Business Hall of Fame
Biographies of Inductees

Dave Hentschel
2007 Outstanding Business Leader

Dave Hentschel spent his entire career with the same company or the successors to that company, Cities Service Company. While his career started in the petroleum engineering area, it eventually expanded to almost every operating and service area of the company.

Hentschel received a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Louisiana State University in 1957. While a member of the U.S. Air Force, he spent a year at Oklahoma State University, receiving the equivalent of a B.S. in Meteorology in 1958.
After the acquisition of Cities by Occidental Petroleum in 1982, Hentschel was the chief negotiator of the sale of Citgo to the Southland Corporation. After running the domestic operation for Oxy for three years, Hentschel became the chairman and CEO of Occidental Oil and Gas Corporation in 1986, the worldwide oil and gas operation of the parent company. In 1987, he was elected to the Board of Occidental. He retired in 1993, but returned to the position of CEO of the oil and gas unit from 1997 to 1999, when he retired again.

Hentschel has served on the board of Nexen, a Canadian-based oil and gas company (previously Canadian Occidental Petroleum), since 1985. He was president and CEO of this company from 1995 to 1997. Additionally, he currently serves on the board of Cimarex and the boards of the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association and In His Image. He previously served on the boards of Bank of Oklahoma and Saint Francis Hospital.

Along with his wife Clydella, Hentschel has been involved in many community activities including the United Way, Salvation Army, Day Center for the Homeless, First United Methodist Church, the American Diabetes Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and others. In 1992 and 1993, Clydella and Dave served as co-chairs of the Tulsa Area United Way General Campaign and then of the Board.

Back to Hall of Fame

Robert J. LaFortune
Outstanding Entrepreneur

The LaFortune name has been a signature of public service and philanthropy in the Tulsa community for more than 80 years. Robert LaFortune is no exception to his family’s enduring legacy, having played a significant role in the cultural and physical development of the city of Tulsa.

LaFortune graduated from Cascia Hall Preparatory School in 1944 and attended The University of Tulsa. He served in the U.S. Merchant Marine Cadet Corp for two years, and then entered Purdue University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1951. He joined the U.S. Air Force Reserve, achieving the rank of captain.
LaFortune invested in Reed Drilling Company, which operated six medium-sized drilling rigs in Central Oklahoma. He sold his stake in the company in 1963 and turned his business interests to investments and independent oil and gas ventures.

In 1964, he entered city politics as commissioner of streets and public property. As mayor (1970-78), he was involved in the creation, land acquisition and building of the Port of Catoosa, the navigation channel that reshaped the economic future of the city of Tulsa.

LaFortune and his family were instrumental in the development of many of Tulsa’s business and cultural venues. He worked with John Williams in the development of the Williams Center, and he was instrumental in the private-public funding of Tulsa’s Performing Arts Center. He also shaped the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, making the Tulsa Zoo a favorite destination. He is a past chairman and current executive committee member of Philbrook Museum.
LaFortune has been recognized throughout his years of public service. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1975 and the Tulsa Hall of Fame in 1988. He was also awarded the Silver Buffalo from the Boy Scouts of America in 1982 and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Tulsa in 1995. This year he received the Pathfinder Award from the Tulsa League of Women Voters.

LaFortune and his late wife, Jeanne (Morse) LaFortune, have six children and 18 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Back to Hall of Fame

2006 Inductees

King P. Kirchner
2006 Outstanding Entrepreneur
Co-founder Unit Corporation

In the 43 years since King Kirchner co-founded Unit Corporation, the company has grown from three to 116 drilling rigs and from three to 3,000 employees  – more than half the population of Perry, Oklahoma, where he first set foot on an oil field.

Today Unit Corporation is the fourth largest land drilling contractor in the United States, and its oil and gas company, Unit Petroleum, operates approximately 6,500 wells. Together, these enterprises comprise a company with $2.4 billion in market capital.

Kirchner grew up on a farm six miles west of Perry and began his education in a one-room schoolhouse. He traces his business savvy to his teenage days, when he rode a Harley Davidson to the oil fields and worked as a roughneck, earning 87 cents an hour.

Kirchner earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma State University and worked briefly for Lufkin Foundry and Machine Company before his military service. After a tour of duty in Germany during the Korean War, he continued his education, earning a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma.

From 1954 to 1963, Kirchner worked for the Unit Drilling Division of Woolaroc Oil Company in Bristow, Oklahoma, advancing from engineer to vice president. In 1963, Kirchner and his silent partner, Don Bodard, bought three rotary drilling rigs from Woolaroc Oil, along with the Unit name, and established Unit Drilling Company, which became the Tulsa-based Unit Corporation.

In 1979 Unit Corporation was listed on NASDAQ as a publicly held company, and on Kirchner’s 54th birthday in 1981, the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Over the next two decades, Unit Corporation expanded its operations to the Mid-Continent, Rocky Mountain and Gulf Coast Basins, with regional offices in Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming.

Kirchner retired as CEO in 2001 and as chairman in 2003 but continues to serve as a company director. An avid pilot who owns a number of planes, he has logged more than 8,000 hours of flying time. He also continues to support many community organizations including the United Way, Philbrook Museum of Art, Gilcrease Museum, the Arthritis Foundation, American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, and the Tulsa Air and Space Museum.

Back to Hall of Fame

Charles C. Stephenson, Jr.

Back to Hall of Fame

John H. Williams
2006 Outstanding Business Leader
Founder, Williams Companies

John Williams comes from a family with a long entrepreneurial history – a tradition he continued when he founded the Williams Companies in 1949 with his brother Charles and cousin David, Jr.  

As the successor to the family-owned Williams Brothers Corp., founded by his uncles, Miller and David Williams, the Williams Companies deepened the Williams name and presence in the energy industry.

John Williams graduated from Ruston Academy in Havana, Cuba, and Yale University, where he majored in civil engineering. He joined the family business in 1940 and worked on projects in North and South America and the Middle East, in addition to serving in the Navy Civil Engineering Corps during World War II.

At age 31, Williams co-founded the Williams Companies and soon after acquired the Great Lakes Pipe Line Company, an asset that laid the foundation for the company as it is known today. During his 29-year tenure as CEO, the market value of the Williams Companies increased from $25,000 in 1949 to $406.5 million in 1978. Today, the company is valued at $12.36 billion.

Williams has earned many accolades for his professional and community leadership, including an award from the Bolivian government for his company’s work in that country and the Governor’s Arts Award for his role in establishing Tulsa’s Performing Arts Center. He also holds honorary degrees from Oklahoma Christian College and Oral Roberts University.

Williams continues to serve as an honorary director of the Williams Companies and Willbros, director of APCO Argentina and Unit Corporation, and trustee and finance committee chairman of the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust.

As a member of the National Petroleum Hall of Fame, Oklahoma Hall of Fame, Oklahoma Commerce and Industry Hall of Honor, Tulsa Hall of Fame and now the TU College of Business Administration Hall of Fame, Williams’ achievements distinguish him as a leader in his industry and community.

Back to Hall of Fame

As the current owner of Rockford Exploration Inc., the previous owner of Medallion Petroleum Inc., and co-founder of Southport Exploration Inc., John Brock is an entrepreneur – and a successful one.

The Durant, Oklahoma native graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1953 with a degree in geological engineering. After a two-year stint in the U.S. Army, Brock went to work as a division reservoir engineer at Shell Oil Company until 1964 when he left to direct exploration and production at Associated Oil and Gas.

In 1966, Brock began pursuing independent opportunities as an oil and gas operator and for a short time served as executive vice president and general manager at LVO Corporation (formerly Livingston Oil Company) before starting Southport Exploration in 1974. In 1981, after selling Southport, Brock started Rockford Exploration where he still serves as president and CEO. While operating Rockford Exploration, he also owned Medallion Petroleum for eight years before selling it in 1992. He is also the chairman and a principal of Brighton Energy LLC.

Brock’s innovation and leadership in the oil and gas industry have created exploration departments and the institution of exploration programs for four companies. He has been associated with several oil and gas discoveries, including the East Thomas, Alex, and Grand Fields in Oklahoma; the Hope Field in Texas; and the Arapaho Field in Colorado.

In the community, Brock founded the Tulsa Innovation Center to help entrepreneurs start new businesses. He is director and former chairman of the Sutton Avian Research Center, serves as board member of the Indian Nations Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and is a former board member of Camp Fire USA. He was president of the Tulsa Club and Tulsa Ozark Club and actively supports the Gilcrease Museum, Philbrook Museum, Tulsa Ballet, Tulsa Opera, Tulsa Philharmonic, Nature Conservancy, and the Tulsa Zoo.

With his wife, Donnie, Brock established the Brock Community Foundation to fund the Brock International Prize in Education, recognizing an individual who has made a specific innovation or contribution to the science and art of education. The Foundation is administered by the University of Oklahoma in partnership with Oklahoma State University and The University of Tulsa.

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

A native of Wagoner, Oklahoma, Jack Graves joined the U.S. Navy after graduating from Wagoner High School in 1944. After two years in the Navy, Graves chose to continue his education, graduating from Northeastern State University in 1949 and then earning a master’s degree in geology from the University of Oklahoma.

Graves built a career spanning more than 50 years in oil and gas exploration and production. In exploration, he worked for Republic Exploration Company, Texas Seismograph Company, and Phillips Petroleum Company before starting his own oil and gas company, Calumet Oil Company, in 1956. Along with Tulsa-based Calumet Oil Company, Graves also led J.M. Graves LLC, JMG Oil and Gas LP, Green Country Supply Inc., Green Country Chemical, and Green Country Submersible Pumps, all in Tulsa.

Graves went beyond making a home in Tulsa; he made a mark on the community with his numerous contributions. He served as president of the Oklahoma Heritage Association; trustee of Philbrook Museum, Tulsa Philharmonic and the Oklahoma Nature Conservancy; member of the Tulsa Salvation Army Advisory Board; and supporter of the American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, Arts and Humanities Council, Center for the Physically Limited, Tulsa Opera, Tulsa Ballet Theatre, Gilcrease Museum, Girl Scouts of America, and Nature Works.

Professionally, Graves served as president of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association and the International Society of Energy Advocates. He was a member of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, the Interstate Oil Company Commission, the Osage Producers Association, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Society of Exploration Geophysicists, and the Tulsa Geological Society.

Graves was honored with the Distinguished Eagle Award from the National Board of the Boy Scouts of America and was inducted into the Oklahoma Heritage Association Hall of Fame in 1992. He was a member of The University of Tulsa President’s Council from 1993-96 and again in 2002-03.

Graves is survived by his wife, Ann; his sons, Michael Lon Graves, John Garrett Graves and his wife, Sarah, and David Allen Graves; his stepchildren, Rachael Redeker Dedman and her husband, Robert, and William Michael Redeker and his wife, Julie; and six grandchildren.


Back to Hall of Fame 
 

Twenty-four years ago, Jim Wilburn saw an opportunity to telecast horse racing year-round. Twelve Emmy Awards later, Winnercomm is the largest independent sports production company in America, supplying more than 1,000 hours of programming annually to ESPN and 11 other national networks. Today, the native Tulsan and 1974 graduate of TU still serves as CEO and president of the Tulsa-based company, which now employs almost 200 full-time professionals and 2,000 subcontractors.

While working as a leading salesman at ABC-TV affiliate KTUL, Wilburn turned his passion for American Quarter Horse racing into a profitable syndicated programming and ad sales venture for the station. Seeing the success of his idea, Wilburn and a local sportscaster, Chris Lincoln, started Winner Communications as a national syndicator of horse racing programming. A deal with ESPN in 1985 to provide Thoroughbred racing programs for the sports network led to a partnership, still existing today, that makes Winnercomm the world’s largest supplier of third-party programming to ESPN.

Wilburn has guided Winnercomm into a leadership position in its industry by diversifying the company’s services with commercial production, professional Internet and marketing services, and network-quality graphic design, and expanding its sales operation which now includes offices in five cities.

Winnercomm continues to grow. In 2004, it acquired Skycam, a leading designer, manufacturer, and operator of mobile aerial camera systems that will be relocated later this year from Philadelphia to a new headquarters building in Broken Arrow; and it took a major position in People vs. the Pros, a property developed by Innovative Media Solutions, Inc. based in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Wilburn serves on the TU Board of Trustees and has supported the TU Athletic Foundation, Tulsa Sports Charities, Retired and Senior Volunteers Program, Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa Historical Society, and the Oklahoma Reading Association. He has also provided support to the American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Red Cross, Muscular Dystrophy Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Tulsa Boys’ Home, and Boy Scouts of America Indian Nations Council.

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

William E. Lobeck
2004 Outstanding Business Leader
President and CEO, Vanguard Car Rental USA

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

Joseph Cappy has served as chairman and chief executive officer of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group since 1997, when the car rental company was spun off from Chrysler in an initial public offering. He had overseen Chrysler’s car rental units, which included Snappy Rent A Car, since 1993.

With a broad background in finance, marketing and management, Cappy has steered Dollar Thrifty through the challenges that have beleaguered the travel industry over the last two years. Not only was the company the only profitable major car rental operation for the first quarter of 2002, but it also has begun implementing an aggressive growth strategy to streamline operations and acquire franchised operations in key markets. Dollar Thrifty was listed among the Fortune 1,000 this year.

Cappy began his career with Ford Motor Co., where he held various financial, sales and marketing roles before being appointed general marketing manager of the Lincoln-Mercury division in 1980.

In 1982, he joined American Motors Corporation as vice president of the marketing group and was named AMC president and CEO in 1986. The following year, he moved to the Chrysler Corporation, where he oversaw the Jeep/Eagle Division.

In 1989, Cappy was named vice president of brand development for Chrysler and in 1990 was put in charge of the company’s international operations. In 1993, he became vice president for Chrysler’s technologies and rental car operations.

Cappy is an active corporate citizen. Under his leadership, Dollar Thrifty has contributed more than $1 million in charitable giving to Tulsa organizations.

Cappy chaired the Tulsa Area United Way Campaign in 1999 and served as United Way chairman in 2000. He is past president of the Indian Nations Council of the Boy Scouts of America. His other community roles include serving on the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, on the Board of Directors for BOK Financial Corp., on the Philbrook Museum Board of Trustees, and as president of the Board of Trustees of the Tulsa Community Foundation. He is past chairman of the Oklahoma Business Roundtable and serves on the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Business and Education Coalition.

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

Roger Hardesty is founder and chairman of Tulsa-based United States Aviation Company, a charter and aircraft management firm with worldwide operating authority. He also owns and oversees Mid-Continent/Midco Concrete Companies, one of Oklahoma’s largest ready-mix concrete producers, and he is CEO of Alliance Transportation, a Tulsa-based trucking company.

He built his early success on commercial and multi-family real estate development and property management. At one time, his holdings spanned 16 states. He also co-founded and was a major shareholder in BizJet International Sales and Support, Inc., which was sold to Lufthansa Technik in 2000.

Hardesty, an expert pilot with more than 11,000 hours of flying time, founded the United States Aviation Museum in Tulsa in 1987 and continues as president. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Aviation and Space Hall of Fame in 1995.

Hardesty and his wife, Donna (a 1962 TU alumna), have been generous supporters of organizations including the Tulsa City-County Library, Oklahoma State University, Hillcrest Hospital and St. Francis Hospital.
One of Hardesty’s most visible recent gifts is the Hardesty Regional Library in south Tulsa, for which he supplied the land.

In 1998, the couple gave TU land that spawned campus development west of Delaware Avenue. The Donna J. Hardesty Sports and Recreation Complex features competition-grade facilities including a soccer field, softball diamond, recreational field and track-and-field facility.

Roger Hardesty also has served as a member of the TU Board of Trustees. His memberships include the National Business Aviation Association, the National Air Transportation Association, and the Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce. He is past president of the Tulsa Homebuilders’ Association and a former member of the Board of Consultants for the Oklahoma Air Space Museum.

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

Tulsa investor Genave King Rogers has single-handedly managed a diverse and growing portfolio of investments since the 1974 death of her husband, Tulsa attorney Leslie Rogers. Her love of challenge, natural curiosity and ingrained independence have helped her become an insightful and opportunistic investor.

Rogers’ portfolio has included options, stocks, bonds, real estate and venture capital investments. One of her favorite vehicles remains the options market, where she specializes in selling puts on select securities. She hit upon this technique about 25 years ago, when options was still a relatively obscure vehicle.

Rogers has used her success to benefit others. In honor of her husband, she established the Leslie Rogers Scholarships, which each year assist 10 TU students who are members of sororities or fraternities.

Her affinity for TU students has deep roots. She worked her way through college at TU, initially taking night classes part time. She became the first woman to graduate from the College of Business Administration, completing an accounting degree in 1938. Upon graduation, she received a $25 merit award from the Chi Omega sorority. This award impressed her deeply and sowed the seeds of her own philanthropy.

Out of a strong conviction of the importance of business law, Rogers became the namesake supporter of the Genave King Rogers Business Law Center, part of the College of Business Administration. Her endowment gifts have funded the center and an associated business law professorship, bringing the latest in business law issues and methods to a new generation of TU students.

Her other gifts have included support of TU’s Annual Fund efforts (through “Rogers Rookie Challenge” grants); campus development, including the Michael D. Case Tennis Center; and TU athletics.

She also has assisted community organizations including the United Way, Boy Scouts of America, the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless, Tulsa Boys’ Home, and Riverfield Country Day School. As a longtime golf enthusiast, she was a sponsor of the 1998 Williams LPGA Pro Am Golf Tournament.

In her free time, Rogers is a frequent traveler and has visited destinations around the globe. She also remains active in competitive ballroom dancing.

Top of Page

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

Cadieux is chairman, president and co-founder of QuikTrip Corporation, a privately held regional gasoline and convenience store operation headquartered in Tulsa since 1958. With annual sales in excess of $3 billion, QuikTrip operates nearly 400 stores, with major markets in Tulsa, Kansas City, St. Louis, Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix.  

In addition to serving on the board of trustees of The University of Tulsa, he has served as chairman of the Tulsa Area United Way, chairman of the River Parks Authority and president of the National Association of Convenience Stores. He has served on the board of the National Benevolent Association and the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce.  

Cadieux currently serves on the boards of the Tulsa Community Foundation, Oklahoma Business and Education Coalition, and the Trust for Public Lands. He is on the boards of Leaders' Life Insurance Company and Wawa Inc. in Wawa, Pennsylvania. He also is current chairman of the board of Phillips Theological Seminary.  

He recently was honored as the Ernst and Young Southwest Retail-Wholesale Entrepreneur of the Year and has been inducted into the Oklahoma Commerce and Industry Hall of Fame.  

Cadieux has six children and seven grandchildren. He and his wife, Debbie, live in Tulsa and are active members of the Harvard Avenue Christian Church.

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

Siegfried is chairman of the board of the Nordam Group, an international aviation service and manufacturing company. He has overseen the growth of the company since he acquired it out of bankruptcy in 1969. Today, Nordam comprises six divisions with facilities on three continents and a staff of more than 2,600.  

He has served on the boards of directors for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; the University Center of Tulsa; The University of Tulsa; the American Boxing Federation; the University of Portland; the Tulsa Aerospace Alliance, and the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless. He also chaired the Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, the Tulsa Area United Way, and the Institute of Nautical Archaeology at Texas A&M University.  

He chaired Monte Cassino's school board of trustees and founded its charitable trust. He has chaired capital programs at Cascia Hall and at Monte Cassino, each of which raised more than $10 million. Additionally, he co-chaired the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa's $17.5 million Fund for The Future.  

Siegfried serves on boards of the University of Notre Dame, the Tulsa Community Foundation, and the Oklahoma Aquarium Foundation. He is president-elect of Conquistadores del Cielo and is chairman of the board for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. He serves on the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops national review board.  
In 1990, Siegfried was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and received the Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews. He and his wife, Milann, were honored with the 2000 Humanitarian Award from the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver.

Siegfried's other honors include Notre Dame's Man of the Year; induction into Tulsa Press Club's Headliner's Club; the Golden Knight Award, designation as the National Management Association's Oklahoma Manager of the Year; and an Entrepreneurial Achievement Award from the American Management Association. He holds honorary doctorates from Notre Dame and the University of Portland. He is an affiliate of St. Augustine Order of the Catholic Church and is invested as Knight in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.  

Ray and Milann Siegfried have six children and four grandchildren.

Top of Page

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

James W. Pielsticker(1938-2001)
2001 Outstanding Entrepreneur
Chairman & CEO, Arrow Trucking Co.

Jim Pielsticker graduated from Tulsa Central High School and then the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor’s degree in 1960. He later graduated from the University of Oklahoma School of Law (LL.B.) in 1963. He served two years in the Transportation Corps of the U.S. Army in Germany, and practiced law in Tulsa for one year prior to purchasing Arrow Trucking Company in 1968. At that time, Arrow served 7 states with 5 trucks. Since then, it has grown into the largest trucking firm based in Oklahoma with over 1,400 trucks and 2,500 trailers operating in the 48 Continental States, Canada and Mexico. 

Mr. Pielsticker was on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Oklahoma and the Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, was Vice Chairman & Trustee for the Oklahoma Nature Conservancy, served on the Executive Committee for the Oklahoma Business Roundtable, was an Advisory Director for Tulsa Zoo Friends, and was a member of the American Bar Association. He served as Chairman & Director of the Board of Trustees for the River Parks Authority, as a member of the Board of Governors and former President of Southern Hills Country Club, as Past President of the Tulsa Tennis Club, as Vice Chairman and Board Member of Hillcrest Medical Center, and as a Board Member of the Tulsa Area United Way and of the Tulsa Utility Board. 

Mr. Pielsticker was a strong advocate of “giving back to your community,” whether city, state or nation. He was a leading supporter of the United Way, Tulsa Adopt a School program, and many other charitable and civic organizations. His conservation activities were numerous, including projects benefiting Deep Fork Bottoms, Sutton Avian Center - Study on Prairie Chickens, Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Oklahoma Fish and Game Department, Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl Association, and the Tulsa Zoo

Mr. Pielsticker is survived by his wife, Carol; his son, Doug, and daughter-in-law, Susan, Tulsa; his daughter, Melissa Ison, and son-in-law, Scot, Houston; and four grandchildren.

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

William K. Warren, Jr.

William K. Warren, Jr. graduated from Cascia Hall Preparatory School in 1952, and from the University of Notre Dame as President of the Senior Class with a bachelor’s degree in 1956. Bill and his wife, Suzanne, live in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with their youngest daughter, Dana, a senior at Cascia Hall, and their son, Andrew, a freshman at Notre Dame. Bill’s four older children are graduated from college and live in Tulsa and Dallas. 

Mr. Warren is Chairman of the Board of The William K. Warren Foundation and Chairman of the Board of Warren American Oil Company. His varied business interests involve oil and gas exploration, production, real estate, and investments. He has owned and operated various cellular telephone businesses.

Mr. Warren has served on the Boards of The Williams Companies, Sooner Federal Savings and Loan, Bank One, Oklahoma, NA, Cascia Hall Preparatory School, and Southern Hills Country Club. Presently, he is a Trustee of Saint Francis Health System, which includes Saint Francis Hospital of Tulsa, Warren Clinic, Saint Francis Hospital of Broken Arrow, and Laureate Psychiatric Clinic and Hospital. He serves as President of the William K. Warren Medical Research Institute, and is Chairman of The William K. Warren Medical Research Center. He also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Laureate Building Corporation, and is President of Warren Charité. He serves on the advisory board of the Mental Health Association in Tulsa. He is a member of Augusta National Golf Club, Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa Tennis Club, La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club in La Jolla, California, and the Del Mar Turf Club in Del Mar, California.

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

John S. “Jack” Zink

John S. “Jack” Zink is a 1951 graduate of Oklahoma State University, with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is a member of Pi Tau Sigma, a Mechanical Engineering Scholastic Fraternity, and he has been inducted into the OSU Engineering Hall of Fame. He is a registered Professional Engineer. 

As Chairman and President of the John Zink Company, which was founded by Mr. Zink’s father in the early 1930s, Jack grew the company into an international corporation, establishing manufacturing operations in Mexico, England, Holland, Germany, France, and Italy. Mr. Zink’s entire career has been involved in manufacturing and engineering and he authored 35 patents on combustion and other equipment. After he engineered the sale of the John Zink Company, Mr. Zink founded ZEECO, Inc., in 1980. ZEECO is a worldwide corporation which designs and manufactures combustion equipment used in the petroleum refining and chemical processing industries worldwide. It also manufactures precision parts for the aerospace industry and molded fluoropolymer products for industry. 

Mr. Zink’s commitment to his business is rivaled only by his dedication to the community. A lifetime supporter of scouting, he has served five terms as President of the Indian Nations Council, BSA, with over 25,000 boys and adult leaders in the council. Over the years he has assisted countless other community organizations in a variety of ways, including serving as chairman or president of the Tulsa River Parks Authority, Oklahoma Wildlife Commission, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Tulsa Area United Way, Hillcrest Medical Center Foundation, Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, Oklahoma Junior Livestock Auction, Tulsa County Fairgrounds Trust Authority, Young President’s Organization, and The Tulsa Foundation. He also has served on the boards of Telex Corp., Sunbeam Corp., and Liberty Bank.

As Chairman of the John Steele Zink Foundation, he oversees the operation of the full time, permanent camping facilities of the 30,000-acre Zink Ranch which hosts more than 10,000 boy and girl scouts from around the world each year.

Top of Page

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

Paula Marshall-Chapman
2000 Outstanding Business Leader 
Chief Executive Officer, The Bama Companies

Paula Marshall-Chapman is a Tulsa native who has served as the CEO of The Bama Companies since 1984.  She received her bachelor of science in business and her doctorate of commercial science from Oklahoma City University. 

Under Marshall-Chapman’s direction, The Bama Companies has expanded to provide a wide variety of desserts and baked goods to restaurants worldwide. 

Marshall-Chapman serves as President of the Oklahoma Quality Foundation Board and Chairman of the Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce.  She also is active on the boards of the Tulsa Education Fund, Philbrook Museum of Art, Girl Scouts, Ronald McDonald, the Salvation Army, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, The University of Tulsa and Oklahoma City University. 

She was named Quality Fanatic of the Year by Philip Crosby of Quality College in Winter Park, Florida in 1989.  Paula was one of the first women asked to join the Young Presidents Organization Oklahoma Chapter in 1990.  Paula was named as one of the 1992 Ten Outstanding Young Americans by the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce.  In 1993, she was named one of the Top Ten CEO’s by Industry Week Magazine.  In 1996, she was selected by Junior Achievement to be the honoree for 1997.  She was selected Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 1997.  In 1998, she was named to the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, Business Hall of Fame, and in 1999 she received the Pinnacle Award from the Sales & Marketing Executives International Academy of Achievements and has been inducted into its Hall of Fame. 

Marshall-Chapman is married to Todd Chapman and has four children and three grandchildren.

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

Robert E. Lorton, Jr.

Robert E. Lorton, Jr. is a Tulsa native who is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of World Publishing Company and Publisher of the Tulsa World. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in print/broadcast journalism from The University of Tulsa. 

Lorton has served as chairman of numerous Tulsa-area boards, including those of the Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, Tulsa Area United Way, Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa Port of Catoosa Authority and Oklahoma Nature Conservancy. His board service also includes the Boy Scouts of America, Salvation Army, Sutton Avian Research Center, F&M Bank and Trust Company and The University of Tulsa. 

Lorton and his wife, Roxana, have three children and seven grandchildren.

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

Peter C. Meinig

Peter C. Meinig has served as the Chairman and CEO of HM International, Inc., since 1979. He received his bachelor of mechanical engineering degree from Cornell University and his master of business administration degree from Harvard University. 

Meinig currently serves on the boards of The Williams Companies, Indian Nations Council of Boy Scouts, Cornell University where he is chairman of the executive committee, and The University of Tulsa. He is a former board member of Tulsa City-County Library Commission and Tulsa Library Trust. 

Meinig and his wife, Nancy, have three children and six grandchildren.

Back to Hall of Fame 
 

Henry H. Zarrow

Henry Zarrow is a native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is the chairman of the Zarrow Holding Company.

Zarrow currently serves on the boards of the American Bank of Tulsa, Bank One, Indian Nations Council of Boy Scouts, Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, Saint Francis Health System, Saint Francis Hospital, Salvation Army, and the Warren Cancer Research Foundation. He is an emeritus member of The University of Tulsa Board of Trustees.

Zarrow has two children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Back to Hall of Fame 

Top of Page