For over four decades, a valuable and vital partner to the Aeronautical Center, LeAnn Jenkins, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Federal Executive Board (OK FEB) decided to retire from federal service. Retiring at the end of June, LeAnn had 42 years of federal service, having more than 25 years working in the Oklahoma Federal Executive Board Office and serving as the Executive Director of the Houston FEB since October 2013. She also served as the Director of Oklahoma’s Cooperative Administrative Support Unit (CASU). A one-of a-kind leader and the epitome of a public servant, LeAnn helped provide assistance to many of our local federal needs including emergency preparedness, security and employee safety, workforce development support and intergovernmental and community initiatives. She’s accomplished many things including initiating and developing leadership classes, assisting with the annual Combined Federal Campaign, and supporting those who are grieving due to catastrophic loss and lending her support during emergencies. LeAnn did whatever was within her power to ensure that any federal agency had what is needed to operate more smoothly.
Her career track was quite exemplary, as she began her career as a Clerk Typist for Tinker Air Force Base in 1977. Over a 9 year span, she worked in a variety of capacities from Staffing Clerk, Staffing Assistant and then to Staffing Specialist. She was also instrumental in placing physically-restricted employees into different positions within agencies to help them retain their employment. She served as the Program Manager for Individuals with Disabilities at Tinker and earned the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organization’s "People in Action" Award. Her efforts in advocating for people with disabilities earned her a Public Service Award from the Oklahoma City’s Mayor’s Committee on Disability Concerns, and recognition from the U.S. Air Force with a distinguished Equal Employment Opportunity Award. It was not uncommon for LeAnn to be invited to roundtable discussions regarding employment and reasonable accommodations, as demonstrated when she assisted federal employees in Boston, Massachusetts during their annual Personnel Management Seminar.
In April 1994, LeAnn became the Executive Director for the Oklahoma Federal Executive Board. This was a position that would change the course of her career, as well as impact many others. During her employment, the citizens of Oklahoma experienced the Murrah Building bombing and her role took on new dimensions as it continued to grow with importance in our federal community. She became a sought after spokesperson for federal community planning and readiness. She led the charge in creating an Emergency Preparedness Handbook for federal agencies, a publication that was utilized nationwide among federal agencies.
In 1997-1998 LeAnn had a 6-month detail to Vice President Gore’s National Performance Review (NPR) to assist with the federal implementation of the welfare-to-work initiative. When returning to the OK FEB Office, she continued to mature her relationships across all federal lines, contributing greatly to collaborative efforts across our State while becoming a centralized point-of-contact for her expertise in cross-cutting federal issues. In 2000, she returned to Washington D.C. on a detail to work with the National Performance Review Staff. This time, LeAnn served as lead on the NPR Alumni project. This was a tremendous data collection process, regarding the number of federal employees who had and who were working at the National Partnership for Reinventing Government Office, since its inception.
After September 11, 2001, LeAnn led an Ad-Hoc group to ’review and renew’ guidance for government agencies on Emergency Preparedness and Continuity of Operations. This publication is utilized in the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. LeAnn graduated Cum Laude from Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, OK, with a Bachelor's Degree in the Management of Human Resources and has a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma.
So as friends, colleagues, and well-wishers convened at the Oklahoma National Memorial Museum to attend LeAnn’s Retirement Luncheon Ceremony, the amount of attendees is a testament to the number of people that she has impacted over the years. Distinguished guests include Michelle Coppedge and Kim Sheppard, Aeronautical Center; Basharat Siddiqui, Federal Highways Administration; Dottie Overal, Small Business Administration; John Fox, Federal Transfer Center; Johnny Kuhlman, U.S. Marshals; Rose Roberson, Bureau of Indian Affairs; Bill Wright, Chickasaw Nation; Chris Hooper, St. Louis FEB; Kevin Stamey, John Eads, Tiffany Yohannon of Tinker Air Force Base; Phyllis Poe, Retired OKC Police Chaplin; and Lindy Ritz, The Ritz Company, LLC; to name a few. We are grateful for the wonderful years that LeAnn gave to the Oklahoma Federal Executive Board. She will be sorely missed.
