The Kansas Business Hall of Fame at Emporia State University has announced its latest two inductions.
To say the least, Cecil O’Brate’s current business portfolio is diverse. O’Brate started business building in the early 1950s with land purchases. Since then, the 91-year-old native of Enid, Oklahoma, purchased regional banks, owned farm equipment dealerships, now owns numerous independent oil, gas and ethanol companies and also owns real estate development companies.
O’Brate has also donated millions of dollars to nonprofit organizations including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Scouting USA and the Girl Scouts. He also donated $35 million to his alma mater, Oklahoma State University, for a new baseball stadium.
Walter Beech’s name is synonymous with aircraft. Beech made his first solo flight in 1914 before serving as an Army pilot in World War I. After the war, Beech worked at Wichita’s Swallow Airplane Corporation before developing Travel Air Manufacturing Company — which became the world’s largest commercial aircraft producer five years after it started. During the Great Depression, Beech started Beech Aircraft Company which was purchased by Raytheon in 1980 and now is a Textron brand.
The Kansas Business Hall of Fame is located inside Emporia State’s Cremer Hall. More information about the Business Hall of Fame is online at www.ksbhf.org.
