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Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Elaine Johns was adopted into an American military family. At the age of five, Johns and her family moved to the States. She would go on to graduate from high school in 1975 in Hennessy, Oklahoma.
Shortly after graduation, Johns would marry her husband of 47 years, Eddie Johns. In the same year, Johns was sworn in as an American citizen in Enid, Oklahoma. Elaine and Eddie moved to Drummond, Oklahoma to raise their 3 children Jennifer, Julie, and Andy. During which time, Johns became involved in multiple school and community organizations from sports and band boosters to serving as the town treasurer and eventually on the school board – where she served for 12 years.
In 1990, Johns began working at an Enid aircraft company, Northwest Aero Services, as a temporary secretary. Over her tenure she rose the ranks and was eventually able to purchase the company. As the CEO, Johns used the company to give back to her community through various programs and fundraisers, some of which include:
In 1999, Elaine Johns began working on what has since become her most notable accomplishment, the Woodring Wall of Honor. After the donation of a Vietnam-era F-4 fighter jet, the Wall of Honor was started. Johns has said, “We renovated it [the jet] and decided it needed to be more than an aircraft on sticks or a lawn ornament”. Johns was a key component in the establishment of both the veteran’s park and the memorial wall. For these projects, Johns was able to secure pieces of the Murrah building for the gardens of remembrance and a 80% scale replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall. The wall is now recognized as Oklahoma’s official Vietnam War Monument.
Johns also served by organizing a capital campaign to aid in the renovation and construction of the WWII Roundtop Hanger and Veteran’s Museum. Every year families who’ve lost loved ones to war are invited to the park and are given a portrait of their loved one, personalized dog tags, proclamations, quilts and a flag in an oak case built by volunteers of Vance Air Force Base. They have honored over 200 families so far. Elaine Johns refuses to take any credit for the success of the memorial to veterans. Elaine continues to work with the Woodring Wall of Honor as well as serving in her local church and other charities in and around the area.
Other Accomplishments: