Link to the livestream: 11:55am
REMINDER: Everyone attending our Tuesday luncheon will be asked to wear a mask, except when eating. Masks will be available at registration.
In keeping with Rotary’s mission of service above self, we strongly recommend that only those members and guests that are vaccinated attend our in-person meetings.
2-8-2022
Elected in November 2018, Republican J. Kevin Stitt is the 28th governor of Oklahoma. Governor Stitt is leading the state with a vision to become Top Ten in critical categories, from government accountability to job growth, infrastructure, education and more.
Governor Stitt is an entrepreneur and businessman who founded Gateway in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2000. Starting Gateway with only $1,000 and a computer, he grew his business into one of the top 20 mortgage lenders and servicers in the nation, operating in more than 40 states and servicing more than $20 billion in residential mortgages. Stitt led Gateway through a merger with Farmers Exchange Bank in 2018 and formed Gateway First Bank, which is headquartered in Jenks, Oklahoma, and operates more than 160 mortgage centers across the country and employs more than 1,400 people.
Oklahomans spoke in record numbers that they wanted Stitt to use his business acumen to transform the state. In 2018, he received more votes than any gubernatorial candidate in state history in his first bid for elected office of any kind.
Since taking office, he worked together with the Legislature to produce historic reform in five of the largest state agencies, allowing him to identify and recruit the best talent to serve in critical leadership positions.
More than half of the Governor’s Cabinet is made of experts who came from the private sector in Oklahoma, including the first chief operating officer in state history.
Governor Stitt also led the state to build its largest savings account in history, which proved to be prophetic in the face of a significant decline in the oil and gas market.
He is a fourth-generation Oklahoman who graduated from Norman High School, and is an alumnus of Oklahoma State University, where he received an accounting degree in 1996. Stitt and his wife Sarah have six children and have been married since 1998.
Chair of the Day
Kristin Peck is vice president of public affairs for Cox Communications’ central region and oversees strategic initiatives to drive business growth across six states, including Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma within the Arvest footprint. Specifically, Peck oversees corporate social responsibility and community engagement, employee engagement and culture initiatives, issues and message management, and all internal and external communications.
Peck currently serves as board chair for the State Chamber of Oklahoma and is a member of the board of trustees for the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, among other civic endeavors.
Peck earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Wichita State University and also is a graduate of the Women in Cable Telecommunications Betsy Magness Leadership Institute. Peck lives in Edmond with her husband, Jon. They have two sons.