Two Oklahoma Fraters to be Honored

EDMOND, Oklahoma (December 13, 2010) – Two Oklahoma fraternity alumni, one a poet and the other a wrestler, will be honored for their lifetime achievements next month.

Members of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity in Oklahoma will add the names of Jim Barnes and Doug Blubaugh to their Oklahoma Hall of Fame in ceremonies scheduled for January 15 in Oklahoma City.

Barnes, an initiate and former president of the fraternity’s chapter at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, has served as poet laureate of the state of Oklahoma for the past two years. Among his numerous publications of poetry and prose, On Native Ground: Memoirs and Impressions won the American Book Award in 1998. The LeFlore County, Oklahoma native has received two Rockefeller Foundation fellowships, a Senior Fulbright fellowship, two Camargo Foundation fellowships, and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. Dr. Barnes has also taught at Truman State University and Brigham Young University.

Blubaugh was a student at Oklahoma State University when he was initiated into the fraternity. The Ponca City, Oklahoma native was an NCAA national champion as part of OSU’s wrestling program, three-time AAU champion, and gold medalist at the 1958 Pan-American Games. At the 1960 Olympics in Rome, he upset defending gold medalist Emam Ali Habibi of Iran and went on to win the gold medal. He was named the World’s Outstanding Wrestler in 1960, and later served as an assistant coach at several colleges before becoming head wrestling coach at Indiana University. Blubaugh has been inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and continues to teach at wrestling seminars around the country.

“Jim and Doug are outstanding role models for our undergraduates and alumni,” said Walter Jenny, Grand Province Advisor for the Heartland Province. “They have excelled in their respective fields, and are true gentlemen who continue to make the world better wherever they go.”

Previous Hall of Fame inductees have included Choctaw Nation Chief Greg Pyle, Judge Patrick O. Delaney, State Representative Danny Morgan, Hideaway Pizza restauranteur Richard Dermer, Oklahoma City attorney J. Mike Lawter, and retired OSU engineering professor Bob Swaim, among others.

Barnes and Blubaugh will be feted at the fraternity’s tenth annual Founders day banquet at River Oaks Golf Club in Oklahoma City, along with other alumni who have supported local chapters this year. Special guest speaker for the black tie event will be Gary Reed, president of the TKE Educational Foundation in Indianapolis. Reservations for the dinner may be made by calling (405) 830-5249 or by email.

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