Ozarks Technical 
Community College

Hamra practices law in Springfield, and serves as Chairman and CEO of Hamra Enterprises, which owns and operates 75 restaurants through Wendy's of Missouri, Chicago Bread, LLC, and Boston Bread, LLC. He also operates businesses through SJH Inns, LP, and Jade Properties, LLC.  He has served as a member and President of the Board of Directors of Cox Health Systems, Charter President of the Springfield Southeast Rotary Club, member of the Board of Directors of the Smith-Glynn-Callaway Medical Foundation, and member of the Board of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.  He is an Emeritus member of the Board of Directors of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., and is a current Board member for the OTC Foundation and the Harry S. Truman Library Institute in Independence, Mo.

In 1983, Jones founded Carol Jones Realtors, and soon developed the company into a respected market leader offering more than 400 agents. Jones retired in late 2008, but still holds an active real estate license and serves as a consultant to the company. Over the years, Jones has served as a board member for a variety of organizations in the area, including Union Planters Bank (now Hawthorn Bank), Drury University's Breech School of Business, the Burrell Mental Health Center Foundation, the Kitchen, Inc., the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Springfield Girl's Club. She has also served as chairman of the Missouri Housing Development Commission, is a past president of the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors, and is a founding board member for the OTC Foundation. Additionally, she donated the two buildings that make up the Family Violence Center in Springfield, and provided significant funding for the Carol Jones Recovery Center for Women, a drug and alcohol treatment center. Among other honors, Jones has been named Broker/Realtor of the Year by the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors, the Missourian of the Year, and the Philanthropist of the Year, and has been awarded a position in the Greater Ozarks Business Hall of Fame.

Currently Chairman of the Board at Great Southern Bank, Turner served as the company's president and CEO for more than twenty years. Under his leadership, Great Southern Bank grew from a small savings and loan in 1974 to the financial service institution it is today. Headquartered in Springfield, the company operates 39 banking centers in 16 counties, as well as loan production offices in St. Louis and Columbia, Mo., Overland Park, Kan., and Rogers, Ark. Turner has served in leadership for a variety of community organizations, including the Springfield School Board, Cox Health Systems, the American Cancer Society in Greene County, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks, Boy Scouts of America, and the OTC Foundation. Additionally, the Turner Family Foundation has significantly contributed to a variety of charitable organizations and causes since it was founded in 1997.

Founder of SRC Holdings Corporation, a company now comprised of more than 35 separate businesses, Stack has been an industry leader in Springfield since the early 1980s. Stack is a national and world judge for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Institute, and has served as an advisor for the group since 1998. INC. Magazine has called him the "smartest strategist in America" and named him one of twenty-five entrepreneurs selected to represent the 25 years INC. has been published. The magazine also dubbed him "The Father of Open-Book Management," a business practice of sharing financial and decision-making duties among all employees. Stack was also listed among the "top 10 minds in small business" in Fortune Small Business Magazine. He has written two successful books, "The Great Game of Business" and "A Stake in the Outcome," and regularly lectures throughout the country.

O'Reilly Auto Parts opened its first store in Springfield in 1957, when Charles F. O'Reilly and his son, Charles H. (Chub) O'Reilly, left Link Motor Supply to open their own business. The company has since grown to 3,657 stores and 23 distribution centers in 39 states (as of 2010). Throughout this time the underlying spirit and philosophy of O'Reilly Automotive, Inc., has been one of growth and progress, both for the company and its team members. The family remains actively involved in the leadership of the company: David O'Reilly serves as chairman of the O'Reilly Auto Parts Board of Directors, Charles H. (Charlie) O'Reilly, Jr., and Larry O'Reilly serve as vice chairmen, and Rosalie O'Reilly Wooten serves as a director. Together, the O'Reilly Family Foundation and the Tal and Rosalie Wooten Family Foundation support nearly 40 area organizations, including the Boys and & Girls Club of Springfield, Boys & Girls Town of Missouri, the Community Partnership of the Ozarks, the Developmental Center of the Ozarks, Ozarks Food Harvest, Ozarks Greenways, the Springfield Regional Arts Council, Springfield Public Schools, and The Kitchen Foundation.

The first-ever recipient of the Excellence in Business Award, Hammons is considered one of the nation's premier developers of upscale luxury hotels and resorts. With over 50 years of experience in the hotel industry, John Q. Hammons has built and developed nearly 200 hotels, including Marriott brands, Hilton brands, and independent hotels such as the University Plaza properties and the award-winning Chateau on the Lake Resort and Conference Center in Branson. Throughout his career, Hammons has been committed to improving the community, providing funding for a variety of endeavors including the Hammons Heart Institute and Hammons Life Line helicopter for St. John's Regional Health Center (now Mercy Springfield); the Hammons Student Center, Juanita K. Hammons Hall for Performing Arts and the JQH Arena at Missouri State University; and the Hammons School of Architecture at Drury University. Since 1993, he has dedicated a portion of funds to provide more than 700,000 copies of "USA Today" to schools and teachers through the publication's "Newspapers in Education" program, with the goal of inspiring student education of current events. In 2003, the program honored Hammons with an appreciation award for his ongoing commitment to Springfield, MO-area school students. In 2007, Hammons was the Recipient of the Americas Lodging Investment Summit Lifetime Achievement Award.