We are proud to have mentors as members here at YPL. Our mentors provide an invaluable asset to our organization by mentoring our members. You can read about our mentors below, and you can also sign up to meet with them by clicking the button under their photo and filling out a short form.
Darrell Morris
My name is Darrell Morris. I am married with three beautiful daughters. I am originally from Battle Creek, MI. I graduated high school in May 1998 and enlisted into the United States Army in June of 1998. During my time on active duty I deployed to Bosnia, Kosovo and 13 months inIraq. I served 7 honorable years in the US Army before transitioning to the Oklahoma Army National Guard serving as a recruiter. My seven years as a recruiter I was able to enlist 227 men and women into the OKARNG helping them to accomplish their career and educational goals. In 2006 I was rookie of the year and #2 recruiter in the state of Oklahoma after my brother was shot and killed in Ramadi, Iraq. In 2008 I was awarded the #1 recruiter in the state of Oklahoma. After completing my time in the military. I became small business owner while I was going to school to complete my Bachelors in social work. I completed my Bachelors inDecember 2017. Finished my Masters in social work in November 2020. Went under supervision to accomplish my goal of being an LCSW or Licensed Clinical Social Worker in 2021. I currently employed and serving our community as a licensed school social worker since 2018. I am also currently serving our community counseling, coaching and mentoring for a local mental health agency since 2020. I am an active member of Bethlehem Baptist Church since 2013 and serve as a Trustee since 2016. I also serve on our scholarship committee since 2020. I am active board member of the Oklahoma Family Network since 2019.
Sandy Foster
Sandy Foster has worked in Public Health for the last 25 years. The last 19 have been spent with the TSET Healthy Living Program serving Comanche County at Comanche County Memorial Hospital. She began her career in prevention while volunteering with her children’s PTAs. In 1998 Foster was asked to be a part of the inaugural Oklahoma Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) initiative as one of the first Adult Partners in the state. During trainings she learned about the deadly marketing of the tobacco industry and how they target our kids. To this day, this continues to fuel her passion for making a difference. One of the things she is proudest of in her work is watching the youth she has worked with in the past excel. Her youth teams have been awarded the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids Youth Advocacy Group of the Year, Southwest Region Youth Advocate of the Year, Blue Cross Blue Shield Heroes for Health as well as several others. Foster continues to volunteer with organizations that she is passionate about. She is currently the Governance Chair with the Oklahoma Institute of Child Advocacy and a board member for the Lawton Farmers Market. She is a founding member of the Lawton Open Streets Committee and works in local communities trying to make the healthy choice the easy choice. Foster is a proud graduate of Cameron University. She is an even prouder mother of two (Jessica and Sam), plus one (Jonathan), two furbabies (Riley and Ozzie), and two granddogs (Molly and Frank).
Tanna Vu
Tanna Vu received her undergraduate degree in Communications from Cameron University in 1997 and a Master’s in Public Administration from University of Oklahoma in 2001. She is Class XX Leadership Lawton graduate. Her profession for the past 14 years was in hospitality. She received the Oklahoma Women in Lodging Leader of the Year award in 2021. She served on the OKWIL Council and OH&LA Board of Directors for many years. Recently she joined the United Way of Southwest Oklahoma as the Director of Community Engagement. Her passion is helping people. She is excited to be back in Lawton-Fort Sill. Her favorite quote is “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Vu serves on the Development Committee for the OKC Dodgers Baseball Foundation. She is a member of the Great Plains Chapter of Ambucs and a Lifetime Redcoat Ambassador. Vu is active in the community where she currently serves on the Holiday in the Park committee. She has also served on numerous non-profits Board of Directors. She is a member of First Baptist Church Lawton. She has two children. Tai and Trent.
Michelle Amerson
Michelle Amerson is the Assistant Clinical Director for Marie Detty Youth & Family Services. She is a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist (LMFT) and a board approved supervisor. Her extensive training and experience in domestic and sexual violence as well as with court-involved families have made it possible for her to provide expert witness testimony in Comanche County District Court. Michelle has trained various community groups such as law enforcement, teachers, clinicians, and was formerly adjunct faculty at Cameron University instructing a domestic and sexual violence workshop. Part of her position at Marie Detty is community development, and she feels strongly about being an advocate 24/7 as part of a coordinated community response to end violence and abuse. Michelle grew up in Lawton , graduating from Lawton High School in 1994. She returned to continue her higher education after enlisting into the Oklahoma Army National Guard as a combat medic in 2005. Michelle served for 8 years and resigned her commission as a military intelligence officer in 2013 to pursue her clinical career. One of her proudest moments was having her daughters present at her graduation ceremony to witness their mom achieve a master’s degree from Cameron University in 2014. Now, Michelle and her husband Paul, a former Army captain, enjoy being empty-nesters out in the woods with 4 dogs, 5 rabbits, 3 chickens, and 5 goats. Michelle continues to set goals for herself. She maintains the determination and heart needed to live life to the fullest during the next 50 years so that she might make the 50 Over 50 Forbes list (it could happen). Michelle is also a published poet, https://www.rattle.com/delusions-by-michelle-amerson/?fbclid=IwAR38ftoRxJO5ksUWMMco4CLHv4zneu998V8Qg-b10f8bq0n1-jZAx2wJsxM
Justin Walton
Justin Walton is a Professor of Communication Studies in the Department of Communication, English and Foreign Languages at Cameron University, where he has taught for over 20 years. Dr. Walton earned his B.S. from Oklahoma State University, an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma, and also holds an M.A.T. from Cameron University. A native Oklahoman, Dr. Walton is a two time past president of the Oklahoma Speech-Theatre-Communication Association (OSTCA) and the recipient of three OSTCA organizational honors: the Outstanding Young College Educator Award, the Outstanding Communication Educator Award, and the distinguished Josh Lee Service Award. His mentorship work with Cameron University students was acknowledged in 2013 with the Excellence in Scholarship and Artistic Endeavor in the Educational Enterprise Award. He holds professional and/or honorary memberships with OSTCA, the Central States Communication Association, the Southern States Communication Association, the National Communication Association, and Phi Kappa Phi. Walton has published research in various scholarly journals and has presented his work at state, regional, and national conferences. His research areas include political communication, communication education, and intercultural communication. During his time at Cameron University, Dr. Walton has taught over 20 different classes and workshops, served as the basic course director for COMM 1113, and was the department’s communication education coordinator from 2000-2006. Walton is a trained moderator through the National Issues Forum and has moderated several local political forums/debates for YPL. An experienced public speaker and meeting facilitator, Walton is available to discuss a range of communication-based topics such interviewing, resume preparation, group discussion skills, organizational/business communication, and diversity in the workplace.
Jamey Foshee
Jamey "Fosh" Foshee was born in 1963. He is a husband, father of 5, and a member of the Support Staff at Becker-Rabon Funeral home. He has served as a full time minister, worked in automotive retail sales, owned an insurance agency, and now works in the funeral industry. He and his wife Lisa have been married since 2004. While he has been successful in each of his careers, he is most adept at helping people connect on a personal level. In the business world, he sees the value of connecting staff and employers, and customer connection. He also has a strong belief that connections in one's personal life has the greatest impact on a long term successful career. He has recently dedicated much of his time to his project Coffee With Fosh. Through it, he hopes to make personal connection with people he does not know, and hopes to inspire people of all walks of life to become acquainted with one another. Fosh will be a good resource to help you learn to develop connections with people, and can also be a good "ear" if you just need to talk.
Jennifer Meason
Jennifer Meason’s career at Cotton Electric Cooperative began with a college internship in the Marketing and Member Services department and has progressed over the past 20 years to her position as the cooperative’s Chief Executive Officer. She also serves as CEO for Cotton Electric Services, Inc., a high voltage test lab that is a subsidiary of the cooperative.
Jennifer is originally from Lawton, Oklahoma and has called Walters home for the past fifteen years. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a concentration in marketing and a minor in communications from Cameron University in 2000 and a Master of Arts in Communication from the University of Oklahoma in 2003. She is a 2013 graduate of the Robert I. Kabat Management Internship Program offered by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association in partnership with the University of Wisconsin.
Jennifer serves on the Board of Directors for the Cotton Electric Charitable Foundation, Oklahoma Association of Electric Cooperatives, Cameron University Foundation, Walters Public Education Foundation, the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics Foundation, and is a member and past president of the Walters Rotary Club. Jennifer is married to Clint Meason, a middle school math teacher and basketball coach. They have two daughters.
Jason Hensley
Jason Hensley is Senior Vice President/Chief Operations Officer for City National Bank & Trust. He has been with the bank serving in many roles since May 1999, beginning his career as a part time Retail Banker while attending Cameron University.
Jason is a graduate of Cameron University having received both an Associates in Science and Bachelors of Business Administration degrees in 2015. He also attended multiple banking schools, served as the 2017-2018 Oklahoma Banker’s Association Intermediate School and Basic Banking School Chairman and is currently the 2020-2021 Oklahoma Banker’s Association Consumer Lending School Chairman.
He has had the opportunity to be a part of several great organizations, including being a Leadership Lawton Fort Sill Class 17 member, a Board member and Executive Board Member holding the positions of Treasurer, Vice Chairman and finally Chairman 2017-2018. He is a founding Board Member of the first Young Professionals Lawton Board and has previously served as both a Board member and Executive Board member holding the position of Treasurer. Jason serves on the Lawton Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors as was Secretary/Treasurer for 2019-2020. He currently is serving as the Secretary Treasurer for the United Way of Southwest Oklahoma.
Jason has been married to Julie Hensley, an insurance coordinator for a local Lawton physician, for twenty years and they have one daughter.
Curtis Awbrey
Curtis Awbrey is Assistant Editor for Hilliary Media Group, LLC., a division of Hilliary Communications, LLC.
After exploring careers in retail, health care, manufacturing, industrial safety and logistics, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in history, with a minor in liberal arts, from the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in 2013.
Curtis’ career in community journalism began while working with a publishing company in his hometown of Chickasha, Okla. After being named Community Editor of one of the publishing company’s weekly newspapers, he was invited to join the Hilliary Communications team and help launch Southwest Ledger in 2019.
A current member of the Society of Professional Journalists, Curtis’ freshman work with the Ledger earned awards in photojournalism and photo essay. His works have also been nominated for awards with the Oklahoma Press Association and the National Newspaper Association.
Coordinating the 2020 class of Southwest Ledger’s 12:10 to the Top – a program honoring young professionals across southwest Oklahoma – Curtis interviewed and befriended influential persons in myriad occupations, positions, organizations and initiatives who are making positive improvements for the region and the state.
Curtis is especially proud of his two wonderful daughters: Kaytlin Awbrey, 21, and Evalyn Crawford, 18.