HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Four businessmen with local and international success were honored for their work during the 18th annual Marshall University College of Business Hall of Fame induction ceremony Monday evening at the Marshall Foundation Hall on campus.
Their paths span around the globe, but the four inductees were united not only by their induction into the hall, but also by their status as alumni of the university, said Norman Mosrie, president of the College of Business Advisory Board, which selects the inductees each year.
This year’s inductees were former Sourcefire Inc. CEO John C. Burris; local lawyer and downtown developer Ben W. Hale Jr.; Cabell Huntington Hospital President and CEO Brent Marsteller and Thomson Reuters President and CEO James C. Smith.
“We’re recognizing the success they’ve had in their careers,” Mosrie said. “The way I see it is that they are setting the inspiration for the future, for tomorrow. For today’s students to be able to go into Corbly Hall and see the people who have been inducted on the plaques, it gives them something to aspire toward.”
The event was a sell-out for the fifth time in its history, as more than 240 people helped raise $117,500 for the college, Mosrie said.
Just one Inductee, Smith, was able to attend the ceremony. Burris, who passed away in 2012, was represented by his family. Health issues prevented Hale and Marsteller from attending the event.
Smith said he was honored and humbled to be inducted into the hall.
“It’s an important way of keeping the university and the business community connected,” Smith said. “I would hope as well that events like this would keep more business leaders involved in the school with more practical observations and more of the lessons from the school of hard knocks back into the classroom.”
Marshall President Steven Kopp said there was one overarching theme to each inductee’s success.
“If you talk to each one of these honorees, they will tell you the pathway to their success has been a lot of hard work,” Kopp said…