Dale Wright: Distinguished Alumni Award

Dr. Gilgour presents Dale Wright with the Distinguished Alumni Award at the 2023 Commencement Ceremony

Denise and Dale Wright

This year’s Distinguished Alumni Award honors Dale Wright of Farmington. He serves as a Missouri State Representative for the 116^th District, which includes portions of St. Francois and Madison counties. Before his election to the Missouri House of Representatives, he had a 48-year career in the healthcare industry.

Wright earned his associate degree in Business Management from Mineral Area College in 1973 and later completed the Healthcare Business Management Program through the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.

When asked how MAC impacted his life, Wright said, “Absolutely no question; the education I received at MAC was the cornerstone of my entire career! Whatever success I’ve achieved, it is a result of the things I learned and experienced at MAC.”

That career began at Mineral Area Hospital in Farmington, which influenced his decision to attend MAC so he could earn a promotion from warehouse stock boy to the hospital purchasing agent. He continued to move up the ladder to various management roles within the industry, eventually retiring as divisional president and chief contracting officer at Amerinet, Inc., a national healthcare group purchasing organization with contract sales of $7.5 billion.

He recently retired as managing partner at healthcare consulting company, Actalur Group, LLC, as well as Angle Medical Solutions, a pharmaceutical and medical device distributor.

Wright has received numerous awards during his career, including the Rising Star Award from Cardinal Healthcare Corporation, Manager of the Year from Health Services Corporation of America, and Healthcare Executive of the Year from Allegiance Healthcare Corporation. He was also named to the Who’s Who of American Healthcare Executives.

He has a long history of serving the community. In addition to serving in the Missouri House of Representatives since 2018, Wright was a member of the Farmington City Council, serving on the public safety, administrative, and public services committees. He currently serves on the city’s Police Personnel Board. He’s a former member of the MAC Foundation Board, where he served as the Vice-President of the Executive Committee. Wright was a founding board member of the Missouri Hospital Associations’ Healthcare Purchasing Council. He also served on the MCII Sheltered Workshop board, including two terms as president.

Wright and his wife Denise attended MAC together and formed many lifelong friendships during their time here. She later returned to the college as an Assistant Professor of English, retiring in 2017. They have three children (all MAC graduates), eleven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.