»In This Issue

Message from the CEO	LOK Lawn Party	Class XXVIII Graduates
Distinguished Leadership Award Nominations Sought	LOK to Kick Off Annual Membership Campaign	Altus Member Event Recap
Announcements and Deadlines	Class XXIII Reunion	Leaders on the Move
	Member Directory Updates

»Message From the CEO

Class XXVII has graduated and we now have 51 new LOK members. During their class, they saw all quadrants of Oklahoma from Guymon to Broken Bow, Lawton to Tahlequah, McAlester to Stillwater with stops at St. Crispin’s, Oklahoma City and Tulsa. At graduation, they vowed to be actively engaged in serving our state and participating in LOK. As always, it has been a very informative year with lively discussions but also a lot of fun. I know that everyone joins me in welcoming the new graduates to the LOK network.

As has been the tradition since Class I, a new Golden Bull Award winner has been selected. Lance McDaniel, Executive Director of deadCenter Film Festival, is the latest honoree of the coveted award.

Do you know the story behind this unique award? Here is the way I remember the creation of the Golden Bull. Sharon Gotcher Adams, LOK Class I, decided that an award needed to be created to recognize someone in the class who was fearless, who was not afraid to ask difficult questions and who was willing to take risks. Sharon designed the first Golden Bull in her McAlester art studio and continued to make the award for 24 years from the original mold. Then the mold was passed down to Shahla Rahimi-Reynolds who has lovingly made the precious bull in her home studio for Class XXV, XXVI and XXVII. Shahla is now in the process of changing homes and we are looking for the next artist who will take the original mold and make our coveted award. Is that person you? If so, please let me know.

The first Golden Bull was presented by Class I to Sue Ann Hyde during our class session in McAlester. We had just finished listening to Speaker Carl Albert after dinner at Pete’s Place. As I reflect back, it is hard for me to imagine us christening the award in the presence of such an outstanding Oklahoman! We also never imagined that it would become a tradition for all classes. Congratulations to Lance, the 27th winner of the Golden Bull, and the others honored before him:

I. Sue Ann Hyde II. Art Cotton III. Cliff Hudson IV. Terry Childers V. Ben Baer VI. Brother Benedict VII. Kim Holland

VIII. Donna Murphy IX. Joe Edwards X. John Mowen XI. Virginia Lang XII. David Woods XIII. Bruce Benbrook XIV. Lee Baxter

XV. Mac Wall XVI. Shahla Rahimi-Reynolds  XVII. Ken Busby XVIII. George Young XIX. Robin Cauthron XX. Jo Ann Haysbert XXI. Ziva Branstetter

XXII. Stan Chase XXIII. Alison Anthony XXIV. Mark Towler XXV. Xavier Neira XXVI. Che Miller XXVII. Lance McDaniel

Ann

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»Starting Summer...LOK Style

Make your reservations and mark those calendars now, LOK will be kicking off summer on June 20th with the LOK Lawn Party. The LOK Lawn Party will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the home of Tulsa mayor Dewey (Class II) and Victoria Bartlett.

LOK members, who are current with their dues payments, and their guest can enjoy a fun-filled evening catching up with other class members and making new connections. A Fajita bar with all the fixings will be served. There is no cost to attend the event, but we do ask that members register here so there will be plenty of food and drink for everyone. The deadline to register for this event is June 12, 2014.

LOK has also arranged for a special room rate at the Hyatt Regency Tulsa Downtown for those who would like to stay in Tulsa that evening. For a special rate of $79, you can stay in the exciting downtown area close to restaurants, pubs and music to complete your evening. The deadline to reserve your hotel room at this special rate is May 30, 2014. Click here to make your hotel reservation.

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»Class XXVII Graduates

Adult Program Chair Michele Campbell wraps up the Class XXVII program year with details from their final class program in Broken Bow.


Great May weather and beautiful surroundings of Broken Bow was the setting for LOK Class XXVII graduation this year. And, what a year it has been! As I listened to the class reflect on their year, it was reassuring to hear that the program LOK continues to provide has, once again, made a difference in the lives of 51 very significant leaders in our state.

Classmates were enlightened around the topic of tourism in Oklahoma and the important role it plays in our state. And, as most are aware, the graduation experience includes a bit more relaxation and is designed to serve as a time for reflection. It also brings about the opportunity to think through what’s next and how do we make a difference in our state based on information received, the expanded network we now have, and our LOK experience.

During the gift exchange and the reflection time, it was evident Class XXVII had a lot of respect, love, and appreciation for each other. There was a lot of laughter, heartfelt words, encouragement, and some tears as they saw their year coming to a close. Additionally, their evaluations supported what we were observing during the exchange as well. Quotes included: “Great program; terrific people. The experience has galvanized me and I hope will provide all of us with additional knowledge and support to be more effective for our state and individual communities.” Another said, “Words simply can’t describe the awareness, friendships, and experience I gained from the class. The LOK experience exceeded every expectation.”

The Golden Bull award went to the fabulous Lance McDaniel and the role of Class Ambassadors is in the very capable duo of Jennifer Holland and Scott McDaniel. Congratulations to the three of you for your selections!

I want to express my gratitude to the LOK Board for allowing me to serve in this role. This was an extraordinary experience and I am so privileged to have had the opportunity to get to know and work with some incredible people. I would like to thank Joe Moran for being a fantastic LOK Board Chair this year. He visited many of the communities we were in this year and attended many of the sessions. His presence was appreciated and always enjoyed.

I appreciate Ann, who, as we all know, runs a tight ship and does it with a lot of class and competence. What an incredible CEO LOK has to lead this organization. Robin Krieger served with me as chair-elect and was always there to help and support. She will now step in as chair this year and LOK can be assured you have a thoughtful, hard-working, and competent Program Chair. The program committee, always faithful and helpful as we reviewed and evaluated each session, played a very important part in the success of the year and I am grateful for their commitment. Additionally, I have worked alongside some great community LOK chairs as we visited the various locations and I certainly acknowledge the enormous amount of work that goes into the programs.

In closing, a big thank you to each member of Class XXVII for your willingness to open your mind to the issues and really listen, not only to presenters, but to each other. Your ability to be open to the experience and to each other significantly contributes to the success of the experience for everyone. I wish you the best and know Oklahoma has another great LOK class ready to take on the issues and be even more engaged in helping our great state address our challenges!

To see photos from the Broken Bow and Graduation session, click here.

Michele Campbell
Chair, Adult Program Committee

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»Distinguished Leadership Award Nominations Sought

It’s not too early to nominate an LOK member for the Distinguished Leadership Award. Each year we are privileged to recognize an individual that has made significant contributions to Leadership Oklahoma. We honor them for their efforts to promote and support the vision of LOK, their involvement and participation with LOK, and finally the contribution of their talents to LOK. Click here to download a nominating form.

Past Distinguished Leadership Award recipients are:

2013 - Ronda Hooper, Class XXI 2012 - Michelle Finch-Walker, Class XV 2011 - Cristy Morrison, Class XV 2010 - Mary Mélon, Class XVI 2009 - Howard Barnett, Class II 2008 - Steve Brown, Class VIII 2003 - Brad Henry*, Class IX 2002 - Jess Nelson*, Class X 2001 - Lindy Ritz*, Class I

2000 - Larry Brummett*, Class I 1999 - Drew Edmondson*, Class IV 1997 - Bob James, Class IV 1995 - Jack Herron, Class II 1994 - Hal Pennington, Class I 1993 - Ann Ackerman, Class I 1992 - Nance Diamond, Class I 1991 - Ron Yordi, Class I 1989 - Clayton Taylor, Class III

As a reminder, the nominee must be a LOK dues-paying member who has demonstrated exemplary service to Leadership Oklahoma. The deadline for nominations is July 25, 2014 by 5:00 p.m. in the LOK office. Email the completed form to lok@leadershipoklahoma.com or mail it to 5500 N. Western Ave., Ste. 142, Oklahoma City, OK 73118.

* The Distinguished Leadership Award honoree was also the LOK Excellence in Leadership Distinguished Graduate Honoree. No awards were given in 2004-2007. Starting with 2008, Distinguished Leadership Award honorees were selected based on service to Leadership Oklahoma.

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»LOK to Kick Off Annual Membership Campaign

LOK will begin its annual membership campaign June 1st. You will be receiving your graduate update profile and invoice for  2014-2015 membership in the mail soon. To get a head start, click here to preview your contact information online and make changes as needed. Don’t forget to sign up for a committee or two as well! Click here to download the form, check the committees you are interested in, and email it to Allyson.

If you would like to update your photo, email it to Allyson (required format: jpeg file, 600 x 725 pixels at 300 dpi). Changes need to be made no later than June 30th to be included in the 2014-2015 LOK Annual Report and Directory.

LOK is successful because of you – your time, energy, ideas and resources. We share a commonality of a sincere concern about the future of Oklahoma and how each of us individually can do our part to help shape that future. Your commitment to sustain the organization enables us to keep providing innovative and challenging programs for Oklahoma’s leaders offering that “once-in-a-lifetime” experience and ensures students continue to attend the Youth Leadership Oklahoma program free of charge.

As a reminder, annual membership dues are $150 (in state), $25 (out-of-state), or $2,500 for a lifetime membership. LOK is continuing the three-payment options to become a lifetime member. Option 1: one-time payment of $2,500. Option 2: four quarterly payments of $625 (beginning July 1, 2014). Option 3: eight quarterly payments of $312.50 (beginning July 1, 2014). Class I has proved that it’s never too late to be a lifetime member; three of them paid for lifetime memberships last year!

Invoices for the 2014-2015 LOK membership will be mailed and available online June 1, 2014.

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»Hey Altus, Wat-er you doing with Water?

Recap by Mary Jane Calvey (Class XVI)
As grey clouds scudded overhead, a group of LOK alumni gathered at the Cotton Grower’s Co-op in Altus, Oklahoma Friday April 18. We were greeted by LOK alum, Tom Buchanan (Class XXVI), president of the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, director of the Lugert-Altus Irrigation District, and cotton grower from the Altus area. As we car-pooled through town on the way to see evolving methods of crop irrigation, many unsuspecting Altus citizens pulled over to pay respects thinking we were headed to a funeral. Although, after seeing the effects of the drought in Southwest Oklahoma, a somber feeling was sensed by each of us.

The first stop was irrigation by ditch and siphon or the “Chevy” model. Farmers in the area knew that they needed reliable sources of water back before the dust bowl and began the process of raising funds and impounding water in the 1920s. Tom explained that the original ditches had been earthen excavations and the improvement of concreting the ditches preserved water. During cotton growing season, a farmer needed lots of man-power to continuously move the siphons to water flood the fields using gravity flow.

A great improvement came during the 1980s and 1990s when man made tail water pits recovered the water on the downhill side of fields for re-use. We viewed a tail water pit that had been primarily dry for three years. Reusing the water required a network of piping underlying the fields and a large pump that redirected water out to surrounding acres. This is “the Cadillac” method of irrigation. The final type of irrigation improvement and the “Rolls Royce” of the group included a large outlay of cash to install sub surface or drip irrigation which allows for the most efficient use of water. Because enough moisture has not fallen in the last three years, most farmers have not even been able to plant a crop to irrigate.

The city of Altus has experienced economic stress because of the lack of cotton output. However, LOK members were greeted warmly and treated to lunch at The Robbins Farm equipment barn. Then we toured the largest cotton gin facility in Oklahoma and learned how cotton is processed and stored in the local cotton compress storage buildings in 500 pound bales.

We were looking forward to an evening cookout and reception at Quartz Mountain. But first, we raced across the Jackson County terrain to see the W. C. Austin project of the Bureau of Reclamation, commonly called the Altus Dam, completed in 1945. The dam was constructed of granite from the surrounding hills and is one of the few water and flood control projects with such construction. We saw the dam from the top, where the acute shortage of water was visible but also from inside the dam where we learned that all dams leak a little. It is truly an awesome engineering project.

Story continued here.

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»Announcements and Upcoming Events

Deadlines:

May 31, 2014	The Oklahoma Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit dedicated to lifelong learning and cultural opportunities, is seeking nominations for its Board of Trustees. Interested individuals can visit http://www.okhumanities.org/board-nominations for guidelines. For more information please contact Ann Thompson, Executive Director, at 405-235-0280.
June 12, 2014	Deadline: Register for the LOK Lawn Party
June 30, 2014	Deadline: Submit New Photograph for LOK Membership Directory
July 25, 2014	Deadline: Nominations for Distinguished Leadership Award due in LOK Office

Upcoming Events

June 20, 2014	LOK Lawn Party at Mayor Dewey and Victoria Bartlett's home, Tulsa 5:30-8:30 p.m.
October 7, 2014	LOK Fall Forum, Devon Tower, 50th floor, Oklahoma City 1:00-9:00 p.m.
November 2-3, 2014	Association of Leadership Professionals Central Plains Regional Conference, The Skirvin Hotel, Oklahoma City (detailed program information coming soon)

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»Class XXIII Reunion

Class XXIII reunion recap provided by Katie Kimberling and Michele Campbell.

On April 10-11, 2014, Class XXIII had their 4th Annual Reunion at Lake Tenkiller. At graduation, the class decided to meet once a year and travel to a different state park each time. So far, the group has been to Beavers Bend, Roman Nose, Sequoyah State Park, and now Lake Tenkiller State Park. Time was spent enjoying food, outdoor fun, and conversations. As always, the conversations were stimulating and educational. And what conversations we had….thanks Dr. Joe!

Classmates enjoying the reunion included: Darrell Weaver, Mike Jackson, Kelly Nemecek, Matt Guillory, Warren Langford, Allyson Carson, Laurie Tilley, Anil Gollahalli , Alison Anthony, Michele Campbell, Wes Knight, Joe Nicholson, Bret Burns, Eddie Wyant, Katie Kimberling, Steve Smith, Cara Cowan Watts, Julie Bohannon, and Jeff Moen. The friendships found because of LOK are held dear to this bunch.

Watch out Lake Murray, Class XXIII is already planning for year five!

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»Leaders on the Move

In last month’s issue of LOK E-News, we published a list of LOK members who had filed as a candidate for elections in the state. Two members were inadvertently left off the list: Oklahoma State Senate, District 6: Joe Hill (Class XXVII) and Oklahoma State House of Representative, District 82: Kevin Calvey (Class XV). We apologize for the omission.

Bill Anoatubby (Class III) was presented an honorary degree from the University of Oklahoma.

Don Betz (Class III) has been appointed to the executive committee of the International Association of University Presidents.

Deena Fisher (Class XXIV) has been elected as treasurer of the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Leigh Goodson (Class XXIII) has been announced as the next president of Tulsa Community College, effective July.

Marion Paden (Class XXI) will be honored with an Award of Excellence from Oklahoma City University and Societies of OCU.

Kimber Scott (Class XIX) has been appointed to the deadCENTER film festival Board of Directors.

Teresa Stewart Smith (Class XXIII) has been appointed to the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission.

Noel Tyler (Class XX) earned the 2012-2013 member of the year award from the National Council of Disability Determination Directors.

Gay Washington (Class XXVII) has been named Oklahoma Assistant Superintendent of the Year.

Louis Wilham (Class XXVI) has been selected as the next 90th Troop Command Commander. (June 12, 2014)

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»Member Directory Updates

Below are member contact information changes received between April16, 2014 and May 15, 2014. For a listing of ALL directory changes since the 2013-2014 Membership Directory was printed (July, 2013) please click here.

XXIII • Bryan Gonterman Vice President and General Manager AT&T Mobility, New England 550 Cochituate Rd., Suites 13 and 14 Framingham, MA 01701-4654 P: (508) 271-8472	XI • Dean Hughes Manager, Human Resources Muscogee (Creek) Nation Post Office Box 580 Okmulgee, OK 74447 P: (918) 732-7830 dmhughes351@gmail.com	XXI • Liz Hunt Manager, Marketing & Communications ITC Holdings Corp/ITC Great Plains 204 N. Robinson, Suite 2500 Oklahoma City, OK 73102 P: (405) 536-0068 E:ehunt@itctransco.com
XVI • Monica Neal Community Development Director The Chickasaw Nation 1300 Hoppe Blvd., Suite 2 Ada, OK 74820 monica.neal@chickasaw.net	XXI • Mary Ogle mogle@anewleaf.org	XVIII • Michelle Sutton Attorney, Lobbyist 28370 E. 58th St. Broken Arrow, OK 74014 P: (918) 695-8822
XXV • Carol W. Troy PR/Marketing Consultant 1200 Huntington Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73116 P: 405.640.6672 Carol.troy@sbcglobal.net

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