Kenneth Greenwood

Ken Greenwood, husband, father, friend, teacher and mentor, peacefully passed away on Tuesday, June 18, 2013. Born in Minnesota on July 29, 1923, raised in Nebraska, he attended the University of Nebraska before and after serving in the Philippines and Japan during World War II. After graduation in 1946 as ?Most Likely To Succeed,? he proceeded to do just that. His career in broadcasting led him from sports announcer to executive and owner of radio stations. From the beginning he was an innovator, conceiving the Nebraska State Sports Network, the first sports network in the country. After radio jobs in Kansas City, Peoria, Wichita and Des Moines, he came to Tulsa and KRMG in 1962. In 1963, he became president of Swanco Broadcasting, which also owned stations in five other cities. While at KRMG, he conceived, organized and began ?The Great Raft Race? on the Arkansas River. The event drew attention to the recreational potential of the river and resulted in the formation of the River Parks Authority. He was very proud of his efforts for Children!s Medical Center. He served two terms on the board, one as President. During this term, Children?s Medical Center bought the ARCO Research Center on Skelly Drive and moved into that location. In the mid-1960?s, Ken designed, financed and built Windycrest Sailing Club on Lake Keystone, then served as its first Commodore. The club has been cited by Sports Illustrated as one of the best sailing clubs in the Southwest. Beginning in 1966, he served four years as head of the Governor?s Committee on Tourism under then Governor Dewey Bartlett. He has been credited as being ?The Father of Tourism? in Oklahoma by former governor George Nigh. Ken served as President of the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters in 1968 and 1969. During his tenure, the two existing weather systems were consolidated into one statewide weather system, which included road conditions from the state highway patrol. This created a statewide tornado warning system. He also served as President of the OAB Foundation, spearheading the scholarship program. Oklahoma is the only state association to support a program of this size. In 1972, the University of Tulsa welcomed Ken as Head of the Department of Communications. His wisdom affected the lives of so many young broadcasters. Also, through his efforts KWGS Radio was put back on the air as a university station affiliated with PBS. His many awards and honors include induction into the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Wildlife Federation?s Conservation Communicator of the Year, the OAB?s Distinguished Service Award, Tulsa Advertising Federation?s Ad Man of the Year, the Ducks Unlimited Conservation Service Award, the University of Tulsa Communications Department Hall of Fame, the American Women in Radio and Television Distinguished Lifetime Award, the OK Heritage Distinguished Service Award for Preservation of State and Local History, and the League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Tulsa Pathfinder Award. He was one of only two media people to receive the Mass Media Award from what was then the National Conference of Christian and Jews for his KRMG radio editorials. He also served for two years on the National Board of NCCJ. In 1993, as the result of his company, Greenwood Performance Systems, he was honored by the Radio Advertising Bureau as ?The Dean of Broadcast Sales ?Irainers.? He authored three books widely used in broadcasting: ?The Seven Strategies For High Performance Selling?, ?High Performance Leadership? and ?Six Days In September?. In 1997, he received the NatureWorks Stewardship Award. A monument of a pair of river otters was placed at 7 st and Riverside in his honor. At the presentation, former honoree Joseph H. Williams, then president of the Williams Companies, described Ken Greenwood: ?Few individuals have set their goals so high and surpassed them so often. Few people with an ethic so strong and driven by such high purpose have been willing to work so quietly, wanting neither public praise nor public power to impose his dreams on an apathetic world.? Ken was a founding member of NatureWorks, a Tulsa-based conservation organization. He served ten years as its volunteer Executive Director. Under his leadership, the NatureWorks Wildlife Art Show and Sale has emerged as the top wildlife art show in the country. He also designed and built the first Oklahoma outdoor classroom at Country Lane School in Broken Arrow. The classroom was adapted as a prototype by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for some hundred such classrooms scattered across Oklahoma. During 1991 to 1994, he served as the Director of Development for the Oklahoma Chapter of the Nature Conservancy as it was being organized. He helped raise fifteen million dollars to establish the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, an environmental treasure he loved. In 2008, he wrote and produced ?Cowboys In Tall Grass,? a sevenpart series of documentaries. It won the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum?s Wrangler Award for Outstanding Documentary, and later aired on OETA. He is survived by his wife, partner and companion of nearly 69 years, Marian. Also surviving him are his son, Gil and daughter- in-law, Meg Greenwood, of Bartlesville; daughter, Sharon Parker and husband, Jim Parker, of Tulsa; daughter, Jody Jill McIntyre of Tulsa. Grandchildren are Kris Greenwood of Houston, Gina Greenwood of Oklahoma City, Elise Greenwood of San Diego, Catie Parker of Tulsa, and Morgan McIntyre and Harper McIntyre, both of Tulsa. A funeral service for Ken Greenwood will be at 1:00 pm on Monday, June 24, at St. John?s Episcopal Church. Memorials in his name may be made to Nature- Works (please visit their website at www. natureworks.org) or any charity of choice.

Kenneth Greenwood

July 29, 1923 - June 18, 2013