Last month, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 3089, the Strengthen Oklahoma Homes Act, into law and kick-started the Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID) into organizing the program that will help Oklahomans fortify their homes and reduce homeowners insurance rates. The Strengthen Oklahoma Homes Program is set to begin early next year, so this month, I want to answer some key questions about the program’s timeline and criteria.
When will the application open?
The law will go into effect on November 1, 2024, and the application will open in early 2025. OID has already begun our implementation process, including creating consumer information materials, building the grant application and providing resources for evaluators and contractors. We will announce when the applications are open and continue to provide key updates to consumers.
What are the criteria for securing a grant?
The grants are open to homeowners who have their primary residence in any of Oklahoma’s 77 counties. Your home must be in good repair unless you have sustained damage from a tornado, windstorm, hail, or other catastrophic event. In addition, you must provide proof that you have an active homeowners insurance policy with wind coverage and an in-force flood insurance policy if your home is in a special flood hazard area. After completing the application, you will secure a home evaluator from our list of approved evaluators. Once the project is approved and work is completed, we will make payment to the roofing contractor directly.
What will the grant cover?
After evaluating your application and determining whether your home can be mitigated, the grant funds will be used to outfit your home to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) standards, specifically IBHS FORTIFIED Home – Roof™ – High Wind designation with the Hail Supplement. Mitigation under this standard includes enhanced roof deck attachment, sealed roof deck, locked down roof edges, impact-resistant shingles by IBHS, and wind and rain-resistant attic vents.
How will I save on my homeowners insurance?
Insurance companies offer discounts for Homes with a FORTIFIED Home™ Designation on the wind portion of their homeowner’s insurance premium. In making these enhancements to your home, you could qualify for discounts of up to 42%. You can find a list of some of the discounts on our website. Each company is different, and discounts vary. Check with your carrier to see which specific discounts would be available.
Which contractors can I use?
Contractors must become Certified FORTIFIED service providers to be chosen as part of the Strengthen Oklahoma Homes Program. This certification requires specific training and an examination. Once contractors are certified, they will submit their information to OID for final review and approval to be added to the list of approved contractors. You can read more about the FORTIFIED Homes service provider certification process on the FORTIFIED Home website.
I’m looking forward to helping Oklahomans make their homes more resilient to disasters and bringing some relief amid rising prices through this pivotal new program launching next year. To receive more information about the Strengthen Oklahoma Homes program and to get the latest updates, visit https://www.oid.ok.gov/okready and follow OID on social media.

Bigfoot Habitats, Dragon Eggs & Cattle Trails: Unmissable Summer Events at Metro Libraries

Summer is here, and so is a jam-packed calendar of events at our 19 library locations! Whether you’re looking for activities for little ones, teens or adults, the Metropolitan Library System has something for everyone. Check out the highlights below and visit https://www.metrolibrary.org/events upcoming for full details.

Camp Downtown at the Downtown Library: Bigfoot Habitats for Kids – weekly crafts with new fun each week! Create and decorate miniature Bigfoot habitats. Let your imagination run wild as you build tiny homes for the elusive creature. • July 5 at 10 am • July 6 at 2 pm

Camp Downtown at the Downtown Library: Forest Wind Chimes – weekly crafts with new fun each week! Join us to make beautiful forest-themed wind chimes as a family. • July 12 at 10 am • July 13 at 2 pm • July 16 at 1 pm

Discovery Backpack Exploration with Oklahoma 4-H Explore eco and health literacy backpacks with fun activities led by Oklahoma 4-H. • Downtown Library: July 9 at 1 pm • Bethany Library: July 16 at 6 pm

Dragon Eggs Take and Make Craft Create and decorate fantasy dragon eggs with our take-and-make kits, perfect for ages 6-9.• Edmond Library: July 8-14, all day

Cotton: Sustainable Fabric from a Seed Learn about the cotton cycle and its diverse uses beyond fabric. Suitable for all ages. • Warr Acres Library: July 27 at 12:30 pm

Extreme Animals Discover an array of extreme animals with live presentations. No registration is required. • Edmond Library: July 29 at 2 pm

Snake Events • Herp and Invert Exhibit: Explore reptiles and invertebrates up close. • Midwest City Library: July 10 at Noon • Larry the Snake Guy: Encounter reptiles and enjoy fun crafts. • Choctaw Library: July 25 at 11 am • Snakes at the Library: Learn fascinating snake facts with Larry Daniel. • Almonte Library: July 29 at 6 pm

Special Museum Programs This summer, our collaboration with local museums brings exciting programs for all ages. For full details, visit
http://www.bit.ly/2024SummerReadingMuseumAdventures.

Oklahoma City Museum of Art • Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Design: Participate in art activities centered around costume design.

National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum • Western Legends and Modern Legacies: Enjoy Western legends and a poetry session with the Society of Urban Poets. • The Reading Roundup: Storytelling sessions featuring a cowboy sharing Wild West tales. • Cattle Trails and Branding: Explore artifacts and read stories about the Wild West.

Contemporary Arts Center • Adventures in Needle-felting: Create wool sculptures. • Adventures in Embroidery: Learn basic embroidery stitches.
• Adventure Kites: Create and fly your own kites.

Unique Events for Adults

Swing and Foxtrot Dance Adventure Join Femeya Cole from Adelante Dance Studio for a fun-filled dance session featuring Swing and Foxtrot. • Edmond Library: July 29 at 2 pm

The Great Puzzle Race Compete in a timed jigsaw puzzle competition. Teams of up to four people will race to complete a 500-piece puzzle within 90 minutes. • Midwest City Library: July 6 at 1 pm

Neighborhood Arts Performances Enjoy diverse performances in music, dance, drama, and more through July 27. View the full schedule at https://www.metrolibrary.org/neighborhoodarts.

Weekly Performance Schedule: • Mondays: Northwest, Southern Oaks, Harrah Senior Center, Midwest City Libraries • Tuesdays: Ralph Ellison, Almonte, Downtown Libraries • Wednesdays: Bethany, Del City, Belle Isle, Choctaw Libraries • Thursdays: Edmond, Jones, Capitol Hill, The Village Libraries • Fridays: Nicoma Park, Rodeo Cinema, Warr Acres Libraries • Saturdays: Scissortail Park Farmers Market

Dear Savvy Senior, I need to hire a good in-home caregiver to help my elderly father who lives alone. What’s the best way to do this?
Searching Sarah

Dear Sarah,
Finding a good in-home caregiver for an elderly parent is not always easy. How can you find one that’s reliable and trustworthy, as well as someone your parent likes and is comfortable with? Here are some tips that can help.
Know His Needs
Before you start the task of looking for an in-home caregiver, your first step is to determine the level of care your dad needs.
For example, if he only needs help with daily living tasks like shopping, cooking, doing laundry, bathing or dressing, a “homemaker” or “personal care aide” will do. But if he needs health care services, there are “home health aides” that may do all the things a homemaker does, plus they also have training in administering medications, changing wound dressings and other medically related duties. Home health aides often work under a nurse’s supervision.
Once you settle on a level of care, you then need to decide how many hours of assistance he’ll need. For example, does your dad need someone to come in just a few mornings a week to cook, clean, run errands or perhaps help him with a bath? Or does he need more continuous care that requires daily visits?
After you determine his needs, there are two ways in which you can go about hiring someone. Either through an agency, or you can hire someone directly on your own.
Hiring Through an Agency
Hiring a personal care or home health aide through an agency is the safest and easiest option, but it’s more expensive. Costs typically run anywhere between $15 and $30 an hour depending on where you live and the qualification of the aide.
How it works is you pay the agency, and they handle everything including an assessment of your mom’s needs, assigning appropriately trained and pre-screened staff to care for her, and finding a fill-in on days her aide cannot come.
Some of the drawbacks, however, are that you may not have much input into the selection of the caregiver, and the caregivers may change or alternate, which can cause a disruption.
To find a home care agency in your dad’s area use search engines like Google or Bing and type in “home health care” or “non-medical home care” followed by the city and state your dad lives in. You can also use Medicare’s search tool at Medicare.gov/care-compare – click on “home health services.” Most home health agencies offer some form of non-medical home care services too.
You also need to know that original Medicare does not cover in-home caregiving services unless your dad is receiving doctor ordered skilled nursing or therapy services at home too. But, if your dad is in a certain Medicare Advantage plan, or is low-income and qualifies for Medicaid, he may be eligible for some coverage.
Hiring Directly
Hiring an independent caregiver on your own is the other option, and it’s less expensive. Costs typically range between $12 and $25 per hour. Hiring directly also gives you more control over who you hire so you can choose someone who you feel is right for your dad.
But be aware that if you do hire someone on your own, you become the employer so there’s no agency support to fall back on if a problem occurs or if the aide doesn’t show up. You’re also responsible for paying payroll taxes and any worker-related injuries that may happen. If you choose this option, make sure you check the aide’s references thoroughly and do a criminal background check at companies like eNannySource.com.
To find someone use an elder-care matching service like Care.com or CareLinx.com, which both provide basic background checks.
Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit https://savvysenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

By Nick Thomas

Mother’s Day may have passed, but moms continue to inspire and encourage. Even fictitious ones. Some of America’s favorite classic television and movie moms are raising awareness of the country’s homeless youth problem. Although their focus is one organization, Doors of Change in the San Diego area (with its summer benefit “Concert of Hope” this year to be held on July 27 at the Epstein Family Amphitheater, UCSD, and featuring KC and the Sunshine Band, see www.doorsofchange.org) their message should resonate in cities across America where homelessness continues to be a major social problem.
Doors of Change has helped thousands of homeless youth find safe housing and a sense of purpose with a unique arts-based approach. The organization’s team of trained professionals and volunteers search for at-risk youth, first offering them essentials such as water, socks, and sleeping bags. Once trust is gained, the organization offers music and art lessons as a non-threatening first step to turning their lives around. Individuals can then be connected with services that provide housing, employment, medical care, and addiction treatment.
Jane Kaczmarek, the mother in the 2000s sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle,” acknowledges this unique approach.
“The stress of being a teenager can be too overwhelming, too confusing, and too many find themselves on our streets trying to survive,” said Kaczmarek. “Doors of Change has discovered a unique way to connect with them, through music and art programs that have not only been saving lives but taken our young from hopeless to hopeful. They build self-esteem and respect for themselves and others.”
June Lockhart, the beloved TV mom from the 60s shows “Lassie” and “Lost in Space,” applauds the use of arts to connect with homeless youth. “At an early age, my parents instilled in me the importance of arts to inspire and enhance our lives,” she said, adding that the organization has been “successful at reaching the thousands of our young who have become lost.”
Support also comes from Dee Wallace, the movie mom from 1982’s “ET: The Extra-Terrestrial,” who applauds the group for “reinforcing positive attitudes and images towards oneself.” That, she says, “is exactly what our youth needs to face and replace the uncertainty and fear they may have of the future.”
Michael Learned won three Primetime Lead Actress Emmys for her role as Olivia Walton in the 70s historical drama “The Waltons” and notes “Every child, every teen, is our responsibility. We must keep them safe and the earth solid beneath their feet until they have found their place in this world.”
Until that place is discovered, the dangers of youth homelessness can often lead to additional social problems with which Karen Grassle is all too familiar.
“As one who has suffered from the disease of alcoholism, I know the loneliness and despair it can bring,” explains Grassle, who played the “Little House on the Prairie” mother. “As an artist, I know the healing that comes from self-expression and self-examination. For me, hope came as soon as I surrendered my addiction. Art is a great help and healer.”
“Mr. Belvedere” mom Ilene Graff also offers encouragement.
“You’re a runaway because home had become unbearable or you’ve been thrown out of the house,” says Graff, who played the mom in the popular 80s ABC sitcom. “If you’re lucky, Doors of Change will find you and help you get off the street and into hope, leading to safety, education, housing, music, art, friendship, (and) security.”
Since reaching homeless youth through music and art has proven to be a successful model, similar programs could be used to address the same problem around the country.
Nick Thomas writes about classic film, television, and music for numerous magazines and newspapers. See https://www.getnickt.org.

By Marise Boehs

It’s called Big BAM (Bike Across Missouri) on the Katy Trail, starting in Clinton, MO, on the west end of the trail and riding to St. Charles on the east end. Six days, 225 miles across Missouri.

This was my 4th time to ride the Katy, but never had I not gotten on the SAG wagon nearly every day. My goal this year was to ride all the miles every day. I had trained and prepared. I had reached my weight goal. I wasready for the test. 

Sunday morning, June 2, with my bike loaded on my car, bags packed with healthy snacks, hydration powder, and electrolytes, I left Norman headed to Clinton. 

DAY 1 – CLINTON TO SEDALIA – 35.5 miles

I, and 175 other riders, left Clinton early in the morning. This first stretch is either tree lined or open prairie with wheat and corn fields. A very quiet and peaceful ride. The way the day breaks up is like this: first water stop was 16.5 miles; lunch stop was 25 miles and then roughly 10 more to finish the day by early afternoon.

DAY 2 – SEDALIA TO BOONVILLE – 37 miles

I was excited to get going on this leg of the ride because the trail picks up bluffs and the Missouri River as we approach Booneville. I spent the night at a nice casino hotel along the river and ate really good food. All the food is good at the end of a 4 hour ride!!

DAY 3 – BOONVILLE TO N. JEFFERSON  – 48.5 miles

This was the day I’d been dreading. The longest day. But also my favorite stretch of trail. Leaving Boonville the river runs on the right, and on the left, gorgeous bluffs. AND the famous Rocheport Tunnel. I rode the miles!!

DAY 4 – N. JEFFERSON TO HERMANN – 44.6 miles

Another long day, but I was feeling fairly confident that I could make it, having done more the day before. I did it! Rode all the miles that day as well. Spent the night in the historical Crown Hotel, ate hot wings and ice cream, and watched OU beat Texas to win the WCWS! It was a good day.

DAY 5 – HERMANN TO AUGUSTA – 36.6 miles

This section of the trail is absolutely gorgeous. River on the right, bluffs on the left, and a beautiful tree canopy that goes on for miles. The miles seemed to just roll away. When I arrived at the Augusta trailhead, I called my B&B reservation and the owner picked me up. I was in for a special treat this last night on the trail! The Enchanted Owl – if you have a chance, do yourself a 

favor and stay with them.

DAY 6 – AUGUSTA TO ST. CHARLES – 27 miles

Another day of river on the right, bluffs on the left for most  of the way. I took my time and enjoyed the last miles. I will daydream about the next time I can be there.

Often the concept behind a scientific study is quite complex. But sometimes it’s simply a matter of proving an idea that seems like common sense.
And so it was for Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientists Harini Bagavant, Ph.D., and Umesh Deshmukh, Ph.D.
Their discovery partially answers a lingering mystery of Sjögren’s, an autoimmune disease that affects moisture-producing glands. The condition causes painful dry eyes and mouth and can result in irreversible tissue damage, neurological problems, lung disease and cancer. Up to 4 million Americans live with Sjögren’s.
Scientists have long wondered why age is a risk factor for Sjögren’s. The median age for diagnosis is 52, and women are nine times more likely than men to develop it.
The OMRF study determined that a particular white blood cell associated with aging proliferates and infiltrates the salivary glands in older mice, resulting in inflammation and loss of immune tolerance.
“We found that as normal mice age, many of them spontaneously get the same features we see in Sjögren’s disease in humans,” Bagavant said. “The aging process drives the inflammation in the glands.”
White blood cells generally circulate in the blood and lymph and create antibodies to protect our bodies against infection. In this study, the specific cell type also was found in various organs – a finding that raised more questions.
“The fact that we found them in the salivary gland, just spontaneously accumulating along with the presence of inflammation, tells us they must be doing something,” Bagavant said. “Figuring that out is our next step.”
Beyond their finding is a more universal idea for future research of Sjögren’s and perhaps other autoimmune diseases: Reliable results require age-appropriate research models.
In this case, this means using mice between 15 and 24 months old. Historically, scientists have used younger mice for drug testing.
“What our study suggests is that if you want to test a potential drug, and your target population is older humans, those drugs should be tested in age-matched animal models,” Deshmukh said. “As more research is done, I believe we’ll see a directive on this topic from the National Institutes of Health.” Their discovery was published recently in the journal Geroscience. The research was supported by grant No. DE032911 from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the NIH, and from Shared Instrumentation grant No. 1S10OD028479-01, also from the NIH, for the use of specialized equipment.

What are Adult Day Services?

As President and CEO of Daily Living Centers, I’m frequently asked to explain what Adult Day Services are and the benefits they provide. Adult Day Services are defined as: Structured, comprehensive programs that provide a variety of health, social, and related support services in a protected setting for some portion of the day. Its purpose is generally twofold: 1) To provide a safe environment for adults with disabilities during the day while providing programming that enhances mind, body, and spirit. 2) To provide hope, rest, and peace of mind for caregivers, many of whom find it necessary to continue to work.
Adult Day Services typically focus on adults of all ages with disabilities which may be physical, developmental, or intellectual. Common diagnoses include Dementia, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury, Autism, Down Syndrome, and other developmental disabilities.

What services are offered through Adult Day Programs?

Providers offer a variety of services to their participants. Healthy meals including breakfast, lunch, and snacks are a part of the daily routine. Assistance with ADLs (activities of daily living) including medication administration, feeding, showering, and personal care (toileting). Activities are designed for socialization, such as exercise, brain games, community outings, music therapy, art therapy, and more are integrated into adult day programs. Some also provide transportation to and from the center.

When is it time to consider adult day services?

If there is a need, the time is now to learn about adult day services. If you provide care to someone 18 or older with physical, intellectual, or developmental, disabilities, they should qualify. Caregivers typically need options for their loved ones after they graduate high school, especially if they cannot live at home alone. Seniors can also benefit from adult day services. Those who are independent attend just for socialization, while others need more assistance and care. We often hear caregivers say, “I wish I knew about adult day services a long time ago.” This is because of what it provided them personally and the opportunity it provided for their loved one to thrive in social environments. Increased socialization is so important in helping decrease isolation and depression, especially among older adults living at home.

How do I pay for Adult Day?

Adult Day Services are an affordable alternative to long-term care options, and typically cost 55% less than assisted living and in-home nursing services. While some centers are private pay, many have contracts with various funding sources. The average private pay rate in Oklahoma is $85 per day. If private pay is too costly, other sources of funding can be found through help from a social services staff member. Some centers offer full day rates, half day rates or even hourly rates. The VA contracts with many adult day service providers and pay for the veterans’ day services care. Developmental Disability Services (DDS) waivers and the Advantage Medicaid Waiver Program also provide funding for day services. Department of Health Services also provide funding based on the income criteria of the participant and their spouse. Long-term care policies can cover some adult day services which will be clearly explained in the terms of the policy. Respite vouchers can help pay some adult day expenses as well. These vouchers, offered through Sooner Success and Oklahoma Aging Services, provided limited amounts of money per quarter to use on respite services including adult day services, private duty in home care, and overnight respite stays, etc.

Why consider Daily Living Centers for Day Care Services?

Since 1974, Daily Living Centers (DLC) has provided rest and hope for caregivers. We are Oklahoma’s first and leading adult day provider and are in Edmond, Bethany, and SW Oklahoma City. We often hear that our services are “life-saving” for both our clients and their caregivers. With a fleet of 16 vehicles, including limos and wheelchair accessible vans, we provide door-to-door transportation and med rides. We have a staff of highly qualified, trained, and compassionate fulltime personnel along with many volunteers with a passion to serve others. They often come from the ranks of caregivers who’ve benefited from day service programs themselves. As a non-profit, our goal is to never turn anyone away due to lack of financial resources. Thanks to our generous donors and foundations, we have a scholarship fund available for those who cannot afford private pay but do not qualify for other funding assistance.
For more information about Daily Living Centers please contact Cindy Kanatzar, Director of Social Services at (405) 792-2401 or cindy@dlcok.org. Or visit us on Facebook, Instagram, or our website https://www.dlcok.org!

At 78, Annie Shurtleff still has a penchant for learning and experiencing new things.
In fact, over the last 23 years she’s turned into quite the road scholar.
“I’ve always been a very curious person,” the Tulsa native said, unfolding a story that began at age 55 and has chapters from all over the world.
After taking an early retirement from a 25-year career in customer service for Shell Oil, Shurtleff experienced wanderlust.
She liked to travel and always satisfied that itch by working at national parks beginning in 1996.
“I kind of put (travel) on the back burner for about 10 years, working at Yellowstone and other parks,” she said. “When I decided to slow down I started looking at the Road Scholar program more.”
Not-for-profit Road Scholar is the world’s largest and most innovative creator of experiential learning opportunities. The company has guided generations of lifelong learners on transformative learning adventures from San Francisco to Siberia, and nearly everywhere in between.
It’s comprised of a diverse community of knowledge seekers and explorers, united in the belief that lifelong learning is a vital part of overall well-being.
The belief is in living life to the fullest at every age – by experiencing the world, and not just looking at it. That goal is accomplished by meeting new people, touching history where it happened and, delving deep into the cultures and landscapes explored.
Alongside renowned experts, participants experience in-depth and behind-the-scenes learning opportunities by land and by sea on travel adventures designed for boomers and beyond.
Road Scholar offers thousands of learning adventures in more than 100 countries and throughout the United States. At any given time, nearly 2,000 Road Scholars – like Shurtleff – are experiencing the world on our learning adventures.
“I like to travel and I like the outdoors,” Shurtleff said.
She has gone on more than 50 excursions with Road Scholar and admits she’s been just about everywhere offered in the continental United States.
She’s even gone overseas with other companies and says oftentimes it’s the journey and not necessarily the destination that gives her the most memories.
“Usually, when people think of travel they think international,” she said. “I’m really an advocate for domestic trips.”
Shurtleff said she’s always stuck to the same formula when it comes to deciding on where to go. She starts with her available dates to travel. From there she looks over her interests, which for her are the outdoors and historical things.
Then she chooses a location offered.
“So sometimes it’s kind of a surprise to me that I end up someplace I really like,” she says.
Places like Chattanooga, Tennessee and Mobile Bay, Alabama are some of the communities she’s fallen in love with.
She admits she’s a small-town girl who loves the outdoors when she travels.
Natchez, Mississippi, and Channel Islands National Park in California have special places in her heart.
“Once you’re there, the one thing I really like is they take care of everything from the time you get to the hotel,” she said. “There’s transportation whether trolley or public transit or private vans so you don’t have to worry about a thing and they’re so comprehensive in their catalog”.
“They tell you literally down to how many steps you’ll have to take.”
Shurtleff said when she travels with Road Scholar she normally signs up willing to accept a roommate to save a little bit of money.
“I’ve made some good friends and I’ve always had good experiences, she said. “I’ve made some new friends that way and we still communicate.”
When she’s not traveling with Road Scholar you may still see Shurtleff in Colorado where she volunteers for YMCA of the Rockies. She volunteers at Snow Mountain Ranch by Winter Park for her room and board.
She teaches pickleball or serves as the lobby hostess.
“I love to meet and great people,” she said. “It’s been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done because you’re dealing with a cross-section of humanity and you’re helping people with special needs and helping families reunite.”
And when she’s not doing that she’s boarding a plane, a train or a bus looking for her next adventure.
“I’m a real minimalist now,” she laughed. “It’s pretty much have bag will travel for me.”

Paul McCann

(Right) 101 years old. WWII Veteran. He was in college but allowed to graduate before reporting to NYC for midshipman training & to Washington DC for ordinance training. He was then stationed in the Pacific at the Naval Ammunition Depot on the Island of Oahu where he was officer in charge of ordinance loading ships out of Pearl Harbor.

Ruby Taylor

(Left) 100 years old. Broken Arrow – She graduated in 1942, with the last graduating class from Mazie High School, where she & her twin sister Ruth played basketball. She worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 25 years. Playing cards at the senior center, reading on her I-Pad, playing solitaire & word search are her hobbies.

Robert Williamson

(Right) 100 years old. WWII Veteran. After graduating from Broken Arrow HS he served in the US Army during WWII. He was 1st Sergeant over 300 men for 3 years in North Africa. Upon being honorably discharged he worked for American Airlines for 22 years.

Oklahoma (Choate) Smoyer

(Right) 107 years old. Born in Gore, OK on June 29, 1917, one of 9 children in the Cherokee Native American farm family of William Choate & Mary (Benge) Choate. Brothers Charles lived to 101 years old & Sequoyah David lived to 102. Married to Daniel F. Smoyer, she had 3 sons, 2 daughters, 12 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren & 4 great-great grandchildren to complete this 5-generation family.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Zane Elliott, a native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is one of the sailors serving aboard USS Nevada, continuing the U.S. Navy’s 124-year tradition of service under the sea to help ensure Americans’ safety.
Elliott graduated from Moore High School in 2019.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Oklahoma City.
“My parents always instilled in me the importance of having a good work ethic,” said Elliott. “They would always tell me to outwork my coworkers and to work the hardest that I can. That lesson is important here because the Navy needs sailors working hard to succeed.”
Elliott joined the Navy four years ago. Today, Elliott serves as a fire control technician.
“My uncle was in the Air Force and I saw that he was living a comfortable lifestyle,” said Elliott. “He lived in a big house and bought a new truck almost every two years. So, I tried to originally join the Air Force but they wouldn’t offer me a sign-on bonus. However, my best friend joined the Navy about a year before me. He gave me his recruiter’s number and the rest is history.”
Known as America’s “Apex Predators,” the Navy’s submarine force operates a large fleet of technically advanced vessels. These submarines are capable of conducting rapid defensive and offensive operations around the world, in furtherance of U.S. national security. A major component of that maritime security is homeported at Naval Base Kitsap, in Washington.
There are three basic types of submarines: fast-attack submarines (SSN), ballistic-missile submarines (SSBN) and guided-missile submarines (SSGN).
Fast-attack submarines are designed to hunt down and destroy enemy submarines and surface ships; strike targets ashore with cruise missiles; carry and deliver Navy SEALs; conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions; and engage in mine warfare. The Virginia-class SSN is the most advanced submarine in the world today. It combines stealth and payload capability to meet combatant commanders’ demands in this era of strategic competition.
The Navy’s ballistic-missile submarines, often referred to as “boomers,” serve as a strategic deterrent by providing an undetectable platform for submarine-launched ballistic missiles. SSBNs are designed specifically for stealth, extended patrols and the precise delivery of missiles. The Columbia-class SSBN will be the largest, most capable and most advanced submarine produced by the U.S. – replacing the current Ohio-class ballistic-missile submarines to ensure continuous sea-based strategic deterrence into the 2080s.
Guided-missile submarines provide the Navy with unprecedented strike and special operation mission capabilities from a stealthy, clandestine platform. Each SSGN is capable of carrying 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles, plus a complement of heavyweight torpedoes to be fired through four torpedo tubes.
Strategic deterrence is the nation’s ultimate insurance program, according to Navy officials. As a member of the submarine force, Elliott is part of a rich 124-year history of the U.S. Navy’s most versatile weapons platform, capable of taking the fight to the enemy in the defense of America and its allies.
The Pacific Submarine Force maximizes the Navy’s strengths of knowledge, stealth, agility, firepower and endurance.
“The men and women of the Pacific Submarine Force are among our best and brightest Americans,” said Rear Adm. Richard Seif, Commander, Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet. “The pace of activity across the force is eye-watering, and our ability to remain on-scene, unseen, is only possible due to their hard work and critical thinking. We are lethal, far-reaching, and incredibly capable, and we deter aggression through our demonstrated advantage in the undersea domain.”
With 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and access to the internet relying on the security of undersea fiber optic cables, Navy officials continue to emphasize that the prosperity of the United States is directly linked to recruiting and retaining talented people from across the rich fabric of America.
Elliott serves a Navy that operates far forward, around the world and around the clock, promoting the nation’s prosperity and security.
“We will earn and reinforce the trust and confidence of the American people every day,” said Adm. Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations. “Together we will deliver the Navy the nation needs.”
Elliott has many opportunities to achieve accomplishments during military service.
“I am most proud of being named Blue Jacket of the Year for USS Nevada because, to me, that meant I was the hardest working sailor on the boat,” said Elliott. “I am also proud of leading the charge for qualifying 50 sailors in submarines. I am proud of that because that is what we work toward in the submarine community. It took me a long time to earn my dolphins but it feels good that now I can help other sailors earn theirs.”
Elliott can take pride in serving America through military service.
“The Navy has been a great stepping stone in my life,” said Elliott. “I have been able to get qualifications and certifications that I wouldn’t be able to afford or would have gotten otherwise. Now when I get out, I will also be able to go to college while being paid.”
Elliott is grateful to others for helping make a Navy career possible.
“I want to thank Ensign Curtis Labrone for getting me to join the Navy,” added Elliott. “I also want to thank Fire Control Technician 2nd Class Dillon Porter and Fire Control Technician 1st Class Greg Moore for mentoring me. Lastly, I want to thank Chief Fire Control Technician Kevin Behnken for being a great leader.”