[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 35 (Wednesday, March 5, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E371-E372]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          TRIBUTE TO THE LATE BOB BILLINGS OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. DENNIS MOORE

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 5, 2003

  Mr. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, on February 13th the city of Lawrence, 
Kansas, lost one of its most influential and visionary leaders with the 
death of Bob Billings.
  The leading developer in Douglas County, Kansas, Bob Billings, more 
than any other individual, was responsible for the growth and 
development of suburban, west Lawrence. Most notably, he designed and 
developed the Alvamar development: more than 3000 acres of residential 
and commercial property, a nationally recognized public golf course and 
a country club complex.
  Mr. Speaker, I am placing into the Record two articles concerning Bob 
Billings from The Lawrence Journal World: his obituary, and an article 
describing his recent memorial service. I join with Bob Billings' many 
friends and business colleagues in mouming his passing and in 
expressing deep sympathy to Beverly Billings for the loss of her 
husband.

            [From the Lawrence Journal-World, Feb. 14, 2003]

       Alvamar Developer Dies; Friends Recall ``Visionary'' Deeds

                            (By Ann Gardner)

       Bob Billings, a Kansas University alumnus who changed the 
     face of Lawrence with his work as a developer, philanthropist 
     and community leader, died Thursday at home. He was 65.
       As President of Alvamar, Inc., Billings helped lead the 
     development of thousands of acres in west Lawrence. As a 
     student athlete at Kansas University, he was a player on the 
     1957 Jayhawk basketball team that made it to the NCAA 
     championship game. And as a man, friends and business 
     associates said Thursday, his optimism and humanity touched 
     many lives.
       His most obvious legacy, though, is the development 
     Billings created in partnership with Realtor John McGrew and 
     Mel Anderson. Alvamar encompasses more than 3,000 acres of 
     residential and commercial property, a nationally recognized 
     public golf course and the Alvamar Country Club complex.
       ``There is a quality of life around here that would not 
     exist if he had not been the active, optimistic, visionary, 
     enthusiastic person he was,'' McGrew said. ``Bob was the 
     best, the absolute best in just about everything. . . . I 
     think history will say that Bob was one of the major 
     influences for good in this area and the state.''
       Douglas County Administrator Craig Weinaug remembered 
     Billings as different from many developers. ``In negotiations 
     with developers or somebody in the development business, 
     normally you have to be very careful, to be sure the public 
     interest is protected.
       ``With Bob, he'd often be pointing out to us the things we 
     needed to do to protect the public interest, often to his own 
     detriment. He was a man with an incredible amount of 
     integrity and with an incredible love for Lawrence, and the 
     physical evidence of that will be permanently with us through 
     the things he accomplished.''
       Funeral arrangements are pending at Warren-McElwain 
     Mortuary.
       Billings was raised in Russell, where he grew up in a house 
     across the street from the home of Bob Dole, the future 
     senator.
       At Russell High School, Billings was a student leader and 
     athlete. He was president of the high school student council 
     and a delegate to Kansas Boys State. He also played 
     basketball, football and ran track all four years in high 
     school. As a senior in 1955, he was co-captain of the 
     football team and was named the Kansas High School Basketball 
     Player of the Year.
       Billings came to Lawrence that fall to attend Kansas 
     University. He stayed to become one of the city's most active 
     community leaders.
       At the university, he was a guard and played with Wilt 
     Chamberlain on the basketball team that battled for the 
     national championship. He was student body president, 
     president of his fraternity and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
       His leadership at KU and in the community brought him many 
     honors, including KU's Distinguished Service Citation in 1988 
     and the KU Alumni Association's Ellsworth Medallion in 1984. 
     His honors in the community included the 1989 Leadership 
     Lawrence Don Volker Award for community leadership, the 
     Lawrence Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year award in 
     2002 and Kansan of the Year award from the Native Sons and 
     Daughters of Kansas in 1989.
       In addition to Alvamar, Billings was the developer of Oread 
     West Corporate and Research Park and served on a number of 
     corporate boards, including American Investors Life 
     Insurance, Kansas Public Service, Reuter Organ Co. and 
     University State Bank.

[[Page E372]]

       Billings' title at Alvamar Inc. was president and chairman 
     of the board, but in a July 1999 interview he described 
     himself as ``just general flunkie.''
       ``We have a lot of development partnerships,'' he said. 
     ``It's a total of about 3,000 acres--2,000 already developed, 
     with another 800 to 1,000 acres to go. There's a lot going on 
     out here.''
       Despite the massive project, Billings always downplayed his 
     role in Lawrence's westward expansion.
       ``Lawrence is just good. We're just fortunate to be a very 
     small part of what's going on,'' he said.
       The name of his development honored his parents, Alva and 
     Margaretta.


                           Positive attitude

       Billings was remembered Thursday by friends for his 
     positive attitude and many contributions to Lawrence and the 
     university.
       ``If Bob, as bad as he might feel, could look out the 
     window today, he'd remark about what a great day it was and 
     put some kind of positive spin on it,'' said Jerry Waugh, who 
     coached Billings on the KU basketball team and later worked 
     for his corporation. ``I never saw him down in the many years 
     I knew him and he remained that way to the end, always up, 
     always inspiring others and never seeing any dark side.''
       Monte Johnson, a former KU athletic director who had known 
     Billings since both men were freshmen at KU, called his 
     former teammate a ``generous, caring considerate, unselfish, 
     positive, forward-thinking human being.''
       ``My sense of loss is tremendous, but far greater is the 
     loss to his family, KU, Lawrence, the state and humanity in 
     general,'' Johnson said. ``There is no way to replace him, 
     yet it is so important to remember his legacy and, for the 
     rest of us and those who follow, to try to measure up to the 
     incredible standards of outstanding citizenship and 
     friendship he set.''
       Friendship was the focus of many memories expressed 
     Thursday. Billings' friends Nelson and Judy Krueger 
     remembered a telephone call from Billings and his wife, 
     Beverly, after the Kruegers' grandson was killed in a traffic 
     accident. ``It was the most meaningful call,'' Nelson Krueger 
     said. ``They left a voice mail, and they couldn't talk; they 
     could only cry. Bob planted a tree at Alvamar in honor of 
     Jack within a week after Jack died.''
       Krueger also shared a number of photos reproduced in 
     today's Journal-World, including one of a children's fishing 
     contest Billings sponsored every Memorial Day at a lake on 
     the Alvamar Golf Course. Billings didn't want any child to go 
     away without a prize, so he gave prizes for the biggest fish, 
     the ugliest fish, the wettest fish, anything he could think 
     of, Krueger said. ``He wanted everyone to be a winner.
       Another friend, attorney Jerry Cooley, also remembered his 
     unselfish attitude. ``He has been a great benefactor to the 
     city of Lawrence and Douglas County,'' Cooley said. ``His 
     developments have been prize winners for the community, and 
     he did that without great personal gain. He plowed back into 
     the community what others may have taken as profit.''
       Don Johnston, a banker and former executive of Maupintour 
     Inc., said Billings created more than brick and mortar.
       ``He was a builder not just of structures but of character 
     and goodness,'' Johnston said. ``I'm not sure he ever had a 
     negative thought in his life. He could dream, inspire, make 
     things happen and make people feel good while they were 
     striving for something positive.''
       Waugh, Billings' former coach, recalled, ``Bob was a 
     student of history and always remembered what Abraham 
     Lincoln's mother told him: `Be somebody.' Bob's mother, 
     Margaretta, was as supportive as a mother could be and, in 
     effect, had relayed that concept to her son. He didn't fail 
     her. Bob, absolutely, was somebody.''
                                  ____


            [From the Lawrence Journal-World, Feb. 22, 2003]

                 Friends Celebrate Memories of Billings

                           (By Leita Walker)

       Bob Billings couldn't say no.
       ``A friend of mine once said that if Bob had been female, 
     he would have been pregnant all the time,'' said Monte 
     Johnson, who spoke Friday at a memorial service for Billings, 
     who died Feb. 13.
       Billings couldn't turn down charities.
       He always wanted to help out with even the craziest of 
     business ventures.
       And students in need were his weak spot.
       ``He exemplified all that's good in a person and practiced 
     it every day,'' Johnson told the more than 1,000 people who 
     attended the service at the Lied Center.
       The occasion was a solemn one, but, as shown by Johnson's 
     remarks, it was not without humor. Giant red and purple 
     flower arrangements complete with sunflowers and wheat stalks 
     festooned the stage, and Jayhawk-adorned basketballs helped 
     decorate tables in the lobby.
       Guests included Kansas University administrators, coaches 
     and athletes; city officials; and scores of friends and 
     business associates.
       Catered refreshments greeted everyone as they left the 
     auditorium, and soon the Lied Center lobby was filled with 
     conversation--and laughter.
       Billings wanted the service to be a celebration, his 
     friends and family said.
       By the time he died of cancer at age 65, Billings had 
     accomplished more than most people dream.
       The Russell native played on the 1957 KU basketball team 
     that made it to the NCAA championship game, and he served as 
     student body president.
       He developed thousands of acres in west Lawrence, and he 
     was president of Alvamar Inc., which includes 3,000 acres of 
     residential and commercial property, a nationally recognized 
     public golf course and the Alvamar Country Club complex.
       ``He was Mr. Everything,'' Johnson said.
       But Friday, his humanity was the focus, and his 
     accomplishments came second.
       When Billings met someone, he always had a handshake ready, 
     said his nephew Jim Billings.
       ``Great to see you,'' he would say. ``How are you doing? 
     Super.''
       He knew everyone's name, Jim Billings said, and yet the man 
     who did so much for Lawrence was also human.
       ``His humanness should give us hope that any one of us 
     could become more like Bob,'' he said.
       He was a developer not just of property but of people and 
     of communities, said the Rev. Butch Henderson.
       And longtime friend John McGrew said, ``Some people are 
     generous with their time, some with their money. Bob was 
     generous with both.''

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