- Danielson Fuel Services in Norman recently received the Outstanding Business/Industry Partner Award from the Oklahoma Career and Technical Education Equity Council. Pictured are, from left, Bryce Fair, OSRHE associate vice chancellor for scholarships and grants; Becki Foster, Oklahoma CareerTech chief of staff; Patrick Klein, Oklahoma DHS chief officer and division director of adult and family services; Amy Kelly and Misty Croskey of Danielson Fuel Services; Matt Fix of Moore Norman Technology Center; and Lisa Brown, OkCTEEC president.
The business was one of four businesses and organizations honored along with 14 individuals at the 26th annual Making It Work Day at the Capitol on Feb. 13. Making It Work Day recognizes individuals who are committed to removing barriers to success for single-parent families by providing educational experiences for students beyond the classroom. The presentations were made at a ceremony at the Oklahoma History Center. The ceremony also recognized nontraditional students.
Danielson Fuel is a family-owned business that provides services for convenience stores in five states. Last spring, the company contact Moore Norman Technology Center when it had an opening for an administrative assistant, said Matt Fix, MNTC HIRE coordinator, who nominated the company for the award.
“We spoke with their owner and advised that we had a young lady that had completed our administrative program and was looking for either an internship or employment. The only issue was that she had pretty extensive legal barriers on her background,” Fix said. “The owner, Mike Lawson, stated that he was a big believer in providing second chances and would love the opportunity to meet with our student and see if it was a good fit.”
After the interview, Fix said, the company offered the student a job and within a few months gave her a raise and a $500 bonus.
“Every business values customer loyalty and strives to provide good services,” Fix said. “Danielson Fuel has demonstrated that they are not only a good business but also a great community partner. Looking at people for who they are and being willing to take a chance on employees that other companies might look down upon speaks volumes to the company’s integrity and mission.”
OkCTEEC is affiliated with the administrative division of the Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Education. The council advocates for students pursuing nontraditional careers and for resources for educating single parents.
“The mission of OkCTEEC is to increase the awareness of collegiate and technical education by focusing on high expectations and full participation for all students and employees in career and education in Oklahoma. The Making It Work Day Ceremony is held to recognize those individuals, programs and business partners that have worked so hard throughout the year as well as bring a direct awareness to state senators and legislators,” said KayTee Niquette, Work Prep and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families coordinator at the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education.
She serves as an adviser for OkCTEEC, along with Lisa French of the Department of Human Services and Gina McPherson of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.
“Making it Work Day is our annual opportunity to spotlight the investment and hard work that is being done to empower our students who are single parents and most often first generation students who dream and want to pursue higher education,” said Lisa D. Brown, OkCTEEC president and director for career transitions at Oklahoma City Community College. “We encourage them to aspire to set goals as never before, take the steps to achieve those goals and then gain the confidence and success of completing those goals.
“Making it Work Day is their red carpet moment to celebrate these successes and to show and not just tell Oklahoma that this program and its funding is well spent and valuable to the lives of these individuals, not for that moment but for a lifetime. I often relate what we do to the story of the butterfly that finally leaves the cocoon being transformed as confident, beautiful, strong and free to soar.”
OkCTEEC’s purposes include promoting and supporting career and technology education, increasing its effectiveness, promoting research in the field and in educational equity, developing leadership and advocating for equity and diversity.
For more information about OkCTEEC, visit okcteec.org. For more information about the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education, visit www.okcareertech.org.
