Eight distinguished alumni to be honored by Spears School of Business on Nov. 11

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business will recognize eight distinguished alumni at the 2016 Hall of Fame banquet at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 11 at Meditations Banquet Facility, 1205 N. Country Club.

The annual banquet recognizes OSU graduates with distinguished professional careers who have given back to their communities and displayed leadership skills. John Bale, Mike Hyatt and Pat O’Brien will be honored as inductees into the Spears Hall of Fame, the highest honor awarded by the Spears School.

Also, Matthew Daniel, Abbey Davis, Angie Johnson, Chelsea McCool, and Michael Westerman will be honored as Outstanding Young Alumni at the banquet.

“We have been honoring and recognizing some of our finest graduates since 1964 and these individuals are certainly deserving to be honored,” said Ken Eastman, dean of the Spears School. “John Bale, Mike Hyatt and Pat O’Brien inspire all of us at the Spears School through their professional and personal success, and are definitely worthy of joining this select group as inductees into the Hall of Fame. The five chosen for the Outstanding Young Alumni are also great examples to what can be accomplished through hard work and perseverance.”

John Bale has been dedicated to public service and being a community volunteer for more than 70 years and continues to be involved throughout his retirement.

Bale’s earliest pursuits were with the U.S. Army, and he was the first to receive the honor of Sergeant First Class in one year. He also received a Bronze Star for meritorious service in a combat zone before his honorable discharge. Bale earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from OSU and completed his doctorate at the University of Oklahoma.

He became a professor at OSU for the College of Business Administration and was awarded the Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award in 1970. He was appointed the associate dean of the college in 1978 and was awarded the honor of OSU Regents Professor in 1992.

His list of awards and recognitions is impressive. He received recognition as an Outstanding Business Education Student, an Outstanding Education Graduate Student, an Outstanding Teacher in Business Education and was listed as the OSU College of Business Administration’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year in 1970. He is also listed in Leaders in Education, American Men and Women of Science, Personalities in the South, Dictionary of International Biography, and Who’s Who in the South and Southwest.

Bale served as an educational consultant for Oklahoma Christian College and as a communications consultant for the Federal Aviation Administration. He served as president of the Oklahoma Business Education Association and president of the Beta Chapter of Delta Pi Epsilon and was a member of the Southwest Placement Association, the Mountain-Plains Business Education Association and American Business Association. Bale is a family man and mentor and enjoys being a public servant.

Mike Hyatt has always been an advocate for his communities.

Hyatt is an OSU Foundation Governor and a financial advisor at UBS Financial Services, Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas, where he lives with his wife, Rae. He grew up in Muskogee, Oklahoma, and graduated from OSU with a bachelor’s in finance in 1967. As an undergraduate, Hyatt was active in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, serving as treasurer, alumni secretary and eventually as OSU’s Interfraternity Council vice president from 1965-66. He served in the United States Army from 1969-73 and earned the rank of First Lieutenant Infantry.

Throughout his professional career, Hyatt served as the vice president for First National Bank of Fort Worth (1973-80), president of Metroplex National bank in Arlington (1980-82), senior vice president of First National Bank of Forth Worth (1982-85), president of Texas Commerce Bank in Fort Worth (1985-92), and currently serves as senior vice president of investments for UBS Financial Service, Inc. He is also a board member of the Sister Cities International organization and works with the Fort Worth zoo.

Hyatt has received many awards for his accomplishments. He received the A B Alcott Outstanding Alumnus from the Oklahoma Beta chapter of Phi Delta Theta, Bob Bolen award for Board Service from Fort Worth Sister Cities, Chairman’s award from Sister Cities International, Honorary Citizen from Nagaoka, Japan and the Orange Star Award from the Spears School of Business. Hyatt was awarded the Bennett Fellowship with the School of International Studies at OSU and served on the Director’s Council for UBS Financial Services. He enjoys golfing, traveling internationally and reading.

Hyatt lives in Fort Worth with his wife, Rae. They have no children and pursue their passions for Africa, health and welfare, and community involvement. Hyatt enjoys golfing, traveling, reading and history.

Pat O’Brien recently retired after a 42-year career in education, the last 10 as president of West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas. But he points to his three years at OSU as laying the groundwork for his career.

He earned both a bachelor’s degree in economics and master’s in agricultural economics from Auburn. O’Brien also served in the United States Army and spent his active duty in Germany assigned to a missile battery. Once his tour ended, O’Brien applied to OSU for graduate school to earn his Ph.D. in economics.

O’Brien worked for more than 40 years teaching and serving in administrative roles at Bowling Green State University, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Auburn University, Jacksonville State University, Loyola University New Orleans, and West Texas A&M. He served as chair of the NCAA Division II Presidents Council, was a member of the NCAA Association’s Executive Committee and the NCAA DII Administrative Committee. He also served as chair of the Executive Committee of TIEC (Texas International Education Consortium).

O’Brien and his wife, Karen, now reside in New Orleans and plan to travel the world.

In 2001, the Outstanding Young Alumni award was established to recognize alumni who have provided significant service and achievement early in their professional careers. This year, five outstanding individuals will be honored.

Matthew Daniel is a third generation OSU graduate and earned dual bachelor’s degrees in finance and agricultural economics in 1999. He received his MBA from the University of Tulsa in 2002 and currently serves as the senior commercial manager in the Global Commercial Management group for Baker Hughes.

Abbey Davis received her bachelor’s in management with a concentration in Human Resources in 2008 and her MBA in 2011, both from OSU. She works as the corporate compensation analyst at The Charles Machine Works, Inc. in Perry, Oklahoma.

Angie Johnson graduated magna cum laude from OSU in 2004 with a bachelor’s in business administration with a focus in finance and also graduated with distinction in the top 10 percent of her class at The Graduate School of Banking at the University of Colorado. Johnson has spent the past 11 years in commercial banking and currently serves as Chairwoman of the Board of Directors for the Edmond Chamber of Commerce. She is also the senior vice president and treasury management manager at Arvest Bank in Oklahoma City.

Chelsea McCool received her bachelor’s in business administration from OSU and currently works as a senior global sourcing manager for Omni Global Sourcing Solutions, a division of Daymon Worldwide. She received the Top Woman in store Brands Supply Chain/Procurement Award in 2014 and the Woman of Influence in the Food Industry Award in 2015.

Michael Westerman hold a bachelor’s degree in finance and master’s degrees in both business administration and agricultural economics, all from OSU. He is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), Energy Risk Professional (ERP), and Six Sigma Green Belt. He manages corporate investment efforts for Phillips 66 as the director of investment appraisal and analysis.

For more information about the Spears School Hall of Fame, please contact Brandy Polo at 405-385-5179 or bpolo@OSUgiving.com.