ADA, Okla. - East Central University’s Evening of Honors and Recognition is set to recognize distinguished persons on May 16 at 6 p.m. in the ECU Foundation Hall, located inside the Chickasaw Business & Business Conference Center.
The 2025 Distinguished Alumni to be honored include:
- Kathy Pinson (1976) who went on to play a crucial and critical role in the shaping of Pre-Paid Legal, now known as LegalShield.
- David Jackson (1985 & 1990) currently serves as Executive Director of the OSSAA.
- Christopher “Kitt” Wakeley (1993) who went on to become a 2x Grammy Award winner, along with a wide array of other awards as both a producer and an artist.
- State Auditor & Inspector Cindy Byrd (1998) currently serves as 13th State Auditor & Inspector for the state of Oklahoma.
- Chief Justice Dustin Rowe (1998) currently serves as Chief Justice on the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
The 2025 Distinguished Former Faculty Award will be presented to David Schallhorn, who served ECU as Assistant Professor of Speech and Theatre and was the Designer/Technical Director of ECU Theatre from 1969 to 2000.
The 2025 Distinguished Service Award will be presented to Mark Stringfield (1973) who has retired from a long-standing career with Sun Oil Company but continues to support ECU through a variety of ways with the ECU Foundation. Also receiving the 2025 Distinguished Service Award is Janey Thomas (2002) who has worked with Momentum Campus Ministry at ECU for more than 10 years and has served the university and community as a pillar of the ministry.
The 2025 Distinguished Family to be honored is the Randall/Newcombe Family, 11 members will be honored for their long-standing history and contributions to ECU as individuals and as a family.
More information about this year’s honorees will be released in the coming weeks.
For more information on how to purchase tickets, visit ecok.edu/2025EOH.
Pictured: Top row, left to right; Kathy Pinson, David Jackson, Kitt Wakeley, Cindy Byrd, Bottom row, left to right; Dustin Rowe, David Schallhorn, Mark Stringfield and Janey Thomas. Not pictured, the Randall/Newcombe family.