Pryor Scrapbook Clippings, 1955-1980

Searcian receives I • honorary doctorate Alabama Christian College in Montgomery, hono~ Ms. Marguerite 0'Banion at 10 a .m. by presenting to ber the Honorary Doctorate of Letters Degree, Dr. E. R. Branna, president of ACC, announced. Ms. O'Banion has served as executive secretary to Dr. George S. Benson· for 35 years. Miss 0'Banion was rn in a beautiful town besidt the MiUC>lni Pacific Railroad line at Swifton, in Jackson County - one of the rich farming a~s in the state -· and is the daughter of J. W. 0 'Banion of Swifton and the late Mrs. J . W. 0'Banion. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts Degree with major m Business Administration from Harding College she accepted a position in the office of Dr. George S. Benson. President, Harding College. where she was shortly thereafter promoted to position of Executive , Secretary - a position that 1 she filled with distinction and honor. She was especially noted for speed and accuracy. Even though she typed her letters but one time, her boss said he did not need proofread her letters. He simply signed them. , During rush periods it was r ~mmon for her to put as many as fifty to sixty and on up to seventy-five letters acrou bis desk per day, get them signed and in the mail in addition to caring for the telephone and serving as receptionist. I During times when . Dr. Benion had to be· away a great deal of time in promoting financial cam- . paigns for the College, a service through which he averaged raising $1 million a year and which kept him away sometimes fifty -per– cent of the time, the people learned to think of Miss 0'Banion almost as the Asailtant President. In her mind there was always a very clear picture of the entire operation of the and likewise, the on the campaigns. Dr.:- enson developed The National Education Program early in his ad– ministration at Harding College and served as President of both The National Education • • Program and the College. / • When he retired as President • :if of Harding College in 1965 at I • the age of 67 he continued as • ' Ptesident of The National I • Education Program and • ~ Miss 0'Banion continued as "' · his Executive Secretary. • ~. .,. Miss 0'Banion received ·>J, f> f , her 35-year Harding College < · Service pin early in 1979.. Dr. : .· .. ' Benson estimates that 4 " during the preceding . 35 years at least $40 million was raised through his office. He laughingly says it would have been at ieast $10 million . ·., i , ,~; , , t .. . ¾ . ; ., ,, ,; ,,: w -,: .. ,F CELEBRATING TH.E MONTH OF MAY - May ,. Fete Queen Vicki Durrlngton of Wichita, Kansas, less if it had not been for Miss 0'Banion. ' During the last ten yeai-~ that Dr. Benson served as President of Harding College , and President of The National Education Program, he - also served as Chancellor of Oklahoma Christian Collegt and assisted in moving that College from Bartlesville, Oklahoma tQ a delightful location in Oklahoma City. That responsibility likewise, kept him out of Searcy, many days each month. Miss 0'Banion did her work so· thoroughly and efficiently that he felt the loss at Harding College was really minimal. During the last fifteen years since his retirement as President of Harding College he has continued to help other Colleges stretching into several different states. Because of the efficiency of Miss 0'Banion it was never felt that he was operating home base with a slack hand. Miss 0'Banion is a member of the American Association of University Women, National Federation of Business and Professional Women' s Clubs, Harding Business Women•s Club, Arkansas Chapter .of Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, and is a Charter Member of Associated Women For Harding and its first Life Member. She~ a member of die Collep -CfiufCll or oa1at at Searc..Y. · Mbll O'Banion baa a keen tqterest in the work of the church - at home and abroad, in Christian education, 1 in community and civic affain, and in work to help preserve the American way of life and, as Executive Secretary to Dr~ Benson. has bad • portunity to serve in these many activities in which he has been engaged and continues to be engaged. Miss 0'Banion has con– tinued her education while serving as Exec tive Secretary-has taken post poses with attendents Patricia Logan (leff) of • Plano, Texas; and Sharon Gathright (right) of 1 Heber $prings after the traditional May studies continuously arid is a graduate of the Dale car– negie course. She bu often remarked that her work for Dr. Benson bas been an education within itself and considers it a rich blessing for which she is most grateful. Miss O'Banion has Thomas Leman Johnson, 94, a member of the Board of Trustees since 1953, died December 16 in Wenatchee, !Wash. I Johnson and· his wife, R·uth, I traveled to Searcy for the semi-annual meetings from the time he was elected ~ to the Board unill health preh!em! I preve~ted travel. A native Qf Kansas, Johnson went to I Washington not long after the tum of the cel!_tury and pioneered in the I development of the fruit industry in the Northwest. Through the years he was l active in the area, serving as a justice of the peace, member of both the Kiwanis aub and Chamber of Commerce, and president of the Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association and Central Washington Museum Board, in ad– dition to numerous other civic and professional organizations. On the observance of their Golden Wedding anniversary in 1962, more than 900 persons attended a reception in their honor, attesting to the esteem in which the Johnsons were held in their community. ,l.-;...-'--__,,.....:.a:____,.:--:----'---'~~~ gra~te ~ork, ~ds and traveled in 45 different countries, witll repeated travels in some; also ex– tensive travel in the United States. Her travels ha-Ve included one trip around the world and six trips to the Middle East and Bible Lands. She has just returned from Mor~co, _ Spain and Portugal. _ ~ • 1 'f Johnson was a collector of antique glassware, and in their extensive travels, the couple accumulated a sizeable_array of rare pieces. Funeral services were held in Wenatchee on December 19 with Dr. George Benson and Dr. Kenneth Davis Jr. in charge. Mrs. Johnson has requested that memorials be made to the University through the "Mr. and Mrs. Leman Johnson Student Loan Fund," established by the c pie many years ago to assist Bible lllfjors. • •