Each year, the KBHF inducts one historical business figure and one contemporary leader. 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.
Notable historical inductees 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. •
Cyrus K. Holliday (1989) •
Arthur Capper (1991) •
Fred C. Koch (1992) •
Warren A. Bechtel (1997) •
Lloyd Stearman (1999) •
Alva Lease Duckwall (2000) •
Cleyson L. "C. L." Brown (2001) •
Clara and
Russell Stover (2003) •
William Powell Lear (2004) •
William Allen White (2006) •
Fred Harvey (2008) •
Joseph G. McCoy (2011) •
Dwane Wallace (2012) •
William B. Strang (2014) •
Georgia Neese Clark Gray (2016) •
Henry David Lee (2019) •
Walter H. Beech (2020) •
Junius George Groves (2021) 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. Notably, this list also includes the founders of
Chrysler (
Walter Chrysler),
Coleman (
William Coffin Coleman), and the
Sprint Corporation (
C. L. Brown).
Contemporary inductees , an aerospace engineer and the KBHF's 2011 contemporary inductee 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. •
Olive Ann (Mellor) Beech (1989) •
Ray E. Dillon (1991) •
Harry Darby (1996) •
Charles G. Koch (1997) •
Robert J. Eaton (2005) •
Lyle E. Yost (2006) •
Roy Applequist (2010) •
Alan Mulally (2011) •
H. Lee Scott Jr. (2019) •
Carl Ice (2023) 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. == Board of directors ==