Two Officials Selected for 2022 Induction into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame for City and Town Officials

Phillip Johnston, Ponca City

Matt White, El Reno

Two officials representing a wide range of experiences will be inducted September 15 into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame for City and Town Officials. The black-tie optional Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be at the Doubletree Downtown Hotel - Tulsa in conjunction with the Annual Conference Banquet for the Oklahoma Municipal League.

They will become the 77th – 78th inductees into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame since 2001.

Those to be inducted this year were recently announced by the Oklahoma Hall of Fame for City and Town Officials Foundation, which is supported by eight organizations of Oklahoma municipal government officials or service organizations.

Those to be inducted on September 15 are:

• Phillip Johnston, Ponca City

• Matt White, El Reno

Formed in 1999, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame for City and Town Officials Foundation recognizes individuals for outstanding achievements or contributions to city and town government. To be selected, an honoree must make significant contributions to Oklahoma local government, through their positive spirit of public service, with unquestioned ethics.

The website www.okcityandtownofficials.org highlights the careers of each inductee in the past 21 years. Visitors to the website are able to navigate through biographies, video and photo features about each inductee.

The Oklahoma Hall of Fame Foundation is supported by the Oklahoma Municipal League, The Mayors Council of Oklahoma, the City Management Association of Oklahoma, the Municipal Electric Systems of Oklahoma Inc., the Oklahoma Municipal Assurance Group, the Oklahoma Municipal Retirement Fund, the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority and the Oklahoma Municipal Clerks, Treasurers and Finance Officials Association.

The 76 past inductees based on their residence when inducted include:

Ada – Charles E. Spencer;

Bixby – Joe Williams;

Braman – Jerry Johnston;

Broken Arrow – James C. Reynolds;

Chickasha – Robert J. Hicks;

Choctaw – Randall Ross;

Clinton – Glendenne Goucher;

Collinsville – Pam Polk;

Duncan – Eugene Brown;

Edmond – Cindy Shattuck, Don Bown, Charles Lamb, William A. Moyer, Carl Reherman, Donald C. Rider, Kevin McCullough; Drake Rice; Charles (Chuck) Smith; and Bob Ponkilla;

El Reno – Tony Rivera;

Frederick – Robert B. Johnston and Wanda Jo Evaige;

Guymon – Jess Nelson;

Hobart – Thomas Talley;

Jenks – Randy Ewing;

Mannford – Michael Nunneley;

Midwest City – Tommy Melton;

Norman – Anthony M. Francisco, David Morgan, PhD, and Larry J. Shelton;

Oklahoma City – James Couch, James G. Hamill, Patience Sewell Latting, Leon E. Nelson, Gary Marrs, Zach Taylor, Jr., Stephen E. Reel, Gerald Wilkins, Michael Crawford; and Mick Cornett;

Perry – Mary Rupp;

Piedmont – George Fina;

Ponca City – Gary D. Martin, Homer Nicholson, Marilyn Kay Andrews, Craig Stephenson and Mike Vanderburg;

Poteau – Jeff Shockley;

Prague – Harold Pumford;

Pryor – Gary Pruett;

Sand Springs – Mike Burdge; Mary Sue Overbey; Daniel Bradley;

Santa Fe, NM – Shane Woolbright;

Seminole – Edward Smith;

Shawnee – Mary Ann Karns, Terry Powell and Bertha Ann Young;

Stillwater – Ernest R. Dirks, Lawrence Lee Gish, Lawrence O. Hansen and Dan Galloway;

Tahlequah – Michael Doublehead;

The Village – Stanley Alexander;

Tonkawa - John Ramey;

Tulsa – Robert LaFortune, Susan Savage and David Weatherford;

Walters – Albert Veltema;

Watonga – Leroy Lage;

Weatherford – Tony Davenport, George Wilkinson and Mike Brown;

West Siloam Springs – Elaine Carr;

Woodward - Alan Riffel;

Yukon – James Crosby;

Tickets for the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and banquet are $50 each available from the Oklahoma Municipal League conference website or by contacting Cathy at 405-528-7515 or by email to cathy@oml.org.