Distinguished Service Award recipients to be honored

On Apple Day this Thursday, March 6, the Office of Alumni and Constituent Relations will honor three longtime supporters of Pittsburg State University with the Dr. Ralf J. Thomas Distinguished Service Award. The award is given annually to recipients who are identified as being significant supporters of the university and its programs, projects and services. A public reception will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday at the Wilkinson Alumni Center on the campus of PSU to honor the recipients. They will then be recognized in front of PSU students, faculty and staff at Apple Day convocation beginning at 3 p.m. in McCray Recital Hall.

This year’s recipients are:

Tom E. Beal is the CEO and president of Beal Properties, Inc., a commercial real estate investment company in Kansas City. Beal graduated from Pitt State in 1952 with a bachelor of arts degree in communication. During his time at PSU, he served as manager of the student radio studios, where he oversaw live broadcasts. After college, he worked in sales for KLWN in Lawrence, Kan. At age 26, he founded the Kansas City radio station KBEA, and in 1991 built KFEZ Radio. He later sold the stations in order to invest in commercial real estate.

Beal serves on the PSU Foundation Board of Trustees and is a lifetime member of the PSU Presidents Society, as well as instrumental in the formation of the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) chapter at PSU. He is a past winner of the PSU Meritorious Achievement Award. Since 2000, Beal has served on the St. Luke’s Hospital Foundation Board, and is also past-president of the Kansas City, Mo., Rotary Club. He is on the steering committee of the upcoming Kauffman Center for Performing Arts in Kansas City. Upon completion in 2010, the $340 million center is expected to be the largest performing arts complex in the world.

Beal and his wife, Melinda, established the Melinda and Tom Beal Broadcasting Scholarship, as well as the Dr. Robertson Strawn Broadcasting Scholarship. They have three children, Perry, Christopher, and Elizabeth.

Ken and Debbie Brock are the owners of Names and Numbers, a telephone directory company based in Pittsburg that employs 300 people and serves more than 4 million residents. Ken got his start in the industry as a yellow pages salesman for his father’s business, Brock Publishing Co. In 1974, he purchased a fledging company out of Springfield, Mo., and brought it to Pittsburg, forming it into Names and Numbers. Today he serves as CEO of K.W. Brock Directories.

Ken has served as chairman of the board for the Association of Directory Publishers and is on the board of trustees at Mt. Carmel Medical Center. He is on the advisory board for the Kelce School of Business at PSU and is a director of University National Bank in Pittsburg.

Debbie, a 1980 graduate of Iowa State University, has served as vice-president of K.W. Brock Directories for the past 25 years. She serves on the board of directors for both the PSU Foundation as well as the Community Foundation of Southeast Kansas. She also serves on the board of directors for the Colonial Fox Foundation and Friends of Cedar Crest.

The Brocks are avid supporters of PSU and provided a lead gift for the PSU Veterans Memorial.

Ken and Debbie have two sons, Ron and Bob. Among their many adventurous activities, each member of the family is a pilot. The Brocks are very active as youth leaders at First Baptist Church in Pittsburg.

---Pitt State---