Breaking Barriers

TRAILBLAZING PONCA CITY WOMEN TALK INSPIRATION, MENTORS AND WHAT DRIVES THEM IN THEIR DAILY LIVES

Story & Photos by Kelsey Wagner / Ponca City Monthly Editor-in-Chief

It’s no surprise there are still jobs primarily dominated by a certain gender. Teaching, nursing, and flight attending are a few careers primarily filled by women. Meanwhile, male-dominated industries include construction work, auto sales, and firefighting. But more and more people are crossing over to work in industries long held by their counterparts.

We spoke with some amazing local women working in traditionally male-dominated fields. As the world continues changing, telling the stories behind those changes is important. Stephanie Austin, Heather Cannon, Kelli Kinkaid, and Sally Talley are Ponca City women breaking barriers and moving our city forward.

Stephanie Austin

“If you can see it behind me, this whole stack of plans behind me,” Stephanie Austin points to a four-inch-thick stack of papers on her desk, “that’s just the one jail project.” But that doesn’t scare Stephanie. She loves construction and loves the challenge it brings daily. Stephanie was named President and CEO of Rick Scott Construction (RSC) last year and began her career at RSC 16 years ago in August. “I started off as an Administrative Assistant. I answered the phones, did data entry, then moved up to accounting assistant.” Austin says she continued moving up the ranks. Stephanie says women are definitely still in the minority in the construction industry, and she is unsure if there are any other women construction company CEOs in the state of Oklahoma. Stephanie says her mindset in construction is figuring out how to do things more efficiently.

Stephanie thinks each time, “what’s the end result, and what’s the best path to it?” “We have tried really hard over the last 5 years to get away from the ‘this is how we’ve always done it’ mentality at RSC, and not put ourselves in a box. It’s hard. We are really challenging people to be creative.” Four of RSC’s top leadership positions are currently filled by women. Stephanie says that as the industry changes, more and more women will be working in construction across the board.

Over the past 15 years, Stephanie says, the overall image of the construction industry has also changed. “In generations past, years and years ago, there was a stereotype about construction workers, that they were dirty, they weren’t educated and that they just slung mud and hammered nails all day. There were stereotypes in the industry that construction workers were not professionals, and over the years that has changed. It has changed not because of women, but because the characteristics that women tend to bring that they then bring out in those around them.” Stephanie says women bring unique skills and talents to the construction industry and are able to encourage collaboration between teams. “That’s what I foresee changing in the [construction] industry the most, a lot more collaboration,” she says.

“I don’t think the industry has changed [only] because there are women in the room, there are plenty of women who are not collaborative and have to be right; but I do think there are certain traits that women have emotionally and in the way, they think, that brings out positive characteristics in others.”

Heather Cannon

There are currently 1,380 Honda stores in the United States, and Heather Cannon only knows of two other women dealership owners other than herself.

Heather is President and sole proprietor of Heather Cannon Honda. “I can’t tell you how many others there are in the US, but I can tell you I’m the only [female-owned] dealer in our zone, which includes Arkansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, part of New Mexico, and part of Texas.”

Heather has been working in the car business since she was 15. Heather’s mother, Lisa Hopkins, worked in the auto repo business, which is where Heather was first exposed to the industry.

“I showed up to help my mom one day when she was repossessing a car, and when we got back to the dealership, I just sort of picked up the pieces and the rest is history,” Heather says. Before getting into the car business, Heather says she initially wanted to have a career as a mortician; a career she felt would come with more job security. “I never thought the car business was something I wanted to do. I wanted something with job security, and I knew the [auto industry] hours were very brutal. I just thought [the car business] wasn’t something I wanted to do.”

Heather laughs. She shrugs her shoulders and says, “but here I am on year 28.” Heather says there are two people that influenced her life more than anyone else: Mary Stanton and Charlie Cannon, both of whom were in the car business, and owned dealerships.

Heather lost her father at the age of 2. She says Charlie Cannon stepped up as a father figure, but was technically her grandfather by marriage. Despite her divorce she maintained a close relationship with Charlie.

Charlie Cannon owned Charlie Cannon Chevrolet and later assisted with his son’s automobile dealership Sonny Cannon Auto Plaza in Blackwell, where Heather worked at the time.

“Charlie Cannon taught me firm handshakes and to always look people in the eye when you speak to them.” She remembers Charlie taking her to the Blackwell Chamber of Commerce banquet to practice shaking hands and making eye contact. Heather purchased her first dealership, Dick Stanton Honda, from Dick and Mary Stanton in 2003. She said Mary and Dick both taught her so much about the car businesses and were instrumental in her success. Heather says for her, it really is both the customer and the community that make her job worth it every day. “We’re very fortunate in Ponca City that we really do have very loyal customers.” She says her dealership sells about 80% of the Honda’s owned in Ponca City. Heather says her other secret to success is her strong team of employees. Heather says her team of employees is “absolutely fantastic.” When asked what advice she would give to those seeking to get into the car business, she laughs and says, “Don’t!” Heather says the car business is tough and always has been. Technology, she says, is transforming it now almost beyond recognition. With more complex electric cars being sold every year, even the service department business has gotten tricky. In 2016 Heather opened her newly built facility, which is three times larger than the original store she purchased back in 2003. Heather says a new building wasn’t exactly in her original plans. “Honda made me build this building. It was either that, or I was going to lose the franchise. I didn’t want to pay for it, but actually — it has really opened us up to the community. We will have 300 kids here doing a trunk or treat and we love doing our ride and drive events. We take a lot of pride in this building. It really has been a blessing in the end.” When the new facility opened, she officially switched the name of the store from “Cannon Honda” to “Heather Cannon Honda.” She says she is amazed at how many curious onlookers come in just to say “We have never seen a lady’s name on a car dealership before.” “It makes you feel good, you know? I feel that’s my job here in our community — to really give back, to really be a mentor to my team, to help the community when they need it and just to count my blessings and to not forget where I come from. I think if you continue to do good things, God continues to bless you.”

Kelli Kinkaid

Making a career change at the age of 40 is not an easy transition, but it is especially challenging when that change involves a required two-week boot camp carrying 60 pounds of gear each day.

Kelli Kinkaid remembers the first time she thought about becoming an EMT/firefighter. She was in high school, and she considered it as a career option, but instead, she opted to work for her family’s business, Kinkaid Veterinary Clinic. Her father and brother are veterinarians at the downtown Ponca City clinic.

But, after nearly two decades spent working with animals, she felt it was time for a change.

Kelli left her job at the animal clinic and worked on her Dad’s farm in the meantime, while she considered her next career move.

“I had no idea what I was going to do when I left I just knew I needed a change,” Kelli says.

During her time away from work, Kelli traveled to Boston to participate in the annual 26-mile marathon, but due to extreme dehydration she was rushed to the ER.

“I had an unfortunate experience [at the marathon] where I needed an ambulance. It was really scary, and I had just stopped working for my Dad. I ended up in the hospital and when I got back home, I decided that’s what I wanted to do,” Kelli says Kinkaid enrolled into a 6-month EMT certification program that was offered at Pioneer Technology Center and was hired by the Ponca City Fire Department (PCFD) the following year. Kinkaid is not the first female firefighter to work at PCFD, but she was the only for a time. Another female, Katey Lawson, joined the ranks last year. Kinkaid is passionate about her job, but says it can be very physically demanding. She says the shifts are long and can be stressful, but she loves the challenge.

“You need to be in shape. Also, at least in Ponca City, you can’t just be an EMT, you have to be a firefighter too.”

She recalls being sent to a firefighter course at OSU and being tasked with carrying over 60 pounds of bunker gear every day for two weeks.

“I don’t think it’s challenging being a female firefighter. All the guys have been very welcoming and have taken me in and they like the fact that I’m here. I think, like with anything, you have to prove yourself.” When asked who inspires her, she says it’s always been her hard-working parents. “Both of my parents are 75 and they still work every single day,” Kelli says. She continues, “I think what I love the most is that it changes every day. You never know what you’re going to do from day to day, but you know you are going to help people.” Kelli says that any woman who is interested in working as an EMT/Firefighter should definitely consider it. “You can do anything you set your mind to,” Kinkaid said. “Just because it’s mainly a ‘man’s job’ doesn’t mean it has to be that way. I was nervous at first, but we are all a big family now that we’ve gotten to know each other.”

Sally Talley

Sally Talley is a Principal Architect and a business partner with Richard Winterrowd at Winterrowd Talley Architects Inc. She has been a licensed architect in the state of Oklahoma since 2016. Talley has always loved the beauty of buildings. Growing up, she also loved Legos, Lincoln Logs, and the once-popular video game, The Sims. However, she wasn’t allowed to play the Sims, so she settled on a lesser-known game called “Home Designer” that still allowed her to digitally build homes. She remembers thinking about her future house. Sally would tag along with her mom, as they cared for the family’s rental properties all while dreaming up ways they could be modified or renovated. “Thinking back, I was always drawn to architecture through the love of design and really all things artsy, including buildings.” “Architecture is a mixture of art, science, and math,” and as much as she loved art and science, Talley wasn’t very keen on math. While at a high school career fair, Sally met Troy Lewis, founder of the architectural firm she now coowns. “He helped encourage me to not worry about the math because that’s what you have engineers for,” she smiles.

As Sally prepared for college, she felt certain she wanted to try her hand at architecture. Her mom Jane, a career commercial airline pilot, encouraged Sally to study both architecture and aviation. Honoring her Mom’s suggestion, Sally studied both architecture and aviation, albeit for one semester. Even though the architecture classes were challenging, she knew deep down it was exactly what she wanted to do. “My mom was my biggest encourager/supporter/ mentor. It really was because of her that I didn’t even really realize I was going into a male-dominated industry. It just wasn’t even ‘a thing’,” Sally explains.

“My mom was this amazing trail blazer in the airline industry, and that didn’t even sink in until I was in college, when I realized what she did was incredible. I grew up not knowing anything different, just that I could do whatever I wanted to do. There shouldn’t be any boundaries for little girls. It’s just sad that there could ever be some little girls that might think there are things they can’t do.”

Jane Morris was the first woman pilot to be rated captain of the 747, one of the first females to be hired by United and was the first pregnant pilot for United. Sally also credits as a mentor her “big sister” in her social sorority. Her “Big” also majored in architecture and pushed Sally to study hard. Sally says that most of her architecture classes were 50/50 males and females; but it’s after graduation, during the licensing process when the number of female architects starts to dwindle. “There just aren’t as many licensed women architects as there are men.” Holding a bachelor degree in architecture, with a minor in construction science, Sally laughs and said, “If you want to talk about male-dominated classes, all the construction classes were almost all men.”

Some of Sally’s first projects include a few elementary schools in Woodward. She loved the process of designing the schools and that she was able to be a part of the entire process from beginning to end. “Almost every project I’ve worked on has been so different. I’ve done a football locker room, the concert hall, schools, restaurants, and residential.” Each week varies. Some are busy, especially if there are lots of new project meetings. Sally says it’s the variety of her work that she loves.

Sally says a big part of new projects can involve ladders and measuring as she examines an existing space and begins dreaming up what the renovations will look like, just like she did as a kid.

Talley attributes much of her success to her business partner, Richard Winterrowd. “Richard has been such a supportive architect mentor. He is so supportive of me, and patient with me because I am still learning every single day and he has been such a great partner to have. So, I just want to say thank you to him for having so much patience with me.”

Sally encourages any kid, boy or girl, wanting to be an architect, to go for it.

“Just keep that goal in your mind, and expose yourself to design — magazines, books — and come visit our office! We would love to show kids or anyone what architecture is really like.”

Sally says Ponca City is where she is supposed to be. She met her husband right after buying into the architecture firm, around the same time he purchased his own pest control business.

“I can’t imagine not being in Ponca City. Every time I go away, I just think ‘I can’t wait to get back home.”

Three days after this interview took place, Sally gave birth to a healthy new baby.