Sam Hamra to receive Excellence in Business Award from Ozarks Technical Community College

Springfield business owner and attorney Sam Hamra will be the recipient of Ozarks Technical Community College’s annual Excellence in Business Award, to be presented Thursday, June 24.  The award ceremony will be held from 7:30 – 9 a.m. at the Tower Club, 901 St. Louis Street, Springfield.

The event will include “A Conversation with Sam Hamra,” led by Jim Anderson, president of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.  Reservations are $25; contact Kristin Farish at (417) 447-2654 to reserve your seat.  Past recipients of the award include John Q. Hammons, members of the O’Reilly family, SRC’s Jack Stack, Great Southern’s Bill Turner, and real estate icon Carol Jones.

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 for the Harry S. Truman Library Institute in Independence, Mo.

Recipients are selected based on the following criteria: leader of an Ozarks regional business, entrepreneurial success, innovative business growth, ability to overcome challenges with integrity, supporter of educational development, customer-driven quality, and community achievement.