The Osceola, Missouri, native found a home on campus. During college, Foote was a member of Sigma Pi fraternity and the Interfraternity Council.
He graduated in 1972 with a business degree.
Foote is actively involved with his alma mater. He’s on the Missouri State University Foundation Board of Trustees as well as being a cabinet member for the Onward, Upward campaign.
He lives in Littleton, Colorado, and is president of Global Sourcing Solutions, a sourcing and sales company.
How has being a first-generation graduate changed your life?
It certainly opened doors for business opportunities. I probably would have never had my own company, which I have had since I was 31.
I learned to be an entrepreneur. Without a degree, I probably would have been working for somebody else.
I learned a lot being in the fraternity, in the Interfraternity Council and at school.
All those combined gave me a foundation to be a good businessperson. You have to learn how to work with all kinds of people. I learned to give and take. And I think that’s a big part of being an entrepreneur.
You and fellow alumnus Mike Oldham teamed up to fund the peak performance sales lab in Glass Hall. Were you friends before that collaboration?
No, we got together through Sophie Pierpoint (an MSU director of development) during her visits to Colorado. We’ve taken similar paths during the course of our careers.
It came up that they needed somebody to support that part of Glass Hall. I asked Mike, “Hey, Mike, would you like to do this?” And he said, “Yeah!” because we’re both in sales, and it’s the sales lab.
Tell me about your connection with Sigma Pi, and how it connects you to MSU.
I’ve bought a home in Florida because I kept visiting my fraternity brothers down there! There’s four of us.
When you get older, you realize you can do other things besides just work and raise a family. I had that realization 10 years ago. I got really involved with the fraternity and with Missouri State.
We had a fraternity homecoming, and we had 170 to 180 members from all eras show up. It sparked us to renew our friendships. We hadn’t seen each other in 20 or 30 years, and we all just started getting together.
And at the same time, I’ve always liked the university, so I also got more involved with it.
You have given back to the university in many ways. What’s your favorite?
I supported an outdoor terrace in Glass Hall in honor of my mom, Jimmie Jean Foote. I did it while she was still alive, and she got to come and be part of the ceremony with her 90-year-old boyfriend. That was such a wonderful thing, for her to be there.
I also support the MarooNation Ball in Kansas City. A lot of my fraternity brothers go to that, and it’s a lot of fun.
To be honest, I’m not a big donor in the big scheme of things. I like helping where they don’t necessarily have many donors, like the men’s and women’s golf teams. I love golf. And, you know, what little I give, they seem to really appreciate.
What are your goals as a campaign cabinet member?
Basically, to help Missouri State reach the ultimate monetary goal as a team.
From a personal standpoint, to see if I can get some people interested in participating who maybe would not have ordinarily participated.
I’m excited about it. I think John Goodman is going to do a good job helping the campaign. I also think there are a lot of people in my age group who are thinking of things they want to do that they didn’t think about in the earlier parts of their lives.
Hopefully, that results in support coming to the school. Everybody can get involved.
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