DAR SPEAKER, NEW TRUSTEE LOVES, PROMOTES BACONE

SHARON OLIVE DeLOACHE

For former English teacher Sharon Olive DeLoache, her recent appointment to the Bacone College Board of Trustees was a surprise.

“It was completely out of the blue,” said DeLoache, a member, and state speaker of the Daughters of the American Revolution. “I had no idea I’d been considered when [Assistant Vice President of Institutional Advancement] Melissa Foutch asked if I might be interested in a position. My husband [Dr. Dan Franklin DeLoache] was a university professor. He would have been so proud.”

DeLoache is proud, too - of Bacone. The former teacher and Choctaw Indian said she supports the school’s mission wholeheartedly.

“I had grants and help growing up,” she said. “We were all able to use our heritage. There’s so much that ties Natives to education, to give them the opportunity to take advantage of this beautiful campus, the people who work here, and all the changes and advancements, that means a lot to me.”

The DAR state speaker discusses those “changes and advancements” in programs she uses to campaign for the school.

In particular, DeLoache focuses on Bacone Commons, which came to life beginning summer, 2011.

“I tell people, it’s fabulous. You have to come; it’s unbelievable,” she added. “It’s something from nothing. To take this vacant, echoing place and to repurpose it so perfectly, that’s just fabulous.”

DeLoache’s program discusses Bacone’s historic mission, as well.

“I start out with the beginnings as Indian University in Tahlequah, and I talk about the vision that Dr. [Alcon C.] Bacone had for reaching all the Civilized Tribes,” she said, “the school’s movement from Tahlequah to Muskogee, and how Bacone’s had this constant theme of rejuvenation, of building and rebuilding in pursuit of educating American Indians.”

The DAR state speaker said her 20-minute presentations receive applause and to her, that’s a signal “Bacone is moving up.”

“It shows people love this school and want to assist in its vision,” she added.