By Jessica Mitchell
July 7, 2006
The Journal Record
OKLAHOMA CITY – The 50 women selected for The Journal Record’s “50 Making a Difference” this year include several from the health care and legal industries as well as civic volunteers, entrepreneurs and even a funeral director just to name a few.
Four of the women will be inducted into the Circle of Excellence, an honor reserved for those being selected for the third time. They include Sharon King Davis, Judy Johnson, Donna Nelson and Sarah Sears.
Maura Donahue, chair of the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, will be the featured speaker for The Journal Record’s Woman of the Year awards banquet on Sept. 14 at the Cox Business Services Convention Center.
The Journal Record Woman of the Year awards gala, now in its 26th year, recognizes Oklahoma’s female business and community leaders. Each year hundreds of nominations are received from across the state for the award. The 50 finalists are honored at the event and in the publication Fifty Making a Difference. The Woman of the Year will be announced during the evening program.
Corporate partners for the Woman of the Year program are Chesapeake Energy, Coppermark Bank, Cox Business Services, Crowe & Dunlevy, Express Personnel Services, Hudiburg Toyota, Kerr-McGee, OCU Meinders School of Business, OG&E and Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel.
“The Journal Record’s Woman of the Year program allows us the opportunity to honor and recognize women from across Oklahoma who exemplify what it takes to make a difference,” said Mary Mélon, publisher of The Journal Record. “Not only do our honorees hold leadership positions in their professions, they also contribute a great deal to their communities. This year’s 50 Making a Difference are an amazing group of women that truly make a difference in our state.”
From 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sept. 14, Oklahoma Natural Gas will sponsor a forum entitled “In Your Honor – Building a Network for the Future” at the Cox Business Services Convention Center. A champagne reception for partners and corporate table sponsors begins at 6 p.m. with the awards gala and dinner starting at 7 p.m.
To reserve a seat at the dinner, call Sunny Cearley at (405) 278-2820. Individual tickets are $125. Corporate table sponsorships are $2,000, and a table for eight is available for $1,000.
Last year, Kari Watkins, executive director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, was named The Journal Record’s 2005 Woman of the Year. Other past winners include U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange in 2004; Meg Salyer, president of Accel Financial Staffing in Oklahoma City in 2003; Susan L. Chambers and Deborah L. Huff, founding partners of the area’s first all-female OB/GYN physician group, co-winners in 2002; Linda J. Bell, president of Martin J. Bell CPA and of Advantage Personnel Services, both in Idabel; Paula Marshall-Chapman, chief executive of The Bama Cos. in Tulsa; and Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Denise Bode.
This year’s honorees include:
- Ann Archer, University of Oklahoma Breast Institute, Oklahoma City.
- Laura Boyd, Policy and Performance Consultants, Norman.
- Linda Bradshaw, Tulsa World of Gymnastics Inc., Tulsa.
- Sharon King Davis, KingsPointe Village Shopping Center/King Investments, Tulsa.
- Ana Paixao Davis, Café do Brasil Inc., Oklahoma City.
- Freda Deskin, Advanced Science and Technology Education Center Inc., Oklahoma City.
- Judi Elmore, Antiques Etc., Ardmore.
- Dee Faircloth-Porter, Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Oklahoma City.
- Miki Farris, Infant Crisis Services, Oklahoma City.
- Celine Ferguson, Coppermark Bank, Oklahoma City.
- Kay Goebel, Kay Goebel, Ph.D, Oklahoma City.
- Nancy Hall, OU College of Medicine, Oklahoma City.
- Joan Harbison, United Way of Lawton-Fort Sill, Lawton.
- Susan Harris, Tulsa Metro Chamber, Tulsa.
- Jane Haskin, First Bethany Bank, Bethany.
- Rhonda Hooper, Jordan Associates, Oklahoma City.
- Ann Hoover, Hoover Protocol & Etiquette Centre, Oklahoma City.
- Phyllis Hudecki, Oklahoma Business and Education Coalition, Oklahoma City.
- Deanne Hughes, Cardinal Engineering Inc., Oklahoma City.
- Sandra Jackson, Peggy V. Helmerich Women’s Center, Tulsa.
- Judy Johnson, Johnsons of Kingfisher Inc., Kingfisher.
- Elizabeth Joyner, The Williams Companies Inc., Tulsa.
- Kay Karen Kennedy, Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma Inc., Ardmore.
- Carole Kenner, OU College of Nursing, Oklahoma City.
- Julie Knutson, The Oklahoma Academy, Oklahoma City.
- Emily Lim, Oklahoma State University-Center for Health Services, Tulsa.
- Dana Lorenson, MidFirst Bank, Oklahoma City.
- Kelli Masters, Fellers, Snider, Blankenship, Bailey & Tippens PC, Oklahoma City.
- Donna Nelson, University of Oklahoma, Norman.
- Faye Norton, Designer Hardware by Faye, Oklahoma City.
- Lisa Owens, Newborn Specialists of Tulsa, Tulsa.
- Mary Paluso, Tulsa Habitat for Humanity, Tulsa.
- Colleen Payne-Nabors, MCI Diagnostic Center, Tulsa.
- Janet Peery, YWCA Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City.
- Giovanni Perry, Law Offices of Giovanni I. Perry, Oklahoma City.
- Brenda Porton, 1st Bank & Trust, Idabel.
- Karen Rieger, Crowe & Dunlevy, Oklahoma City.
- Deborah Rinehart, Farmers State Bank, Allen.
- Kris Rush, Grassroots Consulting/Oklahoma Prosperity Project, Edmond.
- Sarah Sears, S Design Inc., Oklahoma City.
- Mary Stanley, Moore Funeral Home, Tulsa.
- Suzann Stewart, Tulsa Convention and Visitors Bureau/Tulsa Metro Chamber, Tulsa.
- Mindy Stitt, Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, Oklahoma City.
- Denise Semands Suttles, GlobalHealth, Oklahoma City.
- Nancy Thomason, Oklahoma Brain Tumor Foundation, Oklahoma City.
- April Sellers White, District Court of Creek County, Sapulpa.
- Mary Whitson, Chesapeake Energy, Oklahoma City.
- Lisa Wilson, OakTree Software, Tulsa.
- Susan Winchester, Oklahoma House of Representatives, Chickasha.
- Janet Yowell, Edmond Economic Development Authority, Edmond.