KINGFISHER, Okla. - Veteran employees of the Kingfisher Wal-Mart helped unveil a statue of company founder Sam Walton on Wednesday during a grand opening of a new Supercenter in the city where Walton was born.
The 8-foot bronze statue of Sam Walton and his bird dog, Ol' Roy, will be placed in a plaza near the store's entrance.
Employees who have worked at the original Kingfisher Wal-Mart discount store since it opened in 1976 were on hand to help with the unveiling.
"They remembered Sam coming in on the day that store opened," Wal-Mart spokesman Angie Stoner said. "It's just a very special community for us, and we were pleased to not only open the store, but the extra dedication of the Sam Walton statue was really special." Walton, who was born in 1918, died in 1992.
City officials estimate that the new Supercenter will create 80 jobs.
The statue was sculpted by Kingfisher artist John Gooden, who used portraits of Walton and an old photograph of his dog to create the statue. The sculpture was cast at JSC Manufacturing in Wilson, Okla.
Business Matters, Pages 93 on 10/28/2007