D-Dreams page 6

Gary Banz
Gary Banz is a retired public school teacher, having taught and coached 28 years in secondary education in Putnam City, Ada, and Mid-Del Schools. Drafted in the US Army after graduation from Southern Nazarene University, he also spent eight years in the US Army Reserve. Gary was the Oklahoma Bar Association Law-Related Education Teacher of the Year in 1995 and was Fellowship of Christian Athletes Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1991. In 2003-2004 he was president of the Midwest City Mid-America Kiwanis Club. He is a graduate of Leadership Midwest City 1991 and Leadership Oklahoma Class XVII in 2004. He was appointed by Governor Frank Keating to the Rose State College Board of Regents in 2001. Gary and his wife Linda have three children and three grandchildren and live in Midwest City.

Dr. Jim Cook has served as President of Rose State College, Midwest City, since 2000. His career in higher education administration has spanned 30 years including professor, student services director, President of Seminole Junior College for nine years and Executive Vice President of Rose State College four years. Dr. Cook is a veteran, having served two years in the US Army, 1st Cavalry Division. He is currently Chairman of Oklahoma Council of Presidents, President of Midwest City Chamber of Commerce and past Chairman of Studio Mid-Del. Jim and his wife Stephanie have two sons.

Dave Holland is a retired public educator, having taught more than 30 years in junior high and high school in the Mid-Del School system. He is also a public accountant and operates his own tax preparation service. He is a Sunday School teacher and is Chairman of Deacons at Meadowood Baptist Church in Midwest City. Dave and his wife Betty have three children and live in Midwest City.

Jack Cross
Colonel Jack Cross is a distinguished graduate of Air Command and Staff College and was “Top Gun” of his Air Force Fighter class. He served on continuous active duty from 1965 to 1993 in a wide variety of flying, command, staff, and intelligence positions in several states and in several countries in Europe, Southeast Asia, Southwest Asia, and the Pacific. He retired as Commander of the University of Oklahoma ROTC Unit. Colonel Cross started the Midwest City High School ROTC program in 1993 and is presently the senior aerospace science instructor at MCHS. He and his wife Pat live in Norman.

Kelli Masters
Kelli Masters graduated from Midwest City High School and received the award for Top Senior Woman when she received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism (with highest distinction) at the University of Oklahoma. After earning her Juris Doctorate with honors at OU in 1999, she began practicing civil litigation and nonprofit law with Fellers, Snider, Blankenship, Bailey & Tippens in Oklahoma City. Kelli was Miss Oklahoma in 1997 and was the Miss America talent winner in 1998. She serves as president of the Hope Foundation for Aspiring Youth and is on the Oklahoma County Court Appointed Special Advocates Board of Directors. Kelli lives in Oklahoma City.

Bob Whitaker
Bob Whitaker is Chief of the Central Communications Center, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Oklahoma City, a tenant organization at Tinker Air Force Base. His 35 year federal career includes assignments that encompass the full spectrum of information technology specialties and management disciplines. After graduating from the US Navy Officer Candidate School, he served three years of active duty and four years in the US Naval Reserve. Bob received the inaugural Tinker AFB Wiley Post Civilian Leadership Award for Managers in 2002 and is active in the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. He and his wife Martha have two sons and four grandchildren and they live in Midwest City.

Carla Murphy
Carla Murphy is a public school teacher at Midwest City High School where she teaches world history, American history, law and justice, and aviation. She also teaches Aviation Ground School at the University of Oklahoma and is an adjunct aviation instructor at Rose State College. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History Education from the University of Central Oklahoma and a Masters degree in Applied Science in Aviation and Space from Oklahoma State University. Carla has two sons and two grandchildren and is a member of the Meadowood Baptist Church in Midwest City.

Linda Banz
Linda Banz is a management and program analyst in the business division of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Oklahoma City, a tenant organization at Tinker Air Force Base. She earned a Masters of Education degree at East Central Oklahoma State University in Ada and is a graduate of Midwest City Leadership Class 2002. Linda and Gary are active members of the Choctaw Church of the Nazarene. They have three children and three grandchildren, and they live in Midwest City.

Pendleton Woods
Pendleton Woods retired as a Colonel in the National Guard and US Army Reserve in 1983. He served in the 99th Infantry Division on the western front in France, Belgium and Germany and was a prisoner of war in Germany. His numerous military awards earned his induction in 2002 in the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame. His civilian career has included sports editor, sports information director, and publicist. Pen has spent a lifetime of civic service including 68 years in the Boy Scout program and more than 5000 volunteer hours at the VA Hospital in Oklahoma City. He currently serves as Executive Director of the American Citizenship Center at Oklahoma Christian University. He and his wife Robin have three children and live in Oklahoma City.

David Howe
Dave Howe is retired from the Lockheed Martin Company where he was the senior manager for Air Force Requirements in the Oklahoma City area. Prior to his appointment with Lockheed Martin, he was the central Oklahoma representative for BDM Engineering Company. He retired from the US Air Force in 1991 as a Colonel, with his final assignment as the System Program Director for the B-52 weapon system. He has more than 40 years of aviation experience including 4200 flight hours and 182 combat missions during the Vietnam War. Dave currently lives in Choctaw where he serves as Vice Mayor and is president-select of the East Oklahoma County Rotary Club. Dave and his wife Kathy have four children and six grandchildren.

John Keilty
Captain John Keilty served 26 years as a Navy pilot, logging more than 5000 hours in over 50 different types of aircraft, before retiring in 2001. He was the first TACAMO test pilot and participated in the first Russian-US Navy Test Pilot exchange program just after the Cold War. Captain Keilty concluded his career by serving as Commander of the Strategic Communications Wing 1 at Tinker Air Force Base. He is now a physics/astronomy teacher and football/baseball coach at Mount St. Mary High School in Oklahoma and is a summer adjunct physics and math professor at Rose State College in Midwest City. He and his wife Kimberly have three children and live in Oklahoma City.

Gary Lower
Gary Lower served 26 years in various capacities in Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), including area representative, state director, Regional Director, and finally Vice President of the world’s largest sports ministry. He retired as a Colonel after serving 39 years as enlisted man and officer in Oklahoma’s 45th Division. Gary spent six years at the University of Oklahoma as assistant track coach and head cross country coach. He is currently president of the University of Central Oklahoma Alumni Board and is a deacon at Putnam City Baptist Church. He and his wife Elaine have one daughter and one granddaughter and they live in Oklahoma City.

Ted Pool
Ted Pool’s law career spans four decades with primary focus on general civil practice. For many years he has represented Rose State College and Rose State Vocational Technical Education District as well as several municipalities, public trusts, and schools in central Oklahoma. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and received his law degree from the University of Oklahoma. Ted and his wife Cyndy have three children and live in Oklahoma City.

Kay Hunt
Kay Hunt is the Executive Director of Frontier Country Marketing Association, central Oklahoma’s regional tourism marketing organization. A 1973 graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma, Kay is a member of the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association Board of Directors, Mid-Del Group Homes Board of Directors, and a graduate of the Oklahoma City Leadership class. Kay is married to Brady Hunt, a Midwest City attorney. They have two children and live in Midwest City.