spring student leadership conference - …meandmymac.com/email/mhp4715.pdf · mhp held its annual...

One Program • Two LocationsVOLUME 1, ISSUE 24 April 6, 2015

Empowering Teen Families for Lifelong Success

MHP held its annual Spring Student Leadership Conference on Friday, March 27 at the Tulsa Public School’s Wilson Teaching & Learning Academy. The Leadership Conference took MHP students out of the classroom for the full day to participate in learning activities that strengthened self-sufficiency and life skills. Students received education on how to plan for future needs and build self-esteem. This leadership conference helps students prepare for the transition after high school graduation.

Students listened to remarks presented by guest speakers Dr. Kim Dyce, Kim Jackson, Reagan Frezzell, Dr. Lyda Wilbur and Paula Marshall. Dr. Dyce, the Deputy

Superintendent for Tulsa Public Schools welcomed the young ladies from both campuses and said a few encouraging words. Dr. Lyda Wilbur talked to the girls about the importance of setting goals, working for those goals, and overcoming obstacles that are put in their way, from the perspective of an immigrant that spoke no English as a 15 year old to earning her Ed.D. As described in more detail in the MHP Grads of Distinction article (see pages 3-5), Paula Marshall is the CEO of her family’s business, The Bama Companies; and Kim Jackson serves as the education reporter at Oklahoma’s NewsChannel 8. MHP students gained inspiration from the experiences of others

who overcame similar challenges of teen childrearing.

Throughout the day MHP students participated in activities between the speakers. Several of these activities were led by the MHP students as part of their Leadership experience, with an activity directed by Broken Arrow students and several activities directed by Tulsa students from Ms. Myrick’s speech class. Activities were also led by a team from the Woodlake Assembly of God and the Tulsa MHP teachers.

Geoffrey Wilbur, Principal at MHP and the Tulsa Learning Academy, thanked all the MHP staff for helping create a good

Spring Student Leadership Conference

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www.margarethudson.org • Tulsa Campus: 1136 S. Allegheny Ave., Tulsa OK 74112 • 918-833-9860Broken Arrow Campus: 751 W. Knoxville St., Broken Arrow, OK 74012 • 918-251-2647

MHP WEEKLY UPDATE PAGE 2 APRIL 6, 2015

Saturday, March 28 at the DoubleTree Hotel-Warren Place was the place to be to savor hors d’oeuvres and delicious “Sweets” and desserts from Tulsa’s finest restaurants and confectionaries. More than 300 guests, including MHP board members, MHP staff and volunteers, attended the Sweet Cravings Gala to help raise funds for the Margaret Hudson Program. Dr. Jorge Gonzalez and Gloria Kelley Gonzalez served with distinction as the Honorary Co-Chairs for this grand event.

Guests were entertained by the Sounds of Music Orchestra and Lori Fullbright, KOTV Channel 6 anchor and news reporter, served as emcee. Sweet Cravings was indeed a fun-filled event with much excitement for the patrons, including live and silent auctions and a winner-take-all “Stock Your Bar” raffle.

As part of a new Sweet Cravings ceremony, 11 Margaret Hudson Grads of Distinction were inducted into the MHP Hall of Fame in recognition of the outstanding contributions they have made. The inaugural inductees included Dr. Lana Turner-Addison, Trish Allison, Alisa Bell, Brenda Heigl, Kim Jackson, Zapporah Lucre, Paula Marshall, Christian Oliva, Emily Scott and Jamesha Williams. Also inducted posthumously was Mickie Tayor, who died tragically in an auto accident in 2014. MHP Board President Michelle Sutton presented

a special Tribute to the Life of Mickie Taylor. A second highlight of the Sweet

Cravings Gala was the presentation of a keynote address by Wanda Pratt. Wanda, who is the mother of Oklahoma Thunder basketball star Kevin Durant, raised Kevin and her first son Anthony largely as a single mom. She gave birth to Anthony when she was only 18 years old and to Kevin when she was 21. Known by many as “Mama Durant,” Wanda travels the country sharing her life experience with women of all ages and single mothers. Inspired by her young boys and knowing God would lead the way, Wanda has dedicated her life and her heart to her children, making many sacrifices to ensure they had a fighting chance to achieve their goals and dreams. In her closing remarks, Wanda nominated herself to the MHP Graduates of Distinction Hall of Fame – and the audience rose to their feet in applause to “vote her in”.

All the funds raised at the Sweet Cravings Gala are used to help MHP provide quality comprehensive services to empower teen families for life long success. MHP provides academic, childcare, healthcare and social support services to pregnant and parenting teen mothers.

MHP sincerely thanks all of the Sweet Cravings Sponsors who made the 2015

The Sweetest Time was had by all!

MHP Board President Michelle Sutton and Wanda Pratt, who is the mother of Oklahoma Thunder basketball star Kevin Durant.

MHP Executive Director Dr. Genell Coleman and Sweet Cravings Honorary Co-Chair Gloria Kelley Gonzalez.

Lori Fullbright, KOTV Channel 6 anchor and news reporter, served as emcee at this year’s Sweet Cravings.

Sweet Cravings vendor The Fresh Market.

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L to R: Paula Marshall, Lateesch West (standing in for her sister, Jamesha Williams), Christian Oliva, Kim Jackson, Zapporah Lucre, Emily Scott, Trish Allison, Dr. Lana Turner-Addison and Alisa Bell. (Not pictured: Brenda Heigl).



Induction of MHP’s Grads of DistinctionThis year, in part of what will continue as a new tradition at the annual Sweet Cravings Gala, the Margaret Hudson Program creat-ed a Hall of Fame to recognize former MHP students who have achieved distinction and success in their lives and careers. In a special induction ceremony, the inaugural Graduates of Distinction honorees were recognized as one of MHP’s outstanding graduates! Each of these graduates has contributed to the community, achieved success in their lives and raised a loving family. A special “Hall of Fame” will be created at MHP’s Tulsa and Broken Arrow campuses to display the photos and stories of MHP’s Grads of Distinction.

Listed in alphabetical order, MHP’s 11 Graduates of Distinction are: Dr. Lana Turner-Addison, Trish Allison, Alisa Bell, Brenda Heigl, Kim Jackson, Zapporah Lucre, Paula Marshall, Christian Oliva,

Emily Scott, Mickie Taylor and Jamesha Williams.

DR. LANA TURNER-ADDISON – Dr. Lana Turner-Addison is a highly moti-vated and dedicated community advocate, educator and volunteer. She serves as an adjunct Professor at Tulsa Community College and is the Director for Pine Premier Child Care, LLC. She has served as the City of Tulsa Human Rights Director and cur-rently serves as the President of the Tulsa Public Schools Board and the President and Chair for the North Tulsa Economic Development Initiative. Lana earned her Master’s Degree in Urban Education from Langston University, and a received her Doctoral Degree from OSU in Occupation-al-Adult Education. She is a Leadership Tul-sa graduate and has completed executive education training at the Harvard Kennedy

School. Lana’s life experiences have shown her that to succeed, we must find ways to create our own opportunity, and continued education can be a valuable avenue.

TRISH ALLISON – A track star, cheer-leader and honor student at Tulsa’s Daniel Webster High, Trish seemed to have it all when she found herself facing an un-planned pregnancy in the summer of 1982. Shortly thereafter, her boyfriend aban-doned her and her father unexpectedly lost his job. Scared, alone and broke, Trish en-rolled in Margaret Hudson. She gave birth to her daughter, Lauren, and continued at MHP throughout her junior year. Trish went back Webster to finish her senior year, graduating in 1983. After raising her daugh-ter as a single mother for several years, Trish married and had three more children. Continue to page 4

MHP Students Honored by the National Technical Honor SocietyCongratulations to two MHP students who were recently inducted into National Technical Honor Society (NTHS). MHP students Haeleigh Brown and Taylor Fisher attend Tulsa Tech and were honored for their excellence in student achievement

and leadership at a ceremony on March 10 at the Union Multipurpose Activities Com-plex. To qualify for NTHS membership, the students met the following criteria:

• Grade of ‘A’ for first semester

• No more than 12 hours of absences, including tardies and leaving early

• Membership in a Career and Technical Student Organization

• Recommendation by their Tulsa Tech instructor



She now enjoys a successful career in real estate. She has been named one of the Top 100 realtors in northeast Oklahoma and is a multi-million dollar residential real estate producer. Trish currently serves on the MHP Board and is thankful for the impact Margaret Hudson had in her life.

ALISA BELL – Alisa Bell is founder and Executive Director of J.A.M.E.S, Inc., a nonprofit behavioral health agency dedi-cated to providing scholarships, mentoring and other academic support services to pregnant and parenting teen fami-lies. The organization focuses on career and college readiness. Alisa has a BA in English from Northeastern State Univer-sity and a Masters of Human Relations in Organizational Development from the University of Oklahoma. She has more than 21 years experience in insurance and risk management. Connecting people to resources and evaluating risk factors is her expertise. Alisa’s community involvement includes serving as an advisor for The Tulsa Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, working with the Tulsa Area United Way’s Community Investment Panel, and serving as a trustee for The Wayman L. Tisdale Foundation. Her hobbies include reading and watching her children play school and AAU basketball. Alisa is a past teen parent, wife, mother, grandmother, member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and a member

of Life Church, Owasso.

BRENDA HEIGL – A 1970 graduate of the Margaret Hudson Program, today, Brenda Heigl lives in Broken Arrow with her husband and their youngest son Jamie. The Heigl’s have six children, ranging in age from 17 to 44. Brenda credits the education and support she received at MHP as being key to her ability as a teenage parent to cope with the daily issues she encountered with her son. Brenda earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Accounting. She is now retired after a long career in telecommunications as a corporate trainer. Brenda is a busy volun-teer at Broken Arrow schools working as a substitute teacher and as a PTA Leader. In 2013, Brenda was elected as President of the Oklahoma PTA. With the education, confidence and self-esteem she gained at MHP, Brenda serves as an effective voice for PTA and for Oklahoma’s children.

KIM JACKSON – From the time she was just a young girl, Kim Jackson had a natural curiosity. Kim and her young-er sister were known to ask a person a million questions, in a matter of minutes. It surprised no one when she decided to become a journalist. Kim completed her college degree at the University of Tulsa. Today, she is the education reporter at Oklahoma’s NewsChannel 8. Education is a concern for Kim, as she’s a mother and long time Tulsan, with strong ties through-out the community. Kim considers it an

honor and a privilege to produce stories that educate and inform Oklahoma families. Fitness is an important part of Kim’s life and she tries to encourage others to pursue healthy lifestyles. She gives God the glory for the success in her life.

ZAPPORAH LUCRE – A single mother of two beautiful children, Zapporah Lucre graduated from the Margaret Hudson Program in 2000. She attended college in Texas, but dropped out in her junior year after having a second child. She decided to move to the Arlington, Texas Salvation Army shelter so she could work in the day and attend school in the evening to be a surgical tech. In 2006, after living for six months in the shelter, by God’s grace a lady came to the shelter and said God sent her there to bless someone. After receiving a gift of $1,000 from this angel, Zapporah was able to finish school and now has as successful career with Freddie Mac. Zapporah says she is “a living witness that anyone with determination can achieve their goals no matter what your situation is. It’s the choices that you make that deter-mine your direction. As a believer in Christ, I believe that the Lord is there to guide you, but you must do your part.”

PAULA MARSHALL – Paula Marshall was named the CEO of her family’s business, The Bama Companies, in

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Induction of MHP’s Grads of Distinction | Continued from page 3

Focus on Fathers and Families (FOFF). Students and babies participate in the Messy Art Day held March 12 at the Broken Arrow campus.



1985. Bama provides frozen baked goods to large-scale restaurant chains including the nation’s largest hamburger chain, the nation’s largest pizza chain and the nation’s largest retailer. Paula received her Doctor-ate of Commercial Science from Oklahoma City University. While at the helm of Bama, Paula has grown the organization to a $300 million company and putting a priority on quality. Bama won the prestigious Malcolm Baldridge Award for Quality in 2004 from the U.S. Department of Commerce, and has been hailed as a leader in the baking industry. Paula has served as Chairman of the Tulsa Regional Chamber. In 1993, she was named one of the Top 10 CEO’s by Industry Week Magazine. Paula is also the author several inspirational business books.

CHRISTIAN OLIVA – Christian Oliva received her high school diploma from Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington High School in 1986. Today she is a successful Pe-diatric Speech-Language Pathologist in private practice. She received her Master’s Degree in Communication Disorders from the University of Texas at Dallas. Christian says she “feels incredibly fortunate to have a loving, healthy family and a career that enables me to help young children com-municate with their loved ones. I have no doubt that my career and life today are a direct result of the opportunities the Mar-garet Hudson Program gave me to earn my high school diploma as a teen parent.” She adds, “To this day, I give the MHP credit for helping me develop valuable parenting skills, while I juggled all the emotional, so-

cial and financial issues that come with the almost immediate transition from childhood to adulthood.” Christian currently serves on the MHP Board of Directors.

EMILY SCOTT – Emily Scott was in hon-ors classes at Broken Arrow High School when she discovered she was pregnant. She was only 17 and had only known the baby’s father for three months. Emily enrolled at MHP while her new husband Jaque got his GED and went to work. The couple then enrolled at TCC, however in 2003, Emily became pregnant again. Her husband decided to leave TCC to better provide for the family by enlisting in the Army. Emily continued her college educa-tion while raising two kids. It wasn’t easy, but Emily thanks the ongoing encourage-ment she received from her former MHP teacher, Holly Martin. Emily says, “Holly never gave up on me. She believed in me and that was new to me. It made me hold myself to a new standard. It made me look at myself and my life in a whole new light.” Fast forward to today, Emily is now a Reg-istered Nurse in a Post Anesthesia Recov-ery Unit. She is happily married to the love of her life and they have four children.

MICHAELENA “MICKIE” TAYLOR – A professional colleague of Mickie Taylor, MHP Board President Michelle Sutton says Mickie was truly a self-made woman. She was a friend to many and an inspiration to many more. She had a Master’s in Envi-ronmental Science and was a dedicated conservationist with a special affection for

owls. She had a highly successful career, she had style and she was a true champi-on for her Broken Arrow community. But her most important title was “Mom to her sons Bryce and Garrett.” When her Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce employer, received the tragic news of Mickie’s death in an auto accident at age 43 last Decem-ber, they commented, “Broken Arrow lost someone who was not only a tremendous asset for our community, but a wonderful person. We are all deeply saddened by her passing. Mickie Taylor had an unrivaled passion for her hometown and worked tirelessly to grow and improve it.”

JAMESHA WILLIAMS – At 14, Jamesha Williams was faced with a difficult situation – she was pregnant. But fortunately, Jamesha says, “I had a wonderful support system in my mother, grandmother and my aunts. They wanted to help me succeed in my education.” After attending the Margaret Hudson Program for a year-and-a-half, Jamesha transferred to Booker T. Washington High School to complete her diploma. She continued her studies at college, receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. She currently serves as a Registered Nurse at the City of Tulsa Occupational Health Clinic. Whether mentoring an individual student or speaking to a group of students at Margaret Hudson, Jamesha continues to be involved in the community, always remembering the peo-ple and the programs that helped her when she needed it most.

Induction of MHP’s Grads of Distinction | Continued from page 4

Carman Robison introduced us to Gene Mayfield, our Will Rogers United Methodist Church Food Bank contact. He graciously compiles bags of groceries every Friday for our students. Last Thursday, we compiled 13 bags for our students with the abundance of groceries he donates. He has even offered to deliver, if we cannot pick them up at the church. Their Food Bank is open every Friday from 10-12noon at the MHP Tulsa campus.



Upcoming Events at MHPMonth of April – End of Instruction Exams (EOI) BA and Tulsa MHP April 7 at 6 pm – Sweet Cravings Evaluation Meeting at MHP TulsaApril 10 – MHP Board Meeting at 12:00 noon at MHP TulsaApril 24 – MHP Prom at Central on Main in Broken Arrow

MARGARET HUDSON PROGRAM MISSION STATEMENTThe Margaret Hudson Program provides comprehensive academic and family support services to help teen mothers

succeed in life and parent healthy families.

experience for the MHP students, as well as setting up the lunch and getting every-thing cleaned up. He also thanked Mary Blake and Sonia Roark, who helped make everything happen from behind the scenes.

Reagan Frizzel brought a team of per-sonnel from the Woodlake Assembly of God who helped with set up for the Leadership Conference. Reagan spoke to the girls and a physical trainer had them all up and active doing aerobics. The Woodlake Assembly of God will also sponsor an event for the girls with Taylor Madu. The church also plans to honor the MHP girls at a dinner on April 22. A total of 43 MHP students have already RSVP’d with plans to attend the dinner to honor them.

A special thank you to the Should be Zarrow Families Foundation for a generous donation to support the Leadership Conference.

The Woodlake Assembly of God Team

Spring Student Leadership Conference | Continued from page 1

Gala such a success – Crème Brulee: The Bama Companies and GKG & Associates, LLC; Cheesecake: David and Bonnie Gilbert, George Kaiser Family Foundation, Ruth K. Nelson Revocable Trust and UMB Bank N.A.; Chocolate Mousse: Clary Sage College, Johnny and Dr. Genell Coleman, Jeannie McDaniel and Prosperity Bank; Cupcake: Dr. Bradley Cobb, George W. Krumme, New Dominion, LLC, Southwestern Payroll Service, Inc. and Walsh Branding; Individual Patrons: Burkhart Devel-opment, J.A.M.E.S., Inc., Junior Achievement of Oklahoma, Nancy McDonald, Dr. James Owens Pediatric & Adolescent Dentistry, Rich & Cartmill, Inc., Servant Medical Imaging and Norma Gladd Woolsey. Vendors who provided tasty treats to guests at Sweet Cravings includ-ed Blue Bell, Corn Poppers, DoubleTree Hotel-Warren Place, Felini’s Cookies, Ludger’s Bavarian Cakery & Coffeehouse, Main Street Tavern, Organo Gold Coffee, Sweet Serendipity, The Fresh Market, The Rusty Crane Restaurant, In the Raw and Java Dave’s Coffee.

Sweet Cravings | Continued from page 2

Wanda Pratt nominated herself to the MHP Graduates of Distinction Hall of Fame – and the audience rose to their feet in applause to “vote her in”.

LEAVE A LASTING LEGACY.Please remember Margaret Hudson Program in your will or trust. If you have included us in your will or trust, we would like to thank you for your support. Please contact Dayna Smith, Chief Financial Officer to let us know of your gift. Your gift through planned giving can help support the mission of the Margaret Hudson Program for generations to come. For more information contact Dayna Smith, CFO at [email protected].

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