The 2015 Door-Opener Awards Gala sponsored by ASTEC Fund, Inc. and benefiting ASTEC Charter Schools of Oklahoma City took place on Thursday, September 24 at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel. The event featured a silent auction and a dinner awards program.
Event co-chairs Natalie Shirley, President of Oklahoma State University- OKC and Oklahoma Secretary of Education and Workforce Development and Randy Tate, CEO of NorthCare, presented Door-Opener Awards to the following individuals: Mohammad and Jalal Farzaneh, founders and owners of Home Creations, Pat Potts, President and CEO of The Potts Family Foundation, Robert Ross, President of Inasmuch Foundation and Richard Sias, with his late wife Jeannette Sias, of Joullian Vineyards.
Others assisting in the awards presentation included Dr. Freda Deskin, CEO/Superintendent of ASTEC Charter Schools; Governor David Walters, former Oklahoma Governor and President of Walters Power; Sandy Garrett, former Oklahoma State Superintendent of Education; Homer Paul, spouse of 2014 Door-Opener Dr. Ramona Paul; and Pete Delaney, Chairman of OGE and former Door-Opener Honoree.
The event’s major sponsor was the Inasmuch Foundation.
ASTEC Charter Middle School and ASTEC Charter High School, currently housed at the Shepherd Mall Business Park have a combined enrollment of 950 students. The middle school, founded in 2000, has the distinction of being Oklahoma’s first start-up charter school. Having outgrown their current location, the schools will be building a new campus near the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds that will greatly expand student learning, health and wellness opportunities, as well as accommodate the addition of an elementary charter school in the future.
ASTEC Fund, Inc. is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization responsible for raising funds for ASTEC Charter Schools. ASTEC Fund, Inc. is led by a group of Oklahoma City area civic leaders. Doug Fuller, President and CEO of Quail Creek Bank, is the board’s current chair.
Additional information about ASTEC Charter Schools and ASTEC Fund, Inc. can be found online at www.asteccharterschools.com.