Sheila O. Lee--March 10, 1961-April 4, 2011—An Amazing Woman

A little over a week ago, Southwest Oklahoma was rocked, shocked and deeply saddened by the very untimely passing of Sheila Lee. Unless you are connected to the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber crowd, that name may not be a household word. But, I am gonna bet ya a dollar to a donut, that you have attended an event that was made better by Sheila’s extreme organizational skills. Sheila had worked for the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber for over 15 years and I have thought over the last week or so, how best to describe her. The best analogy I can draw is no matter what the event coming to Southwest Oklahoma, Sheila Lee was “on it”. I have worked with Sheila even way back in my ag teacher days when I was the steer superintendent for the Wichita Mountains Classic. That show, year after year, brought people in to show livestock from all over the US. It did what the Chamber folks like to call “put lots of heads in lots of beds”. I know some of my rural folks out there have had kids that have shown livestock in that event and that is just one example of the kind of things that Sheila did to keep things cranking and to keep people coming to visit Southwest Oklahoma. Another event that she was always good at orchestrating was the buffalo and longhorn sales that occur at the Wichita Mountains. Typically those events bring lots of folks from out of town and the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber for years has put a committee together to cook buffalo burgers for the visitors that come from far and wide to buy those animals. Sheila was a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma, as am I. One of the best things that happens every Fall with each new LOK Class is that they make a stop here in Southwest Oklahoma and state leaders from all walks of life get to come and experience our Southwest Oklahoma hospitality, as well as the high importance of a military presence to our Southwest Oklahoma economy. Sheila had her hand and more importantly, her superb organizational skills in a good many of these events and did 'yeoman's work’, mostly behind the scenes to make sure that we brought as many people into our area, and more importantly, into our economic circle in our part of the state. The question on everyone’s mind is “how do you replace someone so effective”?

Shelia was an integral part of the Lawton Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce. She served the chamber in several different capacities since 1996, finally earning her role as President & CEO this past October.

Shelia began her professional life as a successful businesswoman in Hanau, Germany, where she was a retail specialist with Waterford/Wedgwood and an accountant for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. Once she returned to the United States, she began work in the field of career services, assisting others in finding an appropriate career path. She moved to Lawton, where she worked in Student Services for Draughon College and later became a fiscal officer at Marie Detty Head Start Center. She began her prominent Chamber of Commerce career in 1996 as the receptionist with the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce. Throughout the years, she thrived in many roles at the Chamber to include Military Affairs, Membership and Tourism, rapidly was promoted to Chamber Vice President and recently accepted the position of Chamber President.

She served as a board member for the Oklahoma State Chamber of Commerce, the United States Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Oklahoma, the Lawton Food Bank, the Oklahoma University Cancer Institute, and the Fort Sill Federal Credit Union. She was a member of Leadership Oklahoma Class XVII, the Lawton Business & Professional Women, the League of Women Voters, the Association of the United States Army and the United States Field Artillery Association. Shelia participated in numerous professional organizations including the American Chamber of Commerce Executives Annual Convention, the Great Plains Association and the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association. Shelia was an instructor for the United States Chamber of Commerce and the Oklahoma Chamber Management Institute. She was also a member of the Artillery Order of Molly Pitcher and was a very active volunteer for many organizations, but she was most proud of her work with Army Community Services and military families who were in need. She worked numerous hours to enhance the "Loan Closet," a program designed to allow military families to borrow common household items while in transition between duty assignments. The program was unfunded and owes its success to Shelia's tireless efforts to ensure the care of soldiers and their families.

Shelia's presence will be missed both here in the Lawton community, as well as around the state.

If you would like to contact me while I am at the Capitol, please do not hesitate to call
1-800-522-8502 or send an e-mail to donarmes@okhouse.gov.

And here’s a little something to think about as you go down the road
"Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.” — Harold S. Geneen