SPRINGFIELD, MO, December 17, 2020 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to honor Sam F. Hamra with inclusion in Who's Who in the World. An accomplished listee, Mr. Hamra celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
A graduate of the Gulf Coast Military Academy, Mr. Hamra's legal ambitions were supported by his father and by Federal District Judge Roy Harper, a family friend. He pursued undergraduate study at the University of Missouri, completing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in 1954 before entering the United States Army as a commissioned second lieutenant. Mr. Hamra served in the 70th Field Artillery Battalion in Nuremberg, Germany and in the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment in Bamberg, Germany and at Fort Meade, Maryland, 1954-1956, when he was honorably discharged at the rank of first lieutenant. He subsequently enrolled in the University of Missouri Law School, earning a Bachelor of Laws in 1959, and was admitted to practice law by the State Bar of Missouri and the American Bar Association the same year.
Mr. Hamra began his legal career in 1959 as an associate of Miller, Fairman and Sanford law firm in Springfield, Missouri and later as a junior partner in 1963. Since 1965, he has worked in private practice as the principal of the Law Offices of Sam F. Hamra PC, and he served as partner of Hamra & Crow between 1971 and 1975. As Nixa, Missouri city attorney (1965-1970), he was responsible for the construction of the locally owned Nixa, municipal electrical distribution system. As Branson governmental relations attorney (1990-2005), he secured federal funding for widening 65 Highway from two lanes to four lanes from the south Christian County line to the city of Branson and later to the Missouri-Arkansas state line.
Mr. Hamra founded Hamra Enterprises in 1975 as a franchisee of Wendy's restaurants in Missouri, and later as a Wendy's franchisee in Boston and Chicago. He later expanded the company's portfolio to include Panera Bread Cafes in Chicago, Boston, Memphis and Mississippi; and purchased several Noodles and Company restaurants in St. Louis and Columbia, Missouri. Currently, Hamra Enterprises owns and operates 170 restaurants with over 7,000 employees.
In 1977, while serving as the chairman of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce highway committee he secured funds to modernize and widen Springfield's Chestnut Expressway from two lanes to four lanes from 65 Highway to Kansas Avenue. He was the founder and first board chairperson of Legal Services of Southern Missouri in 1976, which has grown to support more than 40 counties in Southern Missouri since its establishment with 18 full-time attorneys. In 2012, Legal Services of Southern Missouri dedicated their new 11,000 square foot office building as the "Sam F. Hamra Center for Justice" in commemoration of his founding and service to the organization. From 1986 until 2010, Mr. Hamra was a member of the board (President, 1986) of CoxHealth, where he was responsible for an expansive effort that allowed Cox hospital to acquire the medical facility from HCA and a 40-acre tract that would set the tone for major growth of Cox Hospital including the Meyer Center for Wellness and Rehabilitation; the Bone and Joint Center, an outpatient surgery center; Cox Foundation office; the Children's Miracle Network offices; a dialysis unit; and the first hyperbaric chamber for wound care in Southwest Missouri. Mr. Hamra is the founder and organizer of OakStar Bank in Springfield and previously served on the board of directors of Landmark Bancshares Inc. in St. Louis.
Despite his many successes in the field of business, Mr. Hamra is most proud of his extensive history of philanthropic involvement. His coordinated donative efforts extend to higher education. Sam and June Hamra, along with William Meek of Harmon-Meek Gallery in Naples, Florida, gifted valuable artwork by nationally known American artists valued at more than $650,000 in 2014, 2019 and 2020, to institutions including the University of Missouri, Missouri State University, Drury University, Ozark Technical College, Evangel University, Eastman School of Music at University of Rochester, Ohio Wesleyan University, and Rhodes College,. Furthermore, Mr. Hamra is the namesake and co-sponsor of the "Kitchen Family Homeless Shelter", having contributed more than $700,000 for the purchase of the land and construction of the "Sam F. & June S. Hamra Support Services Building", on the "O'Reilly Family Campus" in 2020, which provides temporary shelter and food for homeless families. In recognition of his family's longtime support of Ozark Technical Community College, the institution dedicated their library as the "Sam and June Hamra Family Library". As chairperson of the St. Jude Fundraising Gala in Springfield, Missouri in both 2016 and 2018, he helped raise more than $400,000 for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. The Hamra family contributions made possible the "June S. Hamra Recital Hall" at Missouri State University in 2017 and the dedication of the "Sam F. and June S. Hamra (55E) Gallery" at Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester in 2021. Through Hamra Enterprises, the Hamra family supports the HERO Fund, a dollar-for-dollar employee gift-matching program in support of emergency and disaster relief that has raised more than $1.8 million for their employees since its inception. The company is also a major supporter of the CoxHealth Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Mr. Hamra is active in leadership of numerous local nonprofit and educational organizations by serving on their board, including the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (1994-2005), the ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital board of directors in Memphis (1985-1999), the ALSAC/St. Jude Children's Research Hospital emeritus board member (1999-Present) and Saint James Episcopal Church, having served on the Bishop's Committee and First Vestry (1959). He is the founder and charter president of the Rotary Club of Springfield Southeast (1967). He was appointed by President Clinton as civilian aide to the United States Secretary of the Army for the Western District of Missouri from 1997-2003. Mr. Hamra has been the recipient of several awards and accolades, including the University of Missouri "Faculty-Alumni Award" in 1990, University of Missouri "Distinguished Service Award" (Alumni of the Year) in 2003, the University of Missouri Law School "Citation of Merit Award", (Outstanding Law School Alumni of the Year) in 2003 with the "President's Award" from the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (2014), the Wendy's International "Dave Thomas Founders Award" for (Outstanding Franchisee of The Year) in 2009 and inducted into the "Wendy's Hall of Fame" in 2013. The Springfield Business Journal named his company the "Legend and a Philanthropic Business of the Year" in 2017. He was selected by the Springfield Chamber of Commerce as the the recipient of the annual "Springfieldian of the Year Award" in 2018. He remains professionally affiliated with the American Bar Association and the Missouri Bar Association. He was s a board member of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and a past board member of the Southern Federation of Syrian Lebanese American Clubs, whose primary beneficiary is St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
While Mr. Hamra has no interest in retirement, he finds time to enjoy golf and relaxation as a long-term member of Hickory Hills Country Club in Springfield, Missouri, and Bears Paw Country Club, Royal Poinciana Golf Club, and Naples Sailing and Yacht Club in Naples, Florida. Mr. Hamra and his wife, June, have four children: Sam III, Karen, Mike and Jackie, ten grandchildren: Cindie, John, Robbie, Katie, Andrew, Gabrielle, Melanie, Brooke, Max and Zack, and three great grandsons, Sawyer, Kaiden, and Scout.
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