ISU Graduate, Thomas W. Killion

Indianapolis businessman, creator of 'bent pencil'

Thomas W. Killion, president and owner of Indianapolis-based Bentcil Co., maker of the "bent pencil," was the special guest speaker and served as the emcee for the Jeopardy-Style Technology Bowl.

Killion, who earned his B.S. in Industrial Arts (1970) and his M.S. in Industrial Arts Education (1976) from ISU, returned to his alma mater to encourage students to pursue careers in technology related fields. Originally from Reelsville, Killion was honored by ISU last year with the College of Technology's 2005 Technology Innovation/Entrepreneur Award.

An Industrial Arts teacher at Ben Davis High School from 1970-1979, Killion left teaching to pursue his "bent pencil" idea. Today, the Bentcil Co. markets intricate and creative products for the specialty advertising business worldwide. His company employs more than 100 people and markets pencils and pens through major catalog distributors. Among his customers is Disney Corp., which is approximately 23 percent of the Bentcil business.