The Bumgarner family has deep roots in Tulsa that began in 1903 when John’s grandfather, A.A.Bumgarner, came to Tulsa and established a grocery store at 15 East 2nd Street. A.A. was successful in business and established a family tradition of community service through his work as a board member for Tulsa Public Schools. The cornerstone of the old Central High School building at 6th & Cincinnati bears his name as chairman of the building committee. In 1987, John Bumgarner was a senior executive with the Williams Companies when he successfully acquired the 320 South Boston and Kennedy buil ..read more

Jeanne Eason Phillips was born August 26, 1924, in Etna, Oklahoma, but spent her early childhood years in Slick, Oklahoma, growing up with her seven brothers. While Jeanne was still quite young, her parents moved the family near Sapulpa where they enjoyed the conveniences of electricity and modern plumbing. Eventually they settled in a segregated Tulsa where Jeanne attended Carver Elementary and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. She recalls her family shopping in downtown Tulsa where they could buy clothes, but were unable to try on garments before the purchase. Black people w ..read more

Jim Stovall is an American writer best known for his bestselling novel The Ultimate Gift. The book was made into the movie The Ultimate Gift, distributed by 20th Century Fox. Stovall is blind and is an advocate for people with blindness. He works to make television and movies accessible to the blind as President of the Narrative Television Network, an organization that has received various award recognitions, including an Emmy award, a Media Access Award, and an International Film and Video Award. Jim was chosen as the International Humanitarian of the Year, joining Jimmy Carter, Nancy Reaga ..read more

Charles Francis Colcord was a notable figure of the Old West—a cattle rancher, U.S. Marshal, chief of police, businessman, and pioneer. The community of Colcord, Oklahoma, bears his name. He was also the grandfather of Tulsa philanthropist Walt Helmrich. During the Oklahoma boom of the 1890s, Colcord served as Oklahoma City's first sheriff and as Chief of Police for two years. Later, he spent five years as a deputy U.S. Marshal, striving to bring order to a lawless region. Colcord played a key role in apprehending notorious outlaws like Bill “Tulsa Jack” Blake, the Dalton Gang, and Richard ..read more

Jim Tygart was a World War II veteran who drove a jeep during the D-Day invasion and other campaigns before being wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. The D-Day invasion launched on June 6, 1944. On the next day, Tygart went ashore at Omaha Beach, Normandy. It was in Belgium, after the start of the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, that he was wounded.  The explosion, which destroyed his jeep, knocked him to the ground and left him with a serious leg wound.  Tygart was awarded the Purple Heart and went on to a career as an aircraft instrument mechanic with Douglas Aircraft and l ..read more

As an industrious young man, Joe McGraw worked at Kewanee Oil Company during the day and attended the TU College of Law at night to earn his degree. He added duties as the TU Law librarian after his night classes for his last two years of law school, demonstrating the determination and strong work ethic that would lead to his tremendous career achievements in Tulsa’s real estate sector. McGraw graduated from law school and went to work for a bank briefly before entering the real estate business, where he discovered his true calling. He founded McGraw Breckenridge Company Realtors in 1965, whi ..read more

Bart Conner is the most accomplished male gymnast America has ever produced. He is the only American gymnast to win gold medals at every level of national and international competition. Bart was a member of the gold medal-winning men’s gymnastics team at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games and won an individual gold on the parallel bars. He was also part of the 1976 and 1980 USA Olympic gymnastics teams. Conner is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and owns and operates the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy in Norman, Oklahoma along with his wife, Romanian gold medalist Nadia Comaneci. Bart an ..read more

U.S. Representative and Senator from Oklahoma from 1987, James Mountain Inhofe was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on November 17, 1934. He grew up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he attended public schools and received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tulsa. He served in the U.S. Army and worked in aviation, real estate, and insurance for three decades. He was president of Quaker Life Insurance Company before entering politics. As a Republican he was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives in 1966 and became a state senator in 1968. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1974 and for t ..read more

It was at the Oklahoma Military Academy in Claremore that Alex Adwan got his start in journalism. He was the editor of OMA’s Guidon newspaper and the Vedette yearbook in the mid-40s. Alex attended both high school and junior college at OMA. He graduated from junior college in 1948 and continued his journalism studies at the University of Oklahoma. After graduating from OU in 1950, he served as a tank platoon leader in the U.S. Army, 45th Division in Korea. He was awarded the Bronze Star with “V.” After his military service, Alex returned home to work at small daily newspapers—the Seminole P ..read more

Born near Chelsea, Oklahoma, Gerome Riley attended a rural all-black school through the Eighth grade. And because of segregation he had to choose between going to Claremore, Nowata, or Vinita for high school. He selected Claremore Lincoln and became a member of Claremore’s only boys’ basketball state championship team in 1952. Gerome was a member of the Claremore Clowns, a local baseball team of all-Black players who played teams in Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, and Kansas. The Clowns were considered a semi-pro team. The end of school segregation in the early 1960s meant the end of the Clarem ..read more