Toby Keith, Five Others to Receive Service Awards
Transcription
Toby Keith, Five Others to Receive Service Awards
CONTACT INFORMATION: Jennifer Gehay, Development Coordinator [email protected] / 405-947-6272 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Toby Keith, Five Others to Receive Service Awards OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, AUGUST 5, 2014 – The 2014 Door-Opener Awards Gala dinner and silent auction on Thursday, September 4, benefitting ASTEC Charter Schools, will recognize five outstanding Oklahomans and one Kansan for their lifetime of contributions made toward helping others in society maximize their potential and achieve their dreams. Those selected to receive a Door-Opener Award at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel event include Dr. Harvey Dean, Pittsburg, Kansas; Toby Keith and Tricia Covel, Norman; Former Gov. George P. Nigh, Edmond; the late Dr. Ramona Paul, Edmond; and Natalie Shirley, Oklahoma City. Event co-chairs are Judy J. Hatfield, Equity Realty principal and broker, and Bill Schonacher, president and CEO of IBC Bank Oklahoma. IBC Bank is the event’s platinum sponsor, Pitsco, Inc. is a gold sponsor and Macy’s is a silver sponsor. Top event silent auction items donors include Koslow’s Fine Furs, Storm Safe tornado shelters, The Journal Record, and Walt Disney World. The Door-Opener Award takes its name from the Ralph Waldo Emerson quotation: Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee. “This year’s award recipients have been on the front lines of generously helping others reach their personal best, so they are fabulous role models for all of us to emulate,” states Judy J. Hatfield, gala co-chair. “They experienced someone opening a door for them during their formative years, so they have direct personal knowledge of how helping another person, or paying it forward, is what makes a society great!” More Honorees’ Profiles Dr. Harvey Dean, born in Ada, Oklahoma, is recognized for being a pioneer in educational programs and services used by K-12 students and teachers throughout the United States and many foreign countries. He co-founded Pitsco, Inc., located in Pittsburg, Kansas, an innovative provider of handson learning tools that promote the ever increasingly popular STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning curriculum. Dr. Dean is an inventor, too, and founded the modular teaching concept that is used in numerous classrooms, both public and private. In addition, he authored “Changing Education: A Success Story,” a valuable book for teachers and administrators that promotes the Synergistic System to help teachers motivate students. Dr. Dean, who is also a former Oklahoma public school teacher, received his undergraduate degree from East Central University in Ada. Toby Keith and Tricia Covel are recognized for the impressive number of ways they have used their worldwide influence and connections in the music industry to help open doors for others, ranging from sick children to women golfers and from Oklahoma tornado victims to America’s armed forces abroad. Through their nonprofit Toby Keith Foundation, they recently opened OK Kids Korral in Oklahoma City, a cost-free lodging facility for families with children undergoing cancer treatment. Tricia’s annual Schooner Fall Classic collegiate golf tournament at Belmar Golf Club brings muchdeserved attention to women’s golf, while raising funds for the Toby Keith Foundation, and Toby’s USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tours are legendary for the number he has participated in, 200, and the joy his music brings members of the military who are far from home. Last year, Toby and Tricia mounted the Oklahoma Twister Relief Project concert to raise funds for Moore tornado victims. The result: 60,000 concert goers and $2 million in proceeds. The Honorable George P. Nigh is recognized for his longtime and consistent support of public education in Oklahoma at all levels, the way in which he unflaggingly promoted tourism during his time as a state leader, the doors he opened for women in state government, and his support of the developmentally disabled. More His contributions to education began as a high school teacher in McAlester. After a successful government career, where he served as a state representative, the state’s lieutenant governor, and then governor, he became the president of the University of Central Oklahoma, transforming its reputation and expanding its facilities. As governor, he opened doors for women by appointing the first and second women to the state’s Supreme Court, and as the state’s top tourism booster, he help open the door to Oklahoma by enticing movie producers to film in Oklahoma. Governor Nigh is also recognized for the work he does with his wife, Donna, in advocating for the rights of developmentally-disabled persons to lead full lives filled with dignity and accomplishments. Dr. Ramona Paul, who died in 2013, was the former assistant state superintendent at the Oklahoma State Department of Education. She is being recognized posthumously for her numerous and meaningful contributions to public education in Oklahoma and other states during her 50-year professional career, as well as her active civic volunteer involvement with numerous nonprofit organizations that primarily focused on education as pathways to individuals’ success. Dr. Paul is widely credited with spearheading the development and implementation of Oklahoma’s early childhood education initiative for children aged 4, which is recognized today as the premier program of its kind in the country. Her life’s contributions to facilitating education as a door opener for others included writing 35 “Your World” children’s books and teaching at all levels of public education: elementary, secondary and post-secondary. During a career that positively impacted the lives of tens of thousands of young people including budding teachers, she left an indelible, positive mark in the state and country. At the collegiate level, Dr. Paul taught at her alma mater, Oklahoma State University, Texas Woman’s University and Purdue University, where she received her doctoral degree. She also taught in the Edmond and Oklahoma City Public Schools systems. As a volunteer, Dr. Paul served on the boards of Schools for Healthy Lifestyles, Potts Family Foundation and Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation and numerous others. More Natalie Shirley is recognized for the positive impact on public higher education she has had during her tenure as president of Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City, in addition to past contributions made to Oklahoma citizens during her time in state government and experience opening doors in corporate America as president of a major national insurance group. She is also recognized for her volunteer work with several Oklahoma City-area nonprofit organizations. Mrs. Shirley has the distinction of being the first female president to serve in the multi-campus, 37,000-student OSU system. With a student body of more than 7,500 enrollees, her campus recently graduated more than 1,086 students, the highest number in its 51-year history. During her tenure as Oklahoma’s secretary of commerce and tourism, where she also served as executive director, Mrs. Shirley managed nationwide advertising initiatives to increase visitors to the state. As a corporate leader, she had a positive impact on the lives of millions of Americans. Serving as president of Investment Company Institute Mutual Insurance Group in Washington, D.C., Mrs. Shirley was responsible for an organization, whose members managed total assets of $16.3 trillion and served more than 90 million shareholders. Her volunteer work on behalf of local charities that open doors for countless numbers of citizens each day, includes board service with Calm Waters and United Way of Central Oklahoma. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Door-‐Opener Award Gala sponsorships are available at the $10,000 and $5,000 levels and include an eight-‐person table and private reception with Door-‐Opener honorees, in addition to other perks. Tables for eight can be purchased for $2,500. For event details contact Jeni Bruns: [email protected]. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More ASTEC Charter Middle School and ASTEC Charter High School have a combined enrollment of 750 students. The middle school, founded in 2000, has the distinction of being Oklahoma’s first start-up charter school. Having outgrown their current location in rented space in Shepherd Mall in inner-city Oklahoma City, the schools will be moving to a new campus near the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds in 2016 that will greatly expand student learning, health and wellness opportunities and accommodate the addition of an elementary charter school in the future. ASTEC Fund, Inc. is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization responsible for raising funds for ASTEC Charter Schools. ASTEC Fund, Inc. is led by a group of Oklahoma City area civic leaders. Lou Kerr is the board’s current chair. Additional information about ASTEC Charter Schools and ASTEC Fund, Inc. can be found online at www.asteccharterschools.com.