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Commencement 2004
Outstanding Tiger Alumnus Award
Warren Koeller, right, accepts the Outstanding Tiger Alumnus
Award for 2004 from Cowley
President Dr. Pat McAtee during the 81st Commencement
exercises May 8.
Koeller, a 1960 graduate of Arkansas City Junior College, was accompanied by
his wife Lynn. Koeller, whose entrepreneurial spirit helped him become a successful
businessman, said he was proud of the award and proud of what the college has
become. “Galle-Johnson Hall was all that was here when I went to school,” Koeller
said. “It’s amazing to me how much this place has changed and grown.”
Koeller credits former ACJC accounting instructor Barney Getto and printing instructor
Tony Buffo for influencing him the most. Koeller was a practicing certified public
accountant, a self-taught computer network administrator, and eventually owned
companies. He and a computer programmer formed Realty Information Systems Company,
now known as RISCO, and the company grew from two people to around 200. In the
early 1990s, Koeller started a manufacturing division within his company that
built lock boxes realtors use when they list a home. His company manufactured
the electronic device. Koeller added another company to his portfolio when he
purchased Kantronics of Lawrence. The company supplied all of the data transfer
to the Mir space station for seven years, has seven employees and about $1 million
in annual sales.
Students receiving associate of arts degrees participated in the 10 a.m. ceremony, while students who were candidates for the associate of science, associate of applied science, associate of general studies and the college certificate attended the 2 p.m. ceremony. Commencement was held in the Robert Brown Theatre.
