Welcome W. Wilson, Sr.

Welcome W. Wilson, Sr.
Born 1928
Residence Houston, Texas, US
Alma mater University of Houston (1949)
Texas Southmost College (1946)
Board member of GSL Welcome Group (Chairman)
University of Houston System (Chairman)
Children 5
Website http://www.gslwelcome.com

Welcome Wade Wilson, Sr. (born 1928)[1] is chairman of the GSL Welcome Group—a privately held real estate development firm with its headquarters in Houston, Texas (USA).[1] He previously served on the Board of Regents of the University of Houston System, and is a 1949 graduate of the University of Houston.[2]

Early life

Wilson graduated high school in 1944. He attended Texas Southmost College, and graduated with an Associate of Arts degree in 1946. Later that year, he enrolled at the University of Houston. In 1949, he graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. While at the University of Houston as a student, Wilson worked for The Cougar as an advertising seller under Johnny Goyen, and later as business manager. He resided on-campus at the makeshift residential area of the university mainly for veterans known as "Veteran's Village". Following his graduation, he went to work for the university as the assistant director for the now defunct College of Nursing where he raised money for scholarships and hired nurses.

Awards and achievements

Wilson graduated from the University of Houston in 1949 with a BBA. He received the University of Houston's Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1970, as well as the University of Houston's C. T. Bauer College of Business Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1996. On September 30, 2010 the University of Houston named Wilson as Chairman of school's Tier One campaign.[3] He also served as chair of the University of Houston System (UHS) Board of Regents.[4]

Wilson graduated with a AA degree from Texas Southmost College in 1946, and received its Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2005.[2] Wilson received the Arthur S. Flemming Award as one of Ten Outstanding Young Men in Federal Service in 1958. The Arthur S. Flemming Award was established in 1948 to honor outstanding federal employees. Recognized by the President of the United States, agency heads, and the private sector, the winners are selected from all areas of the federal service.[5] The Texas Business Hall of Fame named Welcome Wilson, Sr. as a Legend and Honoree in 2011.[6] Most recently in May 2011 Wilson was named "Entrepreneur of the Year" by the Houston Technology Center.[7]

U.S. federal government service

Welcome W. Wilson served in the Eisenhower and Kennedy administrations as a five-state Director of Civil and Defense Mobilization, a division of the Executive Office of the President. He also had responsibility for what is now known as FEMA. In 1966 he was appointed Special Ambassador to Nicaragua by President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was a witness to the Atom bomb tests in Nevada in 1954 and the Hydrogen bomb test at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean in 1956.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 Dawson, Jennifer, "Welcome words of Wilson wit and wisdom", Houston Business Journal, May 2, 2008, page 1, retrieved online May 1, 2009
  2. 1 2 3 "UHS - Board of Regents". University of Houston System. Retrieved 2008-06-26.
  3. "Chairman". University of Houston. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
  4. UH System Board of Regents elects officers
  5. "Arthur S. Fleming Awards". Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration. Retrieved 2009-05-22.
  6. "Legend and Honoree". Texas Business Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2012-01-19.
  7. "Entrepreneur of the Year". Houston Technology Center. Retrieved 2012-01-19.

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