John Q. Hammons

John Q. Hammons

John Q. Hammons grew up during the Great Depression on a farm in Fairview, Missouri. He attended Fairview schools and later Southwest Missouri Teachers College now (Southwest Missouri State University) in Springfield. Hammons’ contributions to sports in Missouri and around the country are numerous. In 1976, he provided the funding for the construction of the Hammons Student Center on the campus of SMSU. Hammons developed Highland Springs Country Club in Springfield in 1989. This private country club is one of the premier facilities in the Midwest, and, through the John Q. Hammons Foundation, plays host to the annual BUY.COM TOUR event. He developed Verdae Greens Golf Club in Greenville, South Carolina in 1990, and developed Tiffany Greens Golf Club in Kansas City, MO in 1998. Hammons is credited with keeping the SENIOR PGA TOUR in Kansas City, and the TD Waterhouse Championship is played at Tiffany Greens each year. For his efforts and contributions to sports in Missouri, Hammons was inducted into the Missouri Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. In 1994, he donated the land and building to house the existing Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in Springfield. The facility is regarded as one of the elite Halls of Fame in the country. In 2000, Hammons was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame. For 40 years, John Q. Hammons has been a leading innovator in the lodging industry. He is well known for his shrewd market analysis and for creating signature-style full-service hotels. Over the years, Hammons has developed 145 hotel properties in 40 states. Hammons entered the hotel industry in 1958 and joined with Roy E. Winegardner to purchase 10 Holiday Inn franchises from founder Kemmons Wilson. Winegardner & Hammons Incorporated (WHI) of Cincinnati, OH, a hotel development company, was formed in 1959. By the late 1960s, WHI had constructed 33 Holiday Inn hotels. Hammons later formed John Q. Hammons Hotels, Inc. in 1969. Today, John Q. Hammons Hotels, Inc. is traded on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol “JQH,” and operates properties nationwide under the Embassy Suites, Renaissance, Marriott, Radisson, Sheraton, Holiday Inn brands, as well as its own signature Plaza brand. The company owns or manages 60 hotels and is considered to be the leading independent builder and manager of hotel meeting space in the country, with more than 1.6 million square feet of meeting and convention space under management. Most of its hotels are located in or near a state capital, university, convention center, corporate headquarters, office park or other stable demand generator.

Visionary, creator, risk taker, philosopher, philanthropist…all describe Mr. John Q. Hammons, the 2003 recipient of the coveted “Corporate Hotelier of the World” award sponsored by HOTELS magazine.

A sampling of other awards Mr. Hammons has received include: First recipient of the “Lifetime Achievement” award from Holiday Inn, he was the first person outside of Hilton Corporation to receive Hilton’s “Connie” award, and 2002 he was the recipient of the esteemed “Missouri Sports Legend” award from the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

His approach to business can be summarized by: embrace change and have a plan of action, forge ahead in good times and bad, buy land (because they’re not making it anymore), commit to quality, give back, and always keep your word. The result of his steadfast approach is an impressive reputation and stellar career few in the worldwide hotel industry can match.

Mr. Hammons’ inspirational life is the subject of a book “They Call Him John Q.: A Hotel Legend.”

Mr. Hammons and his wife, Juanita, live in Springfield and are active in the community, funding the Hammons Heart Institute and Hammons Life Line helicopter for St. John’s Regional Health Center; the Hammons Student Center, Hammons Fountains, Hammons House Dormitories, and Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts at SMSU; and the Hammons School of Architecture at Drury University. Mr. Hammons is the founder and builder of the University Plaza Development consisting of hotels, convention centers, office buildings and a proposed 8,000 to 10,000-seat baseball park.

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