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L.O. Ward, Oil and Gas Producer/Operator, Chairman of Ward Petroleum Corporation. Ward Petroleum Corporation was listed in Inc. Magazine as one of America’s 500 fastest growing private companies in 1991, 1992 and 1993. Mr. Ward’s memberships included the Energy Advocates, and Director and Past President of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association (1979-1980.) He is also one of the founders of The University of Oklahoma Energy Center. Mr. Ward was inducted in The University of Oklahoma College of Engineering Distinguished Graduates Society in 1996, was named Energy Leader of the Year in 1996 by the National Association of Royalty Owners and received Lone Star Steel’s “Chief Roughneck” Award in 1999 for lifetime achievement in the oil and gas industry. He received the Governor’s Arts Award in 2006 for his commitment in creating an awareness of and appreciation for the arts in the State of Oklahoma. In 2007, he was inducted into the Enid Public School Foundation Hall of Fame and was the recipient of the 2007 Pillar of the Plains Award. In 2008, he was the recipient of the Seed Sower Award and in 2009, the recipient of the Oklahoma Trailblazer Award, both awards from the University of Oklahoma. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2010. Mr. Ward also served as Director of the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce and president of the Enid Chamber of Commerce. He has served as president of the Enid Rotary Club and the American Business Club. The Enid Chamber of Commerce named him Businessman of the Year and in 2007, Citizen of the Year. Mr. Ward served on the Board of Trustees of the Oklahoma Nature Conservancy and is a member of the American West Society of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, the Oklahoma Heritage Association, the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs and a member of the Board of Directors of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits. He served on the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and was instrumental in bringing “Partners in Education” to Enid. Mr. Ward was born on July 24, 1930, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He received his B.S. Degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1953. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Oklahoma and a graduate of the Owner/President Management Program at Harvard University. Lew Ward died on March 20, 2016.