The Boone County Historical Society announced the selection of three new Boone County Hall of Fame enshrinees: Karen M. Miller, the late Dr. Frank L. Mitchell, Jr. M.D. and The Columbia Cosmopolitan Luncheon Club.
Each year, one living recipient, one honoree who has passed and one business or organization are inducted into the Boone County Hall of Fame.
Living recipient Karen M. Miller served as Boone County’s District One Commissioner from 1993 to 2017, helping lead several major initiatives like the Boone County 911 Center, a half-cent road tax and management of a $66 million county budget.
The late recipient, Dr. Franklin L. Mitchell Jr. (1930–2014) had a four-decade career in trauma surgery and emergency care at the University of Missouri, transforming medicine in mid-Missouri, including leading the creation of the University Hospital’s ground ambulance service and the Staff for Life Helicopter Service.
The business or organization recipient, the Columbia Cosmopolitan Luncheon Club, is only the second nonprofit selected for the Hall of Fame. The club has donated nearly $1.5 million and thousands of volunteer hours over the decades to support community betterment and diabetes prevention. Some of the well-known projects included donating land for parks and launching Columbia’s “Fire in the Sky” fireworks event, and creating what is now JobPoint, a workforce development agency that serves hundreds of individuals and businesses annually.
This year, the annual gala event will be held on Oct. 4 at the Country Club of Missouri.
