INDIANAPOLIS – The Great Lakes Valley Conference has named John Gibson as the recipient of the 2015 Dr. Charles Bertram Alumni Award of Distinction, it was announced by the league office on Tuesday. A former men’s basketball player at Missouri S&T and retired CEO of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners who continues to serve as the non-executive chairman of the board in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Gibson will be recognized by the GLVC at the Enterprise Rent-A-Car/Spring Awards Banquet in St. Louis on May 19.
Gibson was nominated by Missouri S&T, and was recommended as this year’s honoree by the GLVC Awards Committee, based on his post-graduation service and commitment to education in the community and his alma mater. The GLVC Awards Committee recommendation was formally ratified last week by the GLVC Steering Committee.
Gibson played two seasons from 1972-74 on the Miner men’s basketball team, which recorded a 27-23 record in that span.
The Bertram Alumni Award of Distinction is an honor that extends beyond one’s collegiate career. It is presented to an individual(s) that displays academic excellence, athletic ability and achievement, character and leadership, while serving their institutions with personal distinction since their graduation, and making postgraduate public or community service and contributions to athletics at any level.
Gibson began his career in the energy industry in 1974 as a refinery engineer with Exxon Company, USA. He spent 18 years with Phillips Petroleum Company in a variety of domestic and international positions in the natural gas, natural gas liquids and exploration and production businesses. When Gibson left Phillips in 1995, he was vice president of marketing of GPM Gas Corporation, a wholly owned natural gas gathering, processing and marketing subsidiary. Prior to joining ONEOK, Gibson was executive vice president of Koch Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of Koch Industries, responsible for its interstate natural gas pipelines and gathering and processing businesses.
Gibson has served on the boards of the Texas Pipeline Association and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America. He was an original member of the Gas Industry Standards Board and currently serves as a director of Bank of Oklahoma Financial Corporation and Saint Francis Health System.
A native of Kansas City, Kansas, Gibson earned an engineering degree from the University of Missouri-Rolla, now Missouri S&T. He also is a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. Under Gibson’s leadership, ONEOK’s charitable activities were numerous and included a $1 million gift to the tornado relief effort in 2013 in Oklahoma.
He has served on the board of directors of the Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice and on the advisory boards of the YWCA-Tulsa and the Metropolitan Tulsa Urban League. In the community, he has worked with the Tulsa Area United Way, Boy Scouts of America and Habitat for Humanity.
Gibson is a member of the Missouri S&T Board of Trustees and he and wife Kristie are members of the Order of the Golden Shillelagh and strong supporters of Miner Athletics. The couple recently pledged a generous gift to support the addition of artificial turf at the football stadium and the main intramural field, while they have also been generous contributors to the athletics program at the University of Tulsa. Additionally, Gibson has been honored with an alumni achievement award from the Miner Alumni Association and was inducted into the Academy of Miner Athletics and served on the nominating committee.
The GLVC’s Alumni Award of Distinction is named in remembrance of Dr. Charles Bertram. Dr. Bertram served as a professor and faculty athletic representative at USI and is a former president of the GLVC. He contributed a great deal of time, energy and effort to the league’s success and was instrumental in conference operations for many years.
Past recipients of the Dr. Charles Bertram Alumni of Distinction Award include Julie (Thoman) Perry, Jim Thordsen, Keith Bailey, Deb DiMatteo, Dr. Alex Lentsch, Dr. Sandra Magnus, Pat White, Dennis Reinbold, Dr. David Porta, Dr. Steven Giles, Julie Fruendt, Dr. Jane Weaver, Jim Vargo, LuAnn Humphrey, Dr. Michael Bernier, Lois Taurman, Larry Tucker and Ron Romain.