Sulphur bank president elected Rehabilitation Services’ Commission chair

 Oklahoma City – Bank president and former Oklahoma state representative Wes Hilliard was recently elected to his second term as chair of the Commission for Rehabilitation Services.

Commissioner Hilliard has served as acting chair since April 2023.

The Commission oversees the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, which served nearly 96,178 people with disabilities in 2023 through employment, educational and independent living programs, and the determination of medical eligibility for disability benefits.

The Oklahoma School for the Deaf in Sulphur is a DRS division.

Oklahoma House of Representatives Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, appointed Commissioner Hilliard to the governing board in July 2019.

“Wes Hilliard has devoted his career to serving his community and the state, and he will be a fantastic addition to the Commission,” Speaker McCall wrote when Hilliard was appointed. “He is very familiar with the work of DRS from his time in the Legislature, and he has a unique understanding of the needs of the Oklahoma School for the Deaf. I am very thankful for his willingness to serve.”

Hilliard became president of Vision Bank in Sulphur in 2023 and was previously community bank president at Simmons Bank in Davis.  

He served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 2004 to 2012.

Hilliard earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Oklahoma State University and a master’s degree in education from East Central University. He is a graduate of the SW Graduate School of Banking and was a member of Leadership Oklahoma Class XIX.

“It truly been an honor to be appointed by Speaker McCall to the Department of Rehabilitation Services’ Commission,” Hilliard said. “Being from Sulphur, I see firsthand the difference DRS makes in the lives of students at the Oklahoma School for the Deaf. I have visited Oklahoma School for the Blind in Muskogee and the employment divisions, Vocational Rehabilitation and Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired as well as staff from DRS’ Disability Determination Division.

“I have been amazed by DRS efforts to help businesses fill vacancies in the workforce with jobseekers who become taxpayers and no longer need disability benefits or government assistance,” Hilliard said. “It’s an honor to continue working with the other commissioners to make a difference in our state.”

Hilliard lives in Sulphur and has three children, Weston, Jaxson and Blake.

For more information about the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services, visit www.okdrs.gov or phone 800-845-8476.

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