A modest and effective leader, Frank Shrontz, Idaho ’53, quietly rose to the heights of the corporate world, and yet during his lifelong career with Boeing always found time to support Beta’s Gamma Gamma Chapter and pursue nationwide efforts to improve K-12 education.

One of six Idaho Betas – including his father, Thurlyn 1921; uncle, Orville 1927; and three sons, Craig ’78; Rick ’81; and David ’83 – Frank was commissioned into the U.S. Army in 1953 and served two years on active duty before joining Boeing in 1958. In 1973, he was appointed Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for installations and logistics, and in 1976 he became Assistant Secretary of Defense. He rejoined Boeing in 1977, holding several vice president roles before becoming the company’s president in 1985, CEO in 1986 and chairman in 1988. Under his tenure, he oversaw three of the company’s busiest programs, the 707, 727 and 737 jetliners. In addition to holding a seat on Boeing’s board until 1997, he also served at various times on the board of directors of Boise Cascade Corporation, 3M Company, Chevron Corporation and the Seattle Mariners baseball club.

For these accomplishments, the Fraternity awarded Shrontz with the Oxford Cup – Beta’s highest honor for professional achievement – in 1999.

Shrontz was a servant leader at heart. He was vice chairman of the New American Schools Development Corp., a nonprofit formed to support “break-the-mold” school designs, and chairman emeritus of the Partnership for Learning, which aims to increase awareness of Washington state’s efforts to raise academic standards in public schools. A former Beta chapter president, he never forgot his brothers and became a major benefactor of both his Gamma Gamma Chapter house and the Beta Foundation.

May Brother Frank Shrontz, Roll No. 693 of the Gamma Gamma Chapter of Beta Theta Pi, rest in peace. Forever in ___kai___.

“I feel like I had a better chance playing on Mars than for an Idaho boy to play at the Grand Ole Opry.”

Colby Acuff, Idaho ’19, was a star in his Grand Ole Opry debut on August 1, 2023. He stepped into the historic Opry circle for the first time on a night that featured Opry House mainstays like Jamey Johnson, Charlie McCoy and Riders in the Sky.

“I’m from northern Idaho so the Opry is not huge in the Northwest,” Acuff told blog and podcast Whiskey Riff, “but that being said, I grew up a huge country music fan my entire life and country music is huge in northern Idaho. So the Opry to me is like playing on a different planet. It’s so far from what I thought I could do or where I was going to go so it’s pretty unreal for me”.

In the country music world, the Grand Ole Opry is the place to perform. It was born from a live radio show broadcasted on WSM Radio in 1925, and soon the Opry House became a staple in country music. People travel from all over the world to visit, and play at, the Grand Ole Opry.

A fourth generation Idaho native, Acuff’s untamed brand stands apart from other artists in today’s country music industry. He proudly describes it as pure and untouched by modern gimmicks, drawing inspiration from the likes of Flatt & Scruggs, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and even modern-maverick Tyler Childers. Growing up, he learned piano at age 5, drums at 9 and guitar at 11,  took the stage for the first time at 12 and was even writing songs by 15.

Brother Acuff recently signed with Sony Records Nashville with more new music on the horizon. Western White Pines, his fourth and most recent album, was fully released in June.