J.B. Perky
The late J.B. Perky, former state director of Oklahoma vocational and technical education, worked 44 years in vocational education. During this time, he was a vocational agriculture teacher, district supervisor, state supervisor, state advisor of the Future Farmers of America, and state director.
Perky was born in Cleburne, Texas, in 1901. He began his career in vocational education in 1923 as a vocational agriculture instructor in El Reno. In 1941, Perky was appointed state director.
In 1961, he was appointed to President Kennedy’s Panel of Consultants on Vocational Education to review and evaluate vocational education. That work led to the Vocational Education Act of 1963, which greatly increased appropriations.
Perky was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1962. He retired as state director in 1967 and died in 1970.
Mr. Perky was inducted to the CareerTech Hall of Fame in 1990.
