Bio: Kostner, Emil E. (Marquette Alumnus of the year – 1968)

Contact: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Kostner, Knowles, Leary

----Source: THORP COURIER (Thorp, Clark County, Wis.) 11 Apr 1968

Emil E. Kostner, president of Thorp Finance Corporation, has been named the Marquette University Alumnus of the Year. The selection was announced by Raymond D. Leary, President of the Marquette Alumni Association.

Kostner, a 1927 graduate of Marquette's College of Business Administration, will receive a citation for meritorious service at 8 p.m. during the annual Alumni Week dinner-dance, April 27, at the Sheraton-Schroeder Hotel.

Kostner, 62, joined Thorp in 1939 as a collection correspondent and became successively Office Manager, Assistant Secretary-Treasurer, Secretary-Treasurer, Executive Vice-President, and in 1964, President of Thorp and its subsidiary companies.

He is currently president and Director of Lyndon Life Insurance Company, having been a Director and Vice-President at its inception in 1956. He is also President and member of the Board of Directors of Thorp Life Insurance Corporation.

A member of Governor Knowles Task Force on Local Government Finance and Organization, Kostner is Director of People's Exchange Bank in Thorp (Clark Co.), Wis. He is a past president and former director of the Wis. Consumer Finance Association, and Governor of the Society for Advancement of management in Eau Claire, Wis.

While at Marquette, Kostner was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society, and Delta Sigma Pi, International Commerce Fraternity. He did post-graduate work at Stanford University's Graduate School of Credit and Financial Management, where he received an executive award.

Kostner is a member of the Knights of Columbus, Sierra International, the Lions Club of Thorp and Wausau, Wis., and the Milwaukee Athletic Club.

A native of Neillsville, Wis., he attended Medford High School.