Ira J. Woodfin
Co-founder, Woodfin-Smith Pontiac • 1910-1999 • 1993 Hall of Fame winner • Born in Brinkley, Ark.
During the Depression and out of college, Woodfin landed a job in the automotive industry and stayed there for the next six decades. Though his friends called the move “foolish,” he started Woodfin-Smith Pontiac after 18 years with General Motors. He parlayed the dealership into one of the most successful in the state, winning numerous national awards but remaining modest. Woodfin also fought racial barriers during the civil rights movement, appointing a black manager at his dealership when much of white society disapproved of such hires. “You do whatever you can. You’re going to have problems that arise, but you can’t ever let them disturb you. You accept the good and the bad, and you keep moving.” ⎯Woodfin View photo »

M.J. Rathbone
Chairman and CEO, Standard Oil Company of New Jersey • 1900-1976 • 1993 Hall of Fame winner • Born in Parkersburg, W.Va.
When M.J. Rathbone called a meeting in his company board room, he always sat in the middle of the table instead of at the head. An outside-the-box thinker, he is credited with taking the guesswork out of oil refining and approaching it as a true science by consolidating all of Jersey Standard’s domestic productions into one company, Exxon Company USA. Rathbone also served as director of Gulf States United Co. and Louisiana National Bank during his retirement in Baton Rouge. “In a big organization, people have a tendency to feel a little bit swallowed up, a little bit overwhelmed by the size of the organization. To the extent that you can, give them a feeling of assurance that they are an important part of it…” ⎯Rathbone View photo »

Lea and Erich Sternberg
Owners, Goudchaux’s/Maison Blanche • Lea, 1904-1998; Erich, 1901-1965 • 1994 Hall of Fame winners • Born in Aurich, Germany
After fleeing Nazi Germany, the Sternbergs worked at Goudchaux’s department store until Erich secured a $36,000 loan in 1936 and bought the store outright. Goudchaux’s became a family project in which Erich, Lea and their sons, Hans and Josef, worked until Erich’s death in 1965. From there, Hans and Josef took control of the business, and Lea stayed on to help manage the store. In 1982, the Sternbergs purchased three Maison Blanche stores. At the company’s peak in 1989, it made more than $483 million in sales with more than 8,000 employees and 24 locations. “I am very grateful to America that they even let me come here. I never forgot President Roosevelt, that he gave permission for so, so many Jews to come to this country. And I was one of them.”⎯Lea Sternberg View photo »

Henry Norman Saurage Jr.
Chairman, Community Coffee • 1913-2006 • 1994 Hall of Fame winner • Born in Baton Rouge
Norman Saurage Jr. was 6 years old when his father founded Community Coffee, but from that point on it shaped his life. Saurage joined the company in the 1930s and began implementing changes that would define the company and make it the best-selling coffee in Louisiana. Under his direction, the company became the first in the country to package its coffee in flexible vacuum bags. By the time he retired in 1986 and passed the company to son Norman III, it had become a multi-million dollar operation with hundreds of employees, most of whom worked and lived in Baton Rouge. “I found out early in my life that to compete, we had to raise our quality. We became more progressive than the others in packaging materials and operating principles of the business. We did away with most of the local competition, and it turned out real well for us.”⎯Saurage View photo »

Douglas L. Manship Sr. and Charles P. Manship Jr.
Chairman, Capital City Press; President, Capital City Press • Douglas, 1918-1999; Charles, 1908-1994 1996 Hall of Fame winners • Born in Baton Rouge
When talking about the Manship brothers, it almost goes without saying that they held the public’s right to know above anything else. Charles P. Manship Jr. (right) stepped into the role of president and editor of Capital City Press when his father died in 1947 and never looked back. During his time at the helm, Charles Manship saw the circulation of both The Morning Advocate and the afternoon State-Times grow. When his brother died in 1994, Douglas Manship (left) took the reigns of the family newspaper and remained an active voice at The Advocate until his death. Of the two brothers, Douglas Manship was more active on the broadcast side of the family’s media empire, founding WBRZ in 1955. “Ultimately, reality is what people will accept.”⎯Douglas L. Manship Sr. View photo »

Lewis Gottlieb
Chairman, City National Bank’s board of trustees • 1890-1975 • 1998 Hall of Fame winner • Born in Baton Rouge
To all who knew him, Lewis Gottlieb was tenacious yet effective in everything he set about doing. Graduating from LSU’s law school, he got his start as a lawyer, but it was his role as chairman of City National Bank that ultimately defined his role in the community and made his name synonymous with banking in Baton Rouge. He worked tirelessly in this role, remaining actively involved in the bank until just a few months before his death. “…Only the clergy and the physician know the personal problems of the family better than the banker. …You will find that the banker is not merely a financier in the finer sense, but that he is a community leader as well.”⎯Gottlieb View photo »

Charles W. “Chuck” McCoy
CEO, Louisiana National Bank/Premier Bank • 1920-2007 • 1998 Hall of Fame winner • Born in Marietta, Ohio
McCoy didn’t arrive in Baton Rouge until he was nearly 40, but he didn’t let that stop him from becoming a major power broker in South Louisiana. Earning a reputation as an innovative banker that won him national honors, McCoy built the world’s first successful drive-thru bank in Ohio and later installed the first computer of its kind in his bank in Louisiana. He also fought to improve public education in the state and served as the architect for the Campaign for Academic Distinction, the first endowed local education foundation in the country. “A mediocre decision made quickly is often better than a good decision made too late.”⎯McCoy View photo »

Frank Hugh “Chigger” Kean Jr.
Partner and manager, Kean’s Dry Cleaners • 1912-1979 • 1999 Hall of Fame winner • Born in Baton Rouge
For more than 43 years, Chigger Kean did many things to help Kean’s Dry Cleaners give Baton Rouge its distinct personality. Started by his father in 1900, Kean’s Dry Cleaners grew to 28 outlet stores, three service routes and two full-service plants at its peak. Kean also developed most of the company’s early marketing approaches. By the time he died 1979, the company had secured its place as the pre-eminent cleaner in the Baton Rouge market. “He loved his business, and he loved this city. He was a gentleman in every respect. It was just a pleasure to know somebody like that, and it’s a pity we lost him when we did.”⎯Tom Gibbens, former station manager at WAFB-TV and longtime friend of Kean View photo »

T.H. “Tandy” Hamilton
Founder, Piccadilly Cafeterias Inc. • 1897-1981 • 2001 Hall of Fame winner • Born in Oklahoma
At the time of his death, Piccadilly had grown to more than 100 cafeterias. Since then, the company Hamilton started in the heart of Baton Rouge has grown to include 130 restaurants in 15 states. “Some say I had dreams of grandeur, and I don’t dispute that, but it’s more like I just had a hunch that this dream could come true.”⎯Hamilton View photo »

J. Andrew Bahlinger Jr. and Fred Bahlinger Sr.
Owners, Kornmeyer’s Furniture • Andrew, 1896-1981; Fred, 1898-1972 • 2002 Hall of Fame winners • Born in Baton Rouge
The two brothers led Kornmeyer’s with their combined approach of a hard-nosed business sense and a “twinkling” humor from the time they took control from their father until they retired in the late 1950s. Andrew (left) and Fred (right) remained active in the business until their deaths, including the company’s expansion to its present location on Florida Boulevard. “Mr. Andrew and Mr. Fred, to me, were like good cop, bad cop. Mr. Andrew was the good cop, and Mr. Fred was the bad cop. Mr. Fred was all business. Business was important to him. And Mr. Andrew was the public relations person. The twinkle and the laughter.”⎯David Hedgepeth, a Kornmeyer’s employee for 25 years View photo »

Claude “Doc” Pennington Sr.
Founder, Pennington Oil & Gas • 1900-1997 • 2003 Hall of Fame winner • Born in Chunky, Miss.
Though his first profession was optometry like his father, Doc Pennington is best known for the remarkable fortune he amassed in the oil and gas industry. At the time of his death, Pennington was widely regarded as the wealthiest man in Louisiana, but he was not a man who kept his wealth to himself. Though he made many donations both publicly and anonymously, his $125 million donation to LSU to build the Pennington Biomedical Research Center made him legendary around Baton Rouge. “I like to be around people. I like to see how they live. I go from place to place and just watch people. I pull my coat off, and I’m one of them. That’s my hobby, if you want to call it that.”⎯Pennington View photo »

Jensen Holliday
CEO, Franklin Press • 1940-2002 • 2006 Hall of Fame winner • Born in Baton Rouge
Saying that Jensen Holliday’s position at the helm of Franklin Press was where he made his mark on Baton Rouge would only be telling half the story. He was passionately dedicated to civic duty, working either as a member or the leader of dozens of organizations. His board memberships included seats on the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Better Business Bureau, Baton Rouge Opera and Baton Rouge chapter of the National Conference for Community and Justice. Working with his brother Tommy at Franklin Press, he helped grow the business from the small shop his father bought in 1949 to a $7 million operation. “Directness is a very good attribute. Trying to dance around only leaves you farther from where you want to be.”⎯Holliday View photo »

E.J. Ourso
Founder, Security Industrial Insurance Co. • 1923-2005 • Born in Donaldsonville
A smooth-talking, easy-going guy, E.J. Ourso started his Security Industrial Insurance Co. from scratch and turned it into a $180 million giant in the funeral services industry by the time he sold it in 1995. Though he never graduated from college, Ourso went on to make one of the largest donations in LSU history. The school repaid the donation by naming its business school after him. “It’s a poker game with big chips. In an acquisition, you’ve got to show the other fellow that if he takes your money, he’s going to be better off with the cash than with the headaches and troubles and general harassment of business.”⎯Ourso View photo »

Milton J. Womack
Founder, Milton J. Womack Inc. • 1926-2003 • 2000 Hall of Fame winner • Born in Baton Rouge
During his 45-year tenure, Womack built some of the most recognizable landmarks in Baton Rouge such as Earl K. Long Hospital, the Mall at Cortana and the Baton Rouge Marriott (previously the Baton Rouge Hilton). His company also built some 7,000 apartment units, 1,000 hotel rooms and 17 post offices. When he turned control of his company over to Terry Hill and Steve Carville in 1999, it was the oldest construction business in Louisiana under the same management. “I think I’m a maverick, I really do. I listen to people, get the best advice I can and then do things my own way.”⎯Womack View photo »