Lyric Theatre's "A Christmas Carol" raises funds for Regional Food Bank
Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
OKLAHOMA CITY- For the ninth consecutive year, the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma will raise money for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma during their run of “A Christmas Carol.” The event is presented by Devon Energy.
Lyric Theatre is celebrating its diamond anniversary of the performance which is now running through December 27.
As a COVID-19 pandemic precaution, this year’s performance is being held outdoors at the historic Harn Homestead, 1721 N. Lincoln Boulevard.
The venue has been reimagined into a Victoria era holiday village with patrons following Charles Dicken’s tale of transformation and redemption as they walk from scene to scene during the 75-minute production.
The production features two rotating casts. The complete schedule of performance dates and actors is available on the Lyric website. (https://ift.tt/3pum9Yn)
Lyric representatives will review weather conditions daily, and any delays or cancellations will be announced on the Lyric website and the official Lyric Theatre Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/LyricTheatreofOklahoma).
Donations will be collected following each performance through Dec. 27 to benefit the Regional Food Bank.
Founded in 1980, the Regional Food Bank is the state's largest hunger-relief 501(c)(3) nonprofit that distributes food through a network of community-based partner agencies and schools.
Since 2011, Lyric Theatre patrons have donated a total of more than $178,000.
"We are overjoyed that Lyric Theatre has created an innovative, and safe, way to continue this metro holiday tradition," said Stacy Dykstra, chief executive officer of the Regional Food Bank.
"Since 2011, Lyric Theatre, and their loyal patrons, have helped to provide more than a million meals to Oklahomans living with food insecurity."
Lyric is a nonprofit member theatre of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre and Allied Arts.
“Oklahoma is the fifth hungriest state in the nation,” said Cathy Nestlen, Director of Communications for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma told reporter Angelica Brown of KOKH FOX 25 News. "That was before the pandemic hit, so, unfortunately, Oklahoma is a hungry state."
In the past year, the Regional Food Bank distributed 56.5 million pounds of food through its network of partners in central and western Oklahoma. Partner agencies have reported a 30 percent increase in need among Oklahomans facing food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"There are too many Oklahoma families who live paycheck to paycheck, there's a tipping point in every household," said Nestlen. "Food continually falls down the priority list."
In order to offer a safe experience, Lyric Theatre will be enforcing the following guidelines:
• All patrons, staff and volunteers are required to wear masks, which must remain on their faces at all times.
• All audience members will have their temperature checked with a no-touch thermometer before entering the performance space. If a patron has a temperature of 100.4 degrees or higher, they will not be admitted. Tickets will be exchanged for a future performance, or a full refund will be issued.
• Lyric will provide hand sanitizing stations throughout the space for patron usage.
• Plexiglass safety partitions will be in place between the public and box office and concessions staff.
Tickets for “A Christmas Carol” are available at LyricTheatreOKC.org or by calling Lyric’s box office at 405-524-9312.
Founded in 1963, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma is the state’s leading professional theatre company.
Lyric produces classic and contemporary musicals, new works, and plays featuring artists from Oklahoma and around the nation.
For more information, visit LyricTheatreOKC.org. To learn more about the Regional Food Bank, visit regionalfoodbank.org.
Lyric Theatre's "A Christmas Carol" raises funds for Regional Food Bank Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
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OKLAHOMA CITY - Thousands of Oklahoma families will be served at the Oklahoma Association for Justice’s 11th Annual Day of Kindness, a Thanksgiving food distribution co-hosted by Lawyers Fighting Hunger.
The annual turkey distribution provides a free turkey to families in need at four different sites across the state and a bag of groceries in Tulsa.
World Kindness Day is a celebration of good deeds towards others, embracing positivity and the power of a united community. Introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement, the World Kindness Day (https://ift.tt/1PuRe7i) event is observed around the world on November 13. Over time, this movement has evolved into a World Kindness Week celebration across the United States and other countries.
Each location is first-come, first-served unless otherwise specified. Due to the COVID pandemic, it is important to protect the community and event participants.
Masks and social distancing are required.
Lawyers Fighting Hunger distribution locations include the following:
Oklahoma City: On Friday, November 20, members of McIntyre Law (https://ift.tt/38EEjQX) and others will begin distributing 2,000 turkeys at 9 a.m. at Southern Hills Baptist Church, 8601 South Pennsylvania Avenue.
The University of Oklahoma will participate in the Southern Hills event again this year. The Sooner Schooner along with the ponies Boomer and Sooner, Oklahoma Sooners men’s basketball coach Lon Kruger, as well as members of the Oklahoma Baptist University coaching staff will be present at the event. Oklahoma City Firefighters with the Local 157 will also be present to help with the distribution.
Pre-registration is recommended. Contact Noble McIntyre at firm@mcintyrelaw.com.
Tulsa: On Saturday, Nov. 14 (by preselection only), volunteers will be assembling 1000 bags of groceries to go with a 5-pound bag of potatoes and turkey starting at 8:30 a.m.
The event will be held in the Iron Gate parking lot at 2nd Street and Elgin.
The 25+ participating partner agencies include: Women in Recovery, the VA, EduRec, Aruba, Cura for the World, Parkside, Emergency Infant Services, Iron Gate, and others, will pick up all bags, turkeys and potatoes on Saturday.
The remainder of distribution will be done to the families who have pre-registered through Iron Gate and done at their drive through program the following week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. 1000 turkeys & 1000 bags of groceries will be available.
Mustang: On Saturday, Nov. 20 there will be 100 turkeys available for distribution beginning at 10 a.m., at Bridge Church, located at
1116 W. State Highway 152.
El Reno: Beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20, 200 turkeys will be available at the El Reno Elks Lodge,
at 415 S. Rock Island.
To support the annual Day of Kindness, Oklahoma trial lawyers give back to the community each year because 1 in 7 Oklahomans suffer from hunger, including 1 in 5 children.
People facing hunger in Oklahoma are estimated to report needing $290,887,000 more per year to meet their food needs, according to Feeding America (https://www.feedingamerica.org/).
In the winter, many families are forced to choose between food and the utilities that they need to keep warm and safe during the coldest months of the year.
Participating members of the Oklahoma Association for Justice feel it is important that each year these families have a hot, satisfying, nutritious holiday meal, according to the organization’s press release.
Through the combined effort of the Oklahoma Association for Justice (https://ift.tt/32JhTdx), Lawyers Fighting Hunger (https://ift.tt/3prqBXz), the Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma (https://okfoodbank.org/), and over 100 Oklahoma trial lawyers and law firms, the 11th Annual Lawyers Fighting Hunger event empowers donors to support local organizations providing help and hope in the fight against hunger in Oklahoma.
Donations this year have exceeded $80,000.00, which brings the total funds donated by Oklahoma plaintiff trial lawyers over the past eleven years to just over $935,000.00, the release stated.
To support the Day of Kindness event, donations can be made online at lawyersfightinghunger.com/donate. For more information, visit okforjustice.org.
Oklahomans mark Annual World Kindness Day with events beginning this weekend Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Gross Receipts to the Treasury continued their slide in October as individual income tax collections dropped by 7.5 percent, indicating the state’s economic downturn has yet to subside, State Treasurer Randy McDaniel announced in an early November press release.
October receipts from all sources total $1.1 billion, down by more than $47 million, or 4.1 percent, from October of last year. Combined gross receipts for the past 12 months total $13.2 billion, off by more than $500 million compared to collections from the previous 12 months.
“We are experiencing the spillover effect of the pandemic as it chills global demand for oil and gas,” said Treasurer McDaniel. “When the energy industry is down in Oklahoma, it reduces economic activity across the state, including earned income and consumer spending.”
The gross production tax on oil and natural gas has been down significantly every month for more than a year. Oil field employment is at its lowest level, 33,700, since prior to the Great Recession. Rig counts statewide are reported at 14 in October, compared to a peak of 213 six years ago.
Individual income tax receipts for the month are down for the first time since June, partially due to fewer unemployment checks being sent to Oklahomans. Meanwhile, sales tax collections have been down every month except one since September of last year.
Other economic indicators
The Oklahoma Business Conditions Index in October remained above growth neutral for a fifth month. The October index was set at 61.1, up from 58.6 in September. Numbers above 50 indicate economic expansion is expected during the next three to six months.
The unemployment rate in Oklahoma was reported as 5.3 percent in September, down from 5.7 percent in August. The seasonally adjusted number of Oklahomans listed as jobless was reported as 99,800, according to figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The U.S. unemployment rate was listed at 7.9 percent in September.
October collections
Compared to gross receipts from October 2019, collections in October 2020 showed:
• Total October 2020 gross collections are $1.1 billion, down $47.4 million, or 4.1 percent.
• Gross income tax collections, a combination of individual and corporate income taxes, generated $376.7 million, a decrease of $19 million, or 4.8 percent.
• Individual income tax collections are $345.9 million, down by $28 million, or 7.5 percent.
• Corporate collections are $30.8 million, an increase of $9 million, or 41.1 percent.
• Combined sales and use tax collections, including remittances on behalf of cities and counties, total $460.1 million – up by $815,035, or 0.2 percent.
• Sales tax collections total $396.1 million, a decrease of $2.8 million, or 0.7 percent.
• Use tax receipts, collected on out-of-state purchases including online sales, generated $64 million, an increase of $3.6 million, or 6 percent.
• Gross production taxes on oil and natural gas total $48 million, a decrease of $23.7 million, or 33 percent.
• Motor vehicle taxes produced $69.4 million, up by $2.5 million, or 3.7 percent.
• Other collections composed of some 60 different sources including taxes on fuel, tobacco, medical marijuana, and alcoholic beverages, produced $143 million – down by $8 million, or 5.3 percent.
• The medical marijuana tax produced $5.3 million, up by $2.2 million, or 73 percent from the prior October.
Twelve-month collections
Combined gross receipts for the past 12 months (November 2019 through October 2020) compared to the prior 12 months showed:
• Gross revenue totals $13.21 billion. That is $521 million, or 3.8 percent, below collections from the previous 12-month period.
• Gross income taxes generated $4.75 billion, reflecting an increase of $75.5 million, or 1.6 percent.
• Individual income tax collections total $4.1 billion, down by $74.2 million, or 1.8 percent.
• Corporate collections are $673.9 million, an increase of $149.7 million, or 28.5 percent.
• Combined sales and use taxes generated $5.46 billion, a drop of $152.2 million, or 2.7 percent.
• Gross sales tax receipts total $4.7 billion, down by $195.8 million, or 4 percent.
• Use tax collections generated $762.3 million, an increase of $43.5 million, or 6.1 percent.
• Oil and gas gross production tax collections generated $685.2 million, down by $421.9 million, or 38.1 percent.
• Motor vehicle collections total $776 million. This is a decrease of $16.5 million, or 2.1 percent.
• Other sources generated $1.54 billion, down by $5.9 million, or 0.4 percent.
• Medical marijuana taxes generated $52.4 million, up by $34.3 million, or 189 percent, from prior period collections of $18.1 million.
About Gross Receipts to the Treasury: The monthly Gross Receipts to the Treasury report, developed by the state treasurer’s office, provides a timely and broad view of the state’s economy.
It is released in conjunction with the General Revenue Fund report from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which provides information to state agencies for budgetary planning purposes. The General Revenue Fund, the state’s main operating account, receives less than half of the state’s gross receipts with the remainder paid in rebates and refunds, remitted to cities and counties, and apportioned to other state funds.
Treasurer Randy McDaniel reports: Government income drops amidst downturn Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Oklahoma City – Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble present two concerts virtually TODAY (November 13) and TOMORROW (November 14) at 7:30 p.m., as it kicks off its 18th season as Oklahoma City’s foremost presenter of classical chamber music.
The ensemble will offer two virtual concerts featuring a pair of quintets and shorter pieces for flute and oboe. Brightmusic will also present an encore of “Beneath a Cinnamon Moon,” a work Brightmusic commissioned from Oklahoma City composer Edward Knight for the Oklahoma centennial in 2007, with stunning photography of Oklahoma landscapes by MJ Alexander, providing a welcome antidote to “cabin fever” that is afflicting so many during the pandemic.
For the safety of the musicians and production crew, the concerts are shorter with smaller ensembles to minimize risk of exposure to the participants.
Program 1 "Crossing Boundaries"
Nino Rota, Three Duets for Flute and Oboe
Eugene Rozza, Three Pieces for Flute and Oboe
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Quintet in F sharp minor for clarinet and strings, Op. 10
Musicians appearing will be Lisa Harvey-Reed (oboe), Parthena Owens (flute), Chad Burrow (clarinet), Gregory Lee and Katrin Stamatis (violins), Mark Neumann (viola) and Jonathan Ruck (cello)
Program 2 “Beyond Boundaries”
W. A. Mozart, Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A major, K. 58
Edward Knight, Beneath a Cinnamon Moon, with original photography of Oklahoma landscapes by MJ Alexander
Musicians appearing will be Chad Burrow (clarinet), Gregory Lee and Katrin Stamatis (violins), Matthew Dane and Mark Neumann (viola), Jonathan Ruck (cello) and Amy I-Lin Cheng (piano).
The remaining regular season concerts are to be announced, pending developments with the pandemic and availability of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Brightmusic’s regular venue, which remains closed to the public at this time.
The concerts are available free of charge to all through the website, www.brightmusic.org and shared on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/BrightmusicOK/.
After these initial release dates in November, these two concerts will be available anytime online.
For more information about the ensemble and upcoming concerts, visit Brightmusic.org .
Brightmusic Chamber Ensemble Presents Virtual Fall Concerts Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Here and there in the news, the voices of rational people disagreeing with the narrative that is dominating American life over the past few days.
U.S. Sen. James Lankford, R-Oklahoma, spoke about the recent national elections with some clarity late last week. His words in a November 7 news story from the Oklahoma are worthy of attention, and earn my agreement.
On his non-official Facebook page (November 5) he observed that Oklahoma counted its ballots in five hours, but those “battleground states”? Well, they “cannot even figure out how many ballots they have left to count after three days. We haven’t seen slow counting showing up in heavy Trump precincts, only in Democratic heavy precincts. … Trust, but verify.”
Then, in a statement from his office, the junior senator observed: “Seven heavily Democratic precincts in Pennsylvania, Nevada and Georgia took days to complete their count when other precincts in the same state were long completed. That does not build trust in their election system. Every state has the obligation to provide an election system that allows everyone to vote, even vote to be counted and every vote to be verified.”
U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, commented over the weekend: “I want Pennsylvania to explain to the American people how six people, after they die, can register and vote in Pennsylvania. I want the computer systems in Michigan that flip votes from Republicans to Democrats to be looked at — and the software was used all over the country.”
Then, there’s South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, who on Sunday (November 8) told George Stephanopoulos of ABC News: “I appreciated that President Trump gave us the flexibility to do the right thing in our state and [we’ll] continue to do that. He let me do my job. But the other thing that I think is going on here, George, is that this is all premature. This is a premature conversation because we have not finished counting votes. There are states that have not been called, and back in 2000, Al Gore was given his day in court.”
Noem added, “We should give President Trump his day in court. Let the process unfold because, George, we live in a republic. We are a government that gets its power from the consent of the governed. That is the people. They give their consent on Election Day. Election Day needs to be fair, honest, and transparent, and we need to be sure that we had an honest election before we decide who gets to be in the White House the next four years.”
On October 31, the weekly “ScissorTales” feature on the editorial page of The Oklahoman, included this succinct reflection on a weighty matter:
“Germany and France instituted new lockdowns this week amid a spike in COVID-19 cases. In Germany, restaurants, bars, gyms and theaters are closed for a month, and public gatherings can’t exceed 10 people from two households. French residents must stay in their homes much of the time, with bars, shops and restaurants closed if they are deemed nonessential. Italy has seen violent protests since issuing new curfews and early closings of bars and clubs. Notable about these spikes is that during the spring, much of Europe, with lockdowns and mask mandates, was considered the model for how to reduce COVID spread.
“Some voices in the United States want a return of sweeping restrictions here. The Wall Street Journal offers a better idea: ‘Targeted closures that protect the vulnerable are better policy responses until better treatments and a vaccine arrive or some broader immunity is reached.’ ”
As adversaries watch deep national divisions persist in America, and as powerful voices instruct contrarians to shut up, I found these reflections most worthy of fresh distribution. As a person who watched closely events in the Georgia gubernatorial race in 2018, and remembers with some clarity the five weeks after Election Day in 2000, Americans need more information before we know what the result of this year’s Election was in, as opposed to in the varied musings and relentless certainty of mainstream news organizations.
They’re just sayin’ – Some disagree with the dominant narrative, and so do I Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
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In 2019, Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR) began to press for additional criminal justice reforms, as the Sooner State’s incarceration rate continued to run first in the nation. File Photo. Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
OKLAHOMA CITY — On election night (November 3), Sarah Edwards, President of Yes on 805, released the following statement in response to the defeat of State Question 805:
“The momentum for criminal justice reform is stronger than ever in Oklahoma. Hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans from across the political spectrum cast their vote in support of State Question 805 and demanded our state leaders take bold action to end our incarceration crisis.
“This campaign has shown that the status quo of Oklahoma’s top imprisonment rates and overcrowded prisons is not acceptable. Our state spends more than half a billion dollars on the prison system each year, and we can no longer afford a ‘tough on crime’ mentality that actually means ‘tough on taxpayers’ and ‘tough on families.’
"[W]e hope that members of our Legislature and the Governor will live up to their word to take action to tackle our state’s extreme sentencing laws. We have built a powerful bipartisan movement that will continue to fight for common-sense reforms in the months ahead.
"We need reform now. We demand the Oklahoma Legislature act on common-sense criminal justice reform this legislative session.”
The Yes on 805 campaign was an extension of Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform, a statewide organization that has seen both notable successes (State Questions 780 and 781 most notably) and frustrating defeats. Before the organization emerged, in 2011-2012, the Oklahoma Speaker of the House,
Kris Steele of Shawnee guided significant reforms to enactment, but the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI) – much of it enacted into law – was stymied in implementation after Steele left elective office.
After last week’s election in a statement first posted on Facebook, Patrick B. McGuigan, founder of CapitolBeatOK.com (an online news service) and publisher of The City Sentinel newspaper, commented, “I was proud to support State Question 805, and to carry pro-805 messages on the Facebook pages and websites I manage – and in our November 2020 print edition of The City Sentinel. Although the measure garnered 54 percent [support] in Oklahoma County, it lost statewide.”
McGuigan was co-editor of 'Crime and Punishment in Modern America', a compilation of scholarly conservative and libertarian essays making the case for broad reforms of the criminal justice system, released during the Reagan Administration. He has written frequent news stories and commentaries focused on problems with Oklahoma’s death penalty process.
McGuigan said The City Sentinel’s editorials and commentaries would advocate for new incremental reforms of the state’s judicial system. McGuigan is a member of the Oklahoma Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (OK-CADP).
The diverse support coalition for S. Q. 805 included scholars and leaders at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Opponents of S.Q. 805 contended they supported further criminal justice reforms, but “not this state question.” Among their criticisms was the measure was crafted to amend the state constitution, rather than revise statutes. Many members of the state organization for District
Attorneys have opposed every step taken to reform the state’s system, including this proposition.
Governor Kevin Stitt, who supported incremental criminal justice reforms early in his administration, opposed the ballot initiative, as did other Republican elected officials.
In Oklahoma County, both candidates for Sheriff (Democrat Wayland Cubit and Republican Tommie Johnson, the GOP nominee who won the office on November 3) opposed S.Q. 805. Another prominent opponent of the ballot proposition was Steve Fair, a high-ranking Republican and a conservative columnist whose essays appear frequently on the CapitolBeatOK website.
About Yes on 805 and Oklahomans for Sentencing Reform: Oklahomans for Sentencing Reform is a diverse and bipartisan initiative committed to implementing common-sense sentencing reform in Oklahoma. The group, which includes community leaders, advocates and people who are directly impacted, worked to stop the use of harsh and ineffective repeat sentence penalties by advocating passage of State Question 805 on the 2020 ballot. For more information, please visit https://ift.tt/36g5YFg.
After November 3 defeat, Yes on 805 will continue the fight for criminal justice reform Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
OKLAHOMA CITY -- BancFirst is continuing its partnership with the nonprofit “A Chance to Play,” which provides new and refurbished musical instruments to students who can’t afford them.
Research shows that learning to play an instrument can be incredibly beneficial to the development of young people. In fact, even those who give up playing music when they reach their teenage years are positively impacted if they played an instrument when their brains were developing.
Playing music helps children in a variety of ways, so it’s important that kids spend at least some of their youth learning to play an instrument (https://theinspiredclassroom.com/2013/10/musical-instruments-every-child-should-try-at-least-once/).
Used band and stringed instruments can be donated by taking them to the lobbies of any of the BancFirst locations in the Oklahoma City metro, said Jay Hannah, executive vice president of financial services.
“We believe every child deserves a chance to play,” said Hannah, who is also a musician,” Hannah said.
Hannah’s band, Billy Bob Bovine and the Embryo Transfer Band, performs benefit concerts for A Chance to Play (https://ift.tt/3leBZDL).
The used instruments will be repaired or refurbished at Larsen Music in Oklahoma City and then donated to partner schools, according to Walt Myrick, piano department manager for Larsen Music.
“The last thing we want, or any band director wants, is to have a student who wants to be in band and can’t financially swing it,” Myrick said.
“Playing any musical instrument makes you use both sides of your brain at the same time,” Myrick said. “It’s fun. It creates teamwork and self-discipline. It’s a part of their life they will never forget.
“Larsen Music has three employees who use state-of-the-art equipment to repair instruments, including some that have been in attics for decades, Myrick said. “Repair technicians replace pads on clarinets, flutes and saxophones, restore frozen valves and tuning slides on trumpets and fix bent slides on trombones,” he added.
“It’s amazing to see an instrument come in that’s not playable, and after they work their magic, it plays like it’s new,” Myrick said.
People can also donate instruments by taking them directly to Larsens, at 4001 NW 63rd Street, in Oklahoma City.
Myrick noted that Larsen Music started volunteering with A Chance to Play at the suggestion of Hal Clifford, a member of the contemporary bluegrass and country band Mountain Smoke, which raises money and collects instruments for the nonprofit during its concerts.
Jim Barnett, a graduate of Taft Middle School and Northwest Classen High School, helped launch A Chance to Play five years ago after Taft identified musical instruments as a critical need.
A Chance to Play promotes playing an instrument as an essential component for the development of a child, thereby emphasizing a basic right enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 31).
The organization has given away dozens of refurbished instruments and provided money for rentals and repairs. For a map of BancFirst locations to make a donation, visit bancfirst.bank, or call 844-545-3059.
BancFirst and Larsen Music partner to give kids ‘A Chance to Play’ Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
OKLAHOMA CITY – The Societies of Oklahoma City University will honor Judy Love as the 2021 recipient of the Societies Lifetime Servant Leadership Award at the annual Awards of Excellence luncheon April 22, 2021. Along with her husband Tom, Judy is co-owner of Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores as well as its executive secretary. She is also chairman of the Love Family Fund.
The Lifetime Servant Leadership award recognizes a past Societies honoree who is a current member and has shown continued exceptional involvement and service in the nonprofit community and the university.
Love (https://ift.tt/3n8uVJg) was selected after a unanimous selection committee vote celebrating her efforts in promoting the university’s and Oklahoma City area’s advancement. With no personal ties to the university, Love stepped into leadership roles “simply because of her generous nature,” according to the press release.
Because of her commitment, Love received an honorary Doctorate of Humanities and Letters from OCU in 2015.
“I have worked alongside Judy in several nonprofit efforts but none dearer to me than OCU,” said fellow OCU Societies member Jane Jayroe Gamble. “She believes in OCU as Oklahoma City’s University and in the students that attend. People don’t always see the work that Judy does, but I hope the results are well known.”
Love has been an avid supporter of OCU for decades and will be honored at April’s luncheon at the Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club.
Upon learning of her nomination, she was “floored by the honor and so thankful to her dear friend Jane Jayroe Gamble for the nomination,” the release stated.
The event, co-chaired by Susan Edwards and Janie Axton, will also honor recipients of the Kirkpatrick–Petree Music and Performing Arts Society Award, Dulaney-Browne Library Society Award, Norick–Hulsey Gallery Society Award, and OCU Distinguished Philanthropist Award.
Gayle Lucas Semtner, director of Arts Council Oklahoma City, will receive the Kirkpatrick–Petree Award for her support of agencies with a focus on the arts, education, health and maturing adults’ issues.
Matilda Clements, who has been an active community volunteer with Junior League of OKC and the Girl Scouts of Western Oklahoma, will receive the Dulaney-Browne Award.
Community leader of Rainbow Fleet (https://ift.tt/3lfsOTM), Becky Roten, recipient of the Norick–Hulsey Award, has been involved in the OCU community for the last 30 years focusing on serving children to facilitate access to health care and quality educational opportunities.
The final award, the OCU Distinguished Philanthropist Award, will honor Kami Huddleston and Ashley Murphy (https://ift.tt/2U5nx4W),
the co-founders of WedLink Media ( https://ift.tt/3paDbdW), a print and online wedding media brand. Huddleston and Murphy are proud graduates of OCU and continue to be very active in volunteering with events and fundraising for the university.
The OCU Societies (https://ift.tt/35aS1Jt) group serves to promote higher education and civic leadership by honoring local community leaders and providing financial assistance to the university for academic achievement.
For more information about OCU Societies or sponsoring and attending the 2021 Awards of Excellence Luncheon, contact Judy Reyes-Henderson a jareyeshenderson@okcu.edu or telephone 405-208-5435, or visit okcu.edu/societies.
OCU Societies to honor Judy Love with Lifetime Servant Leadership Award Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK
Supporters of parental choice in education and robust schooling options for children celebrated a wave of victories in state legislative races contested in Oklahoma’s November 3 elections.
The American Federation for Children, described in a press release as “the nation’s voice for educational choice,” congratulated the school choice advocates elected in last week’s election.
The federation is active across the United States.
In 2017, the group sponsored a conference on school choice that drew diverse speakers and community leaders from across Oklahoma (https://capitolbeatok.worldsecuresystems.com/reports/lt-gov-lamb-dr-steve-perry-lawmakers-and-educators-to-speak-at-school-choice-summit).
Recently, the federation scored several historic victories in more than three dozen districts in the national “battleground” state of Wisconsin. Additional notable advances for school choice came in Florida, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.
Jennifer Carter, Oklahoma Senior Advisor for the American Federation for Children, said, in a press release, sent to CapitolBeatOK and other news organizations:
“Due to the continued closure of many schools to in-person learning, parental support for school choice is growing in Oklahoma, and that demand is translating into the election of more candidates from both political parties who support giving parents a greater array of educational options. Oklahoma has now seen several consecutive election cycles in which school-choice candidates gained ground and prevailed over opponents of school choice. There’s no stronger sign of public support for school choice than the ballot box.”
John Schilling, President, American Federation for Children, commented in the group’s press release:
“We are seeing repeatedly in national and state polls that the vast majority from all different ethnicities, political backgrounds, and income levels support school choice. We are living in a time when COVID school closures are forcing a massive shift in the nation’s outdated education system and parents of school-aged children are demanding more options to ensure their children have access to a full-time, quality education.
Congratulations to all of the school choice champions who won in Oklahoma’s General Election, they truly listened to the needs of Oklahoma families! We look forward to these elected State Senators and Representatives continuing the fight to give lower income and special needs students every school choice option.”
The group congratulated the following “school choice champions: who were supported by the Oklahoma Federation for Children Action Fund and won election in this year’s primaries and general election based upon results posted at the time of release:
House District 3 – Rick West; H.D. 20 – Sherrie Conley; H.D. 29 – Kyle Hilbert; H.D. 40 – Chad Caldwell; H.D. 52 – Gerrid Kendrix; H.D. 65 – Toni Hasenbeck; H.D. 83 – Eric Roberts;
H.D. 90 – Jon Echols; and H.D. 99 – Ajay Pittman.
Also victorious in Tuesday’s balloting were Senate District 1 – Micheal Bergstrom; S.D. 15 – Rob Standridge; S.D. 17 – Shane Jett; S.D. 28 – Zack Taylor; S.D. 37 – Cody Rogers; S.D. 37 – Dave Rader; and S.D. 47 – Greg Treat.
Senator Treat is president pro temporate of the Oklahoma state Senate, and a long-time champion of educational options for taxpayers and their children.
Other school-choice supporters who have won election include: H.D. 11 – Wendi Stearman; H.D. 28 – Danny Williams; H.D. 43 – Jay Steagall; H.D. 5 5– Todd Russ; H.D. 64 – Rande Worthen; H.D. 95 – Max Wolfley; and H.D. 96 – Preston Stinson.
The federation’s press release continued, “Not only did 23 school choice candidates win, but six incumbent opponents of choice were ousted this election cycle. The one common thread of incumbents losing in 2020 is that they opposed giving parents the right to choose the best educational opportunities for their children.”
Carter said, “The American Federation for Children is proud to see the number of candidates who champion a range of high-quality educational options for each and every child regardless of zip code, including everything from better public schools to homeschooling to charter schools to private schools.
“Our congratulations go to these winners who are proving themselves committed allies of Oklahoma families.”
NOTE: Editor Patrick B. McGuigan contributed to this report, and selected the photographs published with the story.
School Choice supporters victorious in Oklahoma legislative races Click on the headline to read the full article at CapitolBeatOK |
Pat McGuiganThe dean of all Oklahoma Journalism, Mr Patrick McGuigan; has a rich history of service in many aspects of both covering the news and producing the information that the public needs to know. Archives
September 2021
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