FROM: Rochelle Landwehr, Communications & Marketing
Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education
1500 W. Seventh Ave., Stillwater, OK 74074
405-743-5156 or rland@okcareertech.org
e-mail: rland@okcareertech.org
Oklahoma CareerTech Hall of Fame Inductees Honored
Five Oklahomans will be inducted into the Oklahoma Career and Technology Education Hall of Fame at a reception and banquet in their honor. The event will be held on Oct. 29 at the Conoco-Phillips OSU Alumni Center in Stillwater.
This year’s inductees are Charlotte Edwards, Sen. Ted V. Fisher, the late Mike Stephens, Ron Wilkerson and Elmer L. “Tex” Williamson.
“Each inductee has played a vital role in making the Oklahoma CareerTech system what it is today,” said Phil Berkenbile, director of the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education. “This highest honor bestowed by the CareerTech Foundation recognizes outstanding professional and personal achievements that have brought honor and distinction to the Foundation and to CareerTech education in Oklahoma.”
Since 1990, 51 Oklahomans have been inducted into the CareerTech Hall of Fame. Previous inductees include two governors, college deans and professors, business leaders, educators and state CareerTech agency staff members.
This year's recipients, a former association director, politician, teacher, communications professional and student services specialist, each cared deeply about educational opportunities in Oklahoma and worked hard to make a difference.
Charlotte Edwards |
Retired Executive Director of the Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Education Charlotte Edwards began her career in the CareerTech system by teaching Distributive Education at Muskogee High School for six years. Edwards completed an internship with the Oklahoma Department of Vocational and Technical Education Director Francis Tuttle. She then became an assistant director at the W.P. Bill Willis Skills Center in Tahlequah. These steps prepared Edwards to become executive director of the Oklahoma ACTE where she served as lead lobbyist for more than 20 years. On the national level, Edwards lobbied successfully for grants and advocacy for the Carl Perkins Act and served as president of the National Association of Executive Directors in Career Tech. She retired in 2005 and resides in Oklahoma City. |
Sen. Ted V. Fisher |
Elected to the Oklahoma Senate in 1986, Sen. Ted V. Fisher sponsored the legislation that provided funding for the Training for Industry Programs, giving Oklahoma companies the opportunity to expand their workforce and add new technology with training developed by CareerTech. Fisher also authored the Welfare Reform Act that not only cut welfare rolls, but also enabled welfare recipients to get CareerTech training. In other legislation, Fisher authored the bill that established regional centers of the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics located at 15 technology center sites across Oklahoma, expanding the availability of OSSM to rural students. Fisher now works as an economic development director for his hometown of Sapulpa. |
Mike Stephens |
The late Mike Stephens, an agricultural education teacher and FFA adviser for 36 years, taught at Guthrie and Chickasha High Schools. He led many students to achieve state and national honors and awards through CareerTech’s agricultural education student organization, FFA. These awards include winning the highest-rated award – the National Gold Emblem Chapter – 17 times, as well as many individual awards for members’ projects. FFA chapters that Stephens advised also claimed 12 state officers, one national officer and three State Star Farmers of Oklahoma. Stephens provided important input for improving Oklahoma’s agricultural education curriculum and mentored countless students, new and student teachers. Leaving behind a legacy of professionalism, enthusiasm and integrity, cancer claimed Stephens on Aug. 8, 2006. |
Ron Wilkerson |
Ron Wilkerson, retired chief communications officer at the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, worked his way through college as a newspaper journalist. Following college and active duty in the National Guard he joined the Oklahoma Department of Vocational and Technical Education staff as assistant career information officer in February 1973. Employees of the agency soon dubbed Ron the “camera guy” because he quickly created news releases and photos at student conferences. Wilkerson served as the agency’s media spokesperson, advising senior management on public relations. He led the evolution of the agency’s unified communications and marketing force that includes a communications or public relations professional at nearly every technology center. Wilkerson also coordinated the first statewide marketing campaign for CareerTech. He retired from the CareerTech system after 30 years of service and now resides in Jenks. |
Elmer L. “Tex” Williamson |
Before graduating from Northeastern State College in 1975, Elmer L. “Tex” Williamson began his career at the Hodgens Correctional Center, later renamed the Jim E. Hamilton Skills Center, part of the CareerTech system. Skills Centers provide life and skills training behind prison walls for soon to be released inmates. Working as a counselor and retiring 31 years later as a student services specialist, Williamson was an invaluable asset to the Skills Centers’ administration. During the 10 years prior to retirement in 2006, he worked to transform the Skills Centers from “inmate training” to a credible school system focused on industry needs and student outcomes. Among his many awards, Williamson also received the Region IV Educator of the Year Award in the Skills Center Division from the American Vocational Association. Williamson now resides in Shady Point after his retirement. |
For reservations to the 2007 CareerTech Hall of Fame reception, dinner
and induction contact Lisa Eden at 405-743-5453 by Oct. 22.
Posted October 15, 2007