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This year’s “There’s No Place Like Homecoming” pageant committee has selected four individuals to judge this year’s homecoming king and queen scholarship pageant. Tara Oelke from Integris Hospital, Mike Sexton from First National Bank, Carole White and Coach Jim Rowland, both from NEO, have been named as this year’s homecoming pageant judges. These judges will be conducting interviews Sept. 23 for all king and queen candidates who represent various clubs and organizations on campus. The judges will continue their selection process at the formal homecoming pageant on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Auditorium. The event is free to the public. “We are excited and honored to have these four individuals as our judges as they all have such rich and diverse backgrounds. With their various areas of expertise, I am sure they will do a fantastic job in selecting the best candidates to represent NEO,” said Elsie Grover, royalty committee member.
Tara Oelke is an NEO alumna and is currently the business development manager at Integris Baptist Regional Health Center in Miami, Okla. Oelke received her recreational therapy degree from OSU and is married to Daniel, and together they have two children, Colton and Isaac. A fun fact about Oelke is that she works out each morning at 4:30 a.m.
Carole White holds a bachelor’s degree in speech communication/English and a master’s degree with a focus in speech and language pathology from the University of Louisiana. She currently teaches speech and English at NEO. White previously was elected and employed for six years as the president of the East Baton Rouge Parish Association of Educators and was elected by the voters of a multi-parish district to serve on the Board of Trustees of the Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana. White serves as a “Friend of the Coleman” and enjoys reading, traveling and playing the piano and clarinet. She also began taking violin lessons last January. Her daughter, Sloane Brown, is director of the NEO library.
Mike Sexton is an NEO alumnus and is currently the executive vice president at First National Bank in Miami, Okla. Sexton received his bachelor’s degree from Pitt State University in business administration followed by Graduate School of Banking in Madison, Wis. Sexton is married to Penny and has two children and four grandchildren. A fun fact about Sexton is that he enjoys working with cattle, playing golf and fishing.
Jim Rowland is currently the head women’s basketball coach and housing director at NEO in Miami, Okla. Rowland received his bachelor’s degree from University of Central Oklahoma in physical recreation. He is married to Tonya, who is also employed by the college and together they have three children, Haiden, Tori, and Mason. Rowland recently achieved his 200th win in Feb. 2014 as a head coach. He enjoys going to the lake in the summer with his family and friends. For more information about homecoming, visit: https://neo.edu/StudentLife/Activities/Homecoming or call Lisa Severe at 918-540-6327.
