July 28 - Women Authors Sign Books at OKC Zoo

Three Stillwater women authors will sign books at the Oklahoma City Zoo Saturday, July 28 from 9 to noon. Linda Allen’s book, Menagerie at the Manger, is about animals at the Nativity and has been named 2007 Book of the Season by The Book Bank Foundation. Jewel Sample’s Flying Hugs and Kisses tell about her grandson, Brennen, who died from SIDS. There is a companion activity book as well. Lori Scott has contributed to more than a dozen books and published over thirty-five short stories, devotions, puzzles, articles, and poems. She will showcase the first two titles in her new children’s chapter book series, Meghan Rose on Stage and Meghan Rose Has Ants in Her Pants. For more information, call the Zoo at 405-424-3344 or go to http://www.okczoo.com/.

Norma Eagleton Made History

Former Oklahoma Senator Penny Williams suggested to my husband recently that I need to show on my website that:

Norman Eagleton was the first woman elected to statewide office in Oklahoma who could have voted for herself.

Yeah, Norma. Thank you, Senator.

Oklahoma's Trail Riding Gals

When she isn't teaching middle school in Edmond, my step-daughter, Adena Warner, raises adopted mustangs and curly horses and is a member of Oklahoma's Parade Gals - a sub group of Oklahoma's Trail Riding Gals. You can read an article about the group here that appeared recently in Edmond Outlook magazine. Read more about trail riding at Oklahoma Horse Online. Click on the image to the left to see May's curly main.

Oklahoma Women's Groups to Meet

Faye Henson (left), Oklahoma State President of the American Association of University Women and I met today with Dena Drabeck (center) at Congresswoman Mary Fallin's downtown OKC office to plan a gathering of women's group in late August. Stay tuned for more on this new initiative.

:-)

Jennifer Onzahwah Elected 1st Women Chief of Absentee Shawnee Tribe

Jennifer Onzahwah was recently elected the first woman chief of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe. Read Oklahoman article here.

Oklahoma's Best Women Athletes

The Oklahoman today has a list of "The 100 Best Athletes in Oklahoma History." Ten are women. One is a horse: Easy Jet.

Here are The Oklahoman's picks and their rank plus The Oklahoman's explanation (in quotes) for the women athletes they included:

#5 Shannon Miller - "(Edmond) The most decorated American gymnast ever, with two world all-around championships and an Olympic all-around silver medal that would have been gold if not for dubious judging."

#20 Nancy Lopez - "(University of Tulsa) LPGA's Sam Sneed. Big winner, but never won U.S. Open"

#26 Susie Maxwell Berning - "(Oklahoma City, OCU) Three-time U.S. Open golf winner; four of her 11 LPGA Tour wins were in majors."

#33 Crystal Robinson - "(Atoka, Southeastern State) ABL rookie of the year in 1996, then jumped to the WNBA in 1999 and the New York Liberty."

#37 Doll Harris - "(Cement) Led Durant's Presbyterian College to 1932 AAU women's basketball title."

#61 Michele Smith - "(OSU) Two-time Olympic softball gold medalist is a celebrity in Japan, where she played 14 seasons in the Japanese Pro League. Screaming fans clamor for her autograph; maybe it's the hair. Time Magazine voted Smith "best hair" of the Atlanta Olympics." [I am not making this up; that is what the boys who wrote this elected to focus on!]

#66 Stacey Dales "(OU) Past WNBA all-star, returned to league in 2006 but still a college broadcaster."

#84 Courtney Paris "(OU) Let's assume she'll keep moving up the list."

#86 Kelly Garrison "(Altus, OU) 1988 Olympian placed 16th in gymnastics all-around."

#95 Cindy Yan Fang "(OCU) During her prime, greatest softball second baseman in the world." (NOTE: I'm having trouble finding information on Cindy but, according to an old Oklahoman article, in 1998 she was 29 years old, born in Beijing, 5-8, 136 pounds. She batted .414 with 64 runs in 69 games in 1997 and batted .448 with 76 runs in 63 games in 1998. According to OCU's Rich Tortorelli, "She helped China win the silver medal in the 1996 Olympics. She holds the OCU career record for average (.463). She was All-Tournament at the NAIA Championships in 1997 and 1998, NAIA first-team all-American in 1997, 1998 and 1999 and NAIA player of the year in 1998 and 1999.")

In the The Oklahoman's March 2007 educational supplement "Generations of Oklahoma Women Moving History Forward" (funded by the Oklahoma Women's Network and Girl Scouts Red Lands and Sooner Councils and written predominantly by OSU professors Bob Darcy and Jennifer Paustenbuagh), we also listed Val Skinner and Kelli Litsch.

Val Skinner was an OSU golfer who in 1980 and 1982 was the Big Eight Conference Women's Golf Champion, in 1982 was Big Eight Conference Outstanding Female Athlete, and in 1982 was NCAA All-American. Skinner has earned over $2.4 million as a professional golfer and has raised more than $2.5 million for breast cancer research. She works as analyst for Golf Channel and CBS.

Here is what Bob Darcy said about Kelli Litsch: "From Fay, Oklahoma, Kelli Litsch is considered one of the best to have ever played the game of basketball. She led Thomas high School to two straight six-on-six state high school championships in 1980 and 1981. Turning down scholarships to play at Division I schools, she went to Southwestern Oklahoma State university wherre she powered the lady Bulldogs to three NIAA national championships going 129-5 and becoming the first female athlete to be named a first-team All-American four years in a row."

What women would YOU have included in the top 100 Oklahoma Athletes List? Tell Berry Tramel at btramel@oklahoman.com. He will run comments in The Oklahoman.