Born in a half-dugout, in what was Fonda, Oklahoma, Roger Hardesty went on to become a real estate developer and builder, making his mark on Tulsa in 1959.

During his late teens he began his building career by learning on the job, starting with concrete finishing, then single-family followed by multi-family housing units, industrial buildings, commercial retail centers, office buildings and hotels.

He owned Mid-Continent Concrete and founded and operated over 25 different business ventures including Alliance Transportation, the Quarry Landfill, and Bizjet International.

Roger was sixteen when he obtained his pilot license, which led to founding the United States Aviation, the country’s premier independent Fixed Based operator facility, worldwide aircraft character services, and Black Hawk helicopter air crane business.

Roger and his wife, Donna, established The Hardesty Family Foundation with a focus on Tulsa nonprofits.

Listen to Roger talk about how he learned to build houses while hanging sheetrock, his love for flying, and his desire to give back to Tulsa on the podcast and oral history website VoicesOfOklahoma.com.