Presenters set for 2019 Hall of Fame induction ceremony
Francis Ford Coppola, Barry Switzer and Tom Coburn are among scheduled presenters
Five-time Academy Award winner Francis Ford Coppola, championship coach Barry Switzer and former U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn will be among the presenter sat the 2019 Oklahoma Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
This year's Oklahoma Hall of Fame class is Gray Frederick son, of Oklahoma City, who won an Oscar f or producing Coppola's "The Godfather: Part II"; James C. Day, of Pond Creek, an oilman who was chairman of the board, chief executive officer and president of t he Noble Corporation; Tricia Ever est, of Oklahoma City, a philanthropist and former state assistant attorney general; John Herrington, of Wetumka, an astronaut who was the 143 rd person and first American Indian to walk in space; John Nickel, of Muskogee, who established Greenleaf Nursery Company Wholesale, now one the nation's largest wholesale producers of shrubs and trees; J.C. Watts Jr ., of Eu fa ula, a former University of Oklahoma and Canadian Football League star, past Congressman and author; and Steve Largent, of Tulsa, a NFL Hall of F amer, former Congressman and CEO.
Also, Choctaw Chief Allen Wright, whose Choctaw name was K ilia ho te, will be inducted posthumously. A Presbyterian min ist er, diplomat, linguist and ranch er, he is best known for suggesting
t he name “Oklahoma” for the new territory during negotiations of the Choctaw-Chickasaw Treaty of 1866.
The living honorees each have selected the individual who will formally present them at the autumn banquet and induction ceremony.
Allen Wright, the greatgreat-grandson of Chief Wright, will accept the honor on behalf of hi s ancestor.
Coppola, of San Francisco, California, will usher Frederickson into the state hall of fame.
Switzer, of Norman, will help honor Watts, while Co burn, of Tulsa, will present Largent.
In addition, Chris ty Everest, former chairman and CEO of the Oklahoma Publishing Company, will help honor Tricia Everest; Mike Cawley, former attorney and president, CEO and trustee of The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation Inc ., will usher in Day; Bill Moore, author and president of the Stafford Air & Space Museum board, will present Herrington; and Dave Whitlock of Tahlequah, a former research chemist turned artist, author and preservationist, will help honor Nickel.
The 92 nd class will be inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame on Nov .21 at the Cox Convention Center in downtown Oklahoma City. They will join the 698 individual sp re viously inducted into the hall since 1928.
Masters of ceremonies for the event will be announced on Sept. 15, according to a news release.
A limited number of tickets to the ceremony are available by contacting Michelle Sopp at 523- 3207 or ms@oklahomahof.com or buying directly at oklahomahof.com/banquet-inductionceremony.
Induction into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame is considered the state's highest honor. The portrait soft he 2019 inductees will be added to the permanent collection at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame's Gaylord-Pickens Museum.