Hall of Fame Induction Year
1997
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Inductee Biography
Born in Lansing, Michigan, Mr. Steele displayed his entrepreneurial spirit at the young age of eight by establishing a paper route with his older brother Vern. When the United States entered World War II, he joined the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a Private, moving up and retiring with the rank of Major during the war. After the war, Mr. Steele joined a Lansing lumber company, which he eventually turned into the Schultz, Snyder and Steele Lumber Company, a large, independent building materials wholesaler in the Midwest with lumber mills throughout the northwest. After taking early retirement, Mr. Steele moved to Fort Lauderdale in 1962. It wasn't long before he established strong community ties, fostered new business relationships, took on new community causes and delved into a new business venture. His business philosophy has always been, "I invest in people, not things". A dear friend convinced him that he was too young to retire and urged him to purchase the South Florida Mack Truck, Inc. distributorship, which consisted of one dealership in Miami. He soon added offices in Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers and eventually developed the company as the largest Mack Truck distributor in the United States with service extending to South America. Mr. Steele's community involvement has touched the lives of many individuals, organizations and boards, including such entities and agencies as Nova Southeastern University, Holy Cross Hospital, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Salvation Army, United Way, American Cancer Society, South Florida Council of Boy Scouts, Devcon International and the Navy League. His dedication was celebrated on numerous occasions. In 1991, Mr. and Mrs. Steele were honored by the American Heart Association for their outstanding service to the community and humanitarian commitment and service as the recipients of the Golden Heart Award. As a retired executive establishing a second career in a developing community, Mr. Steele met with retired chief executive officers and top business leaders regularly as a member of a social group appropriately named the Restless Weasels. Once a month, the group met for lunch at the Lauderdale Yacht Club and discussed current trends, business ventures and news. From those meetings often came new innovations and ventures. Mr. Steele contributed 34 years of dedicated service to Nova Southeastern University after taking his seat on the Board of Trustees in 1974. He served as the Board's Finance Committee Chair for several years before being appointed Chairman of the Board, a position he held for 10 years. Mr. and Mrs. Steele have given philanthropically and acted as the university's ambassadors throughout the country. He is considered by his colleagues at NSU as one of the pillars of strength that helped build Nova Southeastern University into what it is today. In 1991, his dedication to NSU was honored when he received the most prestigious award given by the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, the Champions of Higher Education in Florida Award. In 1997, Mr. Steele was inducted into the Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame at NSU. In 2000, Mr. and Mrs. Steele were recognized by NSU with the President's Community Award.
Digital Collection
Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame
Disciplines
Business
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