OMRF's Judith James Finds Way to Predict Lupus

Judith James holds the Lou C. Kerr Chair in Biomedical Research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation in Oklahoma City. She is one of three coauthors of a study recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine on how physicians may be able to predict which patients are going to develop lupus and other autoimmune diseases. Way to go, Dr. James.

Dr. Irene Lam & OKC's Gold Dome Multicultural Society

The MidCity Advocate had a nice article recently on the Gold Dome Multicultural Society. It was founded by optometrist Dr. Irene Lam. She purchased the Gold Dome building in the Asian District of Oklahoma City (at 23rd Street and Classen Boulevard) in 2005 -- thus saving it from the wrecking ball. The society promotes cross cultural awareness by dedicated to displaying works by artists from a variety of ethnic, cultural and spiritual backgrounds. The former bank building's vault serves as the art gallery. In November, they plan to host an International Festival. For contact information, click here.

Riding Trails At Lake Arcadia

My step-daughter and others in her riding club helped clean up the horse trails at Lake Arcadia last weekend (see picture). Mr. Mixer, the lake engineer, told them that this trash comes all the way from the drainage in OKC! All of Lake Arcadia's funds are supposed to be self-sustaining, but the city said that they will help with the loss of revenue from the flooding this summer. The riding club volunteers collected about 500 bags of trash and didn't feel that they even made a dent. Click on picture to enlarge.

Preparing for Kenya Trip

In less than 3 weeks, I head back to Kenya for the 4th time in 3 years.

This time I am part of a "mission team" of just two women. Katie McLain plans to work in Meru for three months while I will be there just short of a month.

We are both maintaining trip blogs. Add us to your aggregator, check out our progress occasionally, don't expect many posts while I'm in Kenya -- and say a prayer for us occasionally please!

My blog is http://merukenya2008.blogspot.com/

Katie's blog is http://kenyakatie.livejournal.com/

Kellie Coffey Releases Album

Oklahoma native Kellie Coffey has released her new independent album entitled Walk On. Read full story here.

Lori Robinson Commands AWACS at Tinker

Lori J. Robinson is the first female to command the 552nd Air Control Wing which flies the AWACS aircraft out of Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City. Robinson recently received the title of brigadier general.

Sammi Smith, Mae Boren Axton to Be Inducted Into OK Music Hall of Fame

The Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame announced today their 2007 inductees including Sammi Smith and Mae Boren Axton. Read Oklahoman article here.

Alice Ghostley Dead

Tony Award-winning Oklahoman Alice Ghostley has died. She was probably most famous for her portrayal of Esmeralda on the TV program "Bewitched" and Bernice in "Designing Women." Read more here and also here.

Stephanie Canada Is Oklahoma's 2007 Teacher of the Year

Stephanie Canada is Oklahoma's 2007 Teacher of the Year.

She is a physical education teacher at Will Rogers Elementary School in Shawnee. Read KOTV-6 article here.

Lynn Schusterman Among Oklahoma's Richest

Forbes magazine has issued its 2007 ranking of the 400 richest people in the US. Oklahomans on the list include George Kaiser at 26th place, Harold Hamm at 108th place, Lynn Schusterman at 165th place, Aubrey McClendon and Tom Ward (both of Chesapeake Energy) tied at 220th place, and David Green, owner of Hobby Lobby Stores, ranked 271st. Schusterman's philanthropy is managed through the Schusterman Foundation in Tulsa.

Edna Manning Inducted Into OK Education Hall of Fame

This evening Dr. Edna Manning will be inducted into the Oklahoma Education Hall of Fame. She is the first president of Oklahoma's remarkably successful Oklahoma School for Science and Mathematics in Oklahoma City. Read Oklahoma article by clicking here and Wikipedia's writeup on the school here.

Women Owned Businesses in Oklahoma

Here are some of the largest 100% women owned businesses in Central Oklahoma (per The Journal Record):
Dow Aerospace Inc
Terry Neese Personnel Services
IngenuitE Inc
Hyde & Company CPAs
Crossland Real Estate
Paradigm Realty
The Dominion Group LLC
Oklahoma City Gynecological & Obstetrics Inc.
Cher A. Bumps & Associates
NRG – Network Resource Group Inc.
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Oklahoma Academy Recognizes Julie Knutson

At the 2007 Oklahoma Academy Centennial Salute in Tulsa August 24, 2007, the Academy Key Contributor Award was presented to Oklahoma Academy President and CEO Julie Knutson to commemorate her 20 years of service to the organization. Governors Walters and Keating joined the presentation and praised her role in the Oklahoma public policy arena. Governor Brad Henry declared, August 24, 2007 to be Julie Knutson day.

Wilma Mankiller Honored by Tulsa Press Club

Read the Tulsa World article by clicking story here.

Karolyn Phillips to Speak in Shawnee on Sept 24

Guthrie pianist, songwriter and inspirational speaker Karolyn Phillips will speak next Tuesday, September 24, at 6:30 pm to women attending Sisters at Heart at Wesley United Methodist, 302 E. Independence. All women are invited to come for supper and a motivating evening program. There is no charge. Read more in The Tecumseh Countwide News by clicking here.

Emily Stratton and the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence

The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence recognizes and encourages academic excellence in Oklahoma's public schools. The keynote speaker at their spring awards banquet was Ruth Simmons, President of Brown University and the first African American and first woman to serve as president of an Ivy League school. According to their newsletter, High Marks, she was "the youngest of 12 children - from a sharecropper's shack in east Texas." The foundation is run by Executive Director Emily Stratton and her wonderful (all female) staff.

Willa Johnson Sworn In As Okla County Commissioner

Congratulations, Willa! Read the Oklahoman article here.

Billboard Names Oklahoma's Reba McEntire Woman of the Year

Billboard Magazine has selected Reba McEntire to receive its first "Woman of the Year" award. Read the article here. Early in October, Billboard will publish their second annual Women in Music issue.

Dr. Kathleen McKean and Oklahoma Technical Assistance Center

The Cushing Daily Citizen has an article on OSU graduate Dr. Kathleen McKean and the Oklahoma Technical Assistance Center. Read Ben James' article here.

Betty Price Profiled

The Oklahoman has an article profiling Oklahoman Betty Price. She is stepping down as Executive Director of the the Oklahoma Arts Council after 33 years of service.

Carolyn Hart - 39th Book is Death Walked In

Oklahoma's famed mystery author Carolyn Hart is working on her 39th book - Death Walked In. Chris Jones has a nice article on Hart in The Oklahoman today; read it here. Hart is one of only 10 mystery writers invited to attend the 2007 National Book Festival on Sept. 29 in Washington, D.C. Her latest mystery novel will be released in 2008.

Rilla Askew's Book "Fire In Beulah" Featured

Oklahoman Rilla Askew is the 2007 featured author for the Oklahoma Reads program. Participants in the program across Oklahoma are reading her novel “Fire in Beulah.” (Click here for the reading guide.) As part of the Oklahoma reads program, Askew will be appearing at Ada libraries next week; for more about her visit, click here.

Willa Johnson Elected County Commissioner

A belated "Congratulations" to Willa Johnson, elected Tuesday to replace Jim Roth as Oklahoma County Commissioner, District 1. She knows Oklahoma City from her many years of service on the Oklahoma City Council and will do a fine job. Willa is not the first African American woman elected to the position of county commissioner in Oklahoma. Bernice Mitchell (Payne County) and Shirley Darrell (Oklahoma County) come to mind. Am I missing any others?

Mike McCarville has a nice analysis on the election here.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori at Oklahoma City University Sept 15

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori -- the first female presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church USA and the first woman elected primate in the worldwide Anglican Communion -- will preside over the consecration of the new bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma, Edward J. Konieczny, on Saturday at Oklahoma City University. Read the full Oklahoman article here.

Oklahoma Singer Kellie Coffey

The Oklahoman today has a story on singer Kellie Coffey who is a Moore native and Westmoore graduate. You can read the Oklahoman article here. She has written and recorded a beautiful and moving song about her difficulty conceiving a child. You can see her perform that song, "I'd Die For That" on YouTube by clicking here.

Sally Frasier Named Democratic Woman of the Year

Tulsa leader Sally Frasier was honored August 26 by Tulsa Democrats as 2007 Woman of the Year. In addition to her many years of service for the Democratic Party in Oklahoma and nationally, Frasier has advocated for literacy in her role on the Tulsa City-County Library Commission and for women in her role on the board of Planned Parenthood of Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma and also in her role on the Oklahoma Status for Women Commission.

Life of Wanda Jackson Subject of New Film

Oklahoma's Wanda Jackson, known as the "Grand Lady of Rock and Roll" and the "Queen of Rockabilly," is now the subject of a movie. Read about it here.

Stephens County Sheriff Jimmie Bruner Honored

Jimmie Bruner was the first woman elected sheriff in Stephens County history in November of 2000. She is also the first woman sheriff in Oklahoma re-elected to a second term. And last month, she became the first woman to be named Sheriff of the Year by the Oklahoma Sheriff's Association. Read the Dancan Banner article here.

Oklahoman Kristine Brown Turns 110

Kristine Brown, a retired Northwestern Oklahoma State University mathematics instructor, celebrated her 110th birthday today. She is believed to be Oklahoma’s oldest living resident. Read about her here.

The Women's Archives Collection at OSU

The Women's Archives is part of Oklahoma State University's Special Collections and University Archive (SCUA). It was founded in 1995 and contains material documenting women's lives in Oklahoma.The material can be sorted by family, individual or organization. Some of the individuals include Hannah Atkins, Shirley Bellmon, Jessie Thatcher Bost, Angie Debo, and Wilma Pearl Mankiller. Organizations include AAUW, Lahoma Club, National Organization for Women, and the YWCA.

Tahlequah Paper Praises Deana Franke

Deana Franke, Executive Director of Help-In-Crisis, has been addressing domestic violence and sexual assaul since 1980 in the Tahlequah area. The local paper has a nice editorial praising her.

Franke is a finalist in Mannington Mills' "Stand On a Better World" awards competition. Read the editorial here.

Lindsay Glass Crowned Miss Cherokee

Lindsay Glass of Kansas, Oklahoma was won the 2007 Miss Cherokee Leadership competition. She is a student at Bacone College. Click here to read more. And also here.

April Madden Designs Costumes in Tulsa

The Tulsa World has a story about Tulsa native April Madden who is putting her the Dallas School of Design training to work creating costumes for theater productions. Click here to read more.

OU Women's Studies Program Celebrates 30 Years

The Women's Studies program at the University of Oklahoma is celebrating 30 years of service. It is the only degree-granting undergraduate program in Women's Studies in the state of Oklahoma. Read more by clicking here.

Sept 16 is National Women's Friendship Day

National Women's Friendship Day is celebrated annually on the third Sunday in September. It was created in 1999 by Kappa Delta Sorority to encourage women everywhere to celebrate their special women friends. The celebration is additionally honored by the governors of several states who were among the first to make Governor's Proclamations endorsing National Women's Friendship Day. (Click on the image of Gov Brad Henry's 2006 proclamation to view an enlarged version.) Click here to read more. Then start planning to do something special on September 16, 2007 for the girlfriends in your life!

Mary Gilmore Caffrey Honored

Mary Gilmore Caffrey has been Executive Director of The Tree Bank Foundation since it was founded 20 years ago. She recently received the 2007 Urban Forestry Award for Partnership from the USDA Forest Service. They say she's "the mother of urban forestry in central Oklahoma."

Oklahoma Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins

The Oklahoman has anice article on Lt Gov Jari Askins in todays paper. Click here to read.

Native Tulsan Mary Kay Place in HBO Series

Native Tulsan and OU graduate Mary Kay Place will be part of an ensemble cast for HBO's forthcoming comedy series 12 Miles of Bad Road. Starring Lily Tomlin and written by "Designing Women" creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, the series is built around a Dallas real estate agent and the other strong women in a prominent Dallas family. More about Price...