‘Idaho Business Leader of the Year’ Luke to be honored Feb. 26

Arlo D. Luke, CEO of Varsity Contractors, Inc., will be recognized as “Idaho Business Leader of the Year” at the annual banquet of the Delta Upsilon Chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi, the professional business fraternity at Idaho State University.

The banquet will be held Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m. in the L.E. and Thelma E. Stephens Performing Arts Center in Pocatello. 

The award annually recognizes an Idaho business leader who has demonstrated outstanding business and professional ethics while contributing significant support to worthwhile community, civic and education activities. The recognition program is the longest-standing such program in Idaho and Luke will be the 45th recipient of the award.

Tickets for the event at $40 may be purchased via PayPal (www.paypal.com) with an e-mail to clarben2@isu.edu or by cash, check or credit card at the door. All ticketholders are invited to a reception hosted by ISU president Arthur C. Vailas Ph.D., beginning at 6 p.m.

Luke served as president and CEO for Pocatello-based Varsity Contractors, Inc. for 28 years. He joined the company in 1978 when the company was generating $8 million in sales with an employee force of several hundred. Today, company revenues exceed $250 million with more than 5,000 employees in 48 states.

He is the founder of Valley Pride, a civic beautification organization, and he is a lifelong member of the Boy Scouts of America, currently serving on the executive board of the Grand Teton council. Luke also serves as co-chair of the Idaho International Choral Festival and as a member of the Idaho State University Foundation board of directors.

For more information, contact Ben Clark, Alpha Kappa Psi Idaho Business Leader of the Year chair, at (208) 403-7603 or by e-mail at clarben2@isu.edu.

A complete list of previous award winners follows:

Idaho “Business Leader of the Year” Award Recipients

1959    M.T. Deaton     M.T. Deaton & Company    Pocatello

1960    Ralph R. Comstock, Sr.    First Security Bank    Boise

1961    Clarence Garrett    Garrett Freightlines    Pocatello

1962    Harry W. Morrison    Morrison-Knudson    Boise

1963    J.R. Simplot    J.R. Simplot Company    Boise

1964    C. Ed Flandro    Flandro Ford    Pocatello

1965    Robert V. Hansberger    Boise Cascade Company    Boise

1966    Thomas E. Roach    Idaho Power Company    Boise

1967    Dr. Frank Seelye    Dean, ISU College of Business    Pocatello

1968    Curtis Eaton, Sr.     Twin Falls Bank and Trust    Twin Falls

1969    Ralph R. Comstock, Jr.    First Security Bank    Boise

1970    J. Grant Bickmore    Idaho Bank and Trust    Pocatello

1971    Cecil Andrus     State of Idaho    Boise

1972    Albert Carlsen    Idaho Power Company    Boise

1973    John Dahl     J.R. Simplot Company    Boise

1974    Sy Block    Blocks, Inc.    Pocatello

1975    Robert D. Bolinder    Albertson's, Inc.    Boise

1976    J Allen Jensen    KID-TV    Idaho Falls

1977              

1978    Fred C. Humphreys    Idaho First National Bank    Boise

1979              

1980              

1981    Ted E. Ellis    Key Bank of Idaho    Boise

1982    Dale Dunn    J.R. Simplot Company    Boise

1983    Robert C. Hammond    Jensen Oil Company    Idaho Falls

1984    Harry F. Magnuson    H.F. Magnuson Company    Wallace

1985    Warren E. McCain    Albertson's, Inc.    Boise

1986    Jon H. Miller    Boise Cascade Company    Boise

1987    Park Price, III    Park Price Motor Company    Pocatello

1988    Sybil Ferguson    Diet Center    Rexburg

1989              

1990    Curtis Eaton, Jr.     First Security Bank    Twin Falls

1991    Keith Hinckley    Basic American Foods     Blackfoot

1992    Walter Minnick    T.J. International    Boise

1993    Don Aslett    Varsity Cleaners    Pocatello

1994    Gordon C. Smith    J.R. Simplot Company    Boise

1995    Sam H. Bennion    V-1 Oil Company    Idaho Falls

1996    Michael M. Mooney    Key Bank of Idaho    Boise

1997    Gary G. Michael    Albertson's, Inc.    Boise

1998    Frank L. Vandersloot    Melaleuca    Idaho Falls

1999    William C. Glynn    Intermountain Industries, Inc.    Boise

2000    Carolyn Ticknor    Hewlett-Packard    Boise

2001    Theodore Crumley    Boise Cascade Company    Boise

2002    ISU Centennial, all past winners honored         

2003    James Rogers    Sunbelt Communications    Pocatello

2004    Chris King    AMI Semiconductor    Pocatello

2005    Ed Dahlberg    St. Luke's Regional Medical    Boise

2006    Duane B. Hagadone    Hagadone Corporation    Coeur d' Alene

2007    James Johnston    Home Specialists    Pocatello

2008    Arlo D. Luke    Varsity Contractors    Pocatello