Booker T. Washington Distinguished Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker: Emmitt McHenry, Inventor of .COM

TULSA, Okla. — The Booker T. Washington Hall Distinguished of Fame Foundation, dedicated to honoring the legacy of Booker T. Washington High School will induct twelve members of the Booker T. Washington family into the BTW Distinguished Hall of Fame.

Rebecca Marks Jimerson, Chair of the BTW Distinguished Hall of Fame states; “each year we recognize alumni, patrons and former members of the school’s faculty and administration who have made meritorious contributions to the school on a local, state, national or global level.”

The annual BTW Distinguished Hall of Fame Ceremonial Induction and Scholarship Dinner takes place Thursday, November 4, 2021, at 6PM at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, located 5th South Boston Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74103.

This year’s Ceremonial Induction and Scholarship dinner Keynote Speaker Emmitt McHenry is an inventor, an engineer, an entrepreneur, a veteran, and a trailblazer. A Booker T. Washington graduate who created a complex computer code that allows ordinary people to surf the web and receive e-mails without having to study computer science. We know McHenry’s invention today as .com.

Individual tickets are $35 with proceeds going to the foundation’s scholarship fund.

For more information contact 918.734.1223 Rebecca Marks Jimerson

 

*The Booker T. Washington Distinguished Hall of Fame Foundation is a 501(c)three non-profit organization dedicated to honoring the legacy of Booker T. Washington High School. In addition to awarding college scholarships to graduating students.

 

Bio Emmitt McHenry:

An inventor, an engineer, an entrepreneur, a veteran, and a trailblazer.

Emmitt McHenry.jpg

Emmitt McHenry was born a preacher’s grandson in Forrest City, Arkansas in 1943. Growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, McHenry graduated from Booker T. Washington High School and went on to receive his B.S. in communications from the University of Denver in 1966. He soon after enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps where he attained the rank of lieutenant. McHenry would go on to Northwestern University, where in 1979 he earned his M.S. degree in communications. Here, he would also complete the qualifying examinations for a doctorate. 

Emmitt McHenry is founder and CEO of NetCom Solutions International, Inc. a telecommunication, engineering, consulting, and technical services company. The company has received awards from IBM, NASA, and Lucent Technologies. It has revenues of $260 million and over two hundred employees in Chantilly, Virginia, and Oklahoma City.

2020 Hall of Fame Postponed

TULSA, Okla. — Due to the coronavirus {COVID-19) pandemic, the induction dinner honoring the Distinguished Hall of Fame Class of 2020, has been postponed. Once a new date for the event has been selected, we will share that with the community; and if you have already purchased tickets to the festivities slated for April 2, 2020, those tickets will be honored on the new date.

Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact Rebecca Marks Jimerson at rebecca.mjimerson@sbcglobal.net.

Very truly yours,

Booker T. Washington High School
Distinguished Hall of Fame Foundation

Hall of Fame to add six in 2020

TULSA, Okla. — The Booker T. Washington High School Hall of Fame will add six new inductees to its ranks next month. 

A dinner is scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 2 at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame at 5 S. Boston Ave. Tickets are $25 each with proceeds going to the foundation’s scholarship fund, which provides financial aid for up to four years for graduating seniors and recent graduates. 

Tickets and sponsorship packages may be purchased through the foundation’s website, btwhalloffame.org. 

Hall of Fame to add four in 2019

TULSA, Okla. — The Booker T. Washington High School Hall of Fame will add a globe-trotting musician, a local businessman, a journalist and a state senator to its ranks next month. 

A dinner is scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 4 at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame at 5 S. Boston Ave. Tickets are $25 each with proceeds going to the foundation’s scholarship fund, which provides financial aid for up to four years for graduating seniors and recent graduates. 

Tickets and sponsorship packages may be purchased through the foundation’s website, btwhalloffame.org. 

A formal induction ceremony for the four honorees is scheduled for April 5 at the Nate Harris Fieldhouse. 

            A 1972 graduate, Bobby Eaton Jr., has performed with Memphis Horns, Sly Stone, Peabo Bryson, Natalie Cole, Ike and Tina Turner and DJ Rogers. Since returning to Tulsa in 2016, Eaton has made an effort to share his production skills with the launch of an online talk radio show hosted and produced by local youth. 

            Vice president of sales for Fellers Marketing and Advertising, 1984 graduate Karl Engel manages more than 100 internal and external sales accounts across the country. The former cross-country standout is also a graduate of the University of Tulsa and regularly volunteers with the Hornet track program. 

            Known across northeastern Oklahoma for her work at KTUL, 1991 graduate Neile Jones has received state and regional awards for her reporting. Prior to returning to her hometown, Jones spent 17 years as a reporter and anchor in Arkansas and covered the 2014 Sochi Olympics for Nexstar Broadcasting. The frequent community volunteer is also a published author, with her 2010 book, “Look Again…Because You Can” detailing her experiences as a domestic violence survivor. 

            Prior to joining the Oklahoma legislature in 2012, state Sen. Kevin Matthews served 25 years with the Tulsa Fire Department, retiring as an administrative fire chief in 2010. A 1978 graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, Matthews is also an alumnus of the University of Central Oklahoma and a member of Phi Beta Sigma.    

2019 Hall of Fame banquet tickets now available

TULSA, Okla. — Tickets are now on sale for the 2019 Booker T. Washington Hall of Fame Banquet, scheduled for April 4 at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Seats are $25 each, with proceeds going to the foundation’s scholarship fund. Sponsorship packages are also available through March 31.

This year’s honorees are:

  • Bobby Eaton Jr. (Class of 1972)

  • Karl Engel (Class of 1983)

  • Neile Jones (Class of 1991)

  • State Sen. Kevin Matthews (Class of 1978)

Brick paver deadline extended

TULSA, Okla. — Due to popular demand, members of the BTW family have a few extra days to leave their mark on the Hive. 

The Hall of Fame Foundation is accepting orders for engraved brick pavers to go along the outside of the BTW Historical Building through May 31.

All proceeds from each $100 paver go directly to the foundation's college scholarship fund, which provides up to four years of assistance to Booker T. Washington seniors and recent graduates. 

Each brick has room for three lines of copy, with 13 characters per line. Orders may be mailedor submitted online. Checks must be made out to the BTW Hall of Fame Foundation. 

Hall of Fame to add three in 2018

TULSA, Okla. — Two long time teachers and an award-winning research meteorologist are set to be inducted into the Booker T. Washington High School Hall of Fame.

A dinner is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on April 5 at the Campbell Hotel at 2636 E. 11th St. Tickets are $25 each with proceeds going to the foundation’s scholarship fund, which provides financial aid for up to four years for graduating seniors and recent graduates.

To purchase tickets, contact Susan Braselton at 918-749-0009 or order here.

A formal induction ceremony is tentatively scheduled for April 6 at the Nate Harris Fieldhouse, contingent upon the length of the statewide teacher walk-out.

            A 1995 graduate, Dr. DaNa Carlis is a weather portfolio adviser and meteorologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Oceanic and Atmospheric Research arm. His research efforts have led to direct improvements to the National Weather Service’s numerical weather prediction forecasts.

            Over the course of his 13 years as a Hornet football and track coach, the late Larry McGee’s teams brought home three state titles, including one in each sport in 1984. When he stepped away from coaching in 1989, McGee had a .804 winning percentage on the gridiron, with his teams averaging 10 wins per season. A graduate of Langston University, he was named the Tulsa Tribune’s Coach of the Year in 1983 and 1984.

            A 1964 graduate and second generation Hornet, Michael Mims led the boys’ basketball program to three state titles during his decade-long tenure head coach before an eight-year stint with the University of Oklahoma as a recruiter and assistant coach. In addition to stops at Nathan Hale High School, Charles Page High School and Gilcrease Middle School, Mims returned to his alma mater twice more as an administrator before retiring in 2015. Mims is a 2010 inductee into both the Tournament of Champions Hall of Fame and the Oklahoma Coaches Hall of Fame, as well as a 2015 inductee into the Tulsa Public Schools Athletics Hall of Fame.

            “We want to recognize these fine members of the Booker T. Washington family who have left an indelible mark on the community,” Hall of Fame Foundation chairwoman Rebecca Marks-Jimmerson said. “Their efforts truly exemplify the ideals of both the school and its namesake.”

2018 Hall of Fame banquet tickets available

Tickets to the 2018 Booker T. Washington Hall of Fame dinner are now available for $25 each with proceeds going to the Hall of Fame Foundation's scholarship fund. This year's dinner is scheduled for April 5 at the Campbell Hotel on historic Route 66.  

The 2018 honorees are:

  • NOAA adviser Dr. DaNa Carlis, Class of 1995
  • Former Hornet football coach Larry McGee
  • Longtime coach and educator Michael Mims, Class of 1964

BTW brick pavers now available

Leave your mark on The Hive!

The Hall of Fame Foundation is selling engraved brick pavers to go along the outside of the BTW Historical Building. All proceeds from each $100 paver go directly to the foundation's college scholarship fund, which provides up to four years of assistance to Booker T. Washington seniors and recent graduates. 

Each brick has room for three lines of copy, with 13 characters per line. Orders may be mailed or submitted online. Checks must be made out to the BTW Hall of Fame Foundation. 

All orders must be submitted by May 24.