Larry Akers

Mr. Akers, a registered professional engineer in the states of Missouri and Oklahoma, has 40 years experience in the energy industry.  For the past several years, Mr. Akers has acted as an independent energy consultant/investor.  Prior experience included ten years as Chairman, President and CEO of ESCO Energy, Inc.  For ten years prior to forming ESCO, Mr. Akers served as exploration and development manager for Laclede Gas, St. Louis, MO. 

Larry and Le have two children and six grandchildren.  They are active in Harvard Avenue Christian Church.

Honorable Joseph W. Morris

The Honorable Joseph W. Morris is currently, and for 24 years has been a shareholder and on the Board of Directors of the law firm of GableGotwals and was former Vice President and General Counsel of Shell Oil Company and former Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.  He was former Dean of the College of Law at the University of Tulsa and Adjunct Professor of Law for more than 20 years.  He is a graduate of Washburn University and University of Michigan Law School.

Bishop William Cox

The Rev. William J. Cox did his undergraduate studies at the University of Cincinnati and George Washington University. He graduated Virginia Theological Seminary in June of 1957 and was ordained Deacon July 6, 1957, then Priest March 21, 1958.  He was consecrated Bishop the 16th of December 1972.

Jim Linn

Jim Linn is an owner of Trace Drilling, LLC, a provider of contract drilling services to the U.S. oil and gas industry. Prior to Trace Drilling, Jim spent 28 years with publicly traded Parker Drilling Company in various management roles and as a Director.

Mr. Linn earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education and a Juris Doctor degree, both from The University of Oklahoma. He is a member of the Oklahoma and Tulsa County Bar Associations.

John Beltz

John Beltz has thirty four years experience in B2B marketing, corporate communications and business management. Mr. Beltz was appointed Corporate Vice President and Officer for Grant Prideco, Inc. in May, 2002. He retired from this position in April, 2007 following the purchase of Grant Prideco by National Oilwell Varco. From 1976-2002, Mr. Beltz held various marketing management positions at FMC Technologies, Pierpont Communications and Bates Churchill Advertising. John is a published author in his industry and has been a contributing writer to the Houston Business Journal. He has served as an adjunct substitute professor and guest presenter/speaker to MBA marketing classes at the University of Houston and other industry forums.

Mr. Beltz holds a B.S. degree in Business and Marketing from Oklahoma State University. He has been married to his wife Kathy, for 34 years. He has two sons, Matthew and Phillip, and two grand-daughters. John now enjoys spending time golfing, traveling and counseling with men and women who are experiencing life-issues and challenges, job change and transition.

Evans Rector

Evans Rector has 35 years experience in banking and arranging loans.  Evans has worked with powerOne financial since 2004, arranging commercial financing for real estate investors.  Prior to working for powerOne, Evans worked for Grand Lake Bank as Senior Vice President (1992 to 1998) and then President (1998 to 2004).  He worked as Vice President of Bank of Oklahoma from 1988 to 1992.  From 1986 to 1988, he worked for American National Bank in El Reno.  He worked for First National Bank from 1973 to 1986.

Mr. Rector holds a B.A. in English and he completed a 2 year “Professional Masters of Banking” program in 2001.  He has been married for 34 years. He has 2 daughters and 1 son.  He has 1 grandson.

Cheryl Wootton

Cheryl Wootton spent 30 years in the petroleum and natural gas exploration industry before retiring in 2005 from Weinkauf Petroleum, Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma.  She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In March 2007, the Energy Advocates honored her as one of the Outstanding Women in Energy.

Tyson Schwerdtfeger

Tyson Schwerdtfeger is an attorney with the law firm of GableGotwals, where he practices in the areas of commercial litigation and oil and gas law. Prior to joining GableGotwals, Tyson served as a law clerk to United States District Judge Claire V. Eagan. Tyson graduated from Oklahoma Christian University with a double major in History and Vocational Ministry, and he currently serves on the Board of Development for Oklahoma Christian. Tyson received his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School, where he was named a Harold Stirling Vanderbilt Scholar.

Tyson and his wife, Kenna, have one son and have another child on the way. They attend JenksChurch, where he leads a small-group bible study and serves on the Adult Education team.

Carol Mathews

President / Broadcast Producer - Current C Creative Group

As a producer, Carol has over 20 years of extensive experience in the film and video arena. Her expertise encompasses many genres of programming and production — from corporate video to public relations to fundraising to full-length documentaries and television series production.  Her advertising/commercial clients range from a Donald Trump Resort to CITGO Petroleum to BASF chemical company.  Her corporate video clients include Frito-Lay and Wilson Sports along with some large non-profit organizations.  Some of her productions can be found in Barnes & Noble and Wal-Mart with retail product DVDs for the “Dummies” publishers, Wedding Planning for Dummies, Wine for Dummies, Dogs for Dummies and more.  She has also produced both a reality series as well as a behind-the-scenes documentary for ESPN.  With a long history in family-oriented programming, Carol has produced documentaries that have been syndicated nationwide while being sold in major retail outlets.   Carol executes already-existing scripts as well as conceiving and writing the script for the client. With an emphasis in longer-form programming, Carol is well-versed in production for documentaries and television shorts.  Client relationships range from Carol being a member of the production team as a producer, or she can produce a job from start to finish with the aid of the CCC team.   Carol is married to music composer and producer, Scott Mathews, and they have two boys, Sam (3 years old) and Gabe (7 months old).  

Hess has been the Senior Pastor at Southern Hills Baptist Church since 1997, having previously served churches in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Texas. He says, “My claim to fame is my family- miraculously, they let me tag along!” Hess’ wife, Julie, is a public high school vocal music teacher and actively involved in various ministries of SHBC. Their three daughters are Katy, Becca, and Rachel.  Hess enjoys friends, golf, music, and good reads. He has degrees from Midwestern (D.Min.) and Southwestern (M.Div.) Seminaries and S.M.U. (BA).