In a career spanning some seven decades, Hammons has built well over 200 hotel and real estate development projects.  He's also been a prominent philanthropist contributing to schools, hospitals and communities in generous ways.  He says it's easy to be a philanthropist because you can go right to the head of the line when you give money away.

Many would say Hammons has been successful because he grew up poor, had ambition and became a wealthy man.  I asked him how he would define the success he's had and perhaps surprisingly his response was not about the money he's made, with which he's never bought "toys" and lives a relatively modest private life.  He defines success rather in terms of the communities he's helped build, the people who've been employed in his projects, the architectural elegance and tastefulness of his designs as well as their overall financial success.

Hammons credits his success to a number of factors.  He says he had good parents who raised him right and set him on a path of living a disciplined and clean life.  He doesn't smoke, drinks little and works hard, often seven days a week.  He observes that anyone can do these things if they have the intelligence, commitment and drive to pursue a goal.

Along the way Hammons developed skills that enabled him to get ahead of the curve in business.  By listening, reading, talking to people and observing trends in the economy and popular culture, he honed his insight into trends and where they might be leading.  He became a student of community growth, observing highway and airport developments and the role they play in future business opportunities.  And as a competitive entrepreneur, he evaluated the projects others were undertaking.  He acknowledges that markets determine success and that understanding market dynamics is crucial in business planning. 

In his hotel and hospitality business, taking care of people and meeting their needs with clean, attractive properties and appropriate facilities are essential.  Identifying the right markets for his development projects has been at the heart of his strategy.  Early on he cut his teeth building Holiday Inns along the burgeoning Interstate Highway system.  In later years he opted to bypass large urban settings with their major convention hotels, and he avoided the economy chains whose properties had no meeting or exhibition facilities.

Hammons found his primary market niche in university town, state capitals and growing business and recreational centers, where he has built hotels with adjoining meeting and exhibition space.  These markets often lacked modern, attractive hotel and convention facilities but had a reliably consistent market for such properties.  This formula has been remarkably successful with the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City, the University Plaza in Springfield, the Embassy Suites Hotel in Rogers and the Chateau on Table Rock Lake representative of his attractive developments across the country.

Hammons' approach to development, based on hard work, focus, discipline and well honed insights, has resulted in the success he's achieved.  At age 91 he looks ahead to his next projects, one of which is the Chateau at Lake of the Ozarks.  The communities where he does business have shared and benefitted from John Q's success.  Clearly the Ozarks region, where his roots and company are located, has been a significant beneficiary of this success. 

QUOTE  OF THE WEEK

Branson Tri-Lakes News

August 10, 2010

Lake Taneycomo and Table Rock Lake have been placed on the Missouri Department of Natural Resource's proposed 2010 list of waters that are not meeting water quality standards. Taneycomo has been placed on the proposed list for low dissolved oxygen. The waterway has been on the list since 1994, but for the first time this year, the cold-water lake was also listed for nitrogen issues. Nitrogen and chlorophyll are the two reasons Table Rock made the list. This is the first time Table Rock has made the list for both pollutants. However, an official from a local water quality organization said it isn't such a bad thing to be on the list.

Springfield News-Leader

August 11, 2010

Swimming beaches at two Missouri state parks will be closed this weekend due to E. coli levels higher than the standards set by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Water samples drawn Monday from Public Beach 1 at Lake of the Ozarks State Park showed E. coli levels in excess of the department's single-sample standard for state park beaches. The results of samples drawn at Wakonda State Park Beach contributed to the beach failing to meet a different E. coli-related standard.

MuskogeePhoenix.com

July, 26 2010

The city of Fayetteville is active in streambank stabilization, creating green spaces, parks and trails. Siloam Springs is taking steps to develop and protect Sager Creek, an Illinois River tributary, as it flows though the city. The newest sewage plant in Northwest Arkansas will remove 10 times more polluting phosphorus than does Tahlequah. Northwest Arkansas newspapers seem to devote much greater attention to water and to watershed issues than Oklahoma's press.

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