What are you looking forward to this holiday season? Integris Canadian Valley Hospital volunteers

Having my family come from Washington State and St. Louis to visit. That will be the highlight.  Carolyn Furgeson

A visit from Santa Claus would be wonderful. Becky Horn

My son lives in OKC and I’ll be here with him and his family. Eleanor Fuller

My family is having a reunion in Colorado so there will be 14 of us traveling to Pueblo. Morna Martinez

Working in partnership to enhance quality of care for all Oklahomans

To best serve the current and future health care needs of Oklahomans, SSM Health’s St. Anthony Hospitals and Physicians Group are partnering with the University of Oklahoma (OU) and the University Hospitals Authority and Trust (UHAT) to create a premier health care network. This combined network will partner with physicians to not only deliver exceptional health care, but also to advance transformative clinical research and provide innovative educational experiences for future physicians and health professionals.
“This is an exciting time for health care in Oklahoma,” said William P. Thompson, president and CEO, SSM Health. “As a part of SSM Health, the St. Anthony Hospitals and St. Anthony Physicians Group have a long history of providing high-quality, compassionate and personalized care. By coming together with OU Medicine, we will build upon our collective heritage of serving this community, while also striving to ensure that Oklahomans receive exceptional care for years to come.”
The combined resources of OU Medicine, UHAT and SSM Health include more than 23 Oklahoma hospitals and affiliates, including OU Medical Center, The Children’s Hospital and OU Medical Center Edmond, as well as St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City, Bone and Joint Hospital at St. Anthony, and St. Anthony Shawnee Hospital.
As a part of the integrated delivery network, OU Physicians and St. Anthony Physicians Group, with a combined total of more than 1,100 physicians and providers, will work together to share best practices and clinical expertise with the goal of best coordinating patient care.
“Today, we begin a new era, focused on further elevating patient care, clinical research and health professions education for the benefit of all Oklahomans,” said OU President David L. Boren. “We will continue to bring Oklahomans the best health care throughout the state with the ongoing support of University Hospitals Authority and Trust and by combining OU’s highly respected Health Sciences Center with a leading health system, SSM Health.”
This new network brings together organizations that each represent more than 100 years of caring for Oklahomans. Established in 1898 as the first hospital in Oklahoma territory, St. Anthony Hospital’s community-based network of services includes St. Anthony Physicians Group as well as a network of 17 rural hospital affiliates. Founded just two years later, in 1900, the OU College of Medicine and its faculty physicians began training future doctors and conducting leading medical research. UHAT has supported the state’s teaching hospitals in Oklahoma City since 1993, helping to build state-of-the-art medical and research facilities.
“We are excited to open this new chapter with SSM Health,” said Mike Samis, chairman of the University Hospitals Authority and Trust. “During its history, the Trust has invested in health care in Oklahoma to advance the mission of our state teaching hospitals, helping to provide quality care to patients and train the doctors of tomorrow. We are appreciative to our HCA colleagues for a nearly 20-year relationship, during which we have expanded our range of services and enhanced our quality of care. Now, we look forward to continuing our role in collaboration with the University of Oklahoma and SSM Health.”
UHAT and SSM Health are committed to making significant investments in this new integrated network to ensure patients and caregivers continue to have access to the latest technology and state-of-the-art facilities. A capital plan is already under development and includes a new patient tower at OU Medical Center.
SSM Health and UHAT will share governance and financial responsibility in the network, with SSM Health managing the day-to-day operations. The transaction should be finalized within the first half of 2017, pending regulatory and other approvals. No state-appropriated funds will be used to create the new network.
The OU Medical System is currently managed by HCA, an investor-owned company based in Nashville. UHAT and HCA plan to end their relationship within the first half of 2017.

by Traci Chapman
Staff Writer

Nursing has always been a way of life for Tina Singleton, her chance to bring healing and comfort to others.
With a heart for helping seniors, Singleton has always drawn on a personal experience more than two decades old, a painful memory that has spurred her to do everything she could for those in the twilight of their lives.
“What faces so many seniors is so awful – they want to stay in their home, but they might not be able to, assisted living can be so expensive and so impersonal, then there are nursing homes, something I will never forget,” Singleton said. “My grandmother went into the nursing home and in less than a year, she was gone – she just gave up.”
Singleton’s wish to give others the hope her grandmother lost was what spurred the Oklahoma LPN from the start; now, a new concept called Home Choice, aimed at bringing that comfort home could change Oklahoma’s home health care landscape.
“This is a completely different way of looking at things, a way to give more people an opportunity to have a real home, while they still get the best quality care,” Singleton said.
To get to Home Choice, Singleton had her own path to follow. After working for private care agencies, she in 2009 founded Right Choice Personal Assistance, a company offering traditional home health services to seniors and other home-bound patients. With more than 50 employees serving about 90 home health patients, caretakers assist individuals on a daily, weekly and as needed basis.
“The service is completely tailored to each individual need,” Singleton said.
Helping those who needed Right Choice’s home health services has been gratifying, a way of providing not only medical services, but also a helping hand to others – but something was always missing, Singleton said.
“It just seemed like there was so much more, something beyond the services we have been providing all along,” she said.
As Singleton thought and prayed about it, she was joined in April 2015 by Rhonda Baze, who would join the Right Choice team as community liaison. It was then a plan slowly came into focus – a house that could be turned into the home so needed by many seniors.
“It can be so difficult for seniors to remain independent – if they don’t have someone to help, there is so much to keeping up a house or even an apartment,” Baze said. “The maintenance, the cooking and then the healthcare they might need.”
“This is a solution, something that is not just a service but a home,” Singleton said.
Home Choice is just that, a home located in northwest Oklahoma City, large and specially fitted and ready for seniors to move in. While the house features some amenities found in assisted living facilities – things like 24-hour common area video monitoring, fire sprinklers, emergency lighting, an above-ground storm shelter and even a small salon – it is a private house with large living areas, private, fully accessible bathrooms and a sunny patio and backyard.
“It really is a home, like any home, where everyone has their own room – couples together or in adjoining rooms, if they like, roommates, singles on their own,” Singleton said. “They can garden if they like, play games, have companionship or just be on their own when they like – but they will always have the medical care and support they need, every hour of the day.”
Because the home houses only nine people, that means caregivers can give everyone everything they need, Singleton said. From nursing services to help with everyday issues like hygiene, exercise, transportation, meal preparation, housekeeping and more. Costs will include rent, utilities, home and yard maintenance, food and all care.
“It really is completely their choice,” Baze said. “They can be part of meal planning and cooking if they like, or they can be pampered and served.”
“Everyone needs to feel useful, to feel needed and some people will want to do things like gardening, like helping with other aspects of the house, they might want to volunteer somewhere, they want to be independent as long as they can, and that’s all possible here,” Baze said. “From the most independent of seniors, those who can drive and are very active to those bed-bound – everyone is welcome.”
Caregivers will be on duty 24 hours a day and will be chosen from long-standing Right Choice employees with a proven track record.
“In fact, anyone wanting to be part of this had to submit a separate application and go through a separate interview process,” Baze said. “We want people who are on the same page as us and who truly understand what is expected of them.”
“It’s always been most important to me that caregivers treat those we serve the way they would expect to be treated,” Singleton said. “We provide companionship, care and what they need to have a full and happy life – and that’s what’s important.”

by Traci Chapman
Staff Writer

Chronic dialysis is difficult for any patient; when that condition is compounded by a wound or tracheostomy, it’s even worse – and for many families those conditions could mean separation and loss, because local treatment options have been so limited.
Not so anymore, as Oklahoma City’s New Direction Home Dialysis brings treatment to the heart of the patient’s life, in the process making it possible for them to stay with their families and continue their lives, in a way never before possible.
That means people who before had to go to Texas, to Ohio or to some other far-flung medical facility for long-term, frequent dialysis treatments now can receive those services at home, where they can continue their day-to-day routine and remain with the family and friends they love.
“The bottom line is outcomes, it’s quality of life, it’s being able to keep families together,” New Direction Administrator Leslie Whiles said. “For a patient to have to go far away, to another state in many cases, is such a hardship – physically, financially, emotionally.”
“For example, we had a patient who was forced to go to Cleveland for treatment, and she was at the end of her rope – she didn’t even feel like it was worth it because it was just too much for her to bear,” she said. “No one should ever have to go through that, and we want to make sure no one has to.”
Whiles knows a lot about dialysis, with almost 30 years in the field. As administrator for Sooner Acute Dialysis, Whiles sees every day how the right program can make a difference in the lives of patients needing inpatient services; with New Direction, Whiles strived to bring the same level of care – and caring – to those who can take part in a long-term treatment option at home.
That’s why finding the right nurses is paramount, Whiles said. As the company grows – New Direction’s staff of three recently grew to six nurses – it’s important to look not just at medical skills, but also at what lies underneath.
“Because we are independent, we are able to focus solely on taking care of our patients, knowing them, knowing about their lives and their families,” Whiles said. “Of course, it’s about care and nursing, but there’s also the deeper ability to bond with people who are going through a very difficult experience.”
Home dialysis means freedom to New Direction’s patients, whether they’re 20 or 80 – and the company has patients of all ages, backgrounds and temperaments. They might be retired, a student or someone working to support their family while undergoing regular treatments. However they might be different, what Whiles and her staff have seen with all was the benefit of home dialysis.
“There is such a transformation because our patients can take control of their lives again, they aren’t isolated in treatment,” Whiles said. “It removes much of the stress and makes their treatment more effective.”
New Direction offers both Peritoneal and Home hemodialysis treatments. Both have more advantages than allowing patients to take treatments at home, Whiles said.
“There are fewer dietary restrictions and we’ve seen less negative side effects like nausea, cramping, weight gain and vomiting,” she said.
A benefit of Peritoneal dialysis, or PD, is that patients can have treatments, even at work and on vacation, Whiles said. Home hemodialysis – HHD – is broken into traditional and short daily treatments.
Traditional patients usually undergo three four-hour, or more, weekly sessions, while short daily HHD features shorter treatment times more often.
“With that, we would probably see two to three hours per session four to seven times a week,” Whiles said. “It really is a matter of choice for the patient.”
While New Direction nurses are an integral part of each patient’s care, so too are each individual’s “care partners,” family members or friends who, along with the patient, are trained on dialysis equipment use and care, as well as other ancillary information.
“Care partners can be involved in setting up the machine and supplies, inserting dialysis needles, helping to record medical information and post-dialysis care and machine maintenance,” Whiles said.
“It’s very important that the individual have a support system in place and they need to have a caregiver, or partner, who can go through the competency evaluation and who is willing to do the work involved in successful treatments,” Whiles said. “Without that, home dialysis really isn’t a viable option.”
But, for those who can take part, home dialysis can mean a whole new life just waiting around the corner.
“It’s important for us to do all we can – we’re an Oklahoma company and we’re going to take care of our people,” Whiles said. “That’s what we’re meant to do, what we’re dedicated to doing.”

Oklahoma Forestry Services announces the retirement Forest Ranger Jack Fain on November 1, after 29 years of service. Fain, who is based out of Oklahoma Forestry Services’ northeast regional office in Tahlequah, has assisted on wildfire suppression across the state as an engine boss.
“Jack is an extremely competent leader who always knows how to improve situations and prevent accidents in hazardous wildfire conditions, said George Geissler, director, Oklahoma Forestry Services. “We appreciate Jack’s service and will certainly miss his wildland firefighting experience and expertise. We wish him well.”
A cattle rancher in the Chewey community, Fain’s retirement plans include ranching and helping his children and friends with their business ventures as needed.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

It’s been more than a decade since legendary entertainer Dean Martin passed away.
But for a few hours every Friday and Saturday night his infectious spirit and joy are alive and well inside the Yellow Rose Theater in Moore.
Impersonator Michael Cooper and a troupe of performers breathe new life into characters like Martin, Jerry Lewis and members of the Rat Pack at Oklahoma’s only full-time dinner theatre.
Cooper has been portraying Martin for 14 years now in what began humbly as a ministry outreach of the Revival for Christ Club.
Christian-based original plays and dramas came in the early days and are still scattered among the offerings.
A big fire destroyed the area that is now the Yellow Rose Theatre nearly 15 years ago.
During the rebuild the church’s contractor ran off with much of the repair money.
So guys like Cooper would work their regular jobs during the day and then come to the church at night to make repairs.
The church’s then-pastor asked what it would take to do a Rat Pack show.
Cooper wasn’t sure.
“We didn’t look like them, didn’t sound like them and didn’t act like them,” Cooper said. “We could just sing because we were praise and worship leaders. We decided ‘let’s see if we can’t ride this thing.’”
So Rat Pack boot camp began. The group read every book, watched every movie and read every snippet online about the famous entertainers.
They finally nailed it.
The group now travels around the country, stopping at Carnegie Hall and Hard Rock Casino.
Fifties, sixties, seventies shows began to pop up as did Motown and Country performances.
BECOMING DEAN
“I’ve read lots of books and watched lots of footage and just luck I guess,” Cooper said of becoming the persona of Dean Martin. “The first couple years I wasn’t very good.”
The group is now one of the four most recognized Rat Pack groups in the country.
“Now it’s just the experience of having done it thousands of times,” Cooper said. “I can fire up and do it any time. Some nights are better than others. I’ve been doing it for so long now it’s just natural.”
Cooper channels his inner Dean Martin on the weekends and during the the group’s most recent show run of The Colgate Comedy Hour, which featured standup, skits and original Colgate Comedy Hour commercials in between.
And it’s all done while guests are dining with friends or soon-to-be friends.
Executive Chef Kim Johnson handles the cuisine. A catering company also operates out of the theater, which can be rented during the holidays.
“The food is phenomenal. We’ve had people ask for recipes,” Cooper said. “When we started the dinner theater we traveled all over the country. One thing we knew was we would have good food. People aren’t going to get a sliver of shoe-sole meat, a slap of mashed potatoes and some corn on a plate. We give big portions.”
GIVING BACK
The shows are indeed a ministry for Cooper and his ensemble.
After every show Cooper and the performers greet the guests as they leave the building.
One night a woman came up with tears in her eyes.
“My husband has Alzheimers,” she said, her voice cracking. “Once the music started I had my husband back.” I danced with him. He recognized who I was.
We were all in here crying. Literally, once they got back in the car he was far away. But for two hours she had her husband back.
“Even though you might not have a Bible in your hand or be in the sanctuary we’re able to minister to people and that’s why we do it.”
All of the recent skits and standups are versions of the skits that the original group did on the Colgate Comedy Hour.
“Some of the humorous parts of it were because it was Dean and Jerry,” Cooper said. “As much as we try to portray them we’re not them. It’s almost harder for us than it was for them.”
“We knew from the beginning that we had them. We knew this was going to be a viable show.”
I laughed so hard my throat hurts. I haven’t laughed this much in years.
Both are just a sampling of the comments the group gets after every show.
Cooper will be busy again during the holidays.
For Christmas the group will put on Dean’s Very, Very, Very Merry Christmas. Jerry Lewis will be a part and possibly Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Durante thanks to Cooper’s friends.
But three Tuesdays and one Saturday in December will be dedicated to the Sharon L. Vanover memorial dinner.
Qualified families from Moore, South Oklahoma City and Lawton are treated to a show and each child receives a Christmas present.
It’s all about showing love for people.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer
Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ve realized that hospitals are being scrutinized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services like never before.
Care standards such as core measures are by now commonplace and improving Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems scores are keeping hospital executives up at night.
But for the first time this year hospitals in America who excelled in these areas were eligible for the coveted CMS five-star rating.
Community Hospital CEO Debbie Kearns, RN, recently learned her hospital received five stars.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Kearns said. “It reflects the hard work and commitment all of our team members have to providing safe, quality care.”
Community joins select company in Oklahoma with only Oklahoma Heart Hospital, McBride Orthopedic Hospital and Oklahoma Surgical Hospital in Tulsa earning five-star status.
“Community Hospital is committed to providing safe, quality care for every patient,” Kearns said. “Our physicians, nurses and other clinicians are committed to continually improve care. We appreciate the trust patients continue to place in our ability to meet the highest standards of care and are pleased that Community Hospital has achieved the top rating of five stars.
“The five-star rating is a direct reflection of the hard work and dedication of our team members and shows their true commitment to providing our patients with the best experience possible.
Our work doesn’t stop with this ranking, instead it serves to reinforce our mission of becoming the premier hospital in the country specializing in surgical care.”
The Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating is designed to help individuals, their family members, and caregivers compare hospitals in an easily understandable way. Over the past decade, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published information about the quality of care across the five different health care settings that most families encounter.
The new Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating summarizes data from existing quality measures publicly reported on Hospital Compare into a single star rating for each hospital, making it easier for consumers to compare hospitals and interpret complex quality information.
The methodology for the new Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating was developed with significant input from a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) and refined after public input.
CMS will continue to analyze the star rating data and consider public feedback to make enhancements to the scoring methodology as needed. The star rating will be updated quarterly, and will incorporate new measures as they are publicly reported on the website as well as remove measures retired from the quality reporting programs.
For Kearns and her hospital, which includes a new campus in North Oklahoma City, the five-star ranking was validation of what she sees every day.
“Our culture in our organization is one of hiring the best staff, the best team and to have the best group of doctors,” Kearns said. “Our goal of being a premier surgical hospital, if you don’t continue to maintain those quality initiatives and focus on the customers you can’t maintain that rating.”
Kearns has been notified that Community will receive the quarterly five-star rating again for the next quarter.
“Every employee has to be committed to providing that five-star experience for our customers,” Kearns said. “We don’t have any opportunities to sit back and provide less than an exceptional experience. When we hire employees we set that expectation and raise that bar really high.”
CMS collects the information on these measures through the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program and Hospital Outpatient Quality Reporting (OQR) Program.
Hospitals are only assessed on the measures for which they submit data. Some of the measures used to calculate the Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating are based only on data from Medicare beneficiaries and some are based on data from hospitals’ general patient population, regardless of payer.
“Today, we are taking a step forward in our commitment to transparency by releasing the Overall Hospital Quality Star Rating,” CMS said in a statement. “We have been posting star ratings for different facilities for a decade and have found that publicly available data drives improvement, better reporting, and more open access to quality information for our Medicare beneficiaries.
“These star rating programs are part of the Administration’s Open Data Initiative which aims to make government data freely available and useful while ensuring privacy, confidentiality, and security.”

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer

It was a Monday morning when for some reason Eleanor Fuller decided to come to work a few minutes early.
The volunteer at Integris Canadian Valley Hospital still doesn’t quite understand what caused her to arrive at work a few minutes early in late August, but to one pregnant woman and her husband those minutes were just what they needed.
“I was coming down the sidewalk and I heard this ‘Oh, Oh,’ groaning,” Fuller remembered. “I thought maybe somebody had fallen or was hurt. I went over and saw this woman who was really pregnant.”
Fuller had parked in the back of the hospital like normal and had started on her way into the hospital when she encountered the couple in distress.
The woman, who was in obvious pain, could barely move.
Fuller remembered a wheelchair that she had seen tucked inside the west entrance. She rushed to get it and brought it back for the woman to sit down before pushing her inside the hospital and to the waiting nurses.
“We were hoofing it down the hall to the women’s center as fast as we could,” Fuller said laughing. “Later I asked how soon the baby was born after we got there.”
Four minutes was the reply.
“I’m going to start carrying gloves in my pocket,” Fuller joked. “I was in the right place at the right time I can say that.”
After talking with the family later in the day Fuller learned the couple had driven from Corn – an hour away – driving 80 miles an hour the whole time on the highway.
A beautiful, healthy eight-pound baby boy was the outcome and he wasn’t born in the hospital parking lot thanks to Fuller.
“I’m just very thankful I was able to be there at the right place at the right time,” Fuller said.
Fuller doesn’t remember why she was early that day, only that she arrived just when she needed to.
It’s been that way for the last nine years as Fuller has volunteered at the outpatient desk. Before that she volunteered six years at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.
“I do like the patient desk very much, interacting with people,” Fuller said. “I like people. I like to do for people. I tell people I was a preemie and I weighed two-and-a-half pounds. I’m very thankful to be here so that’s why I feel like I’m here to help people.”
More than a few times Fuller and the volunteers at Canadian Valley have been there to provide that reassuring word, a cold drink or just a willingness to listen.
“I try to make them feel good,” Fuller said. “I tell the ladies they look beautiful. I get them a warm blanket, just make them feel good and get their minds off of it.”
The “it” is also different. Maybe it’s the worry before an impending surgery or maybe it’s an unexpected outcome that a family is just starting to sift through.”
Fuller considers being there for people as a blessing. She feels the same way about those she volunteers with.
“They’re very good friends. I’ve made a lot of good friends through the years,” Fuller said. “I really enjoy the camaraderie. They’ll do anything for you.”
Dana Crum serves as the volunteer services coordinator and is Fuller’s boss.
“She’s kind of an icon of the volunteer unit,” Crum says. “People look up to her and she’s easy to talk to. She’s just a big part of the family.”
It’s volunteers that help Integris Canadian Valley run smooth.
“Imperative,” Crum said of how important they are. “They’re just about in every department. They supplement what the health professionals would normally be doing. What they do relieves the professional staff and lets them spend the extra time with the patient. They give them that extra time.”
In her professional life Fuller retired from Moore Public Schools as the accounts payable supervisor. She paid every bill in the district for 25 years before retiring in 1996.
A Moore High graduate, Fuller is one of four generations that have gone through Moore Public Schools.
Fuller has a granddaughter in Indiana in her third year as an OBGYN resident and she plans on listening a bit harder the next time she calls.
“I’ve heard her talking about delivering babies,” she said.

by Bobby Anderson, Staff Writer
John Koons has always volunteered. It’s in his DNA.
The summer he was 15 his parents urged him to go do something.
Too young to get a job he went to University Hospital and signed up for the Volunteen program as a candy striper.
“It was one of the greatest experiences I ever had in my life and I learned about life out there more than anything,” he said. “I just loved volunteering. Actually that turned into a part-time job my junior and senior year of high school.”
At 64, Koons recently celebrated his 44th year with OG&E and plans on holding his current title of community relations coordinator at least six more years to give him an even half century with the utility giant.
Maybe it’s no coincidence OG&E was one of the four founding companies of Junior Achievement when it came to Oklahoma City in 1966.
Junior Achievement inspires Oklahoma K-12 students by bringing the business world to life inside the classroom through memorable, exciting, hands-on learning experiences.
Established locally in 1966, JAOK serves more than 56,000 Oklahoma students in 68 school districts and 292 schools. Junior Achievement utilizes more than 3,800 dedicated members – like Koons – of the community to implement their programs.
In 1988 Junior Achievement was looking for volunteers to go into metro classrooms 45 minutes a week for six weeks to teach financial literacy.
“I volunteered and I fell in love with it,” Koons said. “I’ve never had any kids but I think I have a gift working with kids. It just took off from there and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Jo Wise, OKC Regional Director of Junior Achievement, says Koons is now Junior Achievement’s No. 1 volunteer in the state.
“The fact that teachers constantly request John to return to their classrooms speaks volumes on the impact he has had on their students,” added Wise.
Koons is living proof that anyone can volunteer.
“Everybody has a story,” Koons said. “Being there in the classroom, that’s what’s important to these kids. They know you’re volunteering. They know you don’t have to be there. Just to show you care, there’s nothing better than giving.”
“It’s such a great feeling to see that you’re making a difference.”
In 2015, Koons was honored by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.
“John was born for this job,” said Madison Elementary math teacher Anne Luttrell Lawrence. “He has touched the lives of thousands of kids at Madison. He has taught them not to mess with electricity and how businesses are organized. He is Cat in the Hat every spring and Santa Claus every Christmas. Madison Elementary thinks the world of our friend and mentor, John Koons.” In addition to mentoring, Koons is past chairman of the Junior Achievement Board of Directors and an avid recruiter for new mentors.
One of Koons’ favorite volunteer stories happened just a few years ago. Teaching seventh graders financial literacy, he found himself at a Norman Chamber of Commerce banquet when some friends came up.
“They said he’s not into school at all … but he came home after you started teaching this and he’s excited and talks about it all the time,” Koons said. “What was really neat six years later I saw that couple again. The mom said (the son) was now at the Price School of Business at OU. It was Junior Achievement that started him in that direction.”
Junior Achievement makes it easy to volunteer in the classroom. Lessons are premade and all volunteers have to do is show up.
“I find that when I share the things I didn’t do well in my life that’s when the kids really sit up and listen,” Koons said. “I tell them my story and how it hurt me over the years.”
And Koons jokes he has lots of those experiences.
“I don’t have the best story in the world about education because I went to school for two years after graduating high school in 1970 and both years I did terrible,” he said. “My dad looked at my transcript and said ‘you’re wasting your time and my money. I think you need to go to work for a while and then see if you are serious.”
So Koons entered OG&E in the mailroom. More than four decades later he’s worked his way up the ladder. Years later Koons went back to finish his degree and then earned a master’s degree.
It’s a story that Koons enjoys telling and one that has made an impact on literally thousands of Oklahoma school children.