Calum McNeil was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. McNeil studied in the U.S. at Labette Community College and was a proud member of the wrestling team. After obtaining his Associates Degree, McNeil went on to obtain his Bachelor’s degree. McNeil began working as a Senior Staff Accountant for Ernst & Young in Hamilton, Canada after graduation. Other career history includes; Manger, Financial Control for Commcorp Financial Services, Audit Manager for Ernst & Young, Head of Corporate Financial Reporting for Investcorp Bank, Vice President, Head of Financial Management for Gulf International Bank, and most recently, Financial Controller for Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (“ADIA”), the world’s largest Sovereign Wealth Fund.

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Roberta (Adams) Hoffman was a 1960 graduate of Labette Community College. She received her Associate of Art degree. She then went on to receive her Bachelor of Science from Texas Women’s University in 1963 and Master of Art degree from New York University in 1976. Hoffman was interested in dance from a very early age. She began her studies with Nell Ferguson in Parsons at the age of 10. By 16, she was teaching ballet, tap dance, and acrobatics once a week at the VFW hall in Oswego. In high school,she was a drum majorette, performed fire baton twirling and acrobatics, and led the annual parade doing cartwheels down Main Street in Parsons.

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Chuck Tredway was born in Parsons in 1947. He attended Parsons High School and Parsons Junior College. He then went on to obtain his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Pittsburg State University in 1970. Tredway’s first job was with Beneficial Finance in Topeka, KS. In 1972 he became the District Manager for FW Woolworth of Enid, OK. When GE Capital acquired FW Woolworth credit operations, he became part of Sales and Operations Management. In 1986, Tredway began working for Marine Midland Bank, in Buffalo, NY, where he was a Department Executive. He created and served on the Board of Directors, and managed automobile captive finance companies for Mazda, Porsche, Jaguar, Subaru, and Saab. Tredway then went on to become the Executive Vice President and Board of Directors member for Mitsubishi Motors Credit of America, Inc. in 1991. He was awarded the Top American Executive for the 400 person $11 billion company. He was also the Executive committee member for the North American holding company that managed vehicle imports from Japan, manufacturing operations in the U.S., vehicle distribution in the U.S. and Canada, and dealer and consumer finance operations in the U.S. and Canada.

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James McKinney was born and raised in Southeast Kansas. In 1950, his family moved to Parsons where he attended Parsons Schools and Parsons Junior College. McKinney then moved to Wichita to attend Wichita State University where he majored in voice and opera. He completed his bachelor and master’s degrees at Wichita State University. McKinney continued his studies with post graduate work at Southern Methodist University, College of Lynchburg, Drake University and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. He obtained his PhD from Sorbonne.

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Chuck Puckett, of Tustin, CA, moved to Parsons at the age of 5 in 1948. Puckett graduated from Parsons High School in 1961. He then went on to graduate from Parsons Junior College with an Associate in Art Degree in 1963 and then a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Pittsburg State University in 1965. Puckett married Donna Henry, also of Parsons, in August 1965.

Puckett spent three years with the John Deere Company in their Management Training Program from 1965 to 1968. He left Deere and went to work with Hunt-Wesson Foods Foodservice Division in 1968 and retired in 2000 after spending 32 years with the company. Click here for full press release

 

Joe Smith, of Erie, KS, graduated from St. Paul High School in 1969. He then went on to receive his Associate Degree in Liberal Arts from Labette Community College in 1971. After LCC, Smith went on to earn a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Pittsburg State University in 1973. Smith also attended the Colorado School of Banking at the University of Colorado from 1974-1976 and the School of Agriculture at Kansas State University in 1975.

Smith began his career at the Stark State Bank in Stark, KS as an Agriculture Representative working in all areas of the operation. He received experience in lending, including consumer, commercial, and agricultural loans. He was elected Executive Vice President and a Director in 1980. Click here for full press release

 

Pat Woodrum, of Tulsa, Ok, graduated from Labette County High School in Altamont, KS. She then went on to earn an Associate’s Degree from Parsons Junior College in 1960, a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Literature from Pittsburg State Teachers College in 1963, and a Masters in Library Science from the University of Oklahoma in 1966.

After graduating from OU, Woodrum began working at the Tulsa City-County Library System. She retired after 32 years. She spent the last 20 of those as the Executive Director. As Executive Director, she managed a 14 million dollar annual operating budget, developed a 7 million dollar endowment, supervised 280 employees and 750 volunteers, worked with architects and contractors in designing and construction of 17 library facilities.
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Jim Bishop of Pittsburg, KS attended Parsons High School from 1956-1960. He then went on to Parsons Junior College where he was a 1962 graduate. Bishop obtained his Bachelors of Science in Marketing from Pittsburg State University in 1965. From 1965-1970, Bishop was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force. He is a private instructor and commercial licensed pilot.  

Since graduating from the Realtors Institute, Bishop has been a sales associate, broker, and owner for Crawford County Realty and is presently a broker for and the owner of Coldwell Banker, Jim Bishop & Associates. He is a certified Residential Specialist and a Certified Residential Broker. Click here for full press release

Dr. Wanda Maxson-Ladage has been a lifetime resident of Labette County where she was the youngest of the six Maxson children. She grew up and attended Hawkins rural school, Edna Grade School and graduated from Edna High School in 1947. She was employed as a bookkeeper at Maxson Commission Co. at Parsons Stockyards and was soon married and had four daughters, Penny, Paula, Kim and Mona. Between 1947-1968, it was housework, instant hired man and raising children, which she enjoyed. However, in the late 60’s family life changed. She needed an education. Click here for full press release

Skip Smith grew up in Parsons, KS. He attended Fredrick Douglass School and after graduating from Parsons High School, Smith joined the Navy to see the world. In 1972 Smith obtained his Associate of Art Degree from Labette Community College. He then went on to Pittsburg State University where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 1974 and his Master of Science Degree in Graphic Illustration in 1975. 

He then spent several years traveling from city to city and eventually settled in Atlanta, GA. In the 1980s, Smith emerged as a professional artist. His versatile and exuberant graphite depictions of the African-American genre and his paintings captured the imagination of many across the nation. Click here for full press release