According to an old Chinese proverb, “It is easy to get a thousand soldiers, but difficult to get a general.” The cause of beautification in Oklahoma has been blessed with more than a half-century of stewardship from as productive a general as could be desired. Our general is Stanley Draper, Jr., and his impact on our state’s landscape is on display in hundreds of places every single day.

His accomplishments are so great that when the first Oklahoma City Mayor’s Award for Beautification was given to him, the only person who was the slightest bit surprised was Stanley. Like most great leaders, he never asks others to do what he himself would not do. That ranges from pruning trees or picking up litter on a sizzling August day to serving as an officer or contributing needed funds to worthy organizations.

The duty few want and even fewer do well for nonprofits is fundraising. Stanley single-handedly has been responsible for raising nearly half the annual budget for The Tree Bank for nearly nine years. Oklahoma City Beautiful and the Oklahoma City All-Sports Association also have long benefited from his magic touch as well as his skill for building lasting partnerships with the private sector.

But what brings smiles to the faces of his fellow Oklahomans are his more visible aesthetic and environmental accomplishments. He has overseen The Tree Bank’s planting of more than 51,000 trees and the distribution of 89,000 seedlings statewide. It seems that almost every major tree-planting project around central Oklahoma in the past decade has been spearheaded by Stanley. Go on the walking, jogging and biking trails around Lake Hefner and you’ll be following paths he pioneered. Admire the shade in the Quail Creek area of northwest Oklahoma City and you’ll be appreciating the expansive tree revitalization program he led.

He has been called an example of what we all strive to become and one of the principal leaders in our state. Tonight he joins the sterling company of Joanne Orr, Pen Woods and Sid Patterson as the fourth recipient of Keep Oklahoma Beautiful’s Lifetime Achievement Award BECAUSE STANLEY DRAPER, JR., IS GOOD NEWS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP BY EXAMPLE IN OKLAHOMA!