OCU announces Milhouse Award recipient

OCU President Robert Henry, Cary Pirrong, and Maggie Ball celebrate at a recent dinner.

Oklahoma City University presented the 2010 Bishop Paul Milhouse Award to Cary Pirrong at a campus dinner Dec. 10. Cary and his family are members of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City.

OCU established the award in 1982 for the purpose of recognizing people who demonstrate outstanding leadership in their community, local United Methodist church, and the Oklahoma Conference, in addition to being an advocate for the partnership between OCU and the Church.

Cary wears many hats at St. Luke’s. He is a member of the Administrative Board, the Board of Trustees, and the Management Council; teaches a children’s Sunday School class; serves as a Disciple Bible Study teacher; volunteers with the Studio 222 after-school program; and gets up early enough on Sunday morning to usher in the 8:30 worship service.

His service in the community is equally broad. He is a Den Leader and Assistant Pack Master for Cub Scouts Pack 469 and an active member of the Watch Dog Dads at Wilson Elementary School in Oklahoma City.

He received the Governor’s Commendation in 2005 for his work as General Counsel for the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board. Cary’s commitment to service now finds him offering his legal expertise at Indigent Defense.

His commitment to OCU is of equal measure and devotion. He is a member of the OCU Alumni Board and was president of the board during the university’s Centennial in 2004. It was during that period that the Alumni Association became a dues-paying association. He serves as a volunteer and committee member for the Marianne Vannatta Race for the Stars, which benefits the OCU Kramer School of Nursing. And he serves as a member of the Athletic Advisory Committee.

In presenting the award, Margaret Ball, vice president for University-Church Relations, summed up Pirrong’s continuing life of service: "He is a STAR in every sense of the word."

The University-Church Relations Office welcomes nominations for this annual award. You are invited to submit the names of outstanding laity you know who express their faith in concrete ways in their communities and in support of OCU.

Rev. Ball may be reached at mball@okcu.edu  or 405-208-5060. Deadline for receiving all nominations for the 2011 award is Oct. 1, 2011.