For many, the thought of a bride walking down the aisle sans veil just won’t do. Bridal veils are part and parcel of our traditional image of a bride. Veils are actually an ancient wedding accessory once used to protect the bride from evil spirits or, in some cultures, keep the groom from bolting at the sight of a bride he’d never seen before. Regardless, the choice to wear a veil or not is now up to the bride and as horrifying as it may be to grandma, many are saying goodbye to the netting.

This trend is making way for an entirely new assortment of hair accessories that are often worn in lieu of a veil. Brides are choosing eye-catching barrettes, combs, headbands and tiaras, and some are even repurposing family heirloom jewelry and other ornaments into one-of-kind headpieces that add special meaning to the ceremony. Even if you do opt for a veil, many of these pieces may still flatter your ensemble or top off your look after the veil has been tossed for the reception.

Halo settings serve the purpose of improving the beauty of an already beautiful diamond. Small, pave-cut diamonds surround the larger stone, making it appear larger and enhancing the brilliance. A trending setting for years, the halo can be found in several price points. The chic setting has been seen on the fingers of such starlets as Natalie Portman, Carrie Underwood and Giuliana Rancic.

Make The Cut  – Get the scoop on five of the more common cuts of diamonds.

Round Brilliant

This shape accounts for around three-fourths of diamonds sold today. Its 58-facet cut achieves optimal brilliance.

Oval

A perfectly symmetrical design, this cut can elongate fingers.

Marquise

This elongated diamond with pointed tips is a popular cut used in solitaire settings.

Emerald

The rectangular shape with cut corners features long lines, which produces very dramatic flashes of light. The emerald cut makes a great choice for an engagement ring, and it is often more affordable than a round cut.

Princess

The princess is a square or rectangular cut that features numerous sparkling facets. It is also a popular choice for solitaire engagement rings.

Dinner

Brookside By Day
BBD is a Tulsa staple for leisurely breakfast or brunches on the weekends as well as quick meals during the week. But now the mainstay is open for three meals a day, Tuesday through Friday. Any item from the breakfast or lunch menu is available for order, as well as a few chalkboard specials offered. Everything from chicken fried chicken with mashed potatoes, veggies and Texas toast, to soups and salads, even omelets – BBD can quench the diner cravings, now, at any time of day. 3313 S. Peoria, Tulsa. www.brooksidebyday.com

Bulgogi Gyro

Foodies
Deciding what to eat for lunch can be burdensome. Do you want Mexican or Italian? Chinese or Indian? Greek or Korean? If the latter is your predicament, you’re in luck; just head to Foodies, a small lunchtime eatery in Oklahoma City’s Midtown area that is serving amped-up Asian cuisine to hungry crowds. A favorite is the Bulgogi Gyro, a mash-up that combines the succulent meat of Korean barbecue and that Greek classic that is marked by a pita wrapped around meat, vegetables and tzatziki sauce. The sweet meat combined with savory sauce makes this a winner, for lunch or dinner. 1220 N. Hudson, Oklahoma City. 405.235.1111

Pastor Tom Jones, president and CEO of City Rescue Mission in Oklahoma City, says, “I have always had a passion to help those who are in need.” His desire to help others started at an early age, after his alcoholic father left the family when Jones was 5. Twenty years later, Jones received the call that his father’s body had been discovered in an abandoned building.

 “He had died as a homeless man living on the streets,” Jones says. “At that point in my life I felt I needed to try my best to help those that found themselves in his situation. He was a man that could not overcome his addictions alone. Even though addictions are difficult to break, people need to feel loved and accepted while they are trying to overcome them. Every homeless man is someone’s son, brother, uncle or dad. Every homeless woman is someone’s daughter, sister, aunt or mother. They deserve to be treated with dignity and respect while they are seeking help.”

Jones, who has led City Rescue Mission for the past five years and builds upon 35 years of experience as a pastor, has spearheaded some of the mission’s most successful projects, including the most recent, the Impact Hunger Food Resource Center, that opened this past September. The center allows near-homeless clients who either receive food stamps or have a letter of recommendation from a church or aid agency to shop for food at no charge. “This allows for the working poor to get assistance with food and maintain their dignity,” Jones says. “They shop and select the food items that their family likes, not what someone else thinks they would like.”

During his term as president of the mission, Jones has overseen the creation and implementation of the Bridge to Life Recovery Program, which offers individual, holistic, solutions-based aid and is now being practiced at agencies across the nation. In the past four years, the program has seen some 1,000 graduates. Jones also directed the implementation of the mission’s new Job Placement Center, which is open to everyone in the community, homeless or not.

In addition to his responsibilities at the mission, Jones was appointed by Gov. Brad Henry to the Governor’s Interagency Council on Homelessness, and now chairs that organization and its efforts to foster collaboration amongst agencies that help the homeless across the state.

Of his life’s work, Jones says, “Our desire is to find solutions for every homeless person that enters our doors. Many would say that we are trying to work ourselves out of a job, but the truth is that there will always be people that face challenges and need our services.”
 

The words “chief executive” and “horticulture” are not words often found in close association. On the surface, the terms couldn’t be further apart in terms of practicality.

Unless, that is, you happen to be Tom McKeon. In the case of Tulsa Community College’s president, a horticulture background comes in handy. After all, McKeon is in the business of growing success.

McKeon’s association with one of northeast Oklahoma’s most recognized educational institutions spans more than 30 years, serving in his current capacity since 2004. During that time, McKeon has seen the institution transform itself from the former Tulsa Junior College into one of the most cutting-edge community colleges in the nation.

And it is the “community” in TCC’s name that drives him as the institution’s president. “The community looks to TCC many times as a community resource,” McKeon says. “That’s been a part of our culture from the very beginning.”

Despite steadily increasing enrollment and a four-campus system, McKeon enthusiastically points to TCC’s relentless outreach to the region’s students, both current and future. With a view toward expanding affordable post-high school education opportunities to a broader spectrum of prospective students, McKeon was a driving force in TCC’s groundbreaking Tulsa Achieves program. The program provides a very affordable option to high school graduates demonstrating a desire to pursue successful post-high school academics. “If you have a 2.0 grade point average or higher,” McKeon says, “we provide 63 college credits at no cost.” Keeping the community emphasis, Tulsa Achieves requires participants to perform 40 hours of community service each academic year. “(Tulsa Achieves) is an acknowledgement that students need some post-secondary education to succeed,” McKeon says.

McKeon’s dedication to TCC students’ success does not end once a student begins classes. Under his leadership, TCC has implemented a program known as Achieving The Dream. The national program is designed to foster community college student success and increase graduation rates.

McKeon points to Achieving The Dream as one of TCC’s greatest success stories during his tenure. “It has truly changed how we work to improve our students’ success,” he says. “To me, that is truly exciting.”

In addition to TCC’s people-oriented doctrine, McKeon’s tenure as president has also seen the college’s infrastructure take a giant leap forward with the construction of the Metro Campus’s Center for Creativity. Serving as TCC’s epicenter for media, visual arts, communications, and distance learning programs, the glitzy building is home to a broad, outdoor rooftop featuring a self-sustaining “green” area, in addition to providing students with access to up-to-the-second technology.

With the future looking bright for TCC, McKeon is eager to translate TCC’s success and vision to all levels of the educational process. “I really see the college being a real leader in education from pre-kindergarten through college and beyond,” he says. “We’re facing some real challenges in secondary education.” McKeon adds that concurrent enrollment arrangements between TCC and area high schools provide access to additional educational opportunities that might not otherwise exist.

Over the course of a conversation with McKeon, it is easy for even the most casual observer to catch his contagious enthusiasm. “I think a lot of that excitement is derived from our successes and outcomes,” he says. “And that has been significant.”
 

If the needs of Oklahoma’s Choctaw Nation exactly mirror those of the United States, then Choctaw Chief Gregory E. Pyle has every reason to be proud of the Nation’s accomplishments during his tenure. The 2007 Oklahoma Hall of Fame inductee cites vast improvements in health care and in employment as his administration’s most noteworthy achievements even while the U.S. struggled addressing those issues.

“It was a big thing in my family, when you come into something, leave it better off than before,” Pyle says in regard the question of his legacy. “I’m very proud that we were able to build and expand a hospital and to build and operate the clinics that we have.

“Also when I started here, there were 1,200 employees. Now there are 6,000. These jobs also permit people to stay in rural Oklahoma.”

Pyle grew up shuttling between California and Oklahoma. His parents had sought better opportunities in California but regularly returned to Oklahoma. They made their home in Durant permanently a half-century ago. Pyle was elected Chief in 1997 after serving more than 13 years as assistant chief. He says his call to public service is an extension of his values.

“I think it’s because of basic values passed down from my parents,” Pyle says. “I grew up in a small town that didn’t have a church. My dad and a few men remodeled this big house into a church, and then my dad took his bulldozer and made a parking lot. When you’re 6 or 7 years old, which I was, those are big, important things.”

Big, important things are just what Pyle has accomplished. Under his leadership, a new hospital was built in Talihina as well as the Diabetes Wellness Center; clinics in Stigler, McAlester, Atoka and Idabel; a new Hospitality House, new Recovery Center and a new Women’s Treatment Center.

The Poteau Clinic has expanded to include additional health care professionals and a mail-pharmacy refill center. Other successful advancements include independent living facilities for the elderly in six different towns, several new and refurbished community centers, four child development centers and a score of new tribal businesses.

Pyle is also proud of the progress made in employment. In addition to expanding employment at the Nation, hundreds of people have benefitted from expert training, ranging from six weeks to two years. The result: An average improvement in income of $12,000 annually.

“This past year we increased employment by about 400 jobs and provided training for another 800 people,” Pyle says.

Also key this past year was progress in discussions with relevant parties about the vital issue of water in the region as well as ongoing relationship building with OU and OSU in regard to medical issues. Pyle was also the impetus behind the development of the Choctaw Language Program that is present in some 30 area schools today.

Pyle, who is a national Native American figure today as well, points out the irony of the language program.

“Generations ago, my mom went to a girls academy where she was not allowed to speak Choctaw,” says Pyle. “Things have changed.”

For the thriving Choctaw Nation, much has changed for the better, and Pyle has been a lynchpin.
 

As a political science professor and curator of the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center at the University of Oklahoma, Cindy Simon Rosenthal would often be questioned by students, “Why don’t you run for public office?”

The inquiry prompted reflection.

“At some level I felt that in order to encourage future generations of leaders that it was important to have an experienced person to speak in a deeper way to students, to talk to them about the rewards,” says Rosenthal. “As someone who tries to mentor young people, I know they look to see if you not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk.”

Thus, in 2004, Rosenthal ran for and was elected to the Norman City Council before, three years later, becoming the first popularly elected woman mayor of the city. She was re-elected in 2010 to another three-year term, and throughout, she has tirelessly paired an acclaimed career in office with her ongoing effort to prepare the next generation of public policy makers – with a particular focus on women in the process.

“So much of my experience serving the city has enriched what I teach,” Rosenthal says. “This has been an opportunity to serve the community and make that experience come alive in the classroom. It’s not just an ‘academic’ interest in public policy – I think the best teachers often have applied knowledge.”

Still, Rosenthal says her foray into politics was an evolution. In 1985, her husband was offered a position at the University of Oklahoma, prompting the move to Norman. The Northwestern University graduate, who’d become interested in public service while a journalist, ran her own consulting business and also chose to further her education.

“I went back to school at 40,” Rosenthal says. In 1995 she earned her doctorate in political science from OU and joined the faculty.

Under her leadership in 2002, the Carl Albert Center launched what would become the Women’s Leadership Initiative, which includes multiple partnerships with women’s and youth-serving organizations. Recognized as a public policy expert, Rosenthal is co-author (with Ronald M. Peters, Jr.) of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the New American Politics. She edited Women Transforming Congress and is the author of When Women Lead, among other publishing credits.

Rosenthal has implemented her expertise throughout her career in office. Among the accomplishments she is particularly proud of are furthering the downtown arts district, Norman’s vaunted leadership within the state on fiscally smart sustainability initiatives, and the city’s financial and personnel stability during the recession.

“I’m proud of the leadership this community has taken in terms of sustainability that also makes incredible economic sense,” she says.

Just last year, Rosenthal says the city observed the ribbon cutting of a new CNG station that’s also open to the public and the opening of Norman’s second LEED-certified fire station. In August 2012 the city also passed its largest bond issue for infrastructure improvements with 63 percent of a public vote.

If a third term is in the cards – and she says she’s still considering another run – Rosenthal says she would like to focus on quality of life projects such as a new library, renovated parks and a year-round aquatic center.

“I recognize the desire in the community for these things,” she says. “Norman is a great city and a terrific place to raise our family.”

Something tells us that George Strait is a man of his word. Perhaps it’s that black hat, his rugged, easy confidence or the long stream of soul-baring country hits, but George Strait comes off as unshakeable. So when he titled his 2013-14 tour The Cowboy Rides Away Tour, we know we’re getting, perhaps, that last chance at seeing a solo live show of hits from his long-riding career. The second stop of the tour unloads in Oklahoma City at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Show starts at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 19 with special guest, the lovely Martina McBride. Strait may be a little saddle-sore from a life of extensive travel, but he isn’t about to hang up the lasso; the singer will continue to make new music and perform the occasional live show. Tickets to this one are $72.50 and $92.50 and can be purchased at www.chesapeakearena.com.

Louise Red Corn is owner and publisher of Bigheart Times, a weekly newspaper serving Osage County, located in Barnsdall, Okla. Red Corn has worked as a reporter at several large newspapers across the United States as well as for TIME magazine.  

(Owning the Bigheart Times) appealed to me because, working for other news organizations in the 20-year window I did, circulation was going down. When I started (working in newspapers) – I would say I started in Biloxi – I still had those old-school, tobacco-chaw editors who weren’t wearing fedoras, but were of that era. It kind of morphed, the whole industry, into the USA Today model from the old model, to where long stories were embraced, in-depth was embraced. I kind of embraced the idea of having a weekly paper because I could put my own thoughts into print to follow through with how I thought a newspaper should be run and the news that should be printed.

We try to be pretty even-handed in our coverage. We’ll jump right into the negative, whether it’s crime or corruption – we cover it all. We can be very in-your-face or very sweet. We try to write lots of profiles of people in the community that have made a difference. We have grown, much to Barnsdall’s dismay. Barnsdall is way too small to support a newspaper. There is no ad revenue here, and when I bought it, we had circulation of 600. I expanded the coverage to cover Pawhuska, and now we pretty much cover all of Osage County. I try to cover the news that they’re not going to get anywhere else. I cover trials, the Wynona Robotics Team going to Fort Smith to compete for a national title… not that we always succeed, but we try to cover everything that matters, the good, the bad and the ugly.

(When I bought the paper) I was the devil to some, but I was a hero to many more. I called the (detractors) the “Hateful Eight,” and it was literally about that many people who were really, really pissed off. I’m not going to cover them because they think they’re important, and that irritated them, and they were very vocal. To everyone else, it was great because I gave voice to the disenfranchised who had historically been ignored.

Small newspapers should pay attention to our model. We have more than tripled the circulation of our paper by doing long-form story and expanding coverage. A lot of small newspapers don’t report and interview people and do the hard stories where you have to ask people (hard questions). We take the old, big-city attitude and put it in a small town, and it can be awkward. We report every felony and misdemeanor charge when it gets to court in Osage County. The first week (we ran the crime log) there was a guy that lived in Pawhuska that was in (the crime log) twice. I was going to go to the grocery store to buy bacon, and I went up to the bacon display and here was the guy that had been in the crime log twice, and my first reaction was to dart back into the spice aisle. Now I’ve toughened up, and if someone glares at me, I think, whatever. You have to have thick skin to do this in a small town.