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Westerners International Executive
Committee
The executive committee is composed of a group of
Westerners living in Oklahoma who carry on the
business of our organization in between the
twice-yearly full-board meetings. All are on the WI
Board of Directors, and any board member is welcome
to attend these every-other month meetings generally
held in Oklahoma City. While most members live in
the Oklahoma City area, David
Carter, a member of the Fort Smith Corral, lives 3
hours to the east.
 KENT
McINNIS, Chairman, Board of Directors for
Westerners International, is retired after 33½ years
in the pharmaceutical industry. Born in Oklahoma
City, Kent obtained a BS degree in Zoology from
Oklahoma State University. He served five years in
the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War as a jet
instructor pilot and acting squadron commander.
Under the GI Bill he obtained a Masters degree in
History of the Southwest from Central State
University. His wife, Cheryl, is past Sheriff of
Chisholm Trail Corral. The two have three grown
children and two young granddaughters. Kent’s
interests include writing (both history and
fiction), aviation, military and civilian reunions,
digital photography, and digital video. One of his
most proud moments was as Eagle Scout Promotion
Coordinator in 2002, after leading 10 Boy Scouts to
their rank of Eagle in a 17 month period. His great
grandfather, a four-year veteran of the Confederacy,
provided the catalyst for a lifetime love of
learning. Hours on the back porch of an evening
listening to his parents and grandparents spin tales
of daring and achievement led to a habit of
investigation and confirmation of historical fact.
In 1980 he was invited to present a program to the
Indian Territory Posse of Oklahoma Westerners. He
has been a Westerner ever since as a member of
Indian Territory Posse, Chisholm Trail Corral, and
the WI executive board of directors. The new
chairman recognizes three groups of Westerners:
those who make history, those who tell history, and
those who are entertained by history. He aspires to
someday fit into more than one category. Kent is an
active member of many varied organizations,
including the Oklahoma Historical Society, the Order
of Daedalians (a national fraternity of military
pilots), and the National Cowboy and Western
Heritage Museum. He serves as past and now current
sheriff and founding member of the Chisholm Trail
Corral. Cheryl & Kent also function as cyberslingers
for the Westerners International website.
BURNIS
ARGO is a fourth generation Oklahoman. Her
paternal grandfather, a Quaker, came down to the
Osage Nation from northeast Kansas to be a foreman
on a cattle ranch. He fell in love with the country,
went back to Kansas and got married, and returned
with his bride to live in what is now Oklahoma. Her
maternal grandparents and great grandparents were
ranchers in Texas and frequently traveled by wagon
and horseback to western Oklahoma late in the 19th
century, finally settling in Roger Mills County of
Western Oklahoma in 1898.. Hearing family stories
she became interested in pioneering, ranching and
other things Western. Burnis was graduated with a
degree in English from Oklahoma State University,
worked for ten years as a staff writer on The Daily
Oklahoman in Oklahoma City, where she met and
married Jim Argo, a photographer from West Texas,
who also likes history and travel. She retired ten
days before their first of their sons was born. As
the boys were growing up, she was a free-lance
writer for newspapers and was principal author of
the book AN HISTORIC TOUR GUIDE OF OKLAHOMA. She
joined the WI "home ranch" crew in 1992 and serves
as editor of BUCKSKIN BULLETIN. She was a member of
the now-in-dry-camp Oklahoma Women's Posse. She and
her husband are members of the Chisholm Trail
Corral. He is the immediate past Sheriff.
DR.
JERRY BURSON is President Emeritus of
Navarro College, Corsicana, TX, and also enjoyed
challenges as a speech-theater instructor and
vice-president of Northern Oklahoma College and
president of a Texas community college. Born in
Chickasha, OK, Jerry was graduated from Wentworth
Military Academy with a private pilot’s license. He
received his BA in Speech and Theater; MS in
Secondary Education and EdD in Higher Education and
Administration from Oklahoma State University.
Before joining the faculty at Northern, he was a
B-47 pilot with the Strategic Air Command. While
stationed at McDill AFB, Tampa, FL, he had
assignments in French Morocco and Zaragoza, Spain.
Following 27 years at Northern, he became president
of Navarro from which he retired in 1998.
Professional honors include recipient of the Marie
Y. Martin Chief Executive Officer Award representing
the Western region of the American Association of
Community College Trustees, President of the Texas
Junior College Presidents Association, chairman of
the 21 member North Texas Community College
Consortia and a member of the Junior College
southern Association Accreditation Corps. In 2004 he
was inducted into the OSU College of education Hall
of Fame. He is a member of the OSU College of
Education Associates, the Order of Daedalians
(national fraternity of military pilots) and is past
sheriff of the Chisholm Trail Corral of which his
wife Mary also is a member.
DAVID
CARTER, who lives in Fort Smith, Arkansas,
became interested in history at an early age
visiting many historic sites around his hometown of
Norfolk, Virginia. His career started as a paperboy,
then a stock boy, usher and shoe salesman before
joining the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War
where he worked as a jet mechanic. Later he was a
banker for 18 years during which time he attended
various banking schools at the University of
Virginia and at Northwestern University in Evanston,
Illinois for a degree in Mortgage Banking. He worked
as a real estate broker and builder for 20 years
during which time he was active in community affairs
especially in and around Virginia Beach, Virginia.
He is now with the Employment Security Department in
Fort Smith. He is a past sheriff of the Fort Smith
Corral of Westerners. His wife, Shirley, also is a
member.
WILLIAM
L. DEUPREE is a native Oklahoman, born in
Oklahoma City and raised with an appreciation for
Oklahoma and western history. He was graduated from
Putnam City High School and received a BS in
Business from Oklahoma City University. After living
in Shawnee, OK, for a number of years, he returned
to Oklahoma City in 1984. For the past 20 years he
has been a financial consultant in the investment
securities industry. His community and
business-related activities include being a member
of Shawnee United Way executive committee, president
of Shawnee Rotary Club, president of Mid-West
Savings Conference, Junior High Co-Youth director of
All Souls Episcopal Church and a member of the
vestry for three Episcopal churches. He is a former
sheriff of the Indian Territory Posse of WI of which
he has been a member for 20 years. He is a board
member of the Association of Western History
Collections at the University of Oklahoma. His
interests include Oklahoma and western history,
western art, gardening, running, Big Band music and
woodworking.
JOHN D. HEISCH is
acquisitions librarian, cataloging librarian, and
acquisitions services librarian in the library at
Oklahoma City University. His earlier experience
includes the Army Security Agency, records manager
with an oil company, and library director at the
Oklahoma Historical Society. A native of Walters,
Oklahoma, he received his undergraduate degree in
history and a master of library science at the
University of Oklahoma. His interest in the West is
primarily centered on the Oklahoma experience
including the unique land opening pattern of
Oklahoma and the division of Indian Territory and
Oklahoma Territory in what is now Oklahoma He
believes his interest in history springs from his
personal memory of his German speaking great
grandfather and his grandfather, who worked as a
hired ranch hand for cash to supplement the meager
income as a farmer to enable him to own his own
farm. He is a charter member and past sheriff of the
Chisholm Trail Corral in Oklahoma City.
MELVENA HEISCH grew up
in Roger Mills County in western Oklahoma near the
site of the Washita Battlefield. Her parents made
sure that she and her brother visited the site and
understood its importance. After a family visit to
New Mexico, where they toured Kit Carson's home in
Taos, Mesa Verde, and the ruins at Aztec, New
Mexico, she was hooked on western history.
Completing her graduate work at Oklahoma State
University, she performed an internship at the
Oklahoma Historical Society which resulted in a
permanent position in the state historic
preservation office. She became the architectural
historian in that office in 1978, and in 1979 became
deputy state historic preservation officer, a
position she holds today. Her publications include
WOMEN IN OKLAHOMA: A CENTURY OF CHANGE (1982), and
"The Soddy", in OF THE EARTH: OKLAHOMA ARCHITECTURAL
HISTORY (1980). She was one of three authors of THE
PHYSICAL LEGACY: BUILDINGS OF OKLAHOMA COUNTRY,
1889-1931 (1980). Her writings have also appeared in
WESTVIEW MAGAZINE, the SOUTHWEST PROLOGUE SERIES,
CHEYENNE STAR, GOVERNORS OF THE UNITED STATES
(1977), MISTLETOE LEAVES, and PRESERVATION OKLAHOMA
NEWS. She and her husband John are active members of
the Chisholm Trail Corral in Oklahoma City.
ED
KELSAY, the WI "home ranch" judge, is an
attorney in Oklahoma City and former sheriff of the
Indian Territory Posse of Westerners.
NOEL KRUGER a native of Dill City,
Oklahoma, grew up in Woodward and Oklahoma City and
attended the University of Central Oklahoma and
Oklahoma State University before serving in the U.S.
Air Force. In 1955 he was graduated from the
University of Oklahoma with a Bachelor of Business
Administration degree in Management and Marketing.
He then spent 34 years with the General Motors
Corporation in field assignments throughout the
Southwest, Midwest and upper Midwest. In 1989 he
returned to Oklahoma City as executive director of
the Oklahoma Motor Vehicle Commission during which
time he was exposed to the Westerners by Revere
Young. Noel joined the Chisholm Trail Corral and has
since served as deputy sheriff and sheriff. His
interest in the Old West and especially Anasazi
history came many years ago during a trip to Santa
Fe and the Four Corners areas of Colorado, New
Mexico, Arizona and Utah. He has since become a
docent at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage
Museum. He and his wife Melody, also a member of the
Chisholm Trail Corral, spend much time traveling
throughout the Southwest.
JOHN MARSHALL has been
an active volunteer at the WI "home ranch" since it
was moved from Tucson to Oklahoma City. He serves as
treasurer. A native of Quanah, Texas, he naturally
first fell in love with Texas history and then was
fascinated with the old "B" western movies. John
enjoyed Johnny Mack Brown, Lash Larue and calls "The
Durango Kid" his hero. After he was graduated from
the Business School at the University of Texas, he
ended up in the banking business in Oklahoma City
and is now executive director of the MidTown
Redevelopment Corporation working on economic
development in the urban inner city. He is an active
member of the Indian Territory Posse of the
Westerners.
MARY
MARVEL has been an active volunteer at the
WI "home ranch" since early in 1996. Her duties
include maintaining the Westerners mailing list on
the computer, serving as assistant treasurer, and
other duties as required. A native of Johnstown,
Pennsylvania, she moved to Oklahoma in 1972. In
1996, she retired as Human Resources Manager with
the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. She has always
had an interest in American history, especially the
West. As she recalls, her interest in the West was
sparked after reading a book in her grade school
library about a young girl's adventures traveling
the Oregon Trail with a wagon train. She and her
husband have been active members in the Chisholm
Trail Corral in Oklahoma City since 1994.
LEON
NELSON was born in Perry, Oklahoma.
The first ten years of his life were spent on the
family farm his grandfather homesteaded in 1893.
He attended a one room school that both his father
and his older brother had attended. Leon
graduated from Perry High School in 1950.
Shortly after graduation he enlisted in the Navy for
four years. Serving on Guam and aboard ship,
he attained the rate of Petty Officer First Class.
Upon discharge from the Navy he enrolled at Oklahoma
A&M College majoring in finance. As President
of the campus Veterans Club he appeared before
members of the Oklahoma Legislature in support of
the name change to Oklahoma State University.
Immediately following college he accepted the
position of Assistant City Manager of Ponca City,
Oklahoma. After serving as Assistant for
twelve months he was appointed City Manager and
served in this position for nineteen years.
While living in Ponca City he was blessed to meet,
and in 1965 marry, Marcene McGrew, a recent graduate
of the University of Oklahoma and a new teacher for
the local schools. In 1970 Leon successfully
negotiated the purchase of the contents of Pioneer
Woman sculptor Bryant Baker's studio for Ponca City.
He also played a significant role in the city's
purchase of the Marland Mansion and Estate.
During his Ponca City tenure he served as President
of the local Rotary Club and President of the State
of Oklahoma Municipal League. After leaving
Ponca City the balance of his career was spent in
banking. He retired in 1998 from NationsBank
as Vice President of Education Lending for Oklahoma.
In 2000 Marcene and he began volunteering as docents
at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
Leon served two years as Treasurer for the Docent
Council, during which he was instrumental in
establishing a Docent Council Endowment Fund with
the Oklahoma City Community Foundation that benefits
the Museum. Leon has been honored by serving
as Sheriff of the Indian Territory Posse of Oklahoma
Westerners, by induction into the Marland Mansion
and Estate Hall of Fame, and by the Oklahoma Hall of
Fame for City and Town Officials.
DON
REEVES is the Curator of Cowboy Collections
at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum
(formerly the National Cowboy Hall of Fame) where
the WI "home ranch" is located. Don holds the
McCasland Chair of Cowboy Culture. He became a
member of the Indian Territory Posse of Oklahoma
City in 1978 and has served as secretary and board
member of Westerners International since 1987. He
helped to move the WI "home ranch" from Tucson to
Oklahoma City after the death of Leland Case. His
major focus of study has been regional cowboy
traditions and cultural identities no matter whether
the cowboy is called a vaquero, buckaroo, drover,
cowpoke, paniolos or gaucho. Contemporary cowboy
gear is also his passion. In 1998, he worked closely
with top saddlemakers, bit and spur makers, and
silversmiths on the formation of the Traditional
Cowboy Arts Association..
REVERE
YOUNG, a retired Brigadier General (USAF)
and Chairman Emeritus of WI, readily admits he is
not a scholar, author, or historian. Visiting many
foreign countries has enabled him to compare their
cultures, customs and geopolitics from a historical
perspective and in turn sparked a greater interest
in the study of America's own history and
development, especially the American West. A native
of Morrilton, Arkansas, he attended Muskogee Junior
College and Northeastern State College in Tahlequah,
Oklahoma. He was commissioned a 2nd Lt. in the USAF
in 1950. When he returned to Oklahoma in 1967, he
joined the Oklahoma Air National Guard where he
served until his retirement in 1988. He then served
two years as the Executive Director of the Oklahoma
Aeronautics Commission. During his Air Force career
he logged more than 15,000 flying hours and was
awarded the Legion of Merit and numerous other
medals including Meritorious Service, Air Medal, Air
Force Commendation, Combat Readiness, Vietnam
Service, Oklahoma Meritorious Service, and the
Oklahoma Commendation Medal. In 1984 he was the
recipient of the Clarence Page Memorial Trophy
awarded annually to a person who has made
significant on-going contributions to the aviation
industry. He is a life member of the Oklahoma
Historical Society, the Order of Daedalians (a
national fraternity of military pilots), the
National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, several
other civic and fraternal organizations. He and his
wife, the former Mary Cecilia Bresser of Muskogee,
are active members of the Chisholm Trail Corral of
the Westerners in Oklahoma City which he has served
as Sheriff. He is an active member of the WI
"home ranch" bunch.
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