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92 Oklahoma Almanac Secretary of Transportation Gary Ridley 200 NE 21 Street, Oklahoma City 73105–3204 • 405/522–1800, fax 405/522–1805 Longtime transportation executive Gary Ridley was appointed sec- retary of transportation by Governor Brad Henry in May 2009 and reappointed by Governor Mary Fallin in November 2010. He also has held the positions of Oklahoma Department of Transportation director since August 2001, and Oklahoma Turnpike Authority director since October 2009. Ridley’s journey up through the ranks provided him with first-hand insights into the whole spectrum of department operations. His ODOT service began in 1965, when he joined the department as an equipment operator. He has served as maintenance superintendent in Kingfisher; traffic superintendent in Perry as well as field maintenance engineer; and Division Five maintenance engineer and division engineer in Clinton. In 2001 he was named assistant director of operations, and later ODOT director. A native of Chicago, Ridley is a registered professional engineer. He and his wife Eula live in Yukon. They have two children, Daphne and Joe. The secretary of transportation is responsible for the following executive entities: Aeronautics Commission Transportation County Advisory Board Highway Construction Materials Technician Transportation Tribal Advisory Board Certification Board Trucking Advisory Board All Port Authorities Turnpike Authority Tourism Signage Advisory Task Force Oklahoma Space Industry Development Transportation Commission Authority Transportation Department Waterways Advisory Board Secretary of Military and Veterans Affairs Major General (retired) Rita Aragon 2311 N Central, Oklahoma City 73105 • 405/521–3684, fax 405/521–6533 Aragon was appointed secretary of veterans affairs by Governor Mary Fallin on November 19, 2010. Aragon was born, raised, and graduated high school in rural Dale, Oklahoma. She received a bachelor’s degree in education, a master’s degree in guidance and counseling, and an administrative certification from the University of Central Oklahoma. Aragon’s post graduate work was in education administration at Oklahoma State University. For twenty-three years she was employed in the Oklahoma City public schools as an elementary teacher, guidance counselor, and principal. Aragon enlisted in the Oklahoma Air National Guard on September 9, 1979, as an airman basic in the 219th Engineering Installation Squadron (EIS) in Oklahoma City. She received her commission through the Academy of Military Science at Knoxville, Tennessee on October 1981. In 1989 Captain Aragon became the first female commander in the Oklahoma Air National Guard when she assumed command of the 137th Services Flight at Will Rogers Air National Guard Base. She became the first female to hold the rank of brigadier general in the Oklahoma Air National Guard, and the first female commander of the Oklahoma Air National Guard in March 2003. Aragon was promoted to the rank of major general in November .

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