Hometown interest for: Manhattan
News release prepared by: Olivia Blanco, 785-532-2753, oblanco@k-state.edu
Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011
Distinguished success: College of Business Administration recognizing Dave Dreiling as Business Leader of the Year
MANHATTAN -- Dave Dreiling, a Manhattan business executive, is being honored with the Distinguished Business Leader of the Year award by the College of Business Administration at Kansas State University. Dreiling also is being inducted into the College of Business Administration Business Leaders Hall of Fame.
The Distinguished Business Leader of the Year award is given to individuals who have a proven record of career success and individual accomplishments, as well as a demonstrated interest in supporting the college, its students, faculty and staff. Dreiling will receive the honor Friday, Oct. 7, at the annual College of Business Administration's Business Advisory Council Meeting.
Dreiling is the owner of GTM Sportswear, a Manhattan-based company that sells imprinted sportswear to teams across the country. Other GTM divisions include Cushion Seats Inc., which leases semipermanent cushioned chair backs to college football programs at more than 50 U.S. schools; and the retail division, which includes the K-State Super Store and the Cats Closet, the retail arm of the K-State athletic department, along with stores in Lawrence, Kan., and Omaha, Neb. GTM has grown more than 25 percent annually since it began in 1999.
In addition, Dreiling has holdings in various restaurants, including Cox Bros. BBQ, Quiznos, Freddy's Frozen Custard and Ingredient. He has also acquired the Growth Coach franchise for Kansas, the national leader in the small business owner coaching industry. His companies employ more than 900 people in northeast Kansas.
Dreiling is active in the community. He serves on several nonprofit boards and is a past president of the Flint Hills Breadbasket, the Manhattan area food bank. He also is a guest lecturer in the College of Business Administration and is a mentor in the K-State Business Executive Mentor Program.
"It is an honor to have someone like Dave Dreiling as one of our alumni and supporters," said Ali Malekzadeh, Edgerley Family Dean of the College of Business Administration. "His entrepreneurial spirit and tremendous success serve as great examples of leadership to our students. His engagement with K-State and the college allows us to continue to evolve and to offer the best possible programs."
In 1992, Dreiling was named Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the Small Business Administration for the state of Kansas. In 1994, he was named a finalist for Inc. magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year for Missouri and Kansas. Recently, the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce awarded Dreiling the Lud Fiser Citizen of the Year Award for his outstanding contributions to the community.
The Distinguished Business Leader of the Year award was established in 2001 to recognize friends of the College of Business Administration who serve on the college's Business Advisory Council. Past recipients include Dennis von Waaden in 2001, Rand Berney and Paul Edgerley in 2004, and Joleen D. Moden in 2010.
