Tulsa Entrepreneur Colleen Payne-Nabors

The Journal Record recently has a nice article on Colleen Payne-Nabors and her recent book I Did It My way and...It Worked.

Too bad they won't let us link to their article unless we are a subscriber -- boo, hiss, TJR!

Payne-Nabors is CEO and founder of MCI Diagnostic Center in Tulsa. Her firm was named to Inc. Magazine's 2007 list of America's fastest-growing companies. Read about her here.

Oklahoma Women's Coalition - 1st Intern

Left to right: Donna Lawrence, Jean Warner, OU Intern Gigi McCormick, and Pat Potts at Jean's kitchen table getting ready to launch the new Oklahoma Women's Coalition. Lots of other women have also been involved in this effort including BPW's Connie Douglas, Kathie Tanner and Sharon Baker; AKA's Jacqueline Achong; Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma Karen Morgan and Ingrid Williams, Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma Cathy Stackpole, Deborah Gooding, and Crystal Slater, AAUW's Faye Henson and Shelli Wasson, YWCA Tulsa, Felicia Collins-Correia, YWCA OKC's Jan Peery and Sherry Hatherley, Dana Murphy; League of Women Voters President Barbara Wilson and many, many others. Get ready to join! Membership form goes up on the website a week from today.

Linda Haneborg Honored for Lifetime Achievement

At The Journal Record's 2008 Woman of the Year Banquet this evening, JR Publisher Mary Melon (left) presented Linda Haneborg (right) with a Lifetime Achievement award.

Haneborg is only the third Oklahoma woman to receive this prestigious recognition (along with former OKC mayor Patience Latting and reporter Joan Gillmore).

LaRita Aragon Named 2008 Woman of the Year

I attended The Journal Record's 2008 Woman of the Year banquet at the Cox Center this evening. Keynote speaker was Prudence Bushnell; she was the US Ambassador to the Republic of Kenya when Al Qaeda blew up the American Embassy in Nairobi. I was very moved by her remarks. Linda Haneborg received a Lifetime Achievement Award. Four Oklahoma programs were honored for their contributions to Oklahoma women: N.E.W. Leadership [which I am co-founder along with Cindy Rosenthal], the Oklahoma Heart Association's "Go Red for Women" program, Dress for Success, and the YWCA of Oklahoma City. Jan Peery accepted for the YWCA and several of our NEW Leadership graduates got to receive their award. The highlight of the evening was announcement of the 2008 Woman of the Year. Fifty woman are honored each year but one get's the gold ring. This year the very deserving winner was (Ret.) Major General LaRita Aragon. I'm tired so I'll write more of LaRita tomorrow. But you can click here to read a bio on LaRita when she was still in the military. She now works for the University of Oklahoma. This is a fun evening filled with great women. I got to tell Lt Gov Jari Askins about the Oklahoma Women's Coalition. Visited with Jan Peery, Karen Morgan, Andrea Chancellor, Cynda Ottaway, Donna Lawrence, Dana Murphy, many many others, plus I got to meet the new director of NEW Leadership. Fun night!

Oklahoma Women's Coalition Coming Soon

I spent most of today at my computer revising an application to the Women's Foundation of Oklahoma. Hope it helps; the Oklahoma Women's Coalition is going to need start up funding.

Heather Sparks is Oklahoma's 2008 Teacher of the Year

Congratulations to Heather Sparks, Taft Middle School teacher who was just named 2008 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year. Read full story by clicking HERE. In The Oklahoman article, there are congratulatory quotes from State Superintendent Sandy Garrett and District Superintendent Karl Springer. The one person who got left out but who deserves some recognition, too, is Taft Middle School's exceptional Principal, Lisa Johnson.

Book: Oklahoma's Historical Centennial Cookbook

Tecumseh author Ronnye Perry Sharp has co-authored with Bob Burke another Oklahoma treasure: Oklahoma's Historical Centennial Cookbook ($39.99). It includes recipes from Oklahomans including Barry Switzer, T Boone Pickens, Gov. Brad Henry, Toby Keith, Vince Gill and Amy Grant, etc. as well as vignettes on Oklahoma. There are also recipes from some of Oklahoma's best chefs including Kurt Fleischfesser (The Coach House in OKC), the late Clay Oden (now-closed Grand Boulevard Grill), and Avis Scaramucci (Nonna's). Might make a nice Christmas gift to someone who either loves to cook or just loves Oklahoma.

Tulsa Businesswoman Marsha Watkins

Here is a nice article in The Journal Record about Oklahoma businesswoman Marsha Watkins. She co-owns RainTech Gutter Solutions with her husband. In the article she notes that when customers call the store, most assume she is a receptionist.

“A lot of men don’t want to hear what I have to say because I feel they think I don’t know what I’m talking about,” she said. “Some people we deal with don’t take me as serious as they do my husband.”

Stacy Nyikos - Okie Author

The Journal Record has an article about Bristow children’s author Stacy Nyikos. She uses online resources to promote her work and connect with other writers. She especially likes Redroom.com (including the blog and podcasts). Stacy also has a weblog.

Louisiana Evacuees -- Welcome to Oklahoma!!

Some of the evacuees from Louisiana have arrived in Oklahoma. we are very glad to have them and hope their stay here is good. Read AP story here.

Co. Patricia Hoffman New Commander of Tinker AFB's AWACS Wing

By The Associated Press 8/28/2008 5:55 AM

Col. Patricia D. Hoffman assumed command of the wing that flies the E-3 Airborne Warning and Control System, or AWACS, planes during a ceremony on Wednesday on the base near Oklahoma City.

Hoffman replaces Brig. Gen. Lori Robinson, who is leaving Tinker to assume a new position at the Pentagon.

Lt. Gen. Robert Elder, the commander of the 8th Air Force, presided over the change-of-command ceremony.

Earlier in her career, Hoffman served as an air battle manager aboard an AWACS jet.

Okie Women Honored by AARP

AARP-Oklahoma has recognized 50 Oklahomansolder than 50 making a difference in the lives of others. Women honored include Cheyenne attorney Dorothy Alexander, Yukon editor Linda Andrews, Lt. Gov. Jari Askins of Duncan, Woodward teacher Rita Barnett, OKC medical researcher and educator Dr. Marie Bernard; Earlsboro volunteer Phyllis Croswell; Tulsa activist Laura Dempsey-Polan; Ponca City sexual assault nurse examiner Martha Denney; Pawhuska volunteer Janet Drummond; hospice and health ethics advocate Linda Edmondson; OKC volunteer Regina Edwards; Anadarko author, educator and Kiowa language preservationist Alecia Keahbone Gonzales; Pauls Valley community volunteer Lou Hall; Tulsa legal advocate Theresa Hansen; OKC homeless advocate Carolyn Herr; Tahlequah educator and Cherokee County historian Beth Herrington; Lawton displaced homemaker counselor Beverly Horse; OKC ombudsman for the elderly Esther Houser; OKC pantry operator Sister Barbara Joseph; Sallisaw nurse Debra Knoke; McAlester counselor Nora McBee; OKC state director of Medicaid Dr. Lynn Mitchell; Tulsa founder of The Little Lighthouse Marcia Mitchell; Guthrie Areawide Aging Agency planner Karen Orsi; and Chickasha former Okahoma State Rep. Susan Winchester. Read brief bios for honorees at http://downloads.newsok.com/documents/a26aarp.doc. Read The Oklahoman article about this recognition HERE (scroll down).

Increasing Numbers of Oklahoma's Children Raised in Poverty

Last week the Tulsa World ran an article on children and poverty in Oklahoma entitled Tulsa, state schools' free meal eligibility rises. In the article, State Superintendent of Schools Sandy Garrett and Anne Roberts, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, and others talked about the challenges of teaching children from very poor families. They also acknowledged that the percent of children in Oklahoma schools coming from very poor families is increasing over time (see below).

Today, The Oklahoman ran an editorial entitled Going Hungry: Poverty devastates children. It didn't offer solutions but at least acknowledged the problem.

The following are statewide percentages of public school students qualifying for free-reduced meals for the last five school years (note the disturbing trend):

2007-08: 55.50 percent
2006-07: 55.40 percent
2005-06: 54.84 percent
2004-05: 54.11 percent
2003-04: 53.23 percent

Source: Department of Education

Swanee Hunt, Unconventional Women Website

In following the conventions, I'm stumbling upon lots of interesting resources on the Internet. This week you can expect them to lean towards the Democratic Party and next week I hope I'll find equally cool republican leaning sites! I'm not toally clear what this ine IS - I think it is hawking an event at the convention. Swaneed Hunt spoke to graduates of the program I co-founded in Oklahoma - National Education for Women's Leadership. (Thanks to the generousity ogf Lou Kerr, I might add.) Hunt is the founding director of the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government -- a very cool lady. Check out this website http://www.unconventionalwomen.org/

Congratulations, Dr. Marie Bernard

Oklahoma has been blessed with the talent of Dr. Marie Bernard, Chair of the Department of geriatrics medicine at the University of Oklahoma and Director of the Oklahoma geriatrics Education Center at the OU Health Sciences Center. She is leaving us to become deputy director of the national Institute on Aging which is part of the national Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. We will miss you. Marie; remember your many friends back in Oklahoma as you serve out nation in DC.

Clara Luper

This is a special week as we remember and celebrate the anniversary of the sit-ins at Katz Drugstore in Oklahoma City. To their credit, The Oklahoman is running a wonderful series of articles about the children who participated in those history making nonviolent protests - under the tutelage and loving guidance of Clara Luper.

Clara is Oklahoma's under appreciated hero. She was FINALLY inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame last year. She was inducted into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame in 1993 - still 20 years late! You can read about the precedent setting sit-ins, how they came about and how they influenced the participants by reading some of The Oklahoman's articles:

~ 50 years ago, Oklahoma City children helped change nation when they sat down
~ Clara Luper had to face a mysterious enemy
~ Oklahoma city police peacefully upheld the law
~ Recordings keeping Oklahoma City sit-in's history alive
and ~

Festival of Hope Honors Brenda McDaniel and Linda Lambert

The Festival of Hope will be honoring several individuals and organizations next Friday in Oklahoma City. Proceeds benefit Heartline. Among this year's honorees are Oklahoma City University's First Lady Brenda McDaniel and Oklahoma leader Linda Lambert.

Leona Aranda in Okie Derby Today; Go, Girls!

The Okie Derby, an air proficiency race sponsored each year by the Oklahoma Chapter of Ninety-Nines, is underway. You can read about one participant, Laona Aranda in an Oklahoman article here. Why not visit the Ninety-Nines Museum of Women Pilots this month? If you use Will Rogers Airport, you've driven right past it (click for location). It chronicles the rich history of women aviators from Amelia Earhart to today's women of space including Madame Thible who, before the United States had elected its first president, had ascended as a balloon passenger in Lyons, France. Makes me want to go jump out of an airplane (wearing a parachute, of course)!

Sheri Stickley Heads Up "Project Boomerang"

At the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, Sheri Stickley is in charge of the state's Project Boomerang - an initiative to lure former Oklahomans back to the state. Click HERE to read an article about Sheri and her program from the July 28, 2008 Journal Record.

The Journal Record's "50 Making A Difference" 2008 Honorees

I apologize for not posting this sooner. Back in late July, The Journal Record (which, incidentally, has several news blogs) announced the 50 women to be honored this September at their Woman of the Year Banquet. Their "50 Making a Difference" publication and the Woman of the Year awards gala (now in its 28th year) are a special tribute to Oklahoma's leading women. The publication includes full page biographical portraits of the 50 honorees and acts as the program for the Woman of the Year black-tie event. This year's event will be held on September 25, 2008 at the Cox Convention Center. I hope you all will buy a ticket and come to the banquet because it is a fabulous evening.

Here are this year's honorees:

* Jennifer Anderson, ASE Productions Inc., Oklahoma City.
* LaRita Aragon, University of Oklahoma-College of Continuing Education, Edmond.
* Dana Birkes, The Flintco Companies Inc., Tulsa.
* Mary Blankenship Pointer, UMB Bank, Oklahoma City.
* Laura Boyd, Policy and Performance Consultants Inc., Norman.
* Mary Clare Buthod, Monte Cassino School, Tulsa.
* Carolyn Caudill, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma City.
* Umi Chahal, Choice Home Health/Hospice Inc., Oklahoma City.
* Andrea Chancellor, AEP-PSO, Tulsa.
* Ashley Christofferson-Cunningham, brass brick homes, Oklahoma City.
* L. Sheryl Colton, Colton & Associates, Oklahoma City.
* Elizabeth D. Tyrrell, McAfee & Taft, Oklahoma City.
* Lee Denney, Oklahoma State House of Representatives, Cushing.
* Freda Deskin, ASTEC Inc., Oklahoma City.
* Janice Drewry, Star Performance Inc., Lawton.
* Shannon Edwards, Monnet, Hayes, Bullis, Thompson & Edwards/ Osage Nation, Oklahoma City.
* Robyn Elliott-Scribner, The Chickasaw Nation, Ada.
* Robyn Ewing, Williams Companies Inc., Tulsa.
* Celine Ferguson, Coppermark Bank, Oklahoma City.
* Michelle Finch-Walker, Oklahoma Forest Heritage Center, Broken Bow.
* Jeanne Gillert, The Anne & Henry Zarrow Foundation, Tulsa.

* Carol Gray, The Children's Center, Bethany.
* Noma Gurich, Oklahoma County District Court, Oklahoma City.
* Debbie Harrison, Oklahoma Environmental Management Authority, El Reno.
* Deborah Horrocks, Hertz Corp., Piedmont.
* Liz Hunt, Hunt Media and Marketing, Tulsa.
* Carole Kenner, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center- College of Nursing, Oklahoma City.
* Lou Kerr, The Kerr Foundation Inc., Oklahoma City.
* Karen Langdon, Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, Tulsa.
* Janet Levit, University of Tulsa College of Law, Tulsa.
* Elaine Lyons, South Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Oklahoma City.
* Melanie MacDonald, World Neighbors, Oklahoma City.
* Kay Martin, Francis Tuttle Technology Center, Oklahoma City.
* Elizabeth Ann Nalley, Cameron University, Lawton.
* Susan Paddack, Oklahoma State Senate, Ada.
* Janet Peery, YWCA Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City.
* Nellie Perry, Perry, Gentry, Perry, and Marsh, Stillwater.
* Toni Pickle, Pioneer Telephone Cooperative Inc., Kingfisher.
* Tammy Powell, St. Anthony Hospital, Oklahoma City.
* Avis Scaramucci, Nonna's Euro-American Ristorante & Bar and Painted Door, Oklahoma City.
* April Sellers White, District Court of Creek County, Sapulpa.
* Brooke Smith Murphy, Crowe & Dunlevy, Oklahoma City.
* Carolyn Stager, Oklahoma Municipal League, Oklahoma City.
* Cheryl Steele, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond.
* Suzann Stewart, Tulsa Convention & Visitors Bureau, Tulsa.
* Terry Stuart Forst, R.T. Stuart Ranch LLC, Waurika.
* Carolyn A. Taylor, Rogers State University, Claremore.
* Pamela Troup, St. Anthony North, Oklahoma City.
* Angela West, CB Richard Ellis/Oklahoma, Tulsa.
* Terri White, Oklahoma Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse, Oklahoma City.

Ann Simank Leaving OK City Commision

Ann Simank, the only woman current serving on Oklahoma City's City Council will resign her post on Thursday because her son is becoming a firefighter with the City. A licensed social worker, Simank has served Ward 6 for 13 years. She is a member of the Association of Central Oklahoma governments and the Oklahoma Municipal League Legislative Committee. Click here to read her biography. She will be greatly missed. Edmond has one woman on their city council. Tulsa has no women on their city council although they do have Kathy Taylor as Mayor. Norman has two women along with Cindy Rosenthal as Mayor. Folks, if we want women's perspective and women's concerns addressed, women need to be sitting at the table when decisions are made. Bottom line: We all need to do a better job of recruiting women to run for public office. Read The Oklahoman's article about Ann Simank's departure by clicking here.

Sue Hale to Speak at National Convention

Jennifer James McCollum, on her Zenobia blog, reports (click here to view her post) that:

Oklahoma City's Sue Hale, vice president of Community Engagement for OPUBCO Communications, Inc., will speak at the national conference for the Association of Women in Communications, September 25-27 in Washington D.C. She will discuss keys to successful multimedia strategies. OPUBCO, which manages http://www.newsok.com/, has one of the most popular Web sites in Oklahoma.

Cindy Lopez Named Director of OU's J.C. Penney Leadership Center

A recent Oklahoman article reported that:

The Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma has named Cindy Lopez director of the J.C. Penney Leadership Center, a benchmark program at the college.

Lopez holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations from Mount Vernon College and a Master of Arts degree in international relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

The J.C. Penney Leadership Center at the Price College of Business is a selective program that provides intellectually gifted and high-performing undergraduate business students with the opportunity to develop and increase their leadership potential through a variety of learning experiences and interaction with corporate and campus leaders.

Mary Ann McCaffree Joins National Board

Oklahoma City physician Mary Ann McCaffree was recently elected to the board of the American Medical Association. Dr. McCaffree is a neonatologist with OU Children's Physicians. The 21-member board sets policy for the AMA.

Officers Elected for Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women

At the June 27, 2008 meeting of the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Women, the following officers were elected for the coming year: Chair Chris Morriss, Vice-Chair Mary walker and Secretary Lou Kohlman. Jilda Motley will serve as chair of the Advisory Council.

Kenya Mission - Books Donated

Several months ago, students at Summit Middle School in Edmond donated books for the children's library I helped launch in Meru, Kenya. Above is a picture of one of the drop off sites at the school. I went there with file boxes and the kids threw the books into my boxes. Those boxes have been sitting at my church and now I'm finally sorting through the boxes and repacking them tightly in preparation for their being shipping to Kenya.

I am actually going to store the boxes in a donated storage unit for a while until I have enough boxes of donated books to fill a 20 foot shipping container. I'd mail the books to Kenya but the postal rate is $1 per pound plus most of what gets mailed to Kenya of any value never arrives at it's destination. Also, there is much rigmarole involved in getting a waiver on books (otherwise I'd have to pay import tax on the assumption the books were for resale in Kenya). It involves getting papers signed by the Secretary of Finance and the Secretary of Education, bribes to officials at the Port of Mombasa and bribes to policemen who stop our truck between the port and Meru... I'm willing to jump through those hoops once for a 20 foot shipping container but not numerous times for smaller shipments.

If you know a middle school that would consider a service project of donating books for the community library located on the campus of the Kaaga School for Hearing Impaired Children in Central Kenya, please have a teacher or school official get in touch with me. My Kenya connection, the remarkable Florence Mubichi, and I will come to the school and show pictures and talk about the need for books and our goal of creating a culture of reading for children of Kenya. Thanks.

FYI, the first picture is my living room hearth where the repacking process has just begun. I am trying to bring home and repack 5-8 boxes a day. I keep wanting to hold back what I consider hugely culturally inappropriate books while my 7th grade language arts school teacher daughter insists we send almost everything donated. I have talked her into letting me set aside the "Adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley" series and the "Girl Talk" ("Allison's a model!") series. But Pokemon, Captain Underpants and Scooby-Doo are going to Kenya!

Oklahomans Melyanna Hewitt and Kelly Brown Produce Children's Book "A Story of Faith"

The following post is from the Oklahoma Writers & Authors blog and is so good, I am just pasting the whole post here:

7/1/08

"... I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move." - Matthew 17:20

Inspired by a true story, this delightfully innovative children’s story was written for seven-year-old Mary Ann, a little Amish girl who had just been diagnosed with cancer. As Mary Ann lay awaiting the first of many chemotherapy treatments, in walked a complete stranger bearing a cuddly bundle of fur named “Faith.” Faith arrived at Mary Ann’s bedside hoping to become her “bestest” friend and traveling company for the long journey ahead.

This tender story will guide you through Faith’s creation at Build-A-Bear Workshop and her many adventures on an Amish farm. Written and illustrated by two women from Oklahoma, Melyanna Hewitt and illus by Kelly Brown, A Story of Faith spearheads a fund raising effort on Mary Ann’s behalf. Your purchase of this book will help pay a portion of Mary Ann’s medical expenses. For more information, visit the website http://www.storyoffaith.com/faith/

Sheila Spurgeon New Director of Preservation Oklahoma, Inc.

Sheila Spurgeon has a doctorate in educational psychology and has taught at five universities but she has always had a special place in her heart for historical preservation. Now, as the new executive director of Preservation Oklahoma Inc, she is a key player in preserving Okahoma's architectural treasures. Read about her in this July 20 Oklahoman article entitled "Historic homes get shot at future."

Jo Ann Pearce Leads A Chance to Change Foundation

My husband belongs to the Oklahoma City Downtown Rotary (Club 29) which meets every Tuesday at noon. I have lots of female friends who also belong and one of them, Meg Salyer -- who won the Journal Record's Woman of the Year in 2003, served as president of Club 29 a few years back. So I keep an eye on the organization - wondering if they will ever have a second female president and hoping that a few of their speakers will be females over the course of a year (other than Sherri Coale, that is).

So I was pleased to hear that Jo Ann Pearce, Executive Director of A Chance to Change Foundation, spoke to Club 29 this week. Her organization was founded in 1979 and works with individuals who are affected by chemical dependency and related behavioral disorders. She has an awesome resume and word is she gave a very good talk. Yes!

Janet Lovet Named Law Dean at University of Tulsa

Janet Loven Levit has been named Dean of the Law School at the University of Tulsa.

She is the first woman to serve as law dean at TU and the first female dean of a law school in Oklahoma. So, yippee!

You can read the full story about her and the appointment here.