Class of 2007

Oscar Seitz
(Pioneer Award, 1858-1925)

Oscar Seitz was a seller of medicines, general drugs, paints, oils, window glass, varnishes and druggists' sundries. At the time of his death he was said to be one of the wealthiest men in Salina.  He was born on October 17, 1838, in Kassell, Hesse, Germany, into a family of Seitzes who had been apothecaries for generations. He learned his trade as a lad of 14 from his father before he headed to America to make his fortune. Seitz was 18 when he arrived in New York City and began journeying west, supporting himself as a drugstore clerk in various cities. By 1860, on the eve of the Civil War, Seitz had landed in St. Louis, where he and another man opened their own drugstore.

The partnership was short lived, however, for when the call came for Union soldiers, 22 year old Oscar Seitz enlisted in Capt. James Buell's Light Artillery, later working as a hospital steward.  In 1863 when he was mustered out of service at Paducah, Kentucky, he drifted to Columbus, Ohio, and again found work as a druggist.  History does not reveal how or why he left Ohio for Kansas, but a year later Oscar Seitz was selling cold drinks along a busy street in Leavenworth.  He had opened a refreshment stand in order to raise the cash for a drug store business of his own. 

Once he had accumulated the start up money, he loaded his possessions into an ox cart and headed west again, intending to locate a business in Junction City.  But upon arriving he found the building he was to occupy had been sold.  While he was standing in the street arguing the matter, a stranger approached and told him of a little town about fifty miles west that could benefit from a drug and medicine business.

It was in the fall of 1866 that Oscar Seitz and the ox cart rolled into Salina, and he set up business in a small frame building on South Santa Fe with a man named Eckersdorf.  After a few months he bought out his partner’s interest and moved to a second location at 107 North Santa Fe. 

Sometime after the 1871 Christmas fire, he erected a two-story brick building on North Santa Fe Avenue and called it the Eagle Drug Store, where he dispensed drugs and medicines until May 1888.  Because his eyes had begun to fail, Seitz disposed of all but a small interest of his stock.  About ten years later the business again became the possession of the Seitz family, and the oldest son Charles took charge. Except for a short interval, Charles Seitz continued the operation of the Seitz Eagle Drug Store at 102 North Santa Fe until his retirement in 1946.

From an early day Oscar Seitz became identified with the business interests of the town and beyond. In 1872, Seitz joined with three other Salina men to organize the town of McPherson.  He was the originator of the venture as well as the principal stockholder.

In Salina he gave of his time and money for the benefit of the community. In the 1880s, Seitz served as president of both the Salina Normal School and the Salina Streetcar Company.  He was a member of the first Salina Public Library board and as such was authorized in 1902 to contact Andrew Carnegie about funds for a new library building. Carnegie responded with an offer of $15,000.  As a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, Seitz was instrumental in bringing the Scottish Rite bodies to Salina.    

In 1869, he brought his childhood sweetheart, Johanna S. Wulp, to Staten Island where they were married before returning to his home in Salina. The couple had eight children, two of whom died very young. Those who grew to adulthood were; Charles, who continued in the drugstore business;  Theodore, who owned a real estate/insurance business; Nellie; Henry, a druggist in Junction City; Jenny; and George O.P. who owned the Seitz Shoe Store.

Oscar Seitz died on July 8, 1906.

William Exline
(Historic Award, 1926-1975)

William “Bill” Exline was born Dec. 12, 1906 in Kipp, Kansas. He spent his early years in Kipp enjoying the type of life rural living can offer a growing boy.  After graduating from Kipp Consolidated High School in May, 1926, he studied at Kansas State Agriculture College (KSU) and Wesleyan University of Salina, KS. In 1932 he completed his work in a Mechanical Engineering degree by correspondence from the University of Illinois.

In completion of his schooling, Bill had ideas of his own and decided his father’s tractor repair business did not offer the opportunities he had envisioned for himself.  Being an ambitious young man, he had aspirations to become a sales engineer for an engine manufacturer, so he took a job in the east with De Lavergne Diesel Engine Company.  Due to the great depression and salaries not being very good, his employment there was short lived, after six months he decided to return to Kipp and settle down with the hopes of some day becoming the third family generation to take over the operations of the “Exline Tractor Company”. Bill married Inez Lorenz in 1930 and they had three sons, Robert, Jerry, and Douglas who all eventually became a part of the fourth generation to carry on the great tradition of the Exline family business.

The early 1930’s, large pipelines carrying natural gas across the nation began to spring up and Bill, seeing the future of the gas industry, changed the company name to “Exline Diesel Engine Works” and quickly moved into the repair and servicing of these engines.  The natural gas engines were similar to the engines used in oil and gas production and municipal electric power plants, creating additional opportunities for Exline to be a leader in those industries. 

The year of 1943 was a turning point in the Exline business, in February an explosion and fire destroyed over a third of the facilities.  The company had almost rebuilt their facility when in mid June a tornado hit the town of Kipp seriously damaging the community and the Exline facilities.  The employees of Exline, lead by Bill, salvaged what they could and moved the business to East Country Club Road in Salina, KS, the present location of Exline, Inc. Under his leadership he saw Exline, Inc. grow into an organization of international scope. He worked diligently at developing techniques and equipment which improve the operation, maintenance, safety, and service-ability of internal combustion engines and compressors. Bill also pioneered many processes to enhance the operation and bring about substantial savings in the operation of large bore internal combustion engines. He had several patents and authored many technical papers. He ultimately became the Past President and Chairman of The Board of Directors of Exline, Inc.

Bill Exline eagerly involved himself in civil activities as well. At age 15 he joined the Demolay Lodge for boys in the Masonic Lodge, moving onto to becoming a member of the Masonic Lodge.  In his numerous years in the Masonic Order he served in various roles rising to the Potentate of the Isis Temple in Salina and served on the Wills and Gifts Committee of the Shriners Crippled Children Hospitals.

He was also active in the promotion of Boy Scouts of America serving on the Scout Council, he was a member and Trustee of the First Presbyterian Church, served on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for two terms, Salina Country Club Board of Directors. He was President of the Board of St. John’s Military Academy, Kansas Technical Institute (KTI), and the Salina Clinic Commission. He was a member of the Downtown Lions Club, the Salina Rotary Club, and YMCA. He was also actively involved in annual United Way campaigns. He was President and Chairman of the board of the Bank of Hawaii in Honolulu. In addition he was on the Board of Directors of Molokai Electric Company, Ltd. in Hawaii. 

Bill was a Professional Engineer and became a Consulting Engineer; he was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, named a “Fellow” and was honored with a lifetime membership. Bill received the Distinguished Service Award in Engineering in 1971 from Kansas State University. In addition, the KSU College of Engineering named their student center after him.  He also received honors from KSU and the University of Nebraska for his contributions to student engineering activities and programs.

William Exline’s philosophy was “...if a man lived a good life and did whatever he could for his neighbor, his community, and his country, then he would be rewarded here on earth and be forever remembered.” His dedication to a demanding profession and vigorous acceptance of all the challenges and joys of life are a source of inspiration for all who knew him.

Bill and his wife, Inez, were generous benefactors of virtually all of the capital campaigns and sustaining drives for Salina charitable organizations, church, higher education, and medical care.

William C. Exline passed away in 1978.

Ralph Reitz
(Historic Award, 1926-1975)

Ralph E. Reitz was born May 1, 1918 in Shady Bend, Kansas.  The youngest of four children of August and Louise Reitz, he grew up on the family farm in Lincoln County, Kansas, where he acquired his interest in agriculture which he maintained throughout his life.    

After graduating in 1940 with a degree in business administration and accounting from Kansas State University he married Lucille E. Mollhagen of Lorraine, Kansas in 1942.  They moved to Salina where he joined the accounting practice of Kennedy & Coe on January 1, 1942 as staff accountant.  From 1943 to 1946, Ralph served in the U.S. Air Force in Tampa, Florida.  Following his tour of duty he returned to Kennedy & Coe. Ralph and Lucille raised three sons, Ralph K, Kenneth, and Sidney.

Ralph’s accounting career began when he received CPA certificate number 230 from the state of Kansas and spanned six decades.  He served as managing partner of Kennedy & Coe from 1963 to 1975 and as senior partner from 1963 until his retirement in 1982.  Service to his profession was important to Ralph. He served on the Board of Directors and as president of the Kansas Society of Certified Public Accountants. He received the first Kansas Society Public Service Award of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in 1986.  Senator Dole wrote of Ralph’s professional work, “My recent experiences dealing with Ralph in connection with formulation of the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 have reaffirmed my belief that he has both a keen, analytical mind and a broad comprehensive understanding of the problems faced by Congress.”

Throughout his life Ralph was committed to numerous charitable and community activities.  He was past president and member of the board of directors of the Downtown Lions Club, YMCA, and Salina United Way; chairman of the board of directors of the Bicentennial Operating Authority; past director of the Kansas Association of Commerce and Industry; and past director and vice president of the Salina Chamber of Commerce.

As an active community leader, Ralph chaired and co-chaired many successful fund-raising efforts bringing tangible growth to service organizations in Salina. Included in these were the YMCA and Presbyterian Manor building projects, the Bicentennial development project, and a drive to enable Kansas Wesleyan to negotiate forgiveness of a federal loan on Peters Science Hall.

He served as trustee for the Dane G. Hansen Charitable Foundation, St. John’s Military School, the Kansas Masonic Foundation, and First Christian Church.  At the state level, Ralph was a member of the legislature’s Joint Technical Advisory Committee on taxation.  In 1975 he was appointed to the Kansas State Highway Advisory Commission.  He was a member of Kansas State’s School of Business advisory board and on the board of directors of Kansas Technical Institute at Salina. 

Ralph received the 33^rd Honorary Degree of Scottish Rite Masonry and numerous Distinguished Service Awards from institutions including Kansas State University, Marymount College, Kansas Wesleyan University, and the Beta Alpha Psi Fraternity at Kansas State University.  Ralph received an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Kansas Wesleyan University in 1985. In 1992 he was awarded the Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser Award from the National Society of Fund Raising Executives Wichita Chapter. 

In 1993 Ralph was named the Kansas State College of Business Administration’s Alumni Fellow.  Speaking of Ralph, Kansas State University Dean Dan Short said, “The notion of customer service is fashionable today, but Ralph was working 80 hours a week long before it was fashionable, and would be in the office on Saturday nights to meet a customer’s needs.  It’s terribly important for young people to see previous generations succeed, and he established a link between generations by coming back to talk to students.”  Every spring the College of Business Administration awards the Ralph E. Reitz Award for Teaching Excellence to an instructor of the students’ choice.

Ralph passed away on April 3, 1994 at the age of 75.  In his obituary it was said, “People like Ralph are the builders of the community.  Ralph’s great desire was to help the whole community flourish.  All of the charitable organizations of Salina were close to Ralph’s heart.”  Family and friends honored his legacy with the dedication of the Ralph E. Reitz Memorial Park at the Salina Presbyterian Manor. 

Murray Wilson
(Historic Award, 1926-1975)

Murray Wilson and Bob Paulette founded Paulette & Wilson, a consulting engineering firm, in 1932 in Salina.  The firm, now Wilson & Company, Inc., Engineers & Architects, has grown to include more than 450 staff members, with offices in nine states, providing professional services in all major engineering disciplines, architecture, surveying and mapping.  

Murray A. Wilson was born in Palmyra, Iowa in 1894.  He grew up in Lyons, Kansas and graduated from Baker University in Baldwin.  He became a teacher and high school principal in Oswego.  World War I interrupted his education career.  He served as a first sergeant with the 152^nd Aero Squadron and returned to teach mathematics in Neodesha.  He soon decided on a career change, to engineering, and earned a degree in civil engineering at Kansas State in 1922.  

Mr. Wilson and Edith Coffman were married in 1919 and had two daughters, Mary Helen (Mrs. Donald Hayman) and Dorothy (Mrs. Merrill Werts).  Each daughter had four children. 

Mr. Wilson became City Engineer at Hays for two years, Research Engineer for the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads for two more years, and then was Chief Engineer for the Kansas Forestry, Fish & Game Commission for six years.  1932, early in the depression, found Mr. Wilson and friend Bob Paulette, Salina’s city engineer, out of a job.  The two started their consulting engineering practice in Paulette’s Salina home.  They developed a municipal engineering practice, designing streets and drainage systems, water and sewer systems for Kansas communities.  Their work during the depression included many WPA-type federal grant projects, to build lakes and dams, swimming pools, parks, streets and utilities. 

Thirty-eight days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Mr. Wilson and 20 engineers and technicians stepped off the train in Pueblo, Colorado with a contract to design a huge ordnance depot.  Project cost was estimated at $17 million.  Design was to be completed in 60 days, and construction in six months. Wilson & Company’s project staff quickly grew to 125.  

After the war, Wilson returned to Salina with just a few employees, from the hundreds employed during the war.  They rebuilt a growing engineering practice, with some military contracts and a large waterfowl area development at Cheyenne Bottoms.  

The 1950’s started off with another war, and Mr. Wilson again responded with quick development of an engineering staff, this time in Wichita, to support rapid expansion of McConnell Air Force Base and Boeing Plant Facilities.  At the same time, other Wilson & Company teams were working in Wichita on the Kansas Turnpike project.  

In the late 1950’s defense work shifted to missile silos and SAC bases, including Schilling Air Force Base in Salina.  The company also started design work on the new Interstate highway system.  Wilson retired in 1959, transferring ownership to Nathan Butcher and Bruce Roberts; but he stayed involved with many clients until his death in 1969.  

Mr. Wilson was a recognized leader in consulting engineering.  He was president of the Kansas Engineering Society, and received its Outstanding Engineer Award. He was president of the Kansas Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and president of Kansas Consulting Engineers.  He was elected president of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the nation’s largest engineering society.  He also was named “Engineer-of-the-Year” by that society, the profession’s highest national award.  

Always a supporter of education, he received a distinguished service award from Baker University, a distinguished service award and an honorary degree of doctor of science from Kansas State University, and an honorary degree of doctor of humane letters from Kansas Wesleyan University.  Wilson Hall at Kansas Wesleyan, where he served as a trustee for many years, was named in his honor.  Murray Wilson Conference Room, in the Department of Civil Engineering at K-State, bears his name because of his support of his alma mater, the Murray Wilson Engineering Scholarship Fund, and for helping furnish the department’s conference room and library.  

Mr. Wilson was respected and emulated by his employees and associates, who carried on with further accomplishments such as designing highways in Saudi Arabia, railroads in Mexico and Panama, and establishing offices in nine states.  The firm has been a consultant on many projects in Salina both past and present.

Lee Young
(Contemporary Award, 1976-present)

Lee Young was born in Salina on April 3, 1950.  He attended public schools in Salina and graduated from Salina High in 1968.  He received his B.A. degree in Business Administration from Wichita State University.  

While attending Wichita State he married Chris Peterson, a Salina girl.  Lee and Chris have two children, Travis and Erica.  Travis is the Director for International Sales and Marketing for Salina Vortex and represents the third generation in the business.  

Lee grew up inventing things.  He swears he invented the popular ‘hot wheels” tricycle back in the late 1950’s when he took apart a traditional tricycle and turned it upside down and put a pillow on the inverted frame for a seat.  His innovations continue today with three patents and two pending on Vortex products.  

Lee couldn’t visualize the future of Salina Vortex when he and his father-in-law, Neil Peterson, walked into an empty 5,000 square foot building in the Salina Airport Authority area in 1978 with only a concept of a product in mind for handling dry bulk materials.  After over a year of research and development that product concept failed.  Desperate and out of money they decided to market a gate valve they had designed for handling dry materials in their test system.  They called it an Orifice Gate.  The design was later patented and became the design concept for many more products.  After selling and building the first 50 valves Lee had to leave the company for financial reasons promising to come back.  Ten years later, in 1989, Lee returned to the business as its ninth employee and General Manager.     

In the 1990’s Salina Vortex established itself as the “standard of the industry” for gate valves and diverters valves for handling dry bulk materials.  Products handled range from plastics, minerals, chemicals, fibers and food stuffs. Rapid growth has required multiple expansions over the years culminating in a new 124,000 square foot facility at 1725 Vortex Ave.  The company utilizes advanced manufacturing equipment with computerized machine tools, laser and computerized product engineering.  Today the company produces 17 different products lines for distribution in the USA and 40 different countries.  The company has offices in Canada, Columbia, Mexico, UK, and China, serviced by over 250 independent representatives world wide.  Salina Vortex employs 125 people in Salina,  Kansas. 

Officially “retired” as CEO December 31, 2006 Lee still sets the direction for the company as its chairman and assists in product development and application engineering.

The Vortex team has been the winner of two Innovation in Power/Bulk Technology Awards, Kansas Society of professional Engineers’ Governor’s New Product Award, a two time winner of Chemical Processing Vaalar Award and numerous Reader’s Choice Awards and Breakthrough Product of the Year Awards in the chemical and processing industry.  In 1997 Vortex was recognized as a finalists for Kansas Exporter of the Year and in 1999 Lee received Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the year award in manufacturing.  The company has been twice recognized by the Kansas Department of Commerce with their Business Achievement Award.    

Lee is active in other Salina businesses involving, cement recycling, electronic measuring for collision repair and consumer foot function products.  Lee maintains an active management role in Diamondhead Resort Community and Riviera Utilities, a gated community and water sewer utility, near Hot Springs Arkansas. 

Lee has served on the Board of Directors for the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, Dean’s Advisory Board for Kansas State at Salina, Salina Tech Advisory Task Force and currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Salina Regional Health Center, Board of Trustees for St. John’s Military School, Board of Directors of UNB/NBA Bank and is an active member of AMBUCS. 

Lee’s family has been part of the Salina community for over 100 years.