OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma Today, the magazine of Oklahoma since 1956, has named chairman of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Clayton I. Bennett, Oklahoman of the Year for 2008. The feature story, written by senior editor Steffie Corcoran, on Bennett appears in the January/February 2009 issue.

Bennett, founder of the private investment firm, Dorchester Capital, is touted as the man who brought the NBA to Oklahoma. He leads a group of eight investors, all from Oklahoma City, who form Professional Basketball Club, LLC. The team played its first Oklahoma City game on October 29, 2008, after relocating from Seattle. Today, the team plays at the Ford Center in downtown Oklahoma City and is considered one of the youngest team in the NBA.

“No one came close to Clay Bennett as we set about selecting this year’s Oklahoman of the Year,” says Louisa McCune-Elmore, Oklahoma Today editor in chief. “His accomplishment presents an extraordinary moment in the life of Oklahoma, probably among the top achievements in our capital city’s history.”

    Those who know him best describe Bennett as a man of action. “People respect Clay,” says former Oklahoma City mayor Ron Norick. “When Clay is involved, things are going to happen.” Bennett grew up in Oklahoma City , graduated from Casady School in 1978 and married his high-school sweetheart, Louise Gaylord, in 1981.

Bennett’s respect for hard work and his civic involvement have garnered this Oklahoman of the Year great regard from his peers, both locally and in the wider community of the NBA. “I feel confident about the good hands the [Thunder] is in,” says NBA commissioner David Stern, “because they’re in Clay’s hands and in the hands of his investor group.”

The NBA may be happy about the team’s move to Oklahoma, but no one is as thrilled as Oklahomans. The NBA is considered the largest global sports brand. “An NBA franchise is an obvious economic boom, but just as important is what it does for the momentum and morale of Oklahoma,” says Governor Brad Henry.

 “What I like most about this article and accompanying photos is its thorough review of the Thunder relocation, but also its insights into Clay’s unwavering commitment to his hometown, state, and especially his family,” says Hardy Watkins, executive director of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. “It’s a real portrait.”

   Oklahoma Today publisher Joan Henderson says, “The year 2008 was an eventful year in Oklahoma , but nothing seemed as potentially transformative as the birth of the Thunder franchise in Oklahoma City .”

“Clay Bennett had the resourcefulness, tenacity, and acumen to make that dream a reality,” says Governor Brad Henry.

Subscribers begin receiving the issue today. The issue will hit newsstands regionally on January 2. 

Photography by John Jernigan/Oklahoma Today

Contacts:

Louisa McCune-Elmore, Editor in Chief

mccune@oklahomatoday.com

Kim Moyer, Director of Communications

Kim.Moyer@oklatourism.gov