OKLAHOMA CITY – I first became acquainted with Governor Nigh not directly because of politics, but through a college program called the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature (OIL).

This organization allows students to attend from their institution at a mock legislature held at Oklahoma’s State Capitol each semester. The students write ideas into legislation and debate those policies with peers, simulating state government. Governor Nigh was the state official who helped sponsor their first meeting held in 1969 and is regarded as the father of the organization.

OIL is what shaped my future in public service, so I owe him a great debt of gratitude. As a lawmaker, he attended several events through the years in my district, with most, if not all, showing up to see and visit with him.

From there, I would grow to know him and hear his many tales of Oklahoma history. For those not aware, Rep. George Nigh was the youngest-elected state representative in 1953 when he first ran for office. His most famous accomplishment as a lawmaker was changing our state song from “Oklahoma, a Toast” to the Rodgers & Hammerstein song “Oklahoma!” from the musical.

You can view the story as told by Nigh at https://tinyurl.com/ NighOKSong.

Nigh went on to serve as lieutenant governor, the youngest in the nation, and then had the distinction of being sworn into the office of governor four separate times, twice to fill vacancies and then to be Oklahoma’s first twoterm elected chief executive. In fact, he won all 77 counties in his race for re-election to governor.

As governor, Nigh was a trailblazer, appointing the first two women to serve on the Oklahoma Supreme Court and selecting minority representation to serve on state agencies, boards, and commissions, and even those from differing political parties.

Following his elective career, George served as the director of Tourism, the president of the University of Central Oklahoma, and as a founding member of the Oklahoma Intercollegiate Legislature Foundation, along with so many other roles.

Governor Nigh joked that the first time he realized that he was no longer governor was when he got into the back of a car, and it did not move. He, later in life, did not drive, so it fell on others to ensure that he made it to events, including the delivery of graduation speeches over a 75-year period. I became one of his “chauffeurs” for speeches, and his entourage of drivers ranged from students to even former Govs. David Walters and Frank Keating.

My first time driving him was to my hometown for the funeral of former Lt. Gov. Spencer Bernard in 2001, the person who served alongside him. I escorted him to Oklahoma American Legion Auxiliary Girls State, where he spoke at 73 conferences, only missing one recently due to a health issue. Other opportunities included the OICA Heroes Ball and OICA’s Kid Governor events, of which he was one of our strongest supporters of this grade school civics program.

In fact, it was at that age that he decided that he wanted to be a governor, so this was very dear to him. You can watch a video about his thoughts at https://tinyurl. com/GovNighReflects.

George Nigh was the epitome of a statesman, and I consider him a mentor, as did so many other politicians through the many generations. I last saw him a month ago when he spoke to the Rotary Club of Oklahoma City. Up until the end, he promoted the thought that we all need to work together for the betterment of our great state.

I’ll conclude with a Nigh quote about the musical, “Oklahoma!” that fits him perfectly: “Do for your life what they did for our state — put an exclamation point behind your life!”