Former Congresswoman and U.S. Senate nominee Kendra Horn.
Recently, Former Congresswoman and U.S. Senate nominee Kendra Horn slammed the ongoing onslaught of corruption and cronyism that continues to run through all levels of Oklahoma’s current elected leadership:
“Corruption, cronyism and extremism have become hallmarks of too many of Oklahoma’s current elected leaders. They sow seeds of chaos, pitting us against our own families, friends, and neighbors with extremist policies meant to hide their real agendas and distract us from the fact that they aren’t fixing the real issues Oklahomans are facing.
They spend their time using labels and stereotypes weaponized to divide us, to hold onto power and line their pockets at our expense.
From a Congressman Markwayne Mullin who to took almost $1.3 million in COVID PPP money for his business on to turn around and vote against other Oklahoma small businesses receiving more PPP relief, to Governor Stitt who misuses taxpayer dollars and puts his corrupt friends in positions of power, the list of corruption in our state keeps growing longer each day.
The principles of those we elect matter. In November, we have an opportunity to clean house of corruption and extremism and elect leaders who put the people of Oklahoma before political parties and extremist ideologies on both sides of the aisle.”
From left, LaToya Fields De Wberth, sales counselor, Deana Bridges, executive director, Cameron Gruenberg, regional director of sales and marketing, and Amber Compton, sales and marketing director at Lyndale Edmond pose before the event.
Story and photos by Darl DeVault, contributing editor
Lyndale Edmond Senior Living Sales and Marketing Director Amber Compton welcomed the group of 52 Senior Business Solution colleagues to their networking luncheon on July 21 at Lyndale Edmond. Emphasizing how shifting demographics and reshaping complexes built for older Americans address a variety of rates and services, she explained Lyndale features nine cottages on their remodeled senior living property as well as 115 independent living and 48 assisted living apartments.
The Lyndale Edmond Senior Living hosts shared their premium meeting space, their clubhouse adjacent to their pool, for the monthly gathering of senior healthcare marketers and senior-focused company workers.
Newly appointed Regional Director of Sales & Marketing Cameron Gruenberg was on hand to observe from his office in Tulsa.
“Lyndale Edmond is a beautiful senior living community offering independent and assisted living with a resident-first philosophy, caring associates, great lifestyle programs and delicious meals,” Gruenberg said in an interview. “Hosting this event allowed attendees to experience what life is like at Lyndale Emond.”
The networking group was treated to one of many of the host’s amenities when Lyndale Culinary Director Bryan Newton offered a well-received lunch of BBQ ribs.
Many attendees were learning about their community peers for the first time. For others, it was apparent they had been attending the networking luncheons for many of the six years the SBS group has been getting together.
The luncheon continued with each invitee giving a few minutes of background on their employer and how they saw their role in helping seniors with their needs in the community. A few people outlined special events their venues were planning in the near future, inviting others to attend.
The discussion often centered on getting calls from care managers or discharge planners from hospitals and rehabs. Some explained they were available to help them find a community with openings, who is full, who can offer space, and who can provide temp nurse slots.
Other speakers reached out to all those gathered for more interaction to support the booths available at the upcoming Senior Day on September 21 at the Oklahoma State Fair.
Several speakers shared information about upcoming professional events. The guests were reminded of the Oklahoma Assisted Living Association Annual Convention & Trade Show as the association celebrates its 25th anniversary August 23 – 25 at the River Spirit Casino Resort in Tulsa.
The meeting was a more personalized version of a monthly networking newsletter with information, announcements, and networking within the retirement industry.
Several speakers highlighted how to get involved in Oklahoma’s many Alzheimer’s Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s, with the main ones being September 17 in Tulsa and October 22 in OKC.
Some providers reported real-time availability for their care and housing options along with home care and hospice providers.
A radio station representative who primarily markets information emphasized the station strives to be a dependable senior community resource.
Later, Lyndale Executive Director Deana Bridges explained the spacious, fully featured clubhouse the meeting was in is available to clients for special events and also for rent to outside groups. The remodeling at Lyndale allows them to offer the cottages as private residences along with independent living and assisted living apartments as more affordable housing models.
Sagora Senior Living operates the property. It is one of America’s top 50 privately-owned senior housing operators with communities throughout Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Florida and soon California.
Lyndale Lifestyles Director Michelle Robbins also offered to make their bus available if anyone wanted a quick property tour.
Conversations before and after the more formal portion allowed attendees to stay connected with their senior industry peers while building possible referral networks.
Photography and Text by Terry “Travels with Terry” Zinn t4z@aol.com
Santa Fe has too much to offer to be confined to just the recent July article.
Having been to Santa Fe a number of times, it is always fun and relaxing to again visit those dining establishments that made an impression over the years. This eating adventure led me to sample several familiar popular gourmet dining venues, and none mentioned here disappointed.
The Compound, http://www.compoundrestaurant.com/ located just off of artist filled Canyon Road, is an all-time favorite for the sophisticated palate. In an upscale adobe styled dining room, you can succumb to the temptations of; a Stacked Salad of Romaine, Tomato, Ham, Blue Cheese and Hard Cooked Tous eggs with Avocado Ranch Dressing topped with Free Range Chicken. If your luncheon appetite is not quenched, for dessert you might try the Bittersweet Chocolate Marquis of Pistachio Gelato, Apricot Pistachio; or the Orange Olive Oil Cake of Fig Jam, Lemon Curd and Crème Fraiche. Your evening plans might include a return to the Compound to enjoy a night cap or light supper at the intimate bar. With seating only about ten people, reservations are recommended.
The La Fonda Hotel http://www.lafondasantafe.com/la-plazuela holds many historic adventurous tales due to its early Santa Fe birth in 1640, but the restaurant, La Plazuela, has been a long time favorite for its casual, attentive, and never disappointing selections. Your selections might include: a spinach salad with grilled hazelnuts, with gluten free prosciutto bathed in a cranberry vinaigrette. Your entre might be the Alaskan Silver Salmon with lemon cilantro butter sauce, or sweet and buttery hearty pork tenderloins with pineapple glaze and papaya vinaigrette.
Top the meal with a Chocolate Molten Cake of dark chocolate truffles, dark rum cream glaze, which accents the dessert’s warmth and coolness. It is impressive when your server knows the term “Ice on the Pond” when ordering your extra cold, extra dry Martini, which is served to perfection.
While the décor has been renovated in recent years, the hand-painted side glass panels remains the restaurant’s signature Santa Fe tradition. Your high expectations for Santa Fe service, ambiance and dining are always met at La Fonda. Be sure and take time to visit the shops at La Fonda and the outside entrance to the top fashions of Rocki Gorman, a noted fashion and jewelry designer.
If you have not discovered the surprising and intimate atmosphere of Santacafe, http://santacafe.com/ you are missing a treat. Here inside white adobe, small dining areas, complete with a hint of Georgia O’Keeffe styled décor, you will find the best fresh Chimayo Red Chile onion rings available anywhere.
But this seemingly simple appetizer is only a prelude to an array of tasty selections including: Blue Corn Chicken Confit of enchiladas of red and green chile, or the healthy pan seared salmon roasted with fingerling potatoes over a kale and spinach lime cream. It’s known during high season to have one of the best outdoor patios for celebrity sightings.
While the Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi has undergone a dining room renovation, to open up the bar for casual tequila tastings and encourage conversation, the restaurant retains its elegant atmosphere and gourmet menu. You might start off your evening with a Kettle One Citron Pomegranate Martini, or a selection from one of their fine wines.
A flavorful good soup is an invitation to a gourmet meal and the Anasazi sweet potato soup was a perfect complement to the autumn weather. The Buffalo Empanada over an Avocado Mouse is personally recommended as is the fashionable crusted Salmon with baby beets, parsnips in a tamarind sauce. For dessert, you can play like a child with the Fried Ice Cream reminiscent of an outdoor campfire’s S’more.
You can’t leave Santa Fe without a nighttime visit to La Cantina next to La Casa Sena restaurant http://lacasasena.com/. At the Cantina, the waiters treat you, between serving food courses and beverages, with their favorite contemporary and Broadway styled songs. Many of the talented singers are biding their time here, saving their money before jumping into the Broadway pool of performers. Feel free to order a Mexican styled dinner, or just a beverage with their chips and dip. The congenial atmosphere, the prompt and friendly service is a fitting farewell to the enchantment that is Santa Fe.
Consider your Santa Fe visit in August or September, while the heat is still on in Oklahoma as it may be cooler in the altitude of Santa Fe and you might be able to catch a festival or two.
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist Benjamin Miller, Ph.D.
The National Institutes of Health has awarded the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation $3 million to continue the study of the anti-aging abilities of a diabetes drug.
The five-year grant will allow OMRF physiologist Benjamin Miller, Ph.D., to continue his investigation of the ability of metformin, the world’s most prescribed diabetes drug, to slow the biological process of aging.
Aging is a leading risk factor for many diseases, but people can lessen the impacts of aging with appropriate diet and exercise. Because many people find dietary changes and exercise challenging, there are ongoing searches for medications that may mimic those effects.
“We know exercise slows the aging process, but this drug could be an alternative for otherwise healthy people who don’t get much movement,” Miller said.
The study will observe metformin’s impact on animal models with different fitness levels. Investigators designed the study after surprising results that also led to an ongoing OMRF clinical trial of metformin in humans.
“Our studies have shown that there may be people who benefit from the metformin treatment and others who do not,” Miller said. “Our goal is to help determine who may benefit and better target the treatment to slow the onset of chronic diseases.”
Finding the right context for anti-aging metformin treatment is critical as this use for the drug grows, Miller said. This study will help identify groups who may see the greatest positive impact and who should skip this treatment to avoid adverse effects.
Miller is continuing to recruit participants for the ongoing clinical trial. The study is now focused on participants aged 40-75 who have higher-than-normal blood sugar, a body mass index above 30, or are not physically active. Participants must also not be taking glucose-lowering agents.
Volunteers will first undergo a health screening. If enrolled, participants’ visits during the 12-week study may include blood tests, muscle biopsies, bone density scans and insulin sensitivity tests.
To participate or for more information, visit www.omrf.org/metformin or contact Oklahoma Shared Clinical and Translational Resources at 405-271-3480 or osctr@ouhsc.edu.
Funding for the research is provided by the National Institute on Aging, a part of the NIH. Grant No. R01AG074502-01A1 will support the new study, and R01AG064951 continues to fund the clinical trial.
Women compete in Stand Up Paddling World Cup Racing on the Oklahoma River last August.
Story by Darl DeVault, Contributing Editor
The men paddle in one of several preliminary heats in the Canoe Sprint Super Cup last August on the Oklahoma River.
World-class paddlers will compete August 26-28 at the 2022 World Paddlesport Festival at RIVERSPORT’s $100 million venue on the Oklahoma River for medals and prize money. The events are free for spectators and feature International Canoe Federation Canoe Sprint Super Cup and Stand Up Paddling World Cup Racing, along with first-in-America Red Bull Rapids- a wacky race in homemade boats down RIVERSPORT Rapids.
“We are so excited to welcome these athletes to Oklahoma City,” said Elizabeth Laurent, chief marketing officer for the organization. “Watching the Olympic and World Champion athletes on the water is an amazing experience – you really get that Olympic feeling when you see all of the country flags and watch the competition at this level. We hope everyone will come out and join us in welcoming these athletes to OKC.”
This marks the second straight August OKC will host prestigious ICF events after RIVERSPORT hosted the 2021 ICF Super Cup in its international television first night racing last year. Previously scheduled for Moscow, Russia, this year’s events were moved to OKC due to an International Olympic Committee directive after Russia invaded Ukraine.
The free three-day festival will also feature community dragon boat, kayak and SUP racing, plus full days of family fun and fireworks Saturday night.
Many competitors will be coming to compete in Oklahoma after competing in the world championships in their events August 3-7 in Halifax, Canada.
The international events play out before prime seating at the Boathouse District’s Finish Line Tower terrace as the centerpiece of the multi-day race event. The Sprint Cup racing runs August 26-27, and the Stand Up Paddling World Cup extends three days, August 26-28.
The Red Bull Rapids event Saturday, August 27, is all about fun, where the wildest whitewater race where showmanship and ingenuity take the top prize. This group challenge of 50 teams have made creative, wacky vessels to race down a 258-yard whitewater rapid course. The teams of 2-5 people 18 years and older are scored on the creativity of their vessel, along with how fast they descend and how far they stay afloat.
The top three placers earn exclusive Red Bull experiences. Judging is done by Red Bull athletes, coaches, and Oklahoma native Darci Lynne. Lynne is the season 12 winner of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” where she received the most votes for a final performance in the history of the show at age 12. Now 17, singer and ventriloquist Darci Lynne Farmer is touring America with show dates until November.
Oklahoma City’s Riversport is unique in offering all these events at one venue. It is the only city in the world to provide athletes with whitewater slalom, such as the Red Bull Rapids will use, and a venue for international-level flatwater sprinting. In its 16th year of making sports history, the venue is the only permanently lit flatwater course in the world. Completed in 2013, the permanent racecourse lighting along the river was integral to the MAPS 3 Oklahoma River improvements.
Canoe sprint takes place on a flatwater course, and races are contested by two types of boat, canoe (C) and kayak (K). In a canoe, the paddler competes in a striding position using a single-blade paddle, in contrast to the double-bladed paddle used in a sitting position in a kayak. International level, the discipline distances are from 200m to 5000m, individually and in teams of up to four. Each discipline is categorized by boat type, number of competitors per boat, gender, and race distance.
RIVERSPORT is known as an innovator in Olympic sports and outdoor recreation. The nonprofit RIVERSPORT Foundation has developed Oklahoma City’s Boathouse District. It has become one of the world’s premier urban outdoor adventure and water sports venues. It regularly hosts national and international races in both rowing and canoe/kayak. Located at America’s crossroads, the Boathouse District features iconic architecture, world-class adventure sports and recreation, and robust programming for all ages.
It is an official US Olympic and Paralympic Training Site and a model for other communities to embrace bold ideas and bolster outdoor culture.
The International Canoe Federation is the umbrella organization for all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide.
The full schedule for the weekend events is available online: 2022 ICF World Events (riversportokc.org)
Riversport is located at 800 RIVERSPORT Dr. Oklahoma City, OK 73129.
2022 World Paddlesport Festival – ICF World Events:
Saturday, August 27 • 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
2022 ICF Canoe Sprint Super Cup Racing | Aug 26-27
2022 ICF Stand Up Paddling World Cup Racing | Aug 26-28
2022 Red Bull Rapids | Aug 27
Join RIVERSPORT for this incredible event featuring top paddlers from around the world competing in Super Cup and World Cup events, plus Red Bull Rapids – a wacky race in homemade boats down RIVERSPORT Rapids. We’ll also have community dragon boat, kayak and SUP racing plus a family fun and fireworks Saturday night. Plan to join us for a full day of fun, and read on to learn how Oklahoma City was invited to host the historic ICF Super Cup and World Cup events.
Jeanette Reiff, RN, employee health nurse for The Oklahoma Center for Orthopedics and Multispecialty Surgery, celebrates the 20th anniversary since the hospital opened.
by James Coburn, Staff Writer
The Oklahoma Center for Orthopedics and Multispecialty Surgery (OCOM) is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Jeanette Reiff, RN, has been OCOM’s employee health nurse since the hospital opened. Hospital staff has been treated to several special events throughout the year from meals and giveaways.
“We did an ‘unsung hero’ this morning for one of our employees (Stephanie Campas) that goes above and beyond and doesn’t get recognized enough,” Reiff said. “So, we gave her an award and took pictures of her. She’s one of our dietary workers. Whatever we need — if we need her to help us with employee lunches or whatever’s going on, she does a great job going around and talking to the patients, providing them with meals that meet their needs. And, she always has a great attitude.”
Reiff was recruited by OCOM to open the endoscopy department and has enjoyed working with many of the same people for the duration.
The state has immunization requirements for all new hospital employees. Reiff ensures they have their drug screenings and have all their immunizations including the flu. OCOM has had a COVID pod in the hospital since January 2021. Employees report to Reiff for Workers Compensation injuries. She deals with airborne pathogen exposures, but mainly it is bloodborne pathogens.
The state of Oklahoma requires hospitals to have an employee health nurse. So Reiff was recruited from her endoscopy role to bridge that gap. At that time, she had a steep learning curve to accomplish the task.
We had a consultant who was working with us at the time, and she got me in some classes with the health department,” she explained.
She also attended some group meetings during lunch with occupational nurses discussing how they handled employee health at their hospitals. She is grateful for the opportunity.
“When I first took it on, I was an endoscopy nurse, so I was doing endoscopy and employee health. And eventually the manager of the endoscopy department moved on, so they moved me up to manager. I was managing the endoscopy department and doing employee health.”
Eventually she would work exclusively in employee health.
“I just stuck with it,” she said.
Reiff has been a registered nurse since 2000, the year she graduated from Oklahoma City Community College. She began her nursing career on the cardiac floor of INTEGRIS Medical Center and the Jim Thorpe Rehabilitation Center, located in Oklahoma City. The cardiac floor at Integris and Jim Thorpe Rehab were two separate jobs.
She was a stay-at-home mom raising twins when she set her course on nursing. She needed to earn decent money if she worked part-time.
“We had a really bad car accident, and I wasn’t sure how well my husband was going to be after they cut him out of that truck,” Reiff said.
She considered becoming a physical therapist when a friend encouraged her to join her in applying for nursing school.
“It’s been a blessing,” Reiff said. “It is rewarding to see so many people who come in hurting so badly and they’re able to get joint replacements and feel so much better afterwards.”
Certain moments of being a nurse make an indelible impression. Reiff recalled the early days of her career at Jim Thorpe. There was a young patient who had been in a four-wheeler accident and was paralyzed from the waist down. The same nurse had taken care of him every night but was away on vacation. Reiff filled-in his nurse for a couple of weeks while his nurse was gone.
“Everybody told me he was pretty difficult if he didn’t have the nurse he was used to,” Reiff said. “He wasn’t cooperative with the other ones. And he was standoffish with me at first. Then I saw he was watching Crocodile Hunter and I said, ‘Oh my twins love that show.’ And he said, ‘You have twins. My brother and sister are twins.’”
They discovered they had something in common. He stayed at the hospital longer than anticipated because his parents did not use the insurance money wisely, she continued.
“So, they didn’t have all the requirements that he needed to go home in a wheelchair,” Reiff said. “Making that connection with him — those patients that you see every night for months at a time — it was just great to see him improve, take care of himself and gain some confidence, and finally get to go home.”
Reiff never thought of being a nurse as a child, but now she cannot picture her life without it.
“This has been a wonderful place to work. OCOM has given me opportunities that I probably would have never had if I had worked in a larger hospital,” she said.
For more information about OCOM visit: https://ocomhospital.com/
The Masonic Charity Foundation of Oklahoma has made a $1 million donation to Mercy Health Foundation in support of the new Love Family Women’s Center under construction on the campus of Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City.
“We know the new Love Family Women’s Center will be a great asset to the state,” said Neil Stitt, board president of the Masonic Charity Foundation. “Many rural Oklahomans are without access to family planning and much-needed prenatal care. The new women’s center will be a great place for moms and families to come and receive the best care.”
When construction is complete in fall 2023, Mercy will have a total of 73 patient rooms to serve women in the new center, increasing the capacity for deliveries by 40%.
Mercy coworkers and donors recently celebrated a construction milestone on campus as crews installed the first horizontal steel beam at the site. That beam was the beginning of an elevator that will allow families of newborns needing a higher level of care direct access from the women’s center to the existing fifth-floor neonatal intensive care unit in the hospital.
“We are so grateful for the Masonic Charity Foundation of Oklahoma for their incredibly generous gift which will allow us to provide innovative new services and introduce a new gold standard of care for women and families across the state of Oklahoma,” said Lori Cummins, vice president of development at Mercy Health Foundation in Oklahoma.
The existing Mercy BirthPlace is original to the hospital, which was built in the 1970s and designed to handle around 3,000 births per year. More than 4,000 babies were delivered in the space last year.
The Love Family Women’s Center will be a 175,000-square-foot, four-story building featuring an obstetrics emergency department staffed by obstetricians, the state’s first hospital-based low intervention birthing unit staffed by certified midwives, C-section suites, birthing units, postpartum rooms, a dedicated area for women recovering from surgeries and outpatient therapy services.
SSM Health at Home is proud to announce the health ministry now offers hospice service to people living in Oklahoma City and surrounding communities including Canadian, Cleveland, Grady, Lincoln, Logan, McClain, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie and Seminole Counties.
On May 26, 2022, SSM Health at Home achieved accreditation through the Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), demonstrating the organization’s commitment to delivering high quality care through compliance with ACHC Accreditation Standards, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Conditions of Participation and Oklahoma state regulations.
“We have been providing home health services to the greater Oklahoma City area for many years. Offering hospice care will allow us to be there for patients throughout their entire health care journey,” said Melody McCormick, Branch Manager for SSM Health at Home’s hospice services in Oklahoma. “Adding hospice services will allow us to focus on providing compassionate care and improve quality of life for our patients at a time when they need it the most.”
“We are honored to expand our services to patients and families who need us at one of the most difficult points in life and are blessed to have a tremendous team of staff ready to provide the best care possible,” said Denise (dg) Gloede, President of Post-Acute at SSM Health.
“Hospice is the ultimate form of comprehensive care at the end of life. It is the combination of exceptional medical service, compassion, dignity and faith. It is an essential part of SSM Health’s ministry and Mission,” said Dr. Waddah Nassar, SSM Health at Home Medical Director and SSM Health Medical Group family practice physician.
To learn more about how hospice care can provide support to you or your family, please call 405-231-3755 or visit ssmhealth.com/athome.
Liam Sasser, a West Point student, is part of OMRF's John H. Saxon Service Academy Summer Research Program for 2022.
Liam Sasser was no stranger to research when he arrived at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation last month for the John H. Saxon Service Academy Summer Research Program.
The West Point cadet studies Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases during the academic year. However, Sasser said he was humbled and a bit overwhelmed in the lab of OMRF scientist Sathish Srinivasan, Ph.D., who focuses on the lymphatic system.
Lymphatic vessels transport blood, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. When they stop functioning properly, fluid buildup results in a chronic and potentially life-threatening condition called lymphedema. Srinivasan’s lab is working to understand the mechanisms that promote the healthy growth of lymphatic vessels to combat lymphedema.
“The breadth of this field surprised me,” Sasser said. “I was surprised at how unexplored it is and how much this work this lab is producing to improve the understanding of lymphatics.”
OMRF’s Saxon program compresses an intensive summer internship into three to four weeks, culminating in a presentation of their research. John Saxon III, M.D., a Muskogee physician and OMRF board member since 2000, established the program to honor his father, a West Point graduate who was a career Air Force pilot and taught at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
“Some people may not think of basic science and the military as linked,” said Saxon. “But I thought that I could use OMRF’s work as an opportunity to stimulate some basic bench science interest with cadets at service academies.”
Now in its 12th year, the program has hosted 37 cadets since its inception. In addition to Sasser, a life science major from Cape Carteret, North Carolina, this summer’s students include Naval Academy Midshipmen Alexandra Foreman of Denver and Zoe Scooter of Boulder, Colorado, and Air Force Academy Cadet Philip Golder of Greenwood, Indiana.
Srinivasan, Sasser’s mentor, welcomed the opportunity to host his second Saxon student. “They are so focused, disciplined, respectful and so motivated,” he said, “and they bring such a positive aura that it bleeds over into the rest of the lab.”
After leaving ORMF, Sasser returned to campus to serve as a basic training platoon leader for new cadets before starting his senior year. With medical school in his sights, Sasser also departed OMRF with some essential experimental techniques.
“They apply these techniques to so many problems, and once I’ve mastered them, I can apply them to a variety of problems in my own research,” Sasser said. “This experience has been amazing.”
OIGA Conference and Trade Show slated for Aug. 9-11 in Tulsa
The 2022 Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA) Conference and Trade Show, otherwise known as ‘the biggest little show in Indian Gaming,’ will be held in Tulsa Aug. 9-11, in Tulsa’s Cox Business Convention Center. and will draw nearly 3,000 vendors, visitors and guest speakers to downtown Tulsa to celebrate and advance our industry.
The event begins bright and early on Tuesday with the annual John Marley Golf Tournament, an event which raises scholarship funds for folks who work in the gaming industry and their dependents. Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association established the John Marley Scholarship in 2008 to provide educational opportunities for OIGA member employees and their families. The John Marley Scholarships are dedicated to the search for knowledge and the provision of scholarships for eligible individuals in order to attend accredited colleges, universities and trade schools in Oklahoma or other states. Since 2014, OIGA has awarded 54 scholarships. Learn more about the history of the Tournament here.
In Oklahoma, Tribal Gaming has yielded countless contributions, large and small, to Oklahoma’s job market, economy, educational offerings and quality of life. OIGA Chairman Matthew L. Morgan, explains: “Tribes are wonderful community partners in Oklahoma. We create jobs, build roads and hospitals, invest in our public schools and universities, support nonprofits and create programs to serve citizens, Tribal and non-Tribal, who need assistance within our communities. Each year, when we gather at our Conference and Trade Show, we celebrate this industry which has allowed us to do so much. We are proud of our past, excited about things happening right now, and determined to leave the next generation an industry and an Oklahoma that they can take pride in.”
Conference sessions begin Wednesday at 9:30AM, and continue until noon, when attendees and vendors will celebrate the official opening of the Trade Show floor. From noon to 4PM, the floor will be open to attendees. New this year, the welcome party will transform into a Stay and Play reception on the Trade Show floor, from 4:00-6:30 PM. View the entire agenda here.
Conference session topics will include:
– National Landscape on Sports Betting: Bills, Stakeholders and the
Outcome
– SCOTUS and District Court Decisions: Impact to Indian Country
– Oklahoma Tribal Economic Impact Report Review
– Diversity and Inclusion in STEAM Career Development
– Active Shooter: Preparations Saves Live
Oklahoma is home to one of the largest gaming markets in the United States with more than 80,000 electronic machines on the floors of our over 130 operations. The OIGA Conference and Trade Show has always been the largest regional show in the country and is looking forward to hitting that mark again.
To register or for more information visit oiga.org.
