stover Candies in 1923; they were inducted into the KBHF in 2003 and the company was sold in 2014 to Lindt for $1.6 billion.^[21]^[26]

Notably, this list also includes the founders of Chrysler (Walter Chrysler), Coleman (William Coffin Coleman), and the Sprint Corporation (C. L. Brown).

Contemporary inductees

Nominations for the Contemporary Honors Award come from the general business community. Recipients must be contemporary business leaders of Kansas and approved by a majority of KBHF board members. Nominees do not need to live in Kansas, but must display outstanding leadership and business excellence in Kansas.^[9]

These people have been inducted as contemporary business figures:^[27]

Olive Ann (Mellor) Beech (1989)^[4]
Fred Bramlage (1990)^[11]
Ray E. Dillon (1991)^[12]
Donald J. Hall (1992)^[13]
Henry A. Bubb (1993)^[14]
Oscar S. Stauffer (1994)^[15]^[16]
Paul H. Hensen (1995)^[17]
Harry Darby (1996)^[19]
Charles G. Koch (1997)^[20]
William H. Graves (1998)
Ross Beach (1999)
Philip Anschutz (2000)
Richard K. "Dick" Davidson (2001)
Pack St. Clair (2002)
Dan and Frank Carney (2003)^[28]
Don Landoll (2004)
Robert J. Eaton (2005)
Lyle E. Yost (2006)
F. D. 'Fran' Jabara (2007)
Howard R. Fricke (2008)
Jack Goldstein (2009)
Roy Applequist (2010)
Alan Mulally (2011)^[22]
Greg Brenneman (2012)^[23]
Jack P. DeBoer (2013)
David Dillon (2014)
Gary Burrell and Min Kao (2015)
David Murfin (2016)
Tom Devlin (2017)
Bill Kurtis (2018)^[24]
H. Lee Scott Jr. (2019)
Cecil L. O'Brate (2020)
Cliff Illig (2021)
Joe Bisogno (2022)^[29]
Carl Ice (2023)^[30]

As an example, the Carney brothers founded Pizza Hut in 1958 from their first outfit in Wichita, Kansas. They were honored in the KBHF in 2003 and the chain is now international.^[31]^[32]

Board of directors

The KBHF board of directors is composed of representatives of the following:^[9]

Kansas Secretary of Commerce
President/CEO of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce
Deans of the business programs from Kansas Board of Regents member institutions
The business community
Government officials
Others necessary to "further the work of the Kansas Business Hall of Fame"

Members of the board are expected to contribute monetary donations to the KBHF annually, with contributions each year due by November 1. The board meets a minimum of two times per year, and the KBHF bylaws encourage in-person or virtual attendance at least once per year. Members are elected for a four-year term and are eligible for re-election.^[9]

Essay contest

The KBHF holds an annual essay-writing contest open to high school students in grades 9–12, including home-schooled students. The contest requires each contestant to research one KBHF inductee who inspires them and write an essay of 500–1000 words. Four winners each receive a $500 prize, which is donated by the Kansas Chamber of Commerce.^[33]^[34]

Notes

^ Brookover is not listed as an inductee on the official KBHF website, but multiple independent sources have confirmed his posthumous induction.

References

^ "Second Floor". Virtual Campus Explorer. Emporia State University. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ ESU Alumni Association (2012). "A Brief History of Emporia State University" (PDF). Emporia State Institutional Repository Collection. Emporia State University. p. 13. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 22, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
^ "Davidson Selected For Kansas Business Hall Of Fame". Council Grove Republican. Vol. 128, no. 220. November 8, 2000. p. 1. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Three to be first in Kansas Business Hall of Fame". The Kansas City Times (Metropolitan ed.). December 6, 1988. p. D-3. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "3 to new hall of fame". The Wichita Eagle-Beacon. December 15, 1988. p. 4N. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Business Hall of Fame". The Valley Falls Vindicator. Vol. 125, no. 11. December 8, 1988. p. 7. Archived from the original on November 24, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Norwood, Candice (July 31, 2019). "Few Rules and Little Transparency Guide Kansas' Corporate Tax Giveaways". Governing. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
^ "Kansas honors its best". The Kansas City Star (Johnson County ed.). February 9, 2006. p. C8. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Constitution & By-Laws". Kansas Business Hall of Fame. March 2022. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
^ "Historical Honorees". Kansas Business Hall of Fame. 2023. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bramlage is honored". The Manhattan Mercury. February 18, 1990. p. C5. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c Heaster, Jerry (February 4, 1991). "The Week Ahead". The Kansas City Star. p. B-6. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Names & Changes". The Wichita Eagle. February 6, 1992. p. 7B. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Painter, Steve (February 9, 1993). "Kansas successes to be honored posthumously". The Wichita Eagle. p. 6B. Retrieved January 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Oscar Stauffer is inducted into Business Hall of Fame". The Herington Times. Topeka. February 17, 1994. p. 12A. Retrieved January 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Business pioneers make Kansas hall of fame". The Kansas City Star. February 9, 1994. p. B-2. Retrieved January 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b ^c "KC Southern leader enters hall of fame". The Kansas City Star. February 10, 1995. p. B-2. Retrieved January 6, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Earl Brookover: Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame Inductee". Drovers. July 15, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2024. Ten years after his death in 1985, Brookover was inducted into the Kansas Business Hall of Fame.
^ ^a ^b Boyette, John (December 18, 1995). "Hall of Fame selects Hyer". The Olathe Daily News. p. 8A. Retrieved January 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b "Koch, Bechtel to join business hall of fame". The Salina Journal. Emporia. December 22, 1996. p. C4. Retrieved January 7, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Bray, Chad (July 14, 2014). "Swiss Chocolate Maker Lindt Will Buy Russell Stover Candies". DealBook. Archived from the original on October 6, 2017. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
^ ^a ^b McMillin, Molly (April 5, 2011). "Mulally to be in Kansas Business Hall of Fame". The Wichita Eagle. p. 8C. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Siebenmark, Jerry (March 9, 2012). "Hall of Fame to induct former Cessna exec". The Wichita Eagle. p. 7B. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Chilson, Morgan (May 16, 2018). "Legendary broadcaster to enter hall of fame". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
^ Calfee, Kendrick (September 3, 2023). "Salina businessman Charlie Walker will be inducted into Kansas Business Hall of Fame". Salina Journal. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
^ Davis, Mark (March 10, 2015). "Lindt & Sprüngli paid $1.6 billion for Russell Stover". The Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on August 22, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
^ "Contemporary Honorees". Kansas Business Hall of Fame. 2023. Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
^ Rengers, Carrie (February 6, 2003). "You don't say". The Wichita Eagle. p. 4B. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Citizens Bank & Trust Congratulates Joe Bisogno, Kansas Business Hall of Famer" (Press release). Citizens Bank & Trust. July 28, 2022. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Kansas City Business Journal.
^ Grabauskas, Bryan (October 4, 2023). "Kansas Business Hall of Fame inducts two new members". WIBW. Emporia. Archived from the original on December 22, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
^ "Our Story". Hut Life. Pizza Hut. May 31, 2016. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
^ "Pizza Hut Inc". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
^ "Essay Contest". Kansas Business Hall of Fame. 2023. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
^ "Blue Valley student submits winning essay". The Kansas City Star. June 12, 2019. p. 7JO. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.