Milton Stiefel and Mel and Marge Bergkamp will make up the 2018 class of the Salina Business Hall of Fame, the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce announced Tuesday.
Stiefel, former owner of Stiefel Department Store, is the Historic Category (1926-1975) nominee. The Bergkamps, founders/owners of Bergkamp, Inc., are the Contemporary Category (1976-present) nominees.
The induction ceremony is scheduled for noon-1:30 p.m. October 31 at the Salina Country Club. Kansas Lieutenant Governor Tracey Mann is the scheduled featured speaker.
The Salina Business Hall of Fame was established by the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce in 2005. Its purpose is to recognize and honor Salina business leaders, both past and present, who have made extraordinary contributions to Salina, earned the respect of the local community and called attention to the Free Enterprise system and its value to our country and citizens in shaping Salina’s way of life.
Each inductee will be recognized with a commemorative plaque. In addition, plaques honoring each inductee will be displayed at the Chamber office, 120 W. Ash. A biography of each inductee will be printed and distributed at the luncheon.
“The Salina Business Hall of Fame offers a great opportunity to honor and recognize business people who have had a tremendous, lasting impact on the Salina community,” said Don Weiser, Chamber President and CEO. “It’s our way of saying thank you and recognizing the men and women who have helped make Salina the great community it is today.”
Past inductees include the following.
Pioneer
Henry David Lee, Alexander Campbell, Oscar Seitz and Winfield Watson, Benjamin Aaron Litowich; William R. Geis, William A. Phillips, Thomas Watson Roach, Charles R. Underwood, Frank Hageman, Heerman H. Sudendorf, and Arthur M. Claflin.
Historic
Ward A. Marshall, William Henry Graves, John J. Vanier, M.J. Kennedy, Milton Morrison, Charles W. Shaver, C. William “Bill” Exline, Murray Wilson, Ralph E. Reitz, S. Dean Evans, Sr., Whitley Austin, Ben Sellers, George L. Frisbie, Verla Nesbitt Joscelyn, Baalis Kyger Smoot, Robert J. Laubengayer, and Dan Bolen.
Contemporary
Alfred P.G. Schwan, Charlie Walker, Roy Applequist, Lee Young, Paul E. Junk, Jack Vanier, James R. Allen, Richard E. Brown, Karl Stutterheim, Mike Berkley, Charles E. Stevens, Jr., Thomas Pestinger, Sidney A. Reitz, and Timothy M. Rogers.
Tickets for the induction ceremony are $20 per person and can be purchased by calling the chamber office, 827-9301, emailing [email protected], or online by going to the chamber’s home page at www.salinakansas.org.