Meet OBF Officers, Trustees and Staff
Volunteer leaders make up the principal structure of the foundation and are the backbone of the Oklahoma Bar Foundation. The OBF staff plans all meetings and events and carries out daily operations of the charitable entity, and OBF Officers and Trustees are responsible for important decisions made within the organization, including annual grant awards. Over $5 million has been given to vitally needed law-related charitable programs throughout the state over just the last 16 years, in the good name of all Oklahoma attorneys. Attorneys are the lifeblood of the foundation.
2004 OBF Officers
President William G. LaSorsa is a shareholder in the Tulsa based law firm of Jones, Givens, Gotcher & Bogan and has practiced in the areas of family law, criminal and civil litigation since 1973. Bill has served as a volunteer on the OBF Board of Trustees since 1997, the Oklahoma Bar Association Board of Governors and is affiliated with numerous legal, civic and charitable organizations throughout Oklahoma. The president serves a one-year term and oversees the foundation and leads in charitable grant making on behalf of all Oklahoma lawyers. In recent years, the OBF president's position has become more and more involved in recruitment of OBF Fellows, with administration of the IOLTA Program and in direct decisions on daily operations of the foundation. "Our goal over the past few years and in 2004 is to advise our membership about the foundation and the great work that's being done on their behalf. We are better for having had the experience of being foundation leaders and taking a more active role in this great organization."
Your 2004 OBF Executive Committee is made up of President LaSorsa and President-Elect Judy Hamilton Morse, Oklahoma City, who practices in civil litigation and bankruptcy with the Crowe & Dunlevy firm; Vice President Hal Ellis with the Stillwater firm of Ellis & Drummond is active in foundation work throughout Oklahoma; Secretary/Treasurer Mark C. Curnutte, Vinita is with the Logan & Lowry firm; and Immediate Past President Mart Tisdal of Clinton is active in all forms of bar work and in oil and gas law throughout Western Oklahoma and the state. Twenty-six trustees from all across Oklahoma, five of which are officers, govern the foundation board.
Attorneys may not be aware of how much administrative work is done within the OBF office on a very tight budget. Many grantees are better equipped than the OBF office, but the staff and board feel it is more important to be able to spend the money on important and vitally needed charitable programs and projects that benefit Oklahomans. "OBF does not spend a great deal of money on fancy brochures and mailings, but our small staff is always ready, willing and able to help," reports President LaSorsa. "Please take the time to become a Fellow: participate in the IOLTA _program; get to know the OBF staff; and learn about the great things your foundation is doing."
2004 OBF Trustees
Attorneys come from all across the state to serve as volunteer leaders on the Board of Trustees. Trustees bring many important talents and different areas of expertise to the Foundation to make informed decisions. The 2004 roster of trustees is Charles F. Alden, III, Oklahoma City; J. William Conger, Oklahoma City; Renée DeMoss, Tulsa; David D. Duncan, Weatherford; Michael D. Evans, Frederick; Phil Frazier, Tulsa; Jacqueline O'Neil Haglund, Tulsa; D. Renée Hildebrant, Oklahoma City; Steven R. Mackey, Tulsa; A. Edwin McComas, Elk City; Jerry L. McCombs, Idabel; John D. Munkacsy Jr., Lawton; David Pomeroy, Oklahoma City; Deborah A. Reheard, Eufaula; Richard A. Riggs; Roger R. Scott, Tulsa; Mark K. Stonecipher, Oklahoma City; Jason B. Toon, Tulsa; John Morris Williams, Oklahoma City; and Harry A. Woods Jr., Oklahoma City.
OBF Administrator & IOLTA Director
OBF Administrator and IOLTA Director Nancy Norsworthy reports to the board and is responsible for daily operations of the foundation office and the IOLTA program. She welcomes new Fellows, makes sure attorneys receive a Fellow plaque and invitations to OBF events, sends reminders of pledge payments and those end-of-year tax receipts for contributions. She also coordinates the daily administration of the IOLTA program, working with both banks and attorneys. Nancy works with the ABA National Conference of Bar Foundations and the ABA IOLTA Commission to see that Oklahoma is informed and represented on a national level. Her duties include maintenance of database information and financial records, as well as correspondence, processing grant awards and reports, and scholarship activities for the foundation and the IOLTA Program, working directly with OBF Committees and the audit team on financial reports and other relevant information.
Nancy has been with the foundation since 1985 and helps to preserve time-honored traditions and provide historical information to the board. Nancy is a lifelong resident of Oklahoma and is married to Felix Norsworthy with one teenage daughter Leah. "The attorneys are really nice, and I feel like I'm helping to make a difference through my job with the foundation - something that not everyone gets the opportunity to do on a daily basis," Norsworthy reports. "I hope every Oklahoma attorney is aware of the really wonderful things they do for the community through the bar foundation and the bar association."
Part-Time Administrative Assistant
Jan Crist is completing her second year with the foundation. She processes daily mail and does data entry for the Fellows program, the IOLTA program and for meeting activities and events throughout the year. Jan greets you on the phone and does many small things for members, too numerous to list. Jan is married with two teenaged children, a daughter Lindsey at OU and son Cody, finishing junior high in Moore. Being an OU fan is one of Jan's greatest passions.
Advancing education, citizenship and justice for all, is the ongoing mission of your Oklahoma Bar Foundation, and we need your help. OBF Officers, Trustees and Staff look forward to meeting and working with and for you. Please take a moment to complete the following OBF Fellow Application and send to the OBF office today, and you can help make a difference in Oklahoma. Celebrate 100 years of good lawyering in Oklahoma this year by becoming an OBF Fellow! |
