President, O & S Trucking, Inc., Springfield, MO

Jim O’Neal founded a freight brokerage in 1981 that has grown into O & S Trucking Inc., a full-service truckload carrier with a fleet of more than 230 tractors and 400 trailers hauling temperature-controlled freight.

In addition to managing a company with roughly $50 million in annual revenue, O’Neal has been mayor of Springfield, Mo., since 2009.

A longtime leader in the trucking industry, O’Neal is a past chairman of Missouri Trucking Association and the Truckload Carriers Association. For his work in trucking and in the community, O’Neal’s been awarded the Missourian Award from the state of Missouri and the Frank G. Campbell Outstanding Service Award from the Missouri Trucking Association and was named the 2006 Philanthropist of the Year by the Springfield, Mo., chapter of the Association of Professional Fundraisers and the 1993 Small Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration, Kansas City District.

Jim and his wife Debbie have been married 41 years. They have 4 children and 4 grandchildren.