1968
Robert G. Billings – Alvamar, Inc.
A Russell native, Bob Billings enrolled at the University of Kansas in 1955 and graduated in 1959 with a degree in economics. While a student, he was a guard on the KU basketball team from 1956-1959 and played on the 1956-1957 team led by Wilt Chamberlain, which played in the NCAA Final Four. He was also KU student body president in 1957-1958. After graduation, Chancellor W. Clarke Wescoe appointed Billings director of the KU Aids and Awards Office, where he served from 1960-1970.
In the mid-1960s, Bob began working on the West Lawrence development known as Alvamar. The name came easily to Bob, who contracted the names of his parents, Alva and Margaretta, into ALVAMAR. The senior Billings were pioneer oil operators in the 1930s and 1940s in Russell, Kan.
The vision for Alvamar took Mel Anderson’s concept for a public golf course and expanded it into a 3,000 acre development of prime residential and commercial property, including the Alvamar Country Club complex. Bob also developed Oread West Corporation and Research Park at 15th Street and Wakarusa Drive.
Above all, Bob Billings distinguished himself as a person who readily gave of himself to others in every situation. He was recognized by everyone as a positive, generous and unselfish benefactor of the community, serving Lawrence Memorial Hospital, the Chamber of Commerce and countless other non-profit organizations. He was an early and strong advocate of the Douglas County Community Foundation, giving generously to help establish it.
In 1988, Bob received the Distinguished Service Citation, the highest honor given by the university and the Alumni Association for service to humanity. He also received the association’s Fred Ellsworth Medallion in 1984.
In 1990, he was named Kansan of the Year by the Native Sons and Daughters of Kansas. Bob died in 2003.
Step Sponsored By: Beverly Smith Billings