TopVet: Jack DeBoer, Candlewood Suites

Jack DeBoer is recognized as the pioneer of the extended-stay hotel concept, having founded the Residence Inn chain and co-founded the Summerfield Hotel Corp. His most recent endeavors include Candlewood Suites and Cambridge Suites.

Mr. DeBoer began his entrepreneurial career selling real estate during the summers while still in high school in Kalamazoo, Michigan. After graduating from Michigan State University in 1952 with a degree in business, he served two years as a military police officer at the end of the Korean War. After his discharge, he joined his father building homes in southern Michigan. In 1966, he began constructing apartments and, by 1973, his company had built more than 16,000 apartments in 30 cities across 25 states.

In 1975, he designed and built the first Residence Inn, an all-suite hotel in his home city, Wichita, Kansas. He went on to build or franchise 100 Residence Inns before selling the company to Marriott Corporation in 1987. A year later, he co-founded Summerfield, a second-generation upscale all-suite hotel chain. After resigning in 1993, he founded Candlewood Suites, a brand of new-construction studio and one-bedroom extended-stay properties.

In addition to his business ventures, Mr. DeBoer has long been active in civic and business organizations. He is a past president of the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce; was one of the founders of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Wichita State University; is a trustee of Youth for Understanding, a student exchange organization; and is a trustee of Innkeepers USA Trust, a publicly-held lodging real estate investment trust. Previously he was a board member of the Wesley Medical Endowment Foundation and the Greater Wichita Community Foundation.

Mr. DeBoer is an active pilot and collector of World War II-vintage aircraft. He currently hold the three-kilometer world speed record for jet aircraft under 18,000 pounds, set in his Lear Model 31.

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