William "Bill" Herzog's story is less familiar to most Brookfield residents but very important none the less. Bill was born on October 18, 1920 to parents William K. and Ruby Herzog. Bill spent his early childhood years in Enid, OK, where his father worked on the railroad as a brakeman and tragically killed on the job in 1935. Shortly thereafter, Bill and his mother moved to Brookfield where she passed away 3 years later, essentially leaving Bill an orphan. A Brookfield couple cared for him and served as his foster parents through the remainder of his high school years. He graduated from Brookfield High School in the Class of 1939. Bill always felt it was this adversity he faced as a young boy that shaped who he became as a man. He attended the University Missouri leaving for two years during WW II to work in Inglewood, CA, as a design engineer for the North American Aviation. He helped design and modify the cockpit of the P51 Mustang from one pilot to two pilots, which created the P51D Mustang. After the war ended, he resigned and returned to Mizzou where he graduated in 1947 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. He began his career with the Missouri Highway Department and subsequently Land Construction. In 1969 he founded his own company Herzog Contracting Corp., headquartered in St. Joseph, Mo. His company has diversified and grown in many directions to include four divisions: national construction, railroad services, civil construction, and transit services. Bill was an industry innovator, developing numerous patents from aggregate usage and railroad equipment to golf equipment. He was active of the Associated General Contractors of America and Missouri and became Chairman of the Committee. He was one of the first inductees into the Inaugural Hall of Fame for the Associated General Contractors of Missouri. He was an accomplished multi-engine, instrument rated pilot and an avid auto racer, founding Herzog Motorsports with sons, Stan and Randy. Bill passed away at the age of 88 in 2009.