Page 32 - ATR 2 2012 web 2

T. BOONE PICKENS Oklahoma University but failed to make
the cut. “At Texas, Jack Ray was the
coach and he put his arm around me
as we walked off the court and he said,
BOrN: May 22, 1928 in Holdenville, Oklahoma ‘Boone let me tell you—this is a sport
Married to Madeleine Ann Pickens where good big boys always win. And
I’ve got all the little boys I need’.
CHIldrEN: Five kids and 12 grandchildren
“So I was in pre-veterinarian
EduCATION: Graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1951 with a degree in geology
medicine at the time and the only
PrOFESSIONAl CArEEr: Pickens has founded, acquired and merged many businesses, schools where I could transfer and
but the one for which he gained much fame and fortune is Mesa Petroleum Corporation keep my hours were Oklahoma A&M
CurrENT OCCuPATION: Founder and chairman of BP Capital Management, Inc.; Board of (Oklahoma State) or Texas Tech.”
Directors of Clean Energy Fuels, Inc. and founder of the T. Boone Pickens Foundation Pickens chose Oklahoma A&M in
FIrST CAr: “Cars are not a big deal to me. The first car I had was only for four months Stillwater, Oklahoma. And he decided to
because it damn near busted me. It was a ’42 Ford and I worked at W. D. Witt Motor try and make the basketball team there
Company in Amarillo. I was 17 and I told my dad we could buy it for $1,200 and could as well. The head basketball coach was
turn around and sell it and make $200 off of it. It was a great experience for me but the legendary Henry Iba. And Pickens
it had to have a new transmission, new tires and other problems and I got the $1200 recalled nobody ever referred to him as
back for my dad. I got out of it four months after I’d worked all summer for that damn ‘coach.’ Players called him ‘Mr. Iba.’
car and I’ve never been interested in cars since.” “I was over there the week before
FAvOrITE MOvIE: “I’m not big on movies.” Thanksgiving and Mr. Iba said ‘none
of you deserve off for Thanksgiving or
FAvOrITE ACTOr: “I’m not big on actors either.”
Christmas because we haven’t gotten as
Awards (Partial list) far as we need to be to win. So every-
body will have to stay on campus for
1985 Carnegie Mellon Crisis Man Award Thanksgiving and Christmas.’
1986 Honored Executive Award from University of Tennessee “I thought, you know, I don’t want
1987 Outstanding Financial Executive Award from Financial Management Assoc. to do that,” Pickens recalls. So he quit
1982 Distinguished Fellow of the College of Arts & Sciences at Oklahoma State
University basketball for good.
1985 “Giant in the Industry” by Future Business Leaders of America Pickens decided to change his
1987 Honored by Ed Koch, Mayor of New York City major to business. And he implies that
1987 Distinguished Entrepreneur for 1987 – College of Business Administration Texas he wasn’t necessarily burning up the
A&M University books. “My dad came over in ‘49 when I
1987 Columbia Free Enterprise Award from the Washington Institute for Policy was initiated into Sigma Alpha Epsilon,”
Studies Pickens says, smiling and leaning back
1988 Honorary Doctorate of Public Service awarded by George Washington in his chair. “My dad was also an SAE
University so he penned his badge on me and it
1989 CEO of the Decade from Financial World was a nice ceremony.
1989 Texas Man of the Year “We were walking out on the
1989 Given Key to the City of Dallas front lawn getting ready to go home to
1989 Oklahoma State University T. Boone Pickens School of Geology in Stillwater,
Oklahoma Amarillo and my dad stopped and said
1993 Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition Achievement Award ‘son, you have been in school now since
2000 Honda Environmental Citizen Award you were at Texas A&M. And your major
2002 Honorary Doctorate of Science Oklahoma State University was vet medicine. Now you’re not there
2003 Inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame anymore. That wasn’t a success. And
2005 Inducted into Texas Business Hall of Fame now you’re here at Oklahoma A&M and
2005 Inducted into the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans Inc. you’ve dropped vet medicine and you’re
2006 Listed as one of America’s Top Five Philanthropists by the Chronicle of working on a business degree.’
Philanthropy “And the conversation turned seri-
2008 Listed as the eighth biggest giver in the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s 2007 Top ous really quickly. My dad said ‘you
American Philanthropists list know a fool with a plan will beat a
2008 National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award genius with no plan every time. But
2009 Franklin Institute’s Bower Award for Business Leadership
2009 Time magazine’s the World’s 100 Most Influential People


32 ArkAnSAS trucking report | issue 2 2012