This Town OKC

S2E13 Lyn Adams

She created Oklahoma Children's Theatre out of necessity. Having moved to Oklahoma from her native Australia in 1980 to attend OU, Lyn Adams was working at Stage Center where she had created a children's program when the place closed. She moved the program to OKC Community College and formed a nonprofit organization. Later Oklahoma Children's Theatre moved to Fair Park and eventually to Oklahoma City University where it remains today. Lyn retired in 2022 to travel and enjoy grandmotherhood.  After a wee bit of prompting, she recalls her favorite OCT production that coincidentally was written by your host. Post-production by Fred O. Bishop Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre

S2E12 Dan Mahoney

As the VP of Broadcasting for the OKC Thunder, Dan Mahoney oversees 70 major productions per year. His career took a circuitous route starting as the son of the DJ who introduced rock and roll to Philadelphia. So one might say that he was born into the business. Following a then-girlfriend to This Town in 1984, Dan continued his career in News at KEBC-FM. He returned to TV News at KWTV for several years before going to work in Gov. Keating's new office in February, 1995, just two months before the Murrah Building bombing. Dan coordinated worldwide media coverage of the Healing of the Heartland ceremony. He later followed Frank Keating to D.C. for a while before returning home to work remotely in 2004 way before that became a thing. He branched out and contracted with Brent Gooden to handle PR for clients that included both the New Orleans Hornets during their temporary relocation to This Town and also the Seattle Supersonics after Clay Bennett, et. al. purchased the team. Dan stayed on once that team made the move and has been with them since. Dan also tells of his world travels and his love for vintage stereo systems and drum kits. Post-production by Fred O. Bishop  Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre

S2E11 Sunny Cearly

Her career is Oklahoma City. Starting at the Journal Record, then moving to the OKC Chamber of Commerce and now running Allied Arts, Sunny Cearly promotes This Town. From her small town upbringing in Gresham, Texas (look it up), she learned the value of community service. The rabbit-hole story of how she chose OKC is quite the fascinating sidebar of her education that includes Baylor and the University of North Texas. But it's at Allied Arts OKC where she is making her most biggest impact, and she credits two important women in her life for showing her the way. Post-production by Fred O. Bishop Sponosred by Carpenter Square Theatre

S2E10 Court Jeske

Not many people get excited at the thought of stuffing envelopes, but Court Jeske did. As a sophomore, sports-loving business major at OU, Court badgered athletic director Joe C. until he relented. That led to a paid position of stuffing envelopes and much more. Starting his career with the Kansas City Wizards MLS soccer team, Court doubled his pay to stuff envelopes, and again, much more. Moving to Chicago to work for the U.S. Soccer national teams, he kept getting more and more responsibilities. Only one of three Americans accepted into a FIFA-run master's program in Europe, Court entered the international world of sport. Back stateside, he worked in Denver for the USA Rugby organization, then it was on to New York City and Major League Soccer. Recruited by folks in Nashville to start a pro soccer team there, Court is now duplicating his wildly successful plan to reimagine pro soccer in This Town. Post-production by Fred O. Bishop Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre

S2E9 Marnie Taylor

Marnie Taylor is the President & CEO of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits, an organization founded many years ago by a formidable force of nature, Pat Potts. Marnie and I share our deep appreciation for Pat. Mine comes from her support of me in the classes I took at the Center when first starting to renovate the post-war warehouse that became the forever home of Carpenter Square Theatre. Without Pat's support, CST probably wouldn't exist today. Marnie's story begins in Fort Bend, Indiana. She learned to swim in Lake Michigan, and switched from cheerleading to swimming in high school.  After graduating with a Journalism degree from  Notre Dame, she began her career in Chicago working for the Tribune. Her marriage to Clayton took her to exotic places such as Denver, Houston, Aruba, and Oklahoma City. Once settled in This Town, she immersed herself in the community eventually serving on about 30 boards of nonprofits before assuming her current job of helping nonprofit organizations statewide to survive and thrive. Marnie describes how much of her work now centers on advocacy for the nonprofit sector. Post-production by Fred O. Bishop Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre