NEWS RELEASE

March 1 , 2007

Contact: Ryan Entz, 268-1152

International company to be awarded April 17 at Honors Night 2007, presented by Artisan Surface Systems, a division of Wilson Building Maintenance Inc.

Wichita, KS- The Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce continues its long tradition of celebrating Wichita’s outstanding citizens, companies and achievements with Honors Night 2007. The 2007 honorees represent those who’ve championed efforts to improve the community.

Koch Industries is this year’s SPIRIT OF WICHITA recipient. This award is given to a business that has previously been given the Over the Years Award. Koch Industries was called “the world’s largest private company,” by Forbes magazine, and owns a diverse group of companies involved in refining and chemicals; process equipment and technologies; fibers and polymers; commodity and financial trading; and forest and consumer products. Koch companies have a presence in nearly 60 countries with about 80,000 employees and $90 billion in revenues.  

Under the leadership of Charles Koch, Koch Industries has grown nearly 2,000-fold since 1967, outperforming the S&P 500 by 16 times. The company’s unique Market- Based Management business and management philosophy is at the core of Koch Industries’ success and the subject of a soon-to-be-published book by Charles Koch titled, The Science of Success: How Market-Based Management Built the World’s Largest Private Company.

Koch Industries was recognized with the Chamber’s “Over the Years Award” in 1969 and has continued to build on its history of creating value for customers and the communities in which Koch companies operate. In 2005, the company was honored with the Vision for America award from Keep America Beautiful.  Koch’s community partnerships support numerous organizations including Youth Entrepreneurs of Kansas, Wichita Symphony, Boys and Girls Clubs, the Salvation Army, Kansas Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Rainbows United.

Honors Night 2007 will be held Thursday, April 17 at Beech Activity Center, 9710 E. Central. Tickets are now available and include dinner, award recognition and a reception. The cost is $75 per person or $600 for a table of eight. Doors open at 6 p.m., dinner begins at 6:30

To help honor Koch Industries and other outstanding honorees contact Cindy Reves at 265-7771 or creves@wichitachamber.org.

The Over the Years award must have been presented a minimum of twenty-five years prior to being considered for the Spirit of Wichita Award.  The organization’s culture must be basically the same as when they received the Over the Years Award with employment, leadership, innovation and community involvement continuing to be strong.

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Venture Boldly. Such a core belief is what makes the Chamber so pivotal in helping businesses achieve their full potential as we set bold and ambitious platforms in our never-ending pursuit to make our members successful.