FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                          April 28, 2005 

LAUGHLIN TO DELIVER COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS

            A three-term senator who represents Northwestern Oklahoma State University at the state capitol will deliver the keynote address to graduates at the school’s 106th commencement exercise.

            Sen. Owen Laughlin of Woodward will address graduates during the ceremony at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, May 7, at Ranger Field in Alva.a.

            “I am excited that Senator Laughlin accepted our invitation to speak,” said Dr. Paul Beran, university president. “He has been a strong supporter of Northwestern and has been a driving force in the efforts to build a campus in Woodward. Our graduates should learn much from him as he shares his experiences from private business and public service.”

            Laughlin was elected to the State Senate in 1996 representing District 27, which stretches from Blaine County in northwest Oklahoma to Cimarron County in the Oklahoma Panhandle, bordering Colorado and New Mexico.

            He has risen through the political ranks and serves as the Assistant Minority Floor Leader, making him the second-ranked Republican in the Senate. Laughlin serves on numerous Senate committees, including Agriculture and Rural Development, Energy and Environment, Rules, Transportation and the Joint Committee on Accountability in Government.

            Laughlin was named 1999 Legislator of the Year by the National Republican Legislators Association, citing his legislative leadership and commitment to fairness and integrity. He was awarded the Oklahoma Farm Bureau Meritorious Service Award in 1997 and again in 2002.

            Raised in Higgins, Texas, Laughlin graduated from Southern Nazarene University in 1973 and earned his law degree from Oklahoma City University in 1976. Following law school, he and his wife, Charlette, moved to Woodward and raised four children. In addition to his law practice, Laughlin has been in the banking and real estate investment businesses. He also is a certified flight instructor.

-NW-

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