Six people were inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame Monday evening.
- Ken Busby
- Busby is the Executive Director & CEO of the Route 66 Alliance and a lifelong Tulsan. He served as head of the Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa and has held posts at the Tulsa Zoo and the Gilcrease Museum.
- Reuben Gant
- A football player for Booker T. Washington High School, Oklahoma State University and the Buffalo Bills. Gant returned to his hometown to serve as President of the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce and one of the founders and Executive Director of the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation.
- Elliot Nelson
- The Founder of McNellie’s Group, Nelson is credited with helping to bring downtown Tulsa back to life when he opened McNellie’s Pub in 2004. There was very little activity in that part of downtown at the time. McNellie’s Group has grown into several restaurant brands in Tulsa and Oklahoma City.
- Rodger and Judy Randle
- Rodger is a former Tulsa mayor (1988 to 1992) and a former state lawmaker (1970 to 1980). He’s now a professor at OU-Tulsa. Judy is a former writer and editor at the Tulsa World. She also served on the Tulsa City-County Library Commission. Rodger and Judy both served in the Peace Corps.
- Gailard Sartain
- Widely known as Dr. Mazeppa Pompazaoidi and later joined worked in other TV and film roles including Hee Haw and Mississippi Burning.
Former Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, a 2025 inductee, served as emcee for the induction ceremony at Southern Hills Country Club.
“Honored to MC tonight’s Tulsa Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, recognizing the remarkable contributions to our city by 6 great Tulsans – Ken Busby, Rodger and Judy Randle, Gailard Sartain, Reuben Gant, and Elliot Nelson – as well as a quintessential Tulsa company, Williams!” Bynum wrote on social media.
Read more about the Tulsa Hall of Fame and this year’s inductees here
