By Dan Adkins

“Each year since we inaugurated the Hall of Fame in 1994, I've been impressed by the quality of entrepreneurs and business innovators who have been produced by the Gatton College. This year’s inductees are no exceptions, because they have had great impact on their fields of commerce and on the quality of life in their communities.”

-- Richard W. Furst,
dean of the Gatton College.

Nolen C. Allen

Lee Congleton

Jeffrey L. McWaters

April 7 , 2003 (Lexington, Ky.) -- The University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business and Economics has inducted the chairman of a managed care company, the president of a Tennessee coal company and the retired chairman of a Louisville accounting firm into its 10th annual Alumni Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will be at noon Thursday, April 17, at the UK Student Center Grand Ballroom.

The 2003 inductees are Nolen C. Allen of Louisville, Lee Congleton of Knoxville, and Jeffrey L. McWaters of Virginia Beach, Va.

“Each year since we inaugurated the Hall of Fame in 1994, I've been impressed by the quality of entrepreneurs and business innovators who have been produced by the Gatton College. This year’s inductees are no exceptions, because they have had great impact on their fields of commerce and on the quality of life in their communities,” said Richard W. Furst, dean of the Gatton College.

Allen, 73, is the retired president and chairman of Cotton & Allen, a Louisville CPA firm. He joined the company, then called the William Cotton Co., immediately after his 1952 graduation from UK, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting. He became a partner in the firm four years later and served as its president for nearly 40 years. Under his leadership, the company has diversified into business strategy planning, business acquisition and disposition, business valuation, business finance, and real estate division. Its litigation support practice includes expert witness in lawsuits involving divorce valuations, loss of earnings and value, and shareholder interest valuations. He is now semi-retired.

A native of Lone Oak, Ky., in McCracken County, Allen was valedictorian at Paducah Junior College and had a perfect grade record during his two years at UK. He and his wife, Patricia Ann Freeman Allen, have five children and 12 grandchildren.

A 1957 UK graduate, Congleton is president of Concoal Corp. in Knoxville, Tenn., as well as president of Richland Coal Co., Conrich Tennessee Inc., Conrich Ohio Inc., Spring Collieries Inc., Stroud Coal Co., BBC Coal Co., and Hill & Hill Coal Co. He has built office buildings, shopping centers and subdivisions in Knox and Loudon counties of Tennessee and owned banks in those counties. He has served as chairman of the First Heritage National Bank and as president of C.W. Johnson Coal Co.

A native of Barbourville, Ky., Congleton and his wife, Bobbie Dean, have three children and five grandchildren.

McWaters, 47, is founder, chairman and CEO of Amerigroup Corp., established in 1994 to help states respond to the health care needs of low-income and uninsured families and people with disabilities. Under his leadership, the Virginia Beach, Va., company developed partnerships with state governments and health care providers while maintaining its focus on access to high-quality community-based health care. The company’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.

A native of Paducah, Ky., McWaters is a 1978 graduate of UK, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting. He and his wife, Cynthia L. McWaters, have two children.