Thanks to all those who attended our first Oklahoma Institute event: Public service in Oklahoma: A panel on championing community engagement.  To find volunteer opportunities that match your talents and passions, click here.  To learn more about volunteering for the Oklahoma Heritage Association and Gaylord-Pickens Museum,click here.

Public service in Oklahoma: A panel on championing community engagement
When: Oct. 14
Time: Doors open at 3 p.m.; panel runs 3:30 to 5 p.m.
Where: Oklahoma City University; Kerr McGee Auditorium
Attire: Business professional

Presenting sponsors: Crowe & Dunlevy, Heritage Trust Company & the Payne Family, INTEGRIS Health

Panelists

Clayton I. Bennett Bennett serves as president of Dorchester Capital, a diversified private investment company. He also is chairman of the Oklahoma City-based Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC), which owns the NBA’s Oklahoma City franchise. Bennett has been recognized for his significant contributions to Oklahoma City’s economic development and the revitalization of Downtown. Bennett currently serves as chairman of the Oklahoma State Fair and the Oklahoma Industries Authority and is a past chairman of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma Heritage Association, Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc. and the Oklahoma Health Center Foundation. In 2007, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

Mayor Kathy Taylor Kathy L. Taylor was elected the 38th Mayor of Tulsa in 2006. Combining her business and legal background with her time in state government as secretary of commerce and tourism, Mayor Taylor has infused Tulsa with a new kind of energy. With the partnership of city councilors, Mayor Taylor has tackled the problems of public safety, government efficiency, education and economic development with an eye on making decisions based on measurable data and using collaboration between disconnected groups to work toward goals for moving the region forward.

Mickey Edwards Mickey Edwards was an Oklahoma Congressman and member of the House Republican leadership for 16 years. After leaving Congress, he taught at Harvard for 11 years and has taught at Princeton for the past four years. Edwards is currently a vice president of the Aspen Institute, where he runs a bipartisan leadership program for elected public officials. Edwards has chaired task forces on foreign policy for the Brookings Institution and the Council on Foreign Affairs and was an advisor to the State Department under Secretary of State Colin Powell. An author of a political column in several major newspapers and a political commentator, Edwards’ latest book, Reclaiming Conservatism, was published in March.

Mayor John Tyler Hammons John Tyler Hammons was elected mayor of Muskogee on May 13, 2008, as one of the youngest mayors in U.S. history. Mayor Hammons is also Oklahoma’s youngest at-large delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention. A lifelong Muskogee resident, he is a fourth generation Oklahoman and a member of the Cherokee Nation. Mayor Hammons he attended the University of Oklahoma from 2007 to 2008 where he majored in political science and public administration, and he plans to transfer to Northeastern State University for the fall of 2008 and major in business administration.

Moderator

Renzi Stone Renzi Stone is president & CEO of Saxum Strategic Communications. Stone is on the board of directors for Leadership Oklahoma, Creative Oklahoma, Allied Arts and the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. He is also an advisory board member for the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University. Stone has been published in The New York Times, guest hosts a popular local political talk show and is frequently asked to speak to organizations on a variety of issues relevant to leadership, youth, entrepreneurialism and Oklahoma.