Topics: Awards, Miller College of Business

October 31, 2018

Banking executive Tom Bryan was among seven outstanding alumni honored October 26 by Ball State University’s Miller College of Business during the 14th annual Alumni Awards Luncheon at the Alumni Center.

Award recipients hold positions of distinction or responsibility in business, government, and academia. They also enrich their communities, advance industry, and support Ball State, said Mark Myring, the Bryan Interim Dean of the Miller College of Business.

“We are thrilled to recognize such inspiring and effective business and community leaders making a lasting impact on our state and world,” said Myring, who previously served as chair of the Department of Accounting. “Their success inspires our students and adds value to a degree through the Miller College of Business.”

Bryan, a 1977 graduate of Miller College, earned a bachelor’s degree in finance and general business administration. After he graduated from Ball State, Bryan received a master’s in finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, then began a career in commercial banking, specializing in fixed-income portfolio and asset-liability management.

In 1986, Bryan was a founding member of Bancorp of Rantoul, Inc. Bancorp purchased the Bank of Rantoul (Illinois) that year, and he became the bank’s president, a position he holds to this day. Bank of Rantoul has consistently been recognized at one of the nation’s top-preforming community banks.

For over 20 years, Bryan has been a banker and serial entrepreneur. He currently owns Bryz Guyz, Inc., a Las Vegas-based Blaze Pizza franchise; Ikoniq, Inc., a Canandaigua, New York, based designer and manufacturer of customized portable branded environments, including carts, kiosks, mobile trailers, and converted shipping containers; and Lightning In A Bottle Productions, LLC, a Las Vegas-based independent motion picture company. In 2017, the company released the movie “ADDicted.”

Other recipients are:

  • Award of Achievement: Timothy J. Bush, ’05 MS ‘06, partner, Whitinger & Company, LLC, Yorktown, Indiana; Andrew J. Crask, ’00, Indianapolis market president, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Westfield, Indiana; Suzanne M. Peperak, ’03, Barrett & Stokely Inc., Carmel, Indiana; and R. Cory Spaulding, ’06 MBA ’09, trust administrator, Indiana Trust and Investment Management, Muncie, Indiana.
  • Award of Distinction: Jennifer J. Budreau, ’84, chief operating officer, FORUM Credit Union, Noblesville, Indiana; and W. Craig Dobbs, ’86, director of institutional consulting, Graystone Consulting, Carmel, Indiana.

By Marc Ransford, Senior Communications Strategist