DRTC Installs 2021-2022 Board of Directors and Recognizes Former Executive Director

Dale Rogers Training Center (DRTC), Oklahoma’s highly disability inclusive employer, installed its Program Year 2022 Board of Directors in a recent meeting. Ten members swore in to make key decisions for the agency as it continues to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic by providing an essential workforce for the Oklahoma City metro.

The following people will join DRTC’s Board of Directors for 2021-2022:

Frank Stone, President
Helen Stakem, 1^st Vice President
Bradley Wallace, 2^nd Vice President
Andrea Nguyen, Secretary
Cheryl Moore, Treasurer
Kevin Clifton
Eric Shannon
Kristi Wilson
Brian Smith
Angela Ables

In addition to the Board installation, the agency recognized former Board member Allen Brown’s 20 years of service to the Board, and presented a commemorative display in honor of former DRTC Executive Director Connie Thrash McGoodwin’s nearly 40 years with the agency. “The agency will be recognizing Connie’s lasting legacy at DRTC,” comments Deborah Copeland, M.Ed., Executive Director. Copeland was named DRTC’s Executive Director in January 2020, leading the agency since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

DRTC Executive Director Deborah Copeland, left, speaking to a group of people while standing in front of a commemorative display for her predecessor, Connie Thrash McGoodwin.

Former DRTC Executive Director Connie Thrash McGoodwin standing next to her commemorative display at DRTC.

Throughout the pandemic, DRTC has provided employees in critical infrastructure such as custodial and food service at its federal contract locations (Tinker Air Force Base, FAA, and federal buildings in downtown OKC), as well as in the community via its Employment Services Program, which receives funding through the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services.

DRTC’s main campus programs and business divisions continue providing meaningful work experience for people with disabilities through a variety of subcontracting jobs, as well as manufacturing of awards, trophies, picture frames, screen printed apparel and more.

Dale Rogers Training Center (DRTC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency, is Oklahoma’s leading community vocational training and employment center for people with disabilities in Oklahoma. With multiple locations in Oklahoma, DRTC trains or employs approximately 1,000 people with disabilities per year. The private agency promotes diversity and inclusion of persons with disabilities within our Oklahoma workforce and communities. Visit us online: DRTC.org.