September 2019 NHills Magazine

A family divided At left: Sitting, from left, Taylor, Russell and Penny Voss, and standing, brothers Austin and Garrett Voss are a loving family.

They can’t, however, agree on which is the best football team. Their story begins on Page 4.

At right: The Draw Viper play. This play won the game for OU in the 2012 Big 12 Championship against Nebraska. It was drawn-up by Bob Stoops and Barry Switzer who signed the play.

- Photos by Ron Vavak

Taylor Voss was on the cheerleading squad at OSU which won three National Championships.

At left, she shows off her rings.

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CONTENTS 8 9 12

Go Pokes! Okalahoma State fans tell why they support the Cowboys.

Boomer Sooner! It’s crimson and cream all the way for these University of Oklahoma fans.

Thunder up! Fans are passionate about their NBA team.

Miki Kawamura goes to dunk the basketball in a promotion shoot for the OKC Thunder. She was a principal in recent years and currently serves as ballet master for the Oklahoma City Ballet.

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- Photo by Ron Vavak

The Voss family shows allegiance to their favorite home teams. From left: Garrett, Penny, Austin, Taylor and Russell.

A family divided Some see red, others bleed orange The Vosses – mom Penny, dad Russell, sons Garrett and Austin and daughter-in-law Taylor – are a very loving family.

“But, it’s tough around Thanksgiving,” Austin said.

That’s because it’s Bedlam football time and the Vosses are a house divided. Penny and Garrett see red, while Russell, Austin and

Taylor bleed orange.

Russell, the owner of Arcadia Down Hole, an oil field service company, and Penny, who is the vice president of development for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, met while they were students at the then Central State University. Russell is from Perry and his siblings had attended Oklahoma

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State, but he became a Broncho on a track scholarship.

Penny was the fourth of five daughters in a “huge” OU family.

Her three older sisters went to the University of Oklahoma. She said that by the time she was ready to go to college, her parents thought she needed to be the one to do something different.

Austin and Garrett both grew up in Norman. They lived about a half a mile from the OU football stadium, but Russell never stepped inside.

Then, Austin up and decided to go to Stillwater.

“I thought that it was safe when we moved to Norman that he’d grow up to be an OU fan,” Penny said.

Austin said he wanted to get a change of scenery and compared Stillwater to Austin with its country and western music base.

“I kind of liked the vibe of OSU,” he said.

Tongue in cheek, Garrett, who now works for the Kempton Group selling health insurance to community banks, said he almost went to OSU, too.

“But, I got caught up in all the (football game) wins OU had.”

Penny said she has attended Cowboy games.

“I wore black,” she said. “I became more of an OSU fan when my son went there.”

Above: Penny and Garrett Voss represent at an OU home game.

At left: Penny crosses into enemy terriorty, but wears black, with husband Russell at an OSU home game.

See Family divided, Page 6

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A family divided From Page 5

Garrett Voss, second from left, with his mom Penny, Aunt Gina Nichols and Grandma Charleen Mills.

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Austin, now an industrial engineer at Tinker Air Force Base, and Taylor, who is supervisor of the software engineering group also at Tinker, met early into their college careers.

They were friends until the last year of school when they each had one engineering class left.

Taylor’s dad is also a die-hard OU fan. She said she grew up going to all the games with him.

She looked at both OU and OSU as the place to further her education, but at the time OSU was the only one with a competitive cheerleading squad. Taylor went on to be a part of a squad that won three national championships and she has the rings to yell about.

Other Cowboy cheerleading experiences Taylor enjoyed were being on ESPN Game Day, having her photo on the side of a Love’s petroleum truck and being tackled by a football player after the 2011 Bedlam game as they all stormed the field.

Before each OU game, Garrett follows a ritual of watching the highlights of the 2000 National Championship game and the Intro Hype video. He said it takes about 30 minutes.

Penny, who attends as many home games as she can with her mom, Charleen Mills, and her sister, Gina Nichols, can’t watch her Sooners play on television.

“I get so nervous,” she said. “I’m just pretty passionate.”

Garrett’s favorite game was in 2007, when he was 7, and OU beat Nebraska in Norman. Ironically, Penny recalled the 1971 OUNebraska game when she was 10.

“We lost and that was the first time I felt any emotion.”

All in all, it’s been a lot of years of football – both crimson and cream and orange. But, there is one team the Vosses have found common ground on.

Game Day in Stillwater: Taylor and Austin Voss taking in the festivities.

“I was so grateful when the Thunder came around and we could all cheer for them,” Penny said.

As far as the family members’ home teams go, there will be no conversion.

“I think if that was going to happen, it would have already happened,” Penny said.

Girl time: Charleen Mills with her daughters Penny Voss and Gina Nichols on Campus Corner in Norman.

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! s e k o P Go Front row: Chase Brennan and Ryan Johnson, and back row, Rick Johnson, Gayle Johnson, Mark Smallwood and Stephanie Smallwood.

Raised on OSU Ryan Johnson: Football season is about family and friends.

Out of 29 college age family members, 20 went to OSU. I have a cousin who is a sophomore this year, and plays football for OSU. We tailgate before every game and usually after too.

My parents met at OSU, so if it weren’t for OSU, I wouldn’t be here. Growing up, I guess I knew I could go anywhere to college, but I wasn’t sure they really meant it.

The powder bath at my parents had Pistol Pete wallpaper, a black counter and an orange sink. I was raised on OSU. Some of my best memories and best friends came out of Stillwater. I always say, Some days it’s easy to be a Cowboy, and some days it’s hard, but win or lose, the beer is always coldest in Stillwater.

From left: Chase Bre nnan, Rya George Yo n Johnson rk, David , Kevin Go Stricklin, and Ryan och, Brett Amber Str are Sigma Allred, ic klin. Brett Chis. The years ago , George, y were in .

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The Taylor family bleeds orange. From left, Clayton, Marnie, Becky and Clay.

Marnie Taylor and Meg Salyer are great friends and great Oklahoma State fans.

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BOOMER SOONER In love with OU

Starting young Coach Barry Switzer with aspiring players, Tristan Berglan and Brayson DeGraffenreid.

My fan experience started the moment we named our first dog we got when we moved to Oklahoma, “Sooner!” That same year it was announced over the intercom in my elementary school that Billy Sims had won the Heisman Trophy.

I knew right then and there I had picked the right team to fall in love with — the Oklahoma Sooners. My family became season-ticket holders pretty quickly.

Both my brother and I graduated from the University of Oklahoma.

My family has gone to the OU/Texas game with the same Texas family from Austin for more than 30 years. Our families met on Commerce Street.

I would say most people would recognize me as the OU fan with the OU cowboy hat and the OU purse, made out of a metal license plate. Cowboy boots are always worn to every game. It’s my uniform!

On game day morning, I drink out of an OU coffee mug. For the past two years, I have been wearing a Baker Mayfield jersey to work on Friday.

I love, live and breathe Oklahoma Sooners football!

Above: Susan Phillips and her daughter Channing. At left: Her game day purse.

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There’s only one OU A Hefner family tradition

Above: Carol and Robert Hefner IV attend every home game and always Texas/OU weekend. “Sooners are our jam,” she said. At right: Grandsons Tristan and Beckett Berglan representing a new generation of Hefner Sooner fans with Boomer. “Our family has had season tix for over 50 years with four generations attending games every season,” Carol said.

Carol Hefner’s dad Sam Coury with her brother John Coury.

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Sheri Buxton and Dr. Sam Coury bring the spirit at the OU games.

Pistols Firing Don Dunn is Oklahoma State’s longest-time season ticket holder.

Above: OSU President Burns Hargis and First Cowgirl Ann, Pistol Pete and Linda and Don Dunn. At left: Cold weather doesn’t deter these die-hard Cowboy fans, from left, back row, Jim and Cyndi David, Wayne Stone and Marie and Clayton Taylor, and front, Linda Dunn and Ann Ackerman.

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THUNDER UP! Up close and personal

Judy and Tom Love cheer on the Thunder from their courtside seats between the press box and the visting players.

Judy Love: What fun my family, friends, my husband Tom and I have had with the Thunder team over the past years.

About nine years ago when we got front row seats between the press box and the visiting players is when it really began for me.

There is something about being right next to those players — hearing various exchanges and seeing the same coaches year after year (my husband has several he shakes hands with like an old friend). You really get a feeling for how tall they are too!

My husband Tom is not quite an avid a fan as I am. Once a week is plenty for him , but if in town I can easily go two to three

A fan from Day One

Above: Sam Furseth (Sherry's brother) Steven Adams (Thunder No.12) and Sherry Furseth at the Thunder Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Night. Below: Nico with one of OKC Thunder Player Steven Adams’ size 19 signed shoes.

Sherry Furseth: I've been a Season Ticket Holder since day one. I have attended every home game and every home playoff game.

I have a new 4month-old Chihuahua Puppy. I named him Nico after Nick Collison.

Puppy “Nico” was born on March 20, the same day the Thunder retired Collison’s No. 4 Jersey.

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times if scheduled here. If some of the family can’t go, I have a list of ladyfriends that enjoy coming so always have some companions. We always begin our evening with dinner at the Pub or the courtside lounge – after all these years we know the staff and usually are given the same table for all the games.

Between KD, Serge, PG, Kanter, the Beard, LeBron, Kobe, Beverely, Draymond, Gasols, Blake, AD and Curry, we have seen them all at various high or low points, but of course my all time favorite is Westbrook. I wish him the best of luck forever — but him being gone won’t stop me from cheering our new Thunder team.

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LET’S GO THUNDER It changes how the world sees us The Holts: Front, George and Maggie; and back, David and Rachel.

Brei Moore: I had the privilege of being an OKC Thunder Girl for the 2018 season.

My year as a Thunder Girl was unforgettable. I was truly blessed to be a part of such a respectable and well-run organization. My overall experience working for the OKC Thunder has developed both my character and my career.

My favorite part of being a Thunder Girl was being surrounded and supported by the OKC community. Whether it was the fans or other organization workers, I was always greeted with a smile and passion in support and eagerness to cheer on the Thunder.

OKC fans are some of the best and it means the world to be a part of a legacy that is so special to Oklahoma and our team.

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OKC Mayor David Holt: Having the Thunder in OKC has meant that the way the world sees us and the way we see ourselves has changed dramatically.

We have an identity now. That has caused economic growth for our city far beyond the games themselves, though that is significant as well.

For these reasons alone, we have to pass MAPS 4 to continue this journey.

More personally, it’s meant so much to me, a kid who grew up in OKC, to see my kids grow up in a city with major league sports. They feel a part of the larger world in a way kids in this city didn’t for a very long time.

We don’t yet even know what that will mean for our future, but I believe it to be very positive.

And as a family, we have a lot of fun cheering for our team. Whatever the highs and lows, we experience them together.

Rubbing elbows with CP3 Mike Turpen: 15 years ago, my wife Susan and I spent a wonderful evening (above) with Chris and Jada Paul at an Allied Arts gathering at the Skirvin. We won the auction for a life size cut out of Chris Paul and he signed it for us (now proudly displayed in our law firm lobby).

Little did we know that he would return to OKC years later to lead what I call "CP3 & The Young Guns !" I sincerely miss Russell the Lionhearted, but I am passionate about the future of the OKC Thunder, the best franchise in the NBA.

A Thunder game is the ultimate family experience: From left, Mike Turpen, Blake Beavers and Sarah and Susan Turpen.

Fans for all seasons

Professional clowns Mr. Ed (Ed Southard) and Scooter (Ron Vavak) work all the OU games. At right: Betty Meyers, Jerry Sullivan and Bill Schafbuch during a watch party at Concordia Senior Living.

Above: Lonnie and Jane Childress at a Dallas Cowboy game. Below: Jane Childress and Karie Ross Dombrowski at Fenway Park.

Lonnie and Jane Childress at the Kentucky Derby. “From the Kentucky Derby to OU to the Dallas Cowboys and the Thunder they all create an energy that we seek to find,” Jane said.

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