Oklahoma Hall of Fame

Tulsan among this year's 8 inductees

by: RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
11/4/2007

Eight new members of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, including Tulsan David Kyle, will be inducted during ceremonies Thursday at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City.

Others to be inducted are Oklahoma City businessman Clayton Bennett; former Miss America Jayne Jayroe Gamble; country music star Toby Keith; educator and civil rights leader Clara Luper; Oklahoma City energy executive Aubrey McClendon; Choctaw Chief Gregory Pyle; and composer, conductor and music educator Linda Twine.

A native of Wichita, Kan., Kyle grew up in Oklahoma City and earned a degree in industrial engineering and management from Oklahoma State University. He also holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Tulsa.

Kyle joined Oklahoma Natural Gas Co., in 1974, rising through the ranks to president and chief operating officer of parent company Oneok in 1997. He became Oneok chief executive officer, president and chairman in 2000.

Earlier this year he was named chairman of the board.

Kyle has served on numerous boards and committees and in 2006 was inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame. He will be presented Thursday by former Noble Corp. chairman James C. Day.

Linda Twine, a Muskogee native, is music director for the Broadway production of the "The Color Purple." Her other credits include "Jelly's Last Jam," "Big River," "Lena Horne: The Lady and Her Music," "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "The Wiz."

Twine will be presented by 1984 Hall of Fame inductee Gloria Twine Chisum.

Clayton Bennett is a lifelong Oklahoma City resident with a broad range of business and civic interests. His company Dorchester Capital owns interests in real estate, health care, technology, energy and professional sports, including the National Basketball Association Seattle SuperSonics. He is also chairman of the Oklahoma State Fair and Oklahoma Industries Authority, and has served on numerous other boards and committees.

Bennett will be presented by NBA Commissioner David Stern.

Jayne Jayroe first gained national attention as Miss America 1967. The Laverne native and Oklahoma City University graduate later worked as a television news anchor in Oklahoma City and the Dallas-Fort Worth market.

Jayroe has also served as Oklahoma's secretary of tourism and director of the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation. She recently published an autobiography, "More Grace than Glamour."

She will be presented by former Church of the Servant United Methodist Church minister Norman Neaves.

A Clinton native and resident of Norman, Toby Keith achieved stardom with his 1993 single "Should've Been a Cowboy." He has had 22 No. 1 singles and his albums have sold 30 million copies. He has also played five USO tours.

Keith will be presented by retired Marine Corps Gen. James L. Jones.

Known as the mother of the Oklahoma civil rights movement, Clara Luper organized what is believed to be the nation's first sit-in at Oklahoma City's Katz Drug Store. She also was involved in desegregating the Oklahoma City schools and led a Freedom March protesting segregated public accommodations in Tulsa.

An Okfuskee County native, Luper holds degrees from Langston University and the University of Oklahoma and is a member of the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Afro-American Hall of Fame.

Luper will be presented by Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Tom Colbert.

Aubrey McClendon is chairman, chief executive officer and director of Chesapeake Energy, one of the nation's most dynamic oil and gas producers. McClendon and Tom Ward formed a partnership in 1983 that led six years later to Chesapeake's incorporation. It is now the nation's third-largest independent natural gas producer and No. 1 driller of new wells.

McClendon will be presented by Breene Kerr.

Chief Pyle has led the Choctaw Nation since 1997 after serving 13 years as assistant chief. He has been involved in tribal government since 1975.

During his tenure, Pyle initiated a Choctaw language program and expanded the tribal scholarship program to some 5,000 students. His administration has also seen the opening of a new hospital in Talihina and development of programs for children and the elderly.

Pyle will be presented by 2nd District Congressman Dan Boren.