Theodore J. Altier
Altier & Sons, Inc. - Rochester, NY
1964-65, Chairman of Board of Directors

Born in 1921, Theodore J. "Ted” Altier worked in his parents’ store as a stockboy during grammar and high school he began studying mechanical engineering in 1939 at the University of Rochester, continuing to work in the store as a part-time sales associate. In 1941, Altier transferred from the University of Rochester to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he earned his bachelor’s degree and was commissioned in the army in 1944.

Altier was in active service through 1950, attaining the rank of captain; he continued to serve in the U.S. Army Reserve, where he advanced to the rank of Lt. Colonel.

He returned to the family business, which had been run by his mother and his brother Dick since founder Michael Altier died in 1947. The brothers began to expand the business in the 1950s; by the mid-1980s, Altier & Sons Shoes Inc. had grown to 25 stores with 278 employees, and Dick Altier’s son, Rick, had joined his father and uncle in the family business.

The company became a member of NSRA in 1945. Ted Altier was elected to NSRA’s Board of Directors in the late 1950s. He became president of the Association in 1963, served in that capacity for two years, and continued to be active with the Association as a board member and member of various committees. He remained as chairman of Altier’s until his retirement from the shoe retailing business in 1987. Altier was also well-known for his community and civic service to his native town of Rochester. He passed away in 2002.

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William Boettge
1984-2003, President of NSRA

Bill Boettge has spent more than 45 years in the footwear industry and served as NSRA President from 1984-2003.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he obtained his CPA after working in public accounting with a major national firm. Boettge began his footwear career in retailing, building a chain of 40 shoe stores and leased departments which he owned and operated.

As a retailer, he served on NSRA's Board of Directors; however, when he decided to sell his stores, his fellow Board members asked him to become NSRA President. During that time he worked closely with additional associations in the areas of education, employment services and benefit programs leading in the development of many achievements, including the creation of When the Shoe Fits, an education program that taught more than 5,000 shoe sales associates the principles of proper shoe fitting; the writing and publication of the first pedorthic textbook, Introductions to Pedorthics; and the ongoing publication, NSRA's Business Performance Report, which looks at the productivity and financial aspects of shoe retailing.

In 2009, Bill Boettge returned to his home state of Wisconsin, moving into the community of Beaver Dam, where he planned to retire.

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William Burnett
Burnett Shoes - Union City, TN
1981-83, Chairman of Board of Directors

Burnett’s Shoes was founded by Bill Burnett’s parents in 1937, with Tennessee stores in Union City, Paris and Jackson. He began working for the company in 1958 and under his leadership built up the business to 14 stores.

In addition to managing the family business, Burnett was also actively involved in the national shoe industry. He served as a chairman of the board of the National Shoe Retailers Association from 1981-1983, as a director of the Tennessee Retail Merchants Association that same year and was chairman of the National Shoe Fair of America from 1986-1992.

Burnett served two terms as chairman of the Tennessee Retail Federation during the mid-80s and was a delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business.

In 1983, Burnett was named Tennessee’s Retailer of the Year. In 1994, he was honored as the Pride of Obion County. He was an Eagle Scout and had earned scouting’s highest honor, the Silver Beaver Award.

For 26 years, Burnett was a distinguished member of the County Commission, and served as chairman of the Budget Committee for six years. Burnett had served as chairman of the commission since 1988 and was chairman pro-tem for six years prior to that. He was an active member of the Obion County of Commerce, where he served as president for two terms.

Bill Douglas
Bill Douglas' Shoe Box - Sugar Land, TX
1987-89, Chairman of Board of Directors

Before he started in the footwear industry, Bill Douglas worked in the ad department of Sears and spent four years in the Navy. In 1951 he opened the first Shoe Box in Houston, TX, with his friend, Dr. Joseph Valenza. Douglas was president and owner of the Shoe Box, which was Houston’s largest independent shoe store and included 18 stores at one time, for 48 years. The stores primarily sold children’s footwear, but expanded into women’s footwear and clothing in the early 90s.

During his career, Douglas strived to use the most modern business techniques and was always finding ways to set his stores apart from the competition. As one reporter put it, "He’s an economist, a decorator and a child psychologist, and in his spare time, Bill Douglas sells kid’s shoes.”

Douglas joined NSRA in 1977. He was chairman of the board of directors from 1987-1989, and was on the Children’s Footwear Forecast Committee, which met twice a year in New York to analyze and discuss the market for the coming season.

In addition to his work with NSRA, Douglas was president of the Pedorthic Footcare Association and president of the Kidney Foundation of Houston.

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Lloyd W. Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. - Seattle, WA
1958-60, Chairman of Board of Directors

Lloyd Nordstrom was the youngest son of John Nordstrom, who co-founded the company in 1901 after striking it rich in the gold rush. A graduate of the University of Washington, Lloyd Nordstrom joined the company in 1933.

He ran the business with his two older brothers, as well as other family members, for almost forty years.

In the 1960s, he pushed the company to expand into apparel, and bought a Seattle women’s clothing store called Best Apparel. Before the buy Nordstrom had been exclusively a footwear retailer. From 1958-1960 he served as NSRA’s Chairman of the Board of Directors. He passed away in 1976.

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William Rossi, D.P.M.
1984-95, Author & Footwear Historian

Bill Rossi was a podiatrist who became a prolific commentator on matters of the foot and footwear.NSRA commissioned him to write Professional Shoe Fitting (co-authored by Ross Tenant, D.P.M.), which was originally published in 1984 by the National Shoe Retailers Association. The book continues to be the industry's authoritative basis for training people to fit shoes.

Bill was the son of a custom shoe maker who also owned a family shoe store in Boston that served customers for more than 50 years. The young Rossi helped out in the store, where his lifelong fascination with shoes and the feet they cover began. Bill graduated from Middlesex College of Podiatry by age 18 and then enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he served through World War II. Following the war, he moved back into the shoe industry as a writer and editor.

In addition to Professional Shoe Fitting, Rossi authored six other books on footwear and the shoe business; four retail sales training manuals; hundreds of articles for a variety of publications, including the Encyclopedia Britannica; and 18 years' worth of columns for Footwear News. He also served as a marketing expert for Stride Rite. Over the course of his career, Rossi visited and studied the footwear industry in 28 countries. William Rossi passed away in 2003 at the age of 92.

Joseph Shell
1975-83, President of NSRA

Joe Shell was a member of NSRA for 27 years, and served as its president from 1975-1983.

He started in the footwear business at age 17, eventually building his own company, Shelbro, which grew to include 30 stores. In 1966, Shelbro merged with Brown Shoe Company, expanding to a total of 66 locations. Shell himself then became vice president of the Wohl Shoe Company before accepting NSRA's chief executive's position. He also served as a regional vice president of the Two Ten Foundation.

While Shell was president of NSRA, membership doubled and the number of nationwide chapters grew from two to fifteen. He was responsible for the launch of NSRA’s FRAME Computer Committee, and the overhaul of NSRA’s Shoe Store Operations Study. Joe also took a great interest in NSRA publications, which bear his mark. At the time, as NSRA President and publisher of Footwear Focus Magazine, he guide its continual growth in size, quality and frequency. He also brought about the publication of other books such as the Professional Shoe Fitting manual, The 8 P's for Management, and many more.

Beyond retailing, his interests extended to play an important role in reuniting the National Shoe Fair of America. He established close relations between NSRA, manufacturers, and the U.S. Department of Commerce, bringing about successful programs such as Retailer and Manufacturer Problem (RAMP) conferences, Manufacturer and Retailer Seminars (MARS) and the Minority in Business Program (MINBOP)

Grateful for the opportunities offered to him by the shoe industry, Joe was personally a firm supporter of the Two Ten Footwear Foundation (special interests in Two Ten scholarships) and participated as Regional Vice President. Joseph Shell passed away in 1992 at the age of 77.

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Stanley Strum
Leon's Fashions - Waco, TX
1997-99, Chairman of Board of Directors

Stanley Strum joined his family’s multi-store shoe business, Leon’s, in 1953 as the manager of a leased shoe department in a Riff’s store. Leon’s was founded in 1927 by Strum’s father, Marcus Leon Strum, and Marcus Strum’s cousin, Leon R. Collins. After Collins passed away in 1961, Stanley Strum became president of the business.

In 1969 the family sold the business, only to buy it back in the late 70s. At its height, the chain was comprised of 40 stores and leased departments in Texas.

Customer service was important to Strum, and Leon’s was known for excellent sales representatives who respected and listened to shoppers. "I started off thinking I was in the shoe business, then I thought I was in the fashion business,” Strum told Aura Magazine in 1988. "I was probably in my 30s before I realized I was in the people business.”

Strum was chairman of the NSRA board of directors from 1997-1999. At the end of his term, then-NSRA president Bill Boettge told Footwear News, "Stanley is very forward thinking…a great retailer and a great person.”

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