Mayor’s Commission to recognize three Lawton women for contributions to the community

Three Lawton women will be recognized with Woman of the Year awards Thursday during Lawton’s 122nd birthday celebration.

The Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women is making the presentations to Josalyn Wood, Bridget Randle and Janell A. Harris to mark the women’s endeavors and commitment to bettering their community, commission members said.

Wood is an educator, realtor, volunteer firefighter and founder and president of Ellipsis. She is responsible for adopting two streets for community cleanup, ensuring her neighborhood remains a clean and welcoming environment, planning and executing events such as “Park O Treat” and Community Bonfire with a Twist, and assembling a group to carol at retirement homes. Wood also serves on the executive boards for the Association of the United States Army and the American Red Cross. She has received accolades for her contributions, including the NASA Award for Science, the Champion for Children Award from Lawton Public Schools, and recognition for her substantial real estate sales volumes.

Randle is co-owner of Classic Lawton Chevrolet. She serves on the Comanche County Memorial Hospital Foundation Board, Cameron University Foundation Board and the Lawton Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce Board. She previously served as treasurer for the FISTA Development Trust Authority. She is the lead coordinator for the Classic Chevrolet Annual Charity Golf Tournament, which raised more than $550,000 for local charities over the past seven years. Randle said she feels strongly about participating in these activities because she wants to make this world and community better for us and future generations.

Harris is the owner of TRIUNE Light, LLC, a professional development interactive training platform for inclusion and diversity training that encapsulates the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She retired from the military in 2018 after serving 24 years and two combat tours to Iraq as a medical specialist. She dedicates her time to assisting in multiple community feeding sites, which is where her passion grew to serve the community that lacks shelter and the elderly population. Harris serves as outreach minister for Spread the Word Ministries. In 2022, while feeding a family of six, the ministry was introduced to the four girls, aged 5 and under. The parents asked her to serve as their Kinship Foster parent, a role Harris continues today.