Veterans Commission

Phone: 405-523-4000

(Bio Coming Soon)

Phone: 405-523-4000

Brigadier General Paul Costilow, assumed duties as Assistant Adjutant General for the Oklahoma Army National Guard on 12 May 2001. As Assistant Adjutant General, he is responsible for the oversight of training, administration, logistics, and personnel actions for the Oklahoma Army National Guard. Additionally, he advises the Adjutant General in regards to any matters concerning the Oklahoma Army National Guard and its more than 7300 citizen soldiers.

The General's military career began in 1968. He was commissioned as a Field Artillery officer upon graduation from ROTC and then completed the Officer Rotary Wing Aviation Course. Brigadier General Costilow has served as Airfield Commander, Aviation Commander, State Aviation Officer, and Assistant Adjutant General

EDUCATION: 1968 University of Oklahoma - BA Degree - Business/Administration
1992 Oklahoma State University - MS Degree - Natural and Applied Sciences
1996 Army War College

Phone: 405-523-4000

Phone: 405-523-4000

Mike Jackson is a graduate of Roff High School and Oklahoma City University. He is a veteran of the US Air Force and US Army. Jackson retired in 2019 after more than 23 years in banking. His hobbies include riding his motorcycles, playing guitar and teaching martial arts. Mike is married, has two daughters and four grandsons.

Commissioner Jackson enlisted in the USAF in October 1974 as an inventory management specialist. He was a supply sergeant, unit administrator and a recruiter on the Army side.  Jackson was discharged in June 1987 at the rank of SFC E7. On the civilian side, he was a comptroller for a car dealership for 9 years prior to banking.

Phone: 405-523-4000

Andrew Lasser, DrPH, is President and CEO of The Lasser Group. Dr. Lasser’s rich healthcare experience includes various leadership posts, notably executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief executive officer of academic medical center hospitals, Children’s Hospitals, community hospitals, rural hospitals and a religiously affiliated hospital.

Dr. Lasser holds a doctorate in Public Health and a master’s degree in Healthcare Management from the University of Pittsburgh. Since 1998, Dr. Lasser has been consulting in the areas of strategic thinking in healthcare operations, project feasibility, organizational structure and hospital-physician collaborations. He is also a skilled group-process facilitator.

In addition to his professional work, Dr Lasser has served on the Board of Directors of several community health related organizations such as Variety Care, a federally qualified health care center (FQHC), Red Cross, Heart Association and Christian Children’s Fund, an international child and community development organization. Currently he serves as a Commissioner on the Oklahoma Veteran’s Commission and is President of the Variety Care Board of Directors.

Dr. Lasser served as an officer in the United States Army and was a paratrooper serving in the 82nd Airborne and the JFK Center for Special Warfare.

Phone: 405-523-4000

(Bio Coming Soon)

Phone: 405-523-4000

Commissioner Kokendoffer grew up in southwest Oklahoma City and Moore. He served in the US Navy from 1972-1974. After leaving active duty, he took a job as a long-haul truck driver. September 28, 1975, Commissioner Kokendoffer had an accident while driving his truck, the injuries sustained in the accident left him a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down. After nine months of rehabilitation, he returned home able to live on his own but with limited use of both arms and legs.

Commissioner Kokendoffer has spent his entire adult life in some form of agriculture, farming, and ranching, all done from a wheelchair.

He joined the Paralyzed Veterans of America in 1983 and has served on the Board of Directors in nearly every position. His most recent position is as President which he has held since 2002.

One of his proudest moments, other than getting married at 56, was when the Veterans Council, Governor, House, and Senate recognized Commissioner Kokendoffer as Veteran of the Year in 2019.

Kokendoffer says, ”This is such a great honor, not for what I did while on active duty but for I do for our veterans still today. The Paralyzed Veterans helped guide me through the VA system in 1983 and I hope I am continuing that direction for our veterans today.”

Phone: 405-523-4000

(Bio Coming Soon)

Phone: 405-523-4000

Merline LeDay-Mauney holds twenty-six years of active-duty service in the United States Army which include three overseas tours of duty.  She exited with a retirement rank of Master Sergeant as the 2-14 FA Brigade S4.

When she left the military, she went on to further herself by pursuing her educational goals the same way she pursued her career in the military; by way of tenacity. She has an associate degree from OSU in Drug and Substance Abuse Counseling, a B.S. in Behavioral Science from Mid-America Christian University and a Masters in Psychological Health and Wellness with a concentration in Mediation and Conflict Resolution from the University of the Rockies in Denver Colorado.

Commissioner LeDay-Mauney spends countless hours volunteering support to her fellow veterans thru multiple state veteran programs. She has assisted with Veteran Stand Down for the past 3 years ensuring transportation was provided to get veterans to the various services being offered, as well as coordinated provider and nursing staff  care.   She was the first female Commander for the Joe McCain Chapter 56 DAV and before she attained this prestigious position, she held the Jr. Vice and Senior Vice positions.

Commander LeDay-Mauney also served as the  DAV Hospital Service Coordinator for the Transportation Network for the Lawton VA Outpatient Clinic from 2010-2015 providing transportation for as  many as 900 veterans per year of service. She is now employed at the Lawton Outpatient Clinic in the Administration department as a Patient Advocate, continuing to ensure the veterans concerns are being taken care of.