For those of us at the Oklahoma InstituteforChildAdvocacy(OICA), it is Heroes Ball Week! Our annual gala will be at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 25 at the OKC Farmers’ Public Market. We are excited to honor the champions which our board selected for their work. We are also equally enthusiastic about our Anne Roberts People’s Choice Award finalists.
Each year, we take nominations from the public for their favorite child advocates of the year in both the individual and organization categories. Those nominations are narrowed by our board; the finalists are placed into a competition, and a public vote determines the winner.
Voting closes at 5 p.m. on Saturday just two hours before the HeroesBallbegins.Attendeesatthe gala will have one final opportunity to cast a paper ballot for their choice. Our team will tabulate the votes, add them to the online voting, currently with more than 13,000 votes, and we will announce the winner at the end of the gala.
Thisyear,ourfinalistsare,forthe individualcategory:LouCarmichael of Variety Care; Michele DeBerry, Ed.D. of the Oklahoma Autism Network; Meghan Hollingsworth of Pioneer Library System; Trisha Koelsch of Calm Waters; Maci Shoemaker at Cordell Memorial Hospital; and Julie Sisler, Ph.D. of Bethesda, Inc.
For the organizational award: Bethesda, Inc.; Hearts for Hearing; New World Comics Superhero School;OklahomaCASA;Oklahoma Parents for Student Achievement; Parent Promise; and Urban Bridge.
You can go to https://tinyurl.com/ ARPCAVidsVote and watch videos submitted by the nominees to learn more about them, then vote for your favorite before the online deadline Saturday.
This is the 10th Heroes Ball, our primary fundraiser for the mission of OICA. Most know us for our work at the state and nation’s capitols to promote better policies for youth. We also run Oklahoma’s Kid Governor program, hold a year-long leadership development program called Advocacy Boot Camp for adults (with a youth program hopefully kicking off next summer for high school sophomores), and we travel the state train organization members how to be effective advocates on policy issues.
We strive to live up to the billing of “the voice for Oklahoma’s children” on policy solutions. I appreciate each person who has given of their time or donated to the organization to help us achieve our mission.
Through our work, we come across many individuals who truly care about others and dedicate their lives to improving Oklahoma. Recently, we lost three of those individuals who are part of the “Capitol Family.” Two former lawmakers and a retired legislative assistant each passed, and I want to express my deepest condolences to their families and those they held dear.
Rep. Bill Paulk served as Oklahoma Labor Commissioner and state representative during his years of service. He championed many causes tied to workers’ rights and labor laws, including allowing me to work with him on promoting the need for more student nurses in schools. Bill was a gentle soul and will be missed.
Rep.CalvinAnthonyrepresented Stillwater as a mayor and a state representative. I met him in 1992 when he decided to run for the Legislature. His was the first campaign on which I volunteered for a full election. He was one of the kindest men I knew, and he was “LoyalandTrue”toOklahomaState throughout his entire life.
Pat Paddleford became my adopted “work mom” at the Oklahoma Capitol when I was first hired in 1994. She worked with Speaker Pro Tempore Jim Glover through his entire time at the Capitol. When he retired, she became my legislative assistant when I was elected to succeed him; she also worked for Rep. Dan Sullivan and Sen. A.J. Griffin. She remainedoneofmy“adoptedmoms” long after leaving the Capitol.
I will miss each of them, as will those who knew them.
The Heroes Ball Masters of Ceremonies will be Haley Hetrick from News 9 and Joleen Chaney, current OICA Board Member and former anchor for KFOR Oklahoma’s News 4. For more information about the ball and ticket information, go to: https:// www.oica.org/events Oklahoma Intitute for Child Advocacy was established in 1983 by a group of citizens seeking to create a strong advocacy network that would provide a voice for the needs of children and youth in Oklahoma, particularly those in the state’s care and those growing up amid poverty, violence, abuse and neglect, disparities, or other situations that put their lives and future at risk. Our mission statement: “Creating awareness, taking action and changing policy to improve the health, safety, and well-being of Oklahoma’s children.