08/14/2026
Over the last 16 years, we’ve accomplished a lot in Lincoln County. Before I get into some of those accomplishments, I thought I’d share a little about the experiences that brought me here and shaped how I approach this job.
A Little About Me
I spent many years as a volunteer firefighter, starting at age 16 and continuing until I joined the military. That experience taught me early in life the importance of service, preparation, teamwork, and being there when people need you.
I attended Sul Ross State University, where I studied business. During those years, I also day-worked on some of the largest ranches in Texas, including the 06 Ranch and King Ranch.
After Sul Ross, I attended the Texas A&M Fire School, building on the years of firefighting and emergency-response experience I already had. From there, I went to work for Boots & Coots International Well Control in the hazardous-materials division.
I later joined the United States Air Force, serving in Explosive Ordnance Disposal, military police, and combat communications. During my military career, I completed four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.
During my military service, I was also hand-picked to serve on security teams supporting President George W. Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Those assignments placed an extraordinary level of trust and responsibility on the people selected to protect some of our nation’s highest-ranking leaders.
After leaving the military, I started my own fiber-optic splicing and IT services company. We handled numerous government contracts as well as work for private businesses, including McDonald’s and Santa Fe Steakhouse.
My service has also included my church and community. I served as a youth leader at Hillside Baptist Church and also served on the church’s Finance Committee.
When the Lincoln County District 3 Commissioner seat became open, I decided to run. I was elected in 2010 and took office in 2011.
From firefighting, ranch work and hazardous materials, to military service, owning a business and county government, I’ve spent most of my life working, solving problems and serving others. I love public service, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to give back to the community that has supported me and my family over the years.
Just a Few of the Things We’ve Accomplished
This job has never been a one-man show. It takes good employees, fellow elected officials, tribes, cities and towns, state and federal partners, emergency services, community organizations, and citizens willing to work together.
Just to name a few of the things I’m proud to have been a part of:
• One of the accomplishments I’m most proud of: Shortly after taking office in 2011, I implemented prayer before our County Commissioner meetings. I have a strong faith and believe deeply in the power of prayer. I approach every decision I make with that faith and seek God’s guidance in the decisions entrusted to me. I’ve continued this practice throughout my time in office and have brought prayer to the other boards I serve on whenever possible.
• Helped move Lincoln County from near the top of Oklahoma’s deficient bridge list to approximately 8th today. We’re still in the top 10, and that isn’t good enough. With the new bridge agreements I’m working on, I believe we can get Lincoln County out of the top 10 soon and keep moving in the right direction.
• Completed a 30-bridge agreement with the Kickapoo Tribe and am currently negotiating another agreement.
• Worked with the Ioway Tribe to program numerous additional bridge projects and am developing a new bridge list with the Sac and Fox Nation.
• Personally designed and helped build three county bridges, including doing much of the welding and construction work. They were completed on time and under budget.
• Leveraged approximately $30 million in state, federal, tribal and local funding to pave or hard-surface more than 25 miles of roads—projects that simply could not have been accomplished with county road funds alone.
• After redistricting, I inherited more than 100 miles of roads that had gone years without adequate maintenance. We have invested more than $1 million trying to overcome years of deterioration. I held community meetings, listened to residents, developed a plan prioritizing the most heavily traveled roads, and we accomplished that plan. I also worked with the Ioway Tribe to secure approximately 10 miles of asphalt millings for school bus routes. We’ve made a dent, but there is still a lot of work to do. With time, persistence, experience, and continued partnerships, we’ll keep that momentum going.
• Negotiated a small land lease at the Rockin’ Rail Yard in Wellston that allows us to bring road rock into the county by rail. This keeps our haul trucks closer to home, reducing fuel costs, maintenance, wear on equipment and highway miles while improving employee safety.
• Implemented GPS tracking on county vehicles and camera systems in our large haul trucks. The system has paid for itself many times over, helped recover a stolen county vehicle and other property, and provided documentation that has helped resolve complaints and reduce tort claims against the county.
• Worked at the State Capitol to improve funding for counties across Oklahoma and have been asked to speak on county issues ranging from funding to illegal ma*****na grow operations.
• Worked with the District Attorney and local law enforcement to develop a locally driven way to shut down illegal ma*****na grows. Lincoln County was the first county in Oklahoma to successfully use the approach, other counties followed our example, and today we have state assistance.
• Helped small towns find matching funds for grants, allowing them to bring much-needed infrastructure dollars back into their communities.
• Helped the citizens of Fallis revive their community and reestablish their town government. Today, Fallis is once again a successfully operating town with an active, functioning town board.
• Designed the computer network for the Lincoln County Courthouse and used federal funding to have it installed. That infrastructure helped make county meetings, records and information more accessible, including broadcasting and recording meetings online.
• Used federal funding to build a new OSU Extension facility near the fairgrounds, providing classrooms, meeting space and better access and parking for our agricultural producers and 4-H families.
• Secured a state matching grant to purchase a permanent Emergency Management facility, eliminating rent, consolidating equipment in one location, and providing a modern Emergency Operations Center and classroom space available to emergency services.
• Used federal funding to completely remodel the Lincoln County Jail and worked with the Sheriff to improve medical care, drug and alcohol counseling, and mental-health services.
• Helped organize a nonprofit using local and state opioid-settlement funds to provide mental-health services and continue that care after offenders leave the jail.
• Helped completely remodel the Lincoln County Fairgrounds, turning it from primarily a once-a-year Free Fair facility into a comfortable, year-round community gathering place that now hosts more than 100 events a year, bringing people into Lincoln County who spend money and support our local economy.
• Worked with Rural Water on an approximately $600,000 Jacktown water project, leveraging federal and tribal/Indian Health Service resources to bring reliable fresh water to an underserved area.
• That water project also brought fire hydrants and improved fire protection, helping lower homeowners-insurance costs for many residents.
• Used that new infrastructure to help bring Dollar General to the Jacktown area, providing services and economic activity in an underserved part of the county. I’m now working toward a second phase of the water project to reach more people.
• Helped save the Child Advocacy Center serving Lincoln and Pottawatomie counties, protecting access to forensic interviews and services for abused children. We helped secure a building and grant funding, and I continue to represent Lincoln County on its board. A recent community fundraiser generated nearly $60,000 to support its mission.
• Made two trips to Washington, D.C. involving workforce issues and the U.S. Department of Labor to learn, advocate and represent issues affecting our communities.
• During wildfires, floods, tornadoes, blizzards, ice storms and other disasters, I respond with my crews. We’ve fought fires, carried people out of floodwaters, cleared routes so ambulances could reach patients, and provided county manpower and heavy equipment wherever emergency services needed us. My years as a firefighter taught me that when somebody needs help, seconds count.
• I still work alongside our employees. I grade roads, run the dozer and excavator, load and drive trucks, weld, build bridges, and mechanic on our equipment to keep the fleet moving. I’ve held a CDL since the late 1990s.
I’m just as comfortable elbow-deep in grease as I am in the boardroom, and I won’t ask my guys to do something I won’t do—or haven’t already done—myself.
And That’s Just to Name a Few
This doesn’t include the many things we’ve accomplished through the other boards and organizations I’ve had the opportunity to serve on over the years, including:
• Community Action Agency — serving as Chairman and Vice Chairman for many years.
• Oklahoma Workforce Board — working on workforce development and opportunities for our communities.
• Central Engineering Board — serving as Treasurer for many years and working on county infrastructure and engineering issues.
• County Action Board — working with ODOT to help get funding back to Oklahoma counties.
• Association of County Commissioners Legislative Board — working on legislation and policies affecting county government across Oklahoma.
Sixteen years is difficult to fit into one post. These are just some of the things I’m proud to have been a part of.
None of it was accomplished alone. It took employees who showed up and worked hard, partnerships with other elected officials and agencies, tribes willing to work with us, emergency responders, community organizations, and citizens who were willing to work together to get things done.
We’ve accomplished a lot, but there is still plenty of work left to do.
I’ve spent most of my life in public service, and after all these years, I still love having the opportunity to serve the people of Lincoln County and give something back to the community that has given so much to me and my family.
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