ADA, Okla. – Drew Carter has been named the 2026 Wilburn L. Smith Center for Entrepreneurship Entrepreneur of the Year at East Central University (ECU). He will be presented with the award at the Annual Limes Lecture, Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 11:45 a.m. inside the ECU Foundation Hall, located in the Chickasaw Business and Conference Center. The Limes Lecture will take place following the Tiger Tank Pitch Competition.
Carter is a 2002 graduate of ECU, where he earned his Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Business Administration – Management. While attending ECU, he was involved with the Tiger Football program and Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.
Carter is a fourth-generation co-owner and vice president of Young Brothers Inc., a family-owned established in 1969. His experience with the company began at the age of 12, when he assisted with various operations before eventually working in the fabrication department.
Following his graduation from ECU, Carter began training in project management and, in 2002, became co-owner and vice president of Young Brothers. In his current role, he oversees the daily operations of the business.
Over the years, Carter has developed a specialty in high-end residential and commercial spaces, utilizing state-of-the-art equipment and fabrication techniques to create custom, one-of-a-kind spaces.
Under his leadership, Young Brothers continues its longstanding tradition of quality craftsmanship and expert installation. The company expanded its operations in 1972 with the acquisition of Southwest Tile & Marble, adding a retail component to its services. Today, Young Brothers features a 3,000-square-foot showroom with specialty tile and materials, while the adjacent 14,000-square-foot Marble Shop provides in-house fabrications of granite, marble and quartz. In 2017, they added a 9,000-square-foot slab gallery to display natural stones imported from all over the world.
Following the Tiger Tank Pitch Competition, Carter will receive the Entrepreneur of the Year award and deliver the Annual Limes Lecture.
The Limes Lecture is named for Leonard Limes, who attended ECU in the 1940s. He established the lectureship in 2000 with a $25,000 gift to the ECU Foundation. Limes' vision was to bring entrepreneurs to campus to share their stories and inspire ECU students and community members to create businesses, generate wealth and contribute to Oklahoma's economy.
The Annual Tiger Tank Pitch Competition invites individual students and teams to present new business ideas focused on products or services. Participants must be prepared to answer questions about their ideas, pitches and business opportunities. The competition is divided into three categories: high school, collegiate and advanced collegiate.
For more information, contact Stacey Bolin, Wilburn L. Smith Center for Entrepreneurship director, at 580-559-5596 or email sbolin@ecok.edu.
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