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[ Donald M. Kendall ] - [ William H. Natcher ] - [ Raymond B. Preston ]
Kendall became president and CEO of Pepsi-Cola in 1963. Two years later he engineered the merger that brought Pepsi-Cola together with Frito-Lay, the nation's leading snack food marketer, to create Pepsi Co and was named the company's president and CEO. In 1971, he was elected chairman and CEO, a position he held until his retirement in May, 1986. Under Kendall's leadership, PepsiCo became one of the 25 largest corporations in the U.S., a leading bottler of soft drinks, the biggest salty snack producer and the largest operator and franchisor of restaurants in the world. Kendall has received numerous honors for his achievements, including: George F. Kennan Award for outstanding contribution to improving U.S. Soviet relations (1989); National Business Hall of Fame (1987); the first Equal Justice Award from the NAACP. Legal Defense and Educational Fund (1986), and several honorary doctoral degrees. He is married to the former Baroness Ruedt Von Collenberg and living in Greenwich, Conn. William H. Natcher The House took extraordinary measures to help him, including postponing voting at one point in the hopes he could return the floor with his record intact. Natcher's influence in the House was deep, including becoming chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee in 1992, a post he held until his death in March. He was known for taking the lead in positions concerning agriculture, health, pollution, recreation and programs essential to the development of private industry. His list of awards spans several pages and includes a 1979 honorary Doctor of Law degree from Western. Natcher died in March 1994, at the age of 84.
Preston has been active at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, having served as chairman of the Building and Calling committees and as senior warden. He is board chairman of Ohio Valley National Bank and Adams Street Development Corp., on the board of directors for the Louisville Orchestra and WNIN-TV, a public television station, and a member of the WKU Board of Regents and the Henderson County Foundation for Educational Excellence. Past honors include being named Distributor of the Year by the National Association of Chemical Distributors and Boss of the Year by the Aydubon Chapter, National Secretaries Association. Preston and his wife, Hattie, met while they were both attending Western and were married two years later. In honor of their 50th anniversary, the Prestons and Preston family Foundation made the largest single gift ever made to WKU, enabling construction to begin on the $10 million Raymond B. Preston Health & Activities Center. In making the gift, Preston said: "We could think of nothing better than to return something to Western on our 50th wedding anniversary. The things we learned here have served us well." Dr. Margaret Claypool Willoughby
Upon her retirement from UT-Arlington in 1983, Dr. Willoughby was named an emeritus professor, a first among women in science at the school. Back in Kentucky, she was appointed a Kentucky Colonel in 1989 and was elected to the Bowling Green High School Hall of Honor in 1993. In addition to her professional pursuits, Dr. Willoughby is an accomplished genealogist, having published five volumes of her family history, the Claypool family.She resides in Arlington, Texas.
Although well known for his research in heart-related medications, Dr. Woosley is currently working on a plan to create a national chain of centers to conduct pharmaceutical research independent of the drug companies. The plan, which Dr. Woosley hopes will fill a gap national health are reform, is commonly called CERT for centers for education and research in therapeutics. The centers would be based in major universities that have existing clinical pharmacology departments, would be funded by the federal government and would be equipped to take on a variety of research assigned by the Food and Drug Administration. The CERT's would also serve as educational and information centers so physicians, pharmacists and patients could get unbiased facts about drugs, including comparison of price, efficacy and safety. The list of Dr. Woosley's research activities, writings and professional memberships spans several pages and includes administering a $1-5 million five-year FDA sponsored clinical research unit grant. He received the Rawl's-Palmer Award of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics and was elected representative of the Association for Medical School Pharmacology to the American Association of Medical Colleges. Dr. Woosley is married to Julianne Buchert Woosley, a native of Cincinnati, and they have a son, Raymond David, age 2. His two daughters, Kristin and Tyler, live in Washington, D.C. and Orlando, FL. His personal goal is to improve research and education in therapeutics for physicians, pharmacists, nurses and the public. He has published papers and spoken to legislators about the cost, in dollars and human suffering, caused by the inappropriate and unsound prescription of drugs that result from inadequate information about drugs being available.
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Inc. and continues to provide the company with counsel as well as serve as the company's ambassador throughout the world. A native of Sequim, Wash., Kendall's education at Western Kentucky State College was interrupted by World War II, when he left college to become a Navy pilot. After the Navy, Kendall joined the Pepsi-Cola Co as a fountain syrup sales representative. His rise in the company was meteoric. He advanced from sales to managing a sales crew, to managing sales for all company operated plants. In 1951, he became assistant national sales manager, and a year later was promoted to vice president in charge of national sales. In 1956, he became vice president in charge of marketing for the entire company. In 1957, Kendall became president of Pepsi Cola's overseas operations. Under his leadership, the number of countries in which Pepsi-Cola was available more than doubled and sales tripled.
becoming a political phenomenon for a style more closely associated with an era gone by. The Warren County native and 1930 Western graduate held several elected county positions before winning a 1953 special election to succeed Rep. Garrett L. Withers, who died in office. Natcher was known for many things, including not taking campaign contributions and shunning modern accouterments for his office, such as fax machines. He was best known, however, for never missing a roll-call vote in 40 years. His string of votes reached 18,401 in March when frail health forced him to remain in the hospital.
chemical distributor in the United States. Although he sold the company to a West German firm in 1989, he remains a member of the board of directors. The Johnson County native graduated from Western in 1940. He worked with the DuPont Company for two years before joining the Navy and serving during World War II. After a stint with Allied Chemical, Preston founded PB & S Chemical in Henderson, KY. He is the past president of the National Association of Chemical Distributors, Southeastern Chemical Distributors, Henderson Chamber of Commerce and Henderson Country Club; past member of the Henderson Community College Board of Trustees and Community Methodist Hospital Board of Directors, and served as chairman of the Henderson City County Air Board for 26 years.
Western in the mid 30's, graduating with honors in 1938. She was usually the only woman in her classes throughout her undergraduate training and also in graduate school at Purdue University, where she accepted a fellowship in 1944. Her earned degree in chemical engineering at Purdue in 1950 was the first ever granted to a woman. Dr. Willoughby received many honors, including being named a Notable Woman of Texas being listed in Who's Who in Texas and Who's Who of American Woman.