TULSA, OK – [June 12, 2018] – The Tulsa Health Department will honor James O. Goodwin’s remarkable fifty years of service to the Tulsa City-County Board of Health at a special reception on June 15 at Gilcrease Museum.
Goodwin was initially appointed to the board by Tulsa County in March 1968, and has served as chair numerous times. In 2003, he received a Lifetime Excellence Award and THD’s East Regional Health Center, 5051 S. 129 E. Ave., was renamed the James O. Goodwin Health Center.
Oklahoma Representative Regina Goodwin will serve as the mistress of ceremony for the evening. Dignitaries who will speak during the program include:
• Oklahoma Senator Kevin Matthews
• Oklahoma Representative Monroe Nichols
• City of Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum
• Tulsa County Commissioner Ron Peters
• Board of Health Chair Kian Kamas
• Former Board of Health Chair Rik Helmerich
• Tulsa Health Department Executive Director Dr. Bruce Dart
• Oklahoma City-County Health Department Executive Director Gary Cox
Additionally, Goodwin will receive special proclamations from the City of Tulsa, Tulsa County, State of Oklahoma, and the National Association of City-County Health Officials.
“A half-century of service to public health is a rare and notable achievement that has made a profound impact in the lives of countless Tulsa County residents,” said THD Executive Director Dr. Bruce Dart. “Mr. Goodwin has been an integral part of the community and spent his life in service to law, public health and publishing. We are so grateful for his wisdom, insight and leadership on the Board of Health.”
Born in 1939, James O. Goodwin is currently an attorney at law and publisher of the Oklahoma Eagle Publishing Company. A graduate of the University of Tulsa and Notre Dame, he successfully challenged before the U. S. Supreme Court and Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals the constitutionality of a state statute and city ordinance regarding freedom of speech and was co-counsel in the matter of reparation for victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot.
The reception begins at 6:00 p.m. with a cocktail hour. Dinner and presentation begins immediately after at 7:00 p.m. in the Helmerich Center for American Research at 1400 North Gilcrease Museum Road. For more information, call 918.595.4462.
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Tulsa Health Department
Since its establishment in 1950, the Tulsa Health Department serves as the primary public health agency to more than 600,000 Tulsa County residents, including 13 municipalities and four unincorporated areas. The agency is one of two autonomous local health departments in Oklahoma, with statutory public health jurisdiction throughout Tulsa County and the City of Tulsa. THD’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of all Tulsa County residents, in order to make Tulsa County the healthiest county in the country. THD was among the first health departments in the U.S. to receive national accreditation through the Public Health Accreditation Board. For more information, please visit www.tulsa-health.org.
