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Clovis Weatherford

Clovis Weatherford grew up in Pauls Valley as the middle child in a family of three boys. While in high school, he enrolled in the vocational distributive education (marketing) program and worked part time at Safeway grocery. He later worked full time for Safeway while attending East Central State University on a football scholarship.

Early in his career, he completed a master’s degree in school administration at the University of Oklahoma. He continued graduate studies at Ohio State and Kansas State universities before completing all coursework toward a doctorate at OU.

In 1957, Weatherford started his career by serving as distributive education coordinator at Anadarko. His leadership and enthusiasm inspired his students to become the Outstanding DECA Chapter in the nation in 1962. Next stop was Ohio, where he served as assistant state distributive education supervisor and helped develop the joint vocational school system before moving to Liberal, Kan., to start a new area vo-tech school. Eight years later, he returned to Oklahoma to start Moore Norman Technology Center. There he was instrumental in developing the individualized competency-based instructional curriculum, which has been adopted by several Oklahoma tech centers. In 1979, he was selected as the first superintendent of Francis Tuttle Technology Center.

He left Francis Tuttle to join a private business enterprise, but after seven years, he returned to the CareerTech System as assistant superintendent of Pioneer Technology Center. A year later he was named superintendent of Tri County Technology Center in Bartlesville, where he remodeled the entire campus and added several new programs. He retired in July 2002 while serving as vice president of the technical division at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.

Wherever he lived, Weatherford used his leadership skills to make a difference in both professional and civic organizations. He served as vice president of the Oklahoma Vocational Association for the DE division, president of OV-Tech and two terms as president of the Superintendents Association. He was elected Kiwanis president in Liberal, Kan., and in Norman. He served as president of Liberal’s Chamber of Commerce and on the board of trustees for Norman Regional Hospital. In Bartlesville, he was on the board of directors for United Way. He was recognized for his many contributions toward developing people through career and technology education with the Francis Tuttle Career Excellence Award in 2000.

Weatherford and his wife, Millie, have two sons, seven grandchildren and one great grandchild. They now live in Edmond.

Weatherford was inducted to the CareerTech Hall of Fame in 2009.

Last Modified on Sep 13, 2024