Sam Hamra’s company Hamra Enterprises owns and operates 156 restaurants and additional real estate projects in Missouri and elsewhere in the U.S.
According to news releases, Hamra is the child of a Lebanese immigrant who grew up in the Missouri Bootheel before attending the Gulf Coast Military Academy and the University of Missouri. In the 1950s, Hamra served in the U.S. Army in Germany and in Maryland — and from 1997 to 2003 was appointed by the U.S. President as a civilian Army aide for the Western District of Missouri.
Hamra also served as Nixa City Attorney and Branson governmental relations attorney. He is known for active participation in local public affairs by volunteering and donating to many causes — including The Kitchen, Rotary Club, Ozarks Technical Community College and Legal Services of Southern Missouri. Hamra also received honors from many community institutions including the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and Springfield Business Journal.
In a written statement Monday, Mayor McClure called Hamra “one of a kind” and saluted his “ingenuity, dedication and generosity.”
Hamra, 90, received the Key to the City at a Monday ceremony attended by dozens of well-wishers.
