Matt White

Matt was elected at the age of 18 to serve as a council member for the City of El Reno and served for five years and has now served as mayor for the last 15 years. He was awarded the Mayor of the Year by the Mayor’s Council of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Municipal League in 2019 and was instrumental in gaining the Innovation Award from the Oklahoma Municipal League for the Route 66 sign in El Reno.

Matt has served on the Oklahoma Municipal League Board of Directors since 2017 and has also served on the boards of the Oklahoma Emergency Management, the Mayors Council of Oklahoma and the Association of Central Oklahoma Government, as well as the ACOG 911 Board.

He was instrumental in securing a partnership with SSM to build the new Healthplex, Healthcare in El Reno. In addition, Matt played a huge part in securing the 1-40 interchange in El Reno on Radio Rd; and $10 million in capital improvements from the Capital Improvements Program.

Matt is an accomplished Real Estate Developer and Property Owner/Aggregate Consultant with extensive experience in strategic planning, and problem-solving, and is experienced in building solid partnerships among businesses, city, state, and community leaders that produce tangible results. His strengths include skills in communication, community outreach, management, partnerships, advocacy, marketing, and problem-solving. As the Mayor of El Reno, his responsibilities include initiating and managing capital improvement projects and representing his community in the legislative process.

He launched the program “El Reno NOW,” a partnership between City of El Reno, local school districts, and county and state officials that focuses on issues facing our community and state; initiated and implemented a successful marketing campaign to promote El Reno: TV ads, El Reno Living Brochures, creating local landmarks on Route 66 and other fairways leading into the city; and facilitated the acquisition of a failing local hospital, taking a 1-million-dollar loss and turning it into a long-term profitable contract with Mercy Hospital.

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WDeborah MinerAugust 8, 20232022

Phillip Johnston

Acceptance Speech

Phil has been committed to providing safe, reliable public power throughout his distinguished career spanning 50 years. Phil began his career as Operations Engineer to the Director of Operations at Kay Electric Cooperative in 1972. Phil was the engineer when the Kaw Lake building project was completed and a large portion of the system in that area was rebuilt. Phil's efforts led to system improvements with the implementation of the MilSoft distribution analyzing software and digital mapping of the Kay Electric Cooperative system.

Throughout Phil's 27 years of service with Ponca City Energy, he has continued to plan, promote, and develop both system improvements and staff development. Under his guidance, Ponca City Energy instituted a proactive vegetation management program to limit the impact of tree growth during storms, led the City's efforts to become the first Oklahoma municipality to convert to automated metering for both electric and water systems, and enhanced service and reliability through dedicated maintenance programs and substation and distribution system improvements.

He was presented the 2021 Pruett-Lamb Lifetime Achievement Award by the Municipal Electric Systems of Oklahoma. This award is presented to individuals committed to public power and the success of public power communities in Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Municipal League named him to the Honor Roll of Service recognizing him for 25 years of honorable service to municipal government.

He has served on the Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority Competitive Utilities Program
Committee as both a member and the chairman; since 2010 he has served on the Municipal Electric Systems of Oklahoma Board of Directors; and was president in 1990 of the Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives.

Locally Phil has served with the Ponca City Tippers Club and ln the Cherokee Strip Credit Union Board.

Phil and his wife Sharon are proud parents of three sons, grandparents to eight grandchildren and great-grandparents to six great-grandchildren.

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JDeborah MinerAugust 8, 20232022