Volunteer Awards

Each year, United Way of Central Oklahoma honors community leaders who model exceptional integrity, dedication, generosity and passion with our three prestigious Volunteer Awards: the Ray Ackerman Leadership Award, the John & Berta Faye Rex Community Builder Award and the Richard H. Clements Lifetime Achievement Award.

We are thrilled to honor this year’s winners at our upcoming Snowflake Gala on February 4, 2022.

Dr. David J. Schroeder
Ray Ackerman Lifetime Achievement Award

Clayton I. Bennett
John & Berta Faye Rex Community Builder Award

Mark Funke
Richard H. Clements Lifetime Achievement Award

About the United Way of Central Oklahoma Volunteer Awards

Ray Ackerman Leadership Award

The Ray Ackerman Leadership Award is given each year to individuals who have exemplified leadership in support of United Way of Central Oklahoma’s work. Named for Ray Ackerman, a veteran volunteer, this award honors those who share his tireless efforts and devotion to United Way’s mission, setting the standard for volunteerism, leadership and caring.

Ray Ackerman Leadership Award Recipients

Katy Violette (2004)
Ron Williams (2004)
Cindy Moore (2005)
Maria Wallace (2005)
Tom Miller (2006)
Don Whitehead (2007)
Dan Martin (2007)
Larry Hawkins (2008)
Dave Ortloff (2008)
Todd Edmonds (2009)
Gayle Owens (2010)
Shane Wharton (2010)
Matt McGuire (2011)
Ryan Stafford (2011)

Marsha Ingersoll (2012)
Nick Samarripas (2012)
David Hatch (2013)
Donna Onley (2013)
James Bertsch (2014)
Kris Rogers (2014)
Hillary Farrell (2015)
Robert Clements (2016)
Dave Carpenter (2017)
Tim O’Connor (2018)
Chris Reen (2019)
Jim Curry (2020)
Brad Sheriff (2021)

John & Berta Faye Rex Community Builder Award

The John and Berta Faye Rex Community Builder Award honors the tenacious and steadfast spirit that both Mr. and Mrs. Rex embodied. This award recognizes individuals who share their visions, hope and determination in finding long-term solutions to community needs.

John & Berta Faye Rex Community Builder Award Recipients

Linda Lambert (2007)
Bill Bross (2008)
Sue Hale (2009)
Zach Taylor (2010)
Doug Stussi (2010)
Frank Merrick (2011)
Dr. R. Murali Krishna (2012)
Mike Joseph (2013)
Steve Eddy (2014)

Bob Ross (2015)
Meg Salyer (2016)
George E. Young Sr. (2017)
Polly Nichols (2018)
Tricia Everest (2019)
OKC Thunder (2019)
Sue Ann Arnall (2020)
Kelly Dyer Fry (2021)

Richard H. Clements Lifetime Achievement Award

The Richard H. Clements Lifetime Achievement Award is named for Richard H. “Dick” Clements, who was a civic leader and committed United Way volunteer for six decades. This award is given annually in recognition of an outstanding, lifelong dedication to volunteerism, leadership and philanthropy, not only to United Way but to the community as a whole.

Richard H. Clements Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients

Richard H. “Dick” Clements (1989)
Mex Frates (1990)
Ray Anthony (1991)
Ray Ackerman (1992)
Louis Danforth (1993)
Jackie Carey (1994)
Whitey Sneed (1995)
George Records (1996)
Jane Harlow (1997)
William Thurman, MD (1998)
Wanda Swisher (1999)
James A. Hyde (2000)
John Rex (2001)
Lee Allan Smith (2002)
Bill Swisher (2003)
Clifford Knight (2004)
Edward L. Gaylord (2004)
Dick Williams (2005)

Robert Lorenz (2006)
Stanley Hupfeld (2007)
V. Burns Hargis (2008)
Berta Faye Rex (2009)
Steve Moore (2009)
Luke Corbett (2010)
Ken McKinney (2011)
Edmund O. Martin (2012)
Christy Everest (2013)
Martha Lippert (2014)
Pete Delaney (2015)
David L. Thompson (2016)
Dennis Jaggi (2017)
Judy Love (2018)
Doug Stussi (2019)
Carl Edwards (2020)
Mike Turpen (2021)