Our Rotarian of the Day today is Ben Gorrell. Ben is native Tulsan, born January 19, 1947. He graduated from Edison High School here in Tulsa and the University of Kansas, where he earned a B.S. degree in aerospace engineering. He also obtained a masters degree in business administration. He is a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU), and a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC). He is Vice-President of Rich & Cartmill, Inc.
He is married to Kathy, and they will celebrate 40 years of blissful marriage on June 6. They have two daughters: Charlotte (1973) and Shelley (1976), and four grandsons.
Ben enjoys jogging, skiing (water and snow), snowshoeing, hunting, fishing and geography.
He joined Southside Rotary on September 4, 1980, and was proposed by Bill Van Horn. He was president during the 1991-1992 Rotary year.
Ben is a member of Kirk of the Hills Presbyterian Church, Southern Oaks Neighborhood Association, and Independent Insurance Agents of Tulsa, Oklahoma and the USA.
Ben, thank you for being the ROD today!
This Week’s Program
Dana Murphy
Our speaker today is Commissioner Dana Murphy. Born in Woodward, Oklahoma, Dana is a fifth generation Oklahoman deeply committed to her home state. After attending Central State University in Edmond, Oklahoma, where she received the Best All-Around Freshman Athlete award, she attended Oklahoma State University (OSU) and graduated in the top ten percent of her class with a bachelor’s degree in geology.
After practicing as a geologist for ten years, she obtained her law degree cum laude while working and attending night school at Oklahoma City University. On November 4, 2008, Dana was elected to the statewide office of Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner.
Dana’s prior experience includes working for almost six years as an administrative law judge at the Commission, where she was named co-employee of the year for 1997 and received the Commissioners’ Public Servant Award in 2001. She has more than 20 years experience in the petroleum industry including owning and operating her own private law practice specializing in oil and gas title, regulatory practice and transactional work and working as a geologist in the Oklahoma petroleum industry.
Dana is a member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) where she serves on the Energy Resources and the Environment Committee. She is a member of the OSU Water Research Advisory Board, the Oklahoma Bar Association, American Association of Petroleum Geologists and Oklahoma City Geological Society. Dana is also a member of Energy Advocates and in March 2007 was recognized as an outstanding woman in energy.
Dana previously served as a trustee and is currently a care chaplain for the Church of the Servant United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City. Prior to joining the Commission, she was a member of the board of directors for Farmers Royalty Company and is a member of the Edmond Chamber of Commerce. She is also a part-time personal fitness trainer.
Dana lives in Edmond, Oklahoma, but continues to be actively involved with her family’s farm and ranch in Ellis County, Oklahoma.
Dana, thank you for being with us today. Tulsa Southside Rotary welcomes you!
Southsider Quick Notes
Last week…
- Our ROD was Josh Butts, and our speaker was John Gaberino, who owns Topeca Coffee.
- Ray Orf lost a bet to Don den Daas. Apparently, Ray claimed he hadn’t been to the mall in 16 years, and Don bet him $100 that he was wrong. Ray took the bet, and Don reminded him of the time that Ray hadn’t been able to find where he was supposed to go for the Salvation Army bell ringing, and he’d stopped in front of Dillard’s to get directions from Don. Ray paid $100 to the Southside Foundation for Haiti and vowed never to make a bet again.
- Speaking of Haiti, we’re collecting donations for the earthquake victims this week. Don’t forget to bring your checkbook!
- Happy birthday to Bob Brooks and Ben Gorrell!
- If you want to pick up some Topeca coffee for the fundraiser, see Josh Butts. We’re supposed to buy or sell 20 bags apiece.
- Jessica Cox, our membership chair, has reminded everybody to bring guests!
- Remember to deliver your dictionaries. Fines will be starting soon, so get in touch with your schools!
- The Rotary Youth Exchange program will be here in Tulsa on January 29, and they need places to stay for that Friday night. If you’re interested in supplying a place for a bunch of teenagers to crash, tell Keith.
- Springdale Elementary is having a program on January 28 called Principal for a Day. You get to be principal in the morning, and then go out to lunch with the real Springdale principal and the superintendent for Tulsa schools. If you’re interested, tell Keith or David Hughes.
- John Benjamin reminded us that the first anniversary of Biscuit Acres is on June 6. He also let us know that Eagle Scouts will be building permanent brick containers for the park.
- If you came to the Christmas party and haven’t been invoiced, tell Tracy Raines.
- Be sure to check the Upcoming Programs for our speaker list through March 2010. Information on it is subject to change, but we’ll do our best to keep it updated!
- Next week we’ll have Mike Terry, who will update us on the oil & gas industry.
