Distinguished Alumni 2008 Winners

Randy Andrews | Ben Bruckner, Jr. | Rick Francis

G. Randall “Randy” Andrews received his degree in accounting from Texas Tech University in 1977. Randy is the founder and President of GRACO Real Estate Development, Inc. Randy serves on the Board of Directors of the Texas Tech Foundation and is a member of the Chancellor’s Council and the Rawls College of Business Advisory Council. He was recognized by the Area of Accounting as its Distinguished Alumnus in 2003. Randy has served on several civic boards including the Ronald McDonald House, Lubbock Power and Light, St. Mary Hospital Foundation, Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, Covenant Children’s Hospital Foundation, and the City of Lubbock Airport Board. He currently serves on the boards of Spirit Ranch and Food Concepts International (Abuelo’s). Randy and his wife, Susan, have three grown children, Christy Andrews McClendon, Gary Andrews, and Geoffrey Andrews, all of whom live in Lubbock and work in the family business.

Ben Bruckner, Jr. graduated from Amarillo High School and attended Texas Tech University from where he graduated in 1953 with a BBA in Marketing. Ben served his country as a captain in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Ben is Chairman of the Board of Bruckner Truck Sales, Inc., a company that was started by his father, B.M. Bruckner, Sr. in 1932. Bruckner’s has continued to expand its services and grow over the years, and is now recognized as a leading dealership serving the Southwestern United States. Under Ben’s leadership, Bruckner Truck Sales was named as the National Truck Distributor of the Year for Mack Trucks in 2006 and for Volvo Trucks in 2007. In 2008, the Amarillo Better Business Bureau honored Bruckner’s with the Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics. Ben is active in many civic and business organizations including eighteen years of service as a Regent for Amarillo College and past director of the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce. He and his wife, Peggy, have two sons, Brian and Chris and five grandchildren.

Mr. Rick Francis earned his bachelor’s degree in finance from Texas Tech University in 1978 and also graduated from the Southwest Graduate School of Banking at Southern Methodist University. He has served on the Dean’s Advisory Board for Texas Tech University Health Sciences in El Paso and was presented the Dean’s Distinguished Service Award from Tech in 2001. Rick was appointed to the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents in 2003, and was re-appointed to serve a second term in 2007. Rick is Chairman of Bank of the West-El Paso. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Western Refining, Inc., Providence Memorial Hospital, Sierra Medical Center, the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the Medical Center of the Americas Foundation, the Paso del Norte Group, and the Texas Philosophical Society. Rick and his wife Ginger, a 1979 Tech graduate, were recently honored as El Paso’s “Philanthropists of the Year for 2007”. They have two grown children, Lauren and Tyler...and their dog, Roscoe.