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Officials at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) have announced that Vinita Mayor Chuck Hoskin Sr. has been selected as the recipient for this year’s Outstanding Alumnus for the School of Human Environmental Sciences. Traditionally recognized in coordination with NEO Football Homecoming, NEO is planning to recognize this year’s honorees during a spring 2021 ceremony.
Mayor Hoskin grew up on a farm on the outskirts of Vinita. After graduating from Vinita High School, he joined the Navy and served aboard the U.S.S. Independence. After his service, he supported his young family as an ironworker, commuting from Vinita to Tulsa, and then back to Miami to complete his degree at NEO. He found caring faculty at NEO. In one instance, he was allowed by Communications Instructor Georgene Payne to sit at the back of the class and keep the door open so he could hear the office phone in case his expecting wife went into labor.
Following NEO, Hoskin completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Northeastern State University and began his teaching career at Vinita Public Schools. He earned a seat on the Council of the Cherokee Nation, a position which he held for 12 years and eventually became the principal at Locust Grove High School. He won election for Oklahoma’s 6th House District, where he served the maximum of 12 years from 2006 to 2018. Hoskin also worked as a cabinet member for Cherokee Principal Chief Bill John Baker during his term from 2011-2019. In the Spring of 2019 Hoskin was inaugurated in his current position as the mayor of Vinita. “It is an honor to recognize Mr. Chuck Hoskin as this year’s recipient of the Outstanding Alumnus Award for the School of Human Environmental Sciences,” said Jennifer Walker, executive director of the NEO Development Foundation. “Whether it be serving his country, serving his tribe, serving his district of Oklahoma, and now serving the residents of his hometown as Mayor, Mr. Hoskin has spent his life serving others. He has truly made helping others the cornerstone of his life.” For more information, contact Jordan Adams at Jordan.m.adams@neo.edu.
