Athena Frank
Growing up on her family's farm near Glencoe, Oklahoma, Athena Frank learned the values of hard work, service and responsibility from her parents, Terrall and Maxine Richards. Active in FFA, where she served as chapter president and participated in speech, livestock judging and livestock showing, she developed the leadership skills and work ethic that would guide her career.
During her senior year at Meridian Technology Center, Frank became involved in FBLA and discovered a passion for business education.
Inspired by business instructor Anita McCune, later Dr. Anita Reynolds (Wright), she embraced a career combining business, leadership and student development.
Frank earned a B.S. in business administration from OSU and an M.S. in curriculum and instruction. After working in business and industry, she began a 30-year CareerTech career. She taught at Ripley Public Schools for 12 years before moving in 2005 to Central Technology Center, where she became the institution's first National Board Certified CTE instructor.
Throughout her career, Frank built nationally recognized FBLA and BPA programs focused on excellence, service and leadership. Her chapters earned state and national recognition, including designation as the nation's top community service chapter. For more than 30 years, she and her students volunteered for Special Olympics and donated to the Tulsa Ronald McDonald House. She mentored more than 45 state officers and multiple national officers. Her students achieved national BPA top three finishes every year from 2006 through 2024. They also earned thousands of industry certifications and had opportunities to earn up to 42 hours of articulated college credit, while benefiting from one of Oklahoma's first hybrid and asynchronous business education programs.
Beyond the classroom, Frank provided leadership in OkACTE and BPA, serving as BMITE division president and policy committee chair, a member of the Oklahoma CareerTech Administrative Council and on BPA's National Board of Trustees as secretary, treasurer, finance chair and policy and procedures chair.
Her honors include Oklahoma and National BPA Advisor of the Year, BMITE and OkACTE Teacher of the Year, ACTE Region IV Teacher of the Year, National ACTE Teacher of the Year Top Five Finalist, Oklahoma BPA and BMITE Lifetime Achievement Awards, OSU College of Education and Human Sciences Outstanding Alumni Award and induction into the National BPA Hall of Fame.
Athena and husband Lyle continue to operate a beef cattle ranch in the Glencoe/Morrison area. They are the proud parents of twins, Kelsey and Kyle, former CTSO leaders and OSU Honors graduates. Today, Kelsey serves as director of business intelligence and analytics for OSU Athletics/OSU Foundation, while Kyle serves as a performance data analyst with CareerTech.
