Kansas Business Hall of Fame announces 2007 inductees
Fran Jabara
Walter Anderson and E.W. "Billy" Ingram
The late E.W. “Billy” Ingram and the late Walter Anderson are historical inductees and Fran Jabara is a contemporary inductee making up the latest class of the Kansas Business Hall of Fame (KBHF).
The KBHF Board oversees the Hall of Fame, which is housed at Emporia State University's School of Business. These three men will be officially inducted at the 19th annual Kansas Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony June 27, 2007, during the Kansas Cavalry Encampment in Junction City, Kansas. Governor Kathleen Sebelius will be in attendance at the ceremony to recognize and honor Kansas business leaders who have added to the prestige and growth of the business community.
Ingram, a local real estate and insurance agent, and Anderson, a professional cook, founded White Castle® System, Inc., a popular hamburger chain, in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921.
In 1916, Anderson developed a unique method of preparing a hamburger sandwich by flattening a ball of ground meat and cooking it with onions on a hot griddle for a short period of time. Prior to Anderson’s method of preparation, the hamburger sandwich consisted of a thick ball of ground meat cooked slowly on a griddle for an indefinite period of time. His hamburger sandwich proved popular enough for Anderson to open three hamburger stands in Wichita between 1916 and 1920.
In March 1921, Ingram joined Anderson as a partner in the operation of a fourth location under the name White Castle®. The company incorporated in 1924 as the White Castle® System of Eating Houses.
In 1933, Walter Anderson sold his position in the business to Ingram. Today, White Castle® remains a privately held company owned by the Ingram family and operates over 380 restaurants and a number of subsidiary businesses. White Castle® Systems, Inc., is the oldest hamburger chain in the United States selling more than 500 million hamburgers a year.
A recognized national leader in entrepreneurship, Fran Jabara served as a professor at Wichita State University (WSU) for 40 years. During his tenure, he founded one of the first Centers for Entrepreneurship at WSU in 1977. This program became internationally recognized and is well known as one of the finest and most comprehensive programs of its kind in the nation.
Devoted to fostering a more conducive environment for entrepreneurs, Jabara continues to be actively involved in assisting and facilitating entrepreneurial development. He has been invited to foreign countries to discuss venturing and entrepreneurship. Jabara has also been instrumental in assisting other universities in creating academic programs in entrepreneurship including Cornell University, University of Notre Dame, and Arizona State University.
Business leaders who are selected for the Hall of Fame are widely known for their contributions to Kansas and are recognized as role models. Recognition is given to historical contributors and present day leaders who have made private enterprise work exceeding well in Kansas and throughout the country. Previous inductees include such prominent Kansans as Pizza Hut founders Dan and Frank Carney, Clara and Russell Stover of Russell Stover Candies, Don Hall of Hallmark Cards, Clyde Cessna of Cessna Aircraft Co., Walter Chrysler founder of the Chrysler Corp., and William Allen White entrepreneur and editor of the Emporia Gazette. The Kansas Business Hall of Fame is the only program of its kind in the state of Kansas and serves as a chapter of the American National Business Hall of Fame.
Last Updated July 2, 2007>