The Konawa Chamber of Commerce invites members and the general public to bring the family and join them for their annual Konawa Community Banquet scheduled for Friday, March 13. This dinner and program event will be held in the Multi-Purpose Room at Konawa School.

In addition to enjoying a delicious meal catered by the Konawa J.O.M., those in attendance will have an opportunity to hear from one of Oklahoma’s leading educators and witness the highly anticipated recognition of Konawa Citizen of the Year for 2025.

Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. and guests will have an opportunity to mix and mingle while they place their bids on a variety of items that will be included in a silent auction. Bids will be accepted until 7:00 p.m., and the evening meal will be served at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are now available for purchase at BancFirst, Sooner State Bank, Broadway Beanz and Amy’s Flowers in Konawa. Each ticket purchased will be entered into a drawing for one of two Konawa Business Gift Certificates. One will be worth $400 and the other worth $200.

The six nominees for the 2025 Konawa Citizen of the Year are Beth Woody, Dave Herriman, Don Gallagher, Leander Yellowfish, Philip Bradley and Tonya Harjo.

The Chamber explains that Konawa is blessed with many people that give of themselves and are genuinely worthy of this honor. The Chamber has decided to announce the winner during their banquet, and they are hopeful all of the nominees can attend and be recognized for their nomination and outstanding contribution to the city.

The program will also include an entertaining and informative presentation by Paula Kedy, who is currently the Statewide Manager of Aerospace and Aviation Education (or Aerospace STEM Education Manager) for the Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics. She is widely recognized for driving the expansion of aviation curricula, particularly the AOPA “You Can Fly” program, which has played a large part in making Oklahoma a national leader in high school aerospace education.

The Oklahoma Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics web page states that under Kedy’s vision and efforts, the Oklahoma aviation high school roster has been established as leading the way with the highest number of schools teaching the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) “You Can Fly” high school curriculum. Oklahoma is number one in the nation for the number of schools that are teaching this aviation and aerospace program in the classroom, nearly double the number of any other state.

Kedy has a long and distinguished history as an educator, and was the Oklahoma Supreme Court Teacher of the Year in 2004, as well as a finalist for Oklahoma Teacher of the Year.

She has previously served as the Executive Director of Academics and Instruction for the Ada City School District. She has also served as president of the Oklahoma Council of Teachers of English.