This Town OKC

Before he owned restaurants in This Town, Sean Cummings had a couple in Kansas City. Plus he spent a year on the circuit as a standup comic! Sean also admits that his courtship and marriage to the late dynamo, Cathy, was the least romantic one in history. How they ended up in This Town is quite interesting, though, as is how he and Cathy got involved in politics. This restauranteur-turned-political activist has a lot to say!

Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre

As a  fresh graduate with two degrees in architecture from the University of Manchester, Anthony McDermid came to the U.S. to look for work. His first job interview lasted all of five minutes. Before long, he formed his own firm, TAP, with a partner. He's now "tapering off" after 40 years, but only after designing and building hundreds of projects all over the country. Anthony talks about rugby, his childhood fascination with the construction of rebuilding his war-ravaged and bombed-out hometown of Bristol, England, his community involvement in This Town, and his love of traveling.

Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre

Show business entertainers who can dance, sing, and act are called "triple threats." Before Oklahoma City University created it in 1980, there was no university in the USA that taught students how to succeed in the industry. Lots of schools had wonderful programs to create dancers or singers or actors, but it was Jo Rowan and her husband John Bedford who put it all together, along with the business aspect, and established the top school in the nation. And it stemmed from a photograph. The baseball-loving tomboy from Kentucky, who was told that she found her passion for ballet too late in life to be successful, spent years on Broadway and touring the world before landing in This Town. Her awards and accolades could fill a book. And she's going!

Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre

With the unique style that Galen Culver has used to spotlight interesting Oklahomans for 35 years on KFOR, you'd think he was a native Okie, but you'd be wrong. He hails from Salem, Oregon! After school at the University of Washington, he took the first broadcast job he was offered, in Ft. Smith, where he met a young Kevin Ogle who convinced him to move to This Town. After a few years of working as a news photographer, Galen took over "Is This a Great State or What."  He's won numerous awards for his work, and lucky for us, has no plans to retire any time soon.

Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Theatre

She's a self-described "Route 66 Kid" having grown up near Tally's Cafe in Tulsa. An Art History course changed the course of her life that eventually led her back to OU to get her MA. A 3-month residency in Mexico to study Aztec art turned into a 3-year stay. In 2006, Amber became the Visual Arts Director at the Oklahoma Arts Council where her first task was to create a 4400 sq. ft. gallery in the Capitol.  After becoming the Director in 2013, she made sure that the multi-year Capitol renovation showcased the best of the state's art collection. In this podcast, Amber pays homage to her two mentors, OU professor May Jo Watson and former OAC director Betty Price and also tells why she is optimistic about the future of arts in Oklahoma.

Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre

Not many architects get the opportunity to design an art museum. But Allen Brown did. Not only did he design This Town's flagship cultural institution, he changed the face of downtown. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art was in the original Metropolitan Area Projects (MAPS) plan that revitalized downtown OKC - until the virtual last minute. Allen was in the thick of it and tells the fascinating story of how the museum came to be in its location and how he came to be the designer.

Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre

Few women in This Town have had such a positive impact as Rhonda Hooper. As President and CEO of Jordan Associates, she has guided major advertising campaigns that have celebrated our state and city. We discovered in this interview a common, long-ago project on which we both worked, the anti-litter Don't Lay That Trash on Oklahoma campaign! But before she rose to her current position, she earned her seat at the table through hard work and perseverance. In fact, before MAPS transformed This Town, Rhonda and others created an initiative called Forward Oklahoma that ultimately led to that master plan. This Louisiana tomboy blossomed at Oklahoma State University where she continues to serve in the highest echelons. Her volunteer board work keeps her going to more meetings than there are days of the week. 

Sponsored by Carpenter Theatre
Post-production by Fred O. Bishop

Daniel Lapham wishes he didn't have his national EMMY Award. He's proud of the work he and the team did to earn it by spending a year in Uvalde, Texas following the horrific school shooting there, but nonetheless, he'd be satisfied with the regional EMMY he won while working at OETA. 

A fifth-generation Oklahoman, his great-grandfather was William Couch, the first mayor of This Town, and Daniel has the receipts to prove it. He's also a former student of mine who found his calling to be a storyteller while attending OKC Community College. In this interview, he tells of his travels around the country working for television networks as a freelancer and about the year he spent documenting the lives of the people of Uvalde.

Post-production by Fred O. Bishop 
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre

She created Oklahoma Children's Theatre out of necessity. Having moved to Oklahoma from her native Australia in 1980 to attend OU, Lyn Adams was working at Stage Center where she had created a children's program when the place closed. She moved the program to OKC Community College and formed a nonprofit organization. Later Oklahoma Children's Theatre moved to Fair Park and eventually to Oklahoma City University where it remains today. Lyn retired in 2022 to travel and enjoy grandmotherhood. 

After a wee bit of prompting, she recalls her favorite OCT production that coincidentally was written by your host.

Post-production by Fred O. Bishop
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre

As the VP of Broadcasting for the OKC Thunder, Dan Mahoney oversees 70 major productions per year. His career took a circuitous route starting as the son of the DJ who introduced rock and roll to Philadelphia. So one might say that he was born into the business. Following a then-girlfriend to This Town in 1984, Dan continued his career in News at KEBC-FM. He returned to TV News at KWTV for several years before going to work in Gov. Keating's new office in February, 1995, just two months before the Murrah Building bombing. Dan coordinated worldwide media coverage of the Healing of the Heartland ceremony. He later followed Frank Keating to D.C. for a while before returning home to work remotely in 2004 way before that became a thing. He branched out and contracted with Brent Gooden to handle PR for clients that included both the New Orleans Hornets during their temporary relocation to This Town and also the Seattle Supersonics after Clay Bennett, et. al. purchased the team. Dan stayed on once that team made the move and has been with them since. Dan also tells of his world travels and his love for vintage stereo systems and drum kits.

Post-production by Fred O. Bishop 
Sponsored by Carpenter Square Theatre