2006 Missourian Award focuses on Ozarks

But this year’s list of recipients has a distinctly Springfield flair.

The 12 2006 honorees are Jim Anderson, David Appleby, Bill Foster, Carol Jones, Eugene Martin Jr., Mary Kay Meek, Kenneth Meyer, Norman Myers, Patti Penny, Robert Roundtree Sr., Clarence Wheeler and John T. Woodruff. Martin Wheeler and Woodruff are being honored posthumously.

The honorees have made contributions to the lives of Missourians, in fields as wide-ranging as real estate, law, education, retail and public utilities.

Usually intended to honor the most influential citizens from around the state, this year’s recipients all made their marks in southwest Missouri, a fact organizer Ralph Slavens said is no coincidence. Springfield real estate broker Slavens and his late wife, Corrine, came up with the statewide awards in 1993 and presented the first class a year later.

After Slavens, who coordinates the nonprofit event on a volunteer basis, had to take care of his ill wife in 2002, he stepped away from his real estate business.

In 2004, as he was trying to re-enter the industry, he said he couldn’t afford to spend the necessary six months driving around the state researching the nominees. There were no 2005 awards.

When he was approached to coordinate this year’s event, he agreed on one condition: He wanted to stay close to home.

He did – this year’s event is March 11 at The Tower Club, 901 E. St. Louis St. U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt, R-MO, is master of ceremonies, and 300 attendees are expected. Any proceeds go to American Heart Association.

Slavens said the event isn’t politically driven, but it’s fairly common for politicians to be featured speakers. Choosing Blunt this year was simply out of fairness: “I had been using Democrats,” he said, “so I decided I better go with a Republican.”

Nominees are in the business, civic or arts industries, though Slavens said many fall under multiple headings.

Other members of the community recognize the impact of the honorees; former honoree John Q. Hammons is sponsoring a table for $1,500 in honor of the late Woodruff, whom Slavens calls “the Hammons of his time.”

Appleby said he was honored by his selection for the Missourian Award – and slightly taken aback.

“I’m very appreciative and flattered by the award,” said Appleby, a 30-year attorney who was born in Springfield and raised in Ozark. “I don’t really know what to say – and I’m seldom at a loss for words.”

In addition to his professional work, he also served in active-duty military with the Army’s 82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne and First Cavalry divisions, including two tours in Vietnam and service in the first Gulf War.

Fellow honoree Foster, founder and president of assisted-living facility developer Foster Hospitality Group, also was short on words.

“I think it’s wonderful – just a tremendous honor,” he said.

That humility from award recipients is something Slavens said he’s seen before.

“I’ve had some people who wouldn’t accept the award because they didn’t want to be noticed,” he said. “I’ve had billionaires say they’d rather not get the award because they’d just as soon stay in the (background).”

And for those around the state wondering when they’ll get a chance, don’t worry – Slavens said the 2007 awards will be in Jefferson City and be more of a statewide event, as has been the case in previous years.

2006 Missourian Award

When: 5:30 p.m., March 11

Where: The Tower Club

Emcee: Congressman Roy Blunt

Ticket info: A limited number of tickets are available to the public for $100 each, by calling the St. Louis office of the American Heart Association at (314) 692-5620.

2006 Missourian Award Recipients

Jim Anderson – Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce president; Chamber of Commerce Executives of Missouri past president; United Way of the Ozarks past chairman; Urban Districts Alliance former board member

David Appleby – attorney; fifth-generation public servant; member of U.S. Army Special Forces units in Vietnam and the Persian Gulf, from which he retired as a colonel

Bill Foster – owner, administrator, operator and developer of health care and other real estate properties since 1955; president and majority owner of Foster Hospitality Group, which develops and operates assisted living facilities in the Midwest

Carol Jones – in Springfield real estate since 1967, establishing her own company in 1983, which now has 450 agents and 12 offices; past board member for The Kitchen and Springfield Public Schools Foundation

Eugene Martin Jr.* – helped build E.A. Martin Co. with his father; served as board president for Community Foundation of the Ozarks; member of Springfield Board of Education; 1965 Springfieldian

Mary Kay Meek – served on boards for Council of Churches of the Ozarks, St. John’s Regional Health System, Ozarks Public Television and Leadership Springfield; 1992 Springfieldian; 2000 SBJ Influential Women in Business honoree

Kenneth Meyer – founder and CEO of Meyer Communications, which runs five area radio stations; provided funds for Jane A. and Kenneth E. Meyer Center for Rehabilitation and Wellness at CoxHealth and the Missouri State University Jane A. Meyer Carillon

Norman Myers – founding president of Ozarks Technical Community College; member of boards for United Way of the Ozarks, Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Make-A-Wish Foundation

Patti Penny – Penmac Personnel Services founder and president; member of Missouri State Unemployment Council and Associated Industries of Missouri

Robert Roundtree Sr. – served in the public power industry for 55 years, including 20 years as CEO of City Utilities of Springfield

Clarence Wheeler* – creator of Consumers Warehouse Market, at one time a 38-store chain; donated to The Kitchen, Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, Southwest Baptist University and the Good Samaritan Boys Ranch

John T. Woodruff* – early 20th century Springfield real estate developer who built Springfield’s first fire-proof hotel (Colonial Hotel), first skyscraper (Woodruff Building) and first golf course (Hickory Hills)

*Honored posthumously

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