University of Arkansas Walton College Announces 2009 Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Inductees

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Arkansas Business Hall of Fame celebrates its 11^th year with the induction of four exceptional Arkansas business leaders. Since its founding in 1999, 42 individuals have been honored for their accomplishments and lasting impact on the state.

The Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas and the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame Board have announced these outstanding leaders for the 2009 induction ceremony:

• Chesley Pruet, founder, Pruet Drilling Co., El Dorado, Ark.
• Raymond Rebsamen, founder, Rebsamen Insurance Co. Inc., Little Rock, Ark.
• Willis Shaw, founder, Willis Shaw Express Inc., Elm Springs, Ark.
• Jim Earl Yates, founder, E-Z Mart Stores Inc., Texarkana, Texas

“We are excited that it is our 11^th year to showcase the significant contributions of Arkansas business leaders,” said Walton College Dean Dan L. Worrell. “The Arkansas economy has been blessed with a tremendous base of business talent. We believe it is vital to the state and its future business leaders to honor and perpetuate these inductees’ names and accomplishments.”

The Arkansas Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held Friday, Feb. 13, 2009, at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock. The Arkansas Business Hall of Fame is permanently housed in the atrium of the Donald W. Reynolds Center for Enterprise Development at the Walton College on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville.

The selection process was chaired by Walton College alumnus Larry Wilson, chairman and chief executive officer of First Arkansas Bank & Trust, Jacksonville, Ark. A nominating committee of 25 business leaders encouraged people throughout the state and beyond to make nominations, and then a selection committee of 12 business and community leaders reviewed the nominations and chose the inductees. Criteria for selection included: the significance of the impact made as a business leader, the concern demonstrated for improving the community and the display of ethics in all business dealings. In addition, the inductee must be over the age of 60.

Chesley Pruet founded his successful oil exploration and production company in 1946. He was also president and chief executive officer of Pruet-Ram-Co in Williston, N.D.; managing partner of Pruet Oil Co. and Pruet Limited in Jackson, Miss.; and vice-president and director of Pruet Production Co. in Jackson, Miss. In 1983, Pruet was appointed by the secretary of energy to the National Petroleum Council, where he served until his death in 2001. He was a member of the All-American Wildcatters Association and served as chair in 1993 and 1994. He served as a director on the Razorback Foundation, the chairman of the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts – John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and on the leadership advisory council for Ouachita Baptist University. Pruet was recognized by the Boy Scouts of America and served as a national trustee of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He operated the 15,000-acre Pruet Ranch near Texarkana. A native of Putnam, Texas, Pruet attended North Texas Agricultural College, Arlington, Texas, and Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas.

University of Arkansas alumnus Raymond Rebsamen opened Rebsamen Insurance in 1928 with only 15 employees. The company grew to more than 200 employees and became Arkansas’ largest independent broker. In 2001, it was purchased by Regions Financial Corp. and ranks among the 50 largest U.S. brokers. Rebsamen also founded Rebsamen Ford and numerous other companies. He donated 80 acres of land, now the site of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He also helped to raise funds to purchase the land for the Little Rock Air Force Base. Rebsamen was an active Little Rock community leader. He donated several animals, including two elephants, to the Little Rock Zoo, and he made contributions for a public golf course and a tennis center. In 1971, Rebsamen gave the Walton College $100,000 to start a stock portfolio management class, which is now worth more than $1 million. The University of Arkansas awarded him a Distinguished Alumnus Citation in 1960 and an honorary Doctorate of Laws in 1974. Rebsamen died in 1975.

Willis Shaw, a pioneer in the transportation of frozen and refrigerated food items, founded Willis Shaw Express in 1938. In the 1970s, Shaw merged the firm with the Del Monte Corp. A decade later, he was one of the organizers of Shaw Investors, which re-purchased Willis Shaw Express. The Shaw family later successfully sold the company a second time, merging it into Comcar Industries Inc. Shaw founded the Willis Shaw Scholarship Fund in 1963, from which more than 100 students have benefited, many of whom have attended the University of Arkansas. Shaw served 12 years on the U.S. Department of Transportation unit of the National Defense Executive Reserve as regional coordinator for Arkansas. Shaw is a well respected member of the community and was honored by the naming of the Willis Shaw Elementary School in Springdale, Ark. He served on the boards of the Springdale Schools for 10 years, the Northwest Medical Center for 30 years, the First National Bank of Springdale for 34 years and was on the founding board for the development and construction of Beaver Dam. A native of Custer City, Okla., Shaw attended a business college in Sweetwater, Texas.

Jim Earl Yates began his grocery career at the age of 13 by carrying bags at a local supermarket. Yates continued working for a national supermarket chain in high school and quickly advanced to manager. Convenience stores were popular in large cities. Yates and his wife FaEllen believed that such stores would thrive in small towns and opened a 7-Eleven store in Ashdown, Ark., in 1967. A few years later, Yates opened the first E-Z Mart in Nashville, Ark. E-Z Mart Stores Inc. is now one of the largest privately held convenience store chains in the nation with more than 300 stores in five states: Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma. He served as chairman of the National Association of Convenience Stores in 1993 and received the National Grocers Association Spirit of America Award in 1992. He was chairman of the Wadley Regional Medical Center and the Perot Theatre in Texarkana and served on the State Aviation Aerospace Commission. In 1998, Yates died at the age of 57 in an airplane crash.

 Wilson said: “We are very excited about this year’s inductees. They join 42 other Arkansas business leaders in a place of prominence. Each of these remarkable people has made major contributions to the state of Arkansas and beyond to the nation and the world.”

A list of previous inductees in the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame is available at http://waltoncollege.uark.edu/halloffame/honorees.asp.

Tickets to the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame, a black-tie optional event, are $150 per person. For more information about tickets and event sponsorships, please contact the office of external relations at the Sam M. Walton College of Business, Business Building 117, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201, 479-575-6146, by e-mail at abhf@walton.uark.edu, or on the Web at http://waltoncollege.uark.edu/halloffame/