Friday, November 11, 2022
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A portion of State Highway 51 in Stillwater now bears the title of the late T. Boone Pickens — record-setting Oklahoma State University philanthropist, alumnus and captain of
business.
The portion of Highway 51 starting on the intersection of Country Club Road in Stillwater
and lengthening west to the intersection of (*51*) Creek Road in Payne County was formally
dedicated Friday at Karsten Creek Golf Club.
During the current legislative session, Sen. Tom Dugger co-authored a invoice that included
renaming the portion of Highway 51. Dugger was current with Tim Gatz, the Oklahoma
Department of Transportation secretary, to unveil the reproduction freeway signal Friday.
Mike Holder, OSU athletic director emeritus, was a longtime pal of Pickens, relationship
again to Holder’s time as OSU’s males’s golf coach once they met at a fundraiser in 1973.
He stated Pickens’ affect on OSU stays immeasurable.
“When I feel of Boone, I feel of the final word pal, the best teammate of all
time,” Holder stated. “You couldn’t have a greater chief, you couldn’t have a greater
promoter. He promoted Oklahoma State wherever he went. He gave generously. He at all times
stated there are two sorts of individuals: the givers and takers. There isn’t any query what
Boone Pickens was.”
Pickens handed away on Sept. 11, 2019, however his legacy continues to elevate his beloved
alma mater. He has been acknowledged as one of the nation’s main philanthropists
with a complete giving affect of greater than $1 billion.
In 2006, Pickens made historical past with a $165 million dedication to construct Boone Pickens
Stadium — the single-largest reward ever made to a collegiate athletic program. Boone
Pickens Stadium sparked the growth of OSU’s athletic village with state-of-the-art
amenities. Pickens’ contributions impressed different OSU alumni to make presents, together with
these chargeable for O’Brate Stadium, the Sherman E. Smith Training Center, Neal
Patterson Stadium, and the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center.
“Boone’s contribution to Oklahoma State was excessive and unbelievable, and he used
to get calls on a regular basis. ‘What would you like in return?’ And Boone would say, ‘Well,
I’ve already bought the perfect parking spot, what else can they do for me?’ Well, they
went and named the freeway after him,” stated Jay Rosser, Pickens’ vice chairman of
public affairs and chief of employees.
In the years since his transformational presents, the college has raised greater than
$2 billion in personal help, greater than doubled its endowment and welcomed greater than
70,000 new donors, with over 200 of these making presents of $1 million or extra.
OSU President Kayse Shrum stated as a result of Pickens made that first donation, many extra
adopted in his footsteps.
“The Cowboy Code requires us to dream as massive because the sky, and Boone embodied that
to the fullest extent,” Dr. Shrum stated. “We can proceed to honor Boone by boldly
approaching the long run and doing all the pieces we are able to to elevate Oklahoma State University
past what we ever imagined. For generations to come, the Boone Pickens Memorial
Highway will usher the Cowboy household dwelling, and that’s a becoming tribute.”
Mary Elizabeth Cordia, Pickens’ granddaughter, stated she’s proud of his legacy and
blissful to see it proceed to flourish.
“It’s just nice to see how everything he’s done here is overflowing into other places,”
she stated. “So not solely has it overflowed into totally different components of teachers and athletics,
but it surely’s even overflowed into town.”
Pickens’ grandson, Michael Pickens, stated he was struck by the thought of what his
grandfather’s hometown of Holdenville, Oklahoma, would have thought within the Forties if
they knew younger T. Boone Pickens would go on to have his title on a stretch of state
freeway.
“That made me take into consideration his humble beginnings coming from a blue-collar household and
just a little itty-bitty city in Oklahoma,” he stated. “Who would have thought?”
Rep. John Talley thanked Dugger for his management on the invoice, in addition to Rep. Trish
Ranson, and stated the dedication was a becoming honor for Pickens.
“I used to be a no one, actually, and [Pickens] wrote to me each few months, ‘Hang in there.’
‘Don’t hand over.’ ‘I got your back,’” Talley stated. “I don’t perceive why he did that.
But, boy was it particular once I bought that within the mail from an necessary one who appeared
on the common farm child and stated, ‘Don’t hand over.’
“So, on the State Capitol, I attempt to write 10 letters to individuals who have blessed my
life. I attempt to give again to them as a result of T. Boone did that to me.”
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