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The Bristow Community Center Board held the year 2025 Black History Program at the Bristow First Methodist Church. With a theme of: “Honoring Local ExcellSubmitted aricleence” The special guest speaker will be Dr. Jennettie Haynes Marshall of Tulsa. served a fouryear term on the Tulsa Public School Board of Education.
Dr. Marshall has been engaged in pastoral ministry through preaching, teaching and service for over 32 years. She has served various congregations throughout the State of Oklahoma. She is the founding Pastor of Living Sanctuary Evangelistic Ministries. Marshall also served as a Tulsa Police Department Chaplain and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Supporters of Families with Sickle Cell Disease as the Chaplain. She is currently seeking to organize a volunteer chaplains’ corps to serve the Sickle Cell warriors throughout the State of Oklahoma.
Dr. Marshall’s academic accomplishments include Associates of Arts in Political Science (Tulsa Junior College), Associates of Applied Science in Funeral Service (Dallas Institute of Funeral Service) Bachelor of Science in Corrections (Langston University), and Master of Science in Management (Southern Nazarene University), Master of Religious Arts in Divinity and a Doctorate in Pastoral Psychology. Marshall attended Phillips Theological Seminary and Oral Roberts University.
Dr. Marshall retired from the State having worked for the Oklahoma Department of Corrections and Department of Human Services.
Dr. Marshall’s message was entitled 'Celebrate Our Own Local Heroes'.
Dr. Marshall noted “she was happy to see so many people she had been acquaintance with in the past and happy to see the program was well attended. Over 80 people was in attendance for the program.
The program’s emcee was Melvin Taylor, the invocation was given my Toni Godwin, Cynthia Alexander shared the purpose of the program and why we (Americans) celebrate Black History month, and the achievements and contributions Blacks have made to the building of America and underscored with some Black History facts of excellence in Bristow. Carmen Bruner-Still offered inspiring and heart-felt musical selections for the audience.
The Bristow Community Center Board gave several awards honoring several members of the Bristow community for their many contributions, their service, and continued work to support to the entire Bristow community.
The Community Center board members Ted Alexander and Melvin Taylor awarded these local citizens:
• Rachel Bruner for years of outstanding service and contributions to the Bristow Community, highlighting her being a lifelong caregiver and the 17 years the Bruner family served free Thanksgiving meals to the Bristow community and other local areas. Noting the last year of the bmeals, the Bruner’s served over 1700 free meals in one day.
• Patricia Crenshaw for her years of dedicated support to the Bristow area community for her service in educating area youth, and her agricultural contribution to the Bristow community. Highlighting her as being the first black educator to teach in the Beggs Public School systems and her dedication for teaching students for over 33 years all while working her farm with her parents. Crenshaw was featured and celebrated by the United States Department of Agricultureb (USDA), and the National Resource Conservation Services (NRCS) for her five (5) decades as a successful female farmer who’s black and she was inducted into the Oklahoma State University Department of Agriculture Achieves.
• Carl Cole for years of leadership, entrepreneurial gifts, and services to the Bristow Community and well as the Center itself. Highlighting Carl creating Cole Masonry Company, being a builder/contractor of the Bristow Community Center and contributions in masonry to building the Spirit Bank building and other structures in Bristow.
• Odell Alexander for his commitment to excellence and contribution to the Bristow community. Highlighting Odell’s excellent culinary skills, known for his fresh baked yeast rolls, work as a chef at the Mid-America Stock yard and for over two (2) decades of service to the Bristow school system. Alexander also serves as president of the Bristow Community Center Board.
And a token of appreciation was presented to Dr. Marshall for her inspiring and heart felt presentation and for her admirable service to the state of Oklahoma and exemplary participation In the Celebration of the 2025 Bristow Black History program.
This event is co-sponsored by: The Bristow Community Center, Bristow First United Methodist Church.