Dr. 拉蒂默特鲁特

Former State Representative, Film Producer, and Former President of the Houston Museum of Natural Sc

8月23日出生, 1928, 在Lueders, 德州, 拉蒂默特鲁特 has never forgotten his West 德州 roots and has maintained his down-to-earth modesty and sincerity as he has grown from a small-town boy to an effective executive.

Truett graduated from Lueders High School in 1945 and received a business degree from Hardin-Simmons University in 1951. 在大的时候，他担任高年级的财务主管. Upon graduation, he entered the insurance business in Abilene and remained in that field until 1955. Truett served 13 years in the 德州 National Guard and one year in the Army Reserve.

在他的保险事业生涯中, 他赢得了德克萨斯州众议院的一个席位, 他在84区任职的地方, 包括泰勒县. 23岁时当选, he was re-elected four times and served as a State Representative until 1962. 在众议院, 他撰写了大量地方立法, 区域, 以及全州范围的意义. Among his committee assignments were appropriations, insurance, water, and agriculture. During his tenure in the House, he also served as HSU alumni director for seven years.

In 1962, Truett became public relations director for the 德州 Association of Realtors, 他在那里服役了三年. 随后，他成为德克萨斯州历史委员会的执行董事. 在接下来的16年, he spearheaded one of the most aggressive and successful historical preservation programs in the nation, 帮助社区保存和修复他们的历史建筑, 尤其是他们的县法院. 他还在建立怀恩代尔博物馆工作室方面发挥了作用, 成立了德州博物馆协会, 以及为德克萨斯州开发一个博物馆咨询项目.

Preservation 德州 each year presents the 拉蒂默特鲁特 Award to a working professional who demonstrates a significant commitment and sustained involvement in preservation as part of his or her job responsibilities.

Truett left the 德州 Historical Commission to accept a position as vice president for marketing and public relations with Spaw-Glass Construction, 一家商业建筑公司，在五个州都有项目, 从酒店、公寓到大型零售中心, 医院和办公楼.

In 1986, Truett embarked on a mission that would set new standards in the nonprofit field when he became president of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Applying his public relations expertise and his common sense approach, Truett brought the museum from what has been described as “a bunch of old bones and a life-size model of a pre-historic dinosaur” to a world-class museum that is the second-most visited attraction in Houston and one of the best attended museums in the United States. 许多人认为是他一手拯救了博物馆, but Truett humbly shifts the praise to the board and people who worked alongside him. He set the tone for a 1989 interview for a Houston Chronicle article about the museum by stating up front, “I hope that whatever else you write that you give a lot of credit to a very quality staff.” Earned income yearly was between 80 and 90 percent—a figure unheard of for museums.

To list but a few of the dramatic changes to the museum during his 15-year tenure, 新增了400座的沃萨姆IMAX影院, which features what was then the world’s largest motion picture screen; the Cockrell Butterfly Center, a living exhibit that showcases live butterflies in a naturalistic rainforest setting; the George Observatory at Brazos Bend State Park, which houses the largest telescope open to the public; and the Challenger Learning Center, 哪个是用来教育学生关于太空和太空飞行的. The museum produces an atmosphere of subtle learning, which Truett calls “the reduction of ignorance.”

Today the museum has more than 240,000 square feet of space and employs 225 personnel. 在他任职期间, 博物馆制作了五部IMAX电影, 其中一部获得了奥斯卡纪录片类提名. 特鲁特于2001年从总裁职位上退休, 尽管他仍然是一个活跃的名誉受托人, and continues to travel worldwide to produce IMAX films through his company 拉蒂默特鲁特 Productions.

忙碌的工作, Truett still managed to stay involved in many professional and civic organizations. A few of those offices and memberships include the Giant Screen Theater Association, 探险家俱乐部, 德州历史博物馆基金会的董事会成员, 以及美国童子军山姆·休斯顿委员会. He is a fellow of the Linnean Society and the Royal Geographic Societies in London, 他在哪里也是东印度俱乐部的会员.

Ever faithful to staying young, Truett enjoys jogging, canoeing, sailing, and backpacking. 1983年他已经50多岁了, 特鲁特参加了天纳克马拉松, 1985年和1986年, 跑过纽约马拉松. He is married to the former Harriet Calvin and they have five children. Harriet says Truett is an eternal optimist and no matter how bad a situation is he always says, “情况可能会更糟!”

自从1951年离开PG电子官方免费下载公司, 特鲁特多年来一直在回归, 人才, 及资源. He is a lifetime member of the Hardin-Simmons University Presidents Club, in 1991, 他曾获大杰出校友奖, and in 1996 HSU conferred upon him the honorary doctor of laws degree. Truett continues to serve HSU as the current president of the Board of Development.

拉蒂默特鲁特 has done much in his lifetime to preserve the history and quality of life in 德州 and to magnify the learning experience through mediums which bring awe and joy to the learner. It is with great pride that we at Hardin-Simmons University claim 拉蒂默特鲁特 as a member of our family.

It is the high honor of Hardin-Simmons University to recognize one of her own and to formally induct 拉蒂默特鲁特 into the HSU 领袖堂.