1996 Honoree, Frank Shrontz

The only son of a Boise sporting goods merchant, Frank A. Shrontz completed law school at the University of Idaho in 1954 and earned an MBA at Harvard in 1958. While in law school, Frank met and married Harriet Houghton. They have three sons.

Shrontz began work at Boeing in 1958, and served continuously, except for a stint at the Pentagon from 1973 to 1977 as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force and Assistant Secretary of Defense. The sixth chief executive in Boeing's 80-year history, he took over in 1988 from T.A. Wilson. In 1989 he initiated a company-wide process called Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI), a cornerstone of the company's aerospace leadership. Under Shrontz, Boeing developed the 777 wide-body jetliner, a new standard in customer-driven design and advanced technology. In 1990 he formed a new defense and space group responsible for the 767 AWACS system, the F-22 Air Force fighter, the Navy's V-22 tilt rotor aircraft and the International Space Station.

Shrontz's community service achievements include the 1990 YMCA A.K. Guy Award, hosting President Clinton during the 1993 APEC Summit and investing in the Seattle Mariners to keep major league baseball in Washington. He served on the former Gov. Booth Gardner's Council on Educational Reform and Funding, and chairs Partnership for Learning, whose purpose is to inform Washington education stakeholders of the value of educational reform. In 1995, he accepted chairmanship of King County United Way, where his team spearheaded a successful community campaign.

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