Salina Business Hall of Fame

Salina Business Hall of Fame Inductees

Three prominent Salina business persons have been selected to be inducted into the 2015 class of the Salina Business Hall of Fame.    They are:  Frank Hageman, prominent Salina banker, (Pioneer Category, 1858-1925); Baalis Kyger Smoot, founder of Smoot Grain Company and longtime benefactor of the YMCA, (Historic Category, 1926-1975); and Thomas R. Pestinger, owner of Pestinger Heating & Air Conditioning; (Contemporary Category 1976-present).

Frank Hageman

Baalis Kyger Smoot

Thomas R. Pestinger

The induction ceremony will be held Thursday, November 5, noon-1:30pm, at the Salina Country Club.  Dr. Andy Tompkins, former Salina USD 305 School Superintendent, and former President/CEO of the Kansas Board of Regents, will be the featured speaker.  (bio attached)

Dr. Andy Tompkins

The Salina Business Hall of Fame was established by the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce in 2005.  Its purpose is to recognize and honor Salina business leaders, both past and present, who have made extraordinary contributions to Salina, earned the respect of the local community and called attention to the Free Enterprise system and its value to our country and citizens in shaping Salina’s way of life. 

  

Each inductee will be recognized with a commemorative plaque.  In addition, plaques honoring each inductee will be displayed at the Chamber office, 120 W. Ash.  A biography of each inductee will be printed and distributed at the luncheon. 

Past inductees include:   (Pioneer) Henry David Lee, Alexander Campbell, Oscar Seitz and Winfield Watson, Benjamin Aaron Litowich;  William R. Geis, William A. Phillips, Thomas Watson Roach, and Charles R. Underwood; (Historic) Ward A. Marshall, William Henry Graves, John J. Vanier, M.J. Kennedy, Milton Morrison, Charles W. Shaver, C. William “Bill” Exline, Murray Wilson, Ralph E. Reitz, S. Dean Evans, Sr., Whitley Austin, Ben Sellers, George L. Frisbie, and Verla Nesbitt Joscelyn, and  (Contemporary) Alfred P.G. Schwan, Charlie Walker, Roy Applequist, Lee Young, Paul E. Junk, Jack Vanier, James R. Allen, Richard E. Brown, Karl Stutterheim, Mike Berkley, and Charles E. Stevens, Jr.

Tickets for the induction ceremony are $20 per person and can be purchased by calling the Chamber office, 827-9301, emailing scole@salinakansas.org,  or online by going to the Chamber’s home page at www.salinakansas.org.  

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