2025 Arts and Humanities Award Winners
Educator in the Arts
Dr. Cornel Pewewardy
Dr. Cornel Pewewardy (Comanche–Kiowa) is an Associate Professor at the University of Central Oklahoma, Affiliated Faculty at the University of Kansas, and Professor Emeritus at Portland State University.
Former Vice-Chair of the Comanche Nation, focused on strengthening Indigenous education through higher education leadership.
Began his career teaching on the Navajo Reservation; later founding dean of Comanche Nation College and founder of award-winning Indigenous-focused schools.
Five-time Big XII Outstanding American Indian Faculty Award recipient.
Retired in 2017 as Director of Portland State University’s Indigenous Nations Studies Program.
Nationally honored scholar, including induction into the Oklahoma Educators Hall of Fame and the NIEA Lifetime Achievement Award.
Co-editor of Unsettling Settler-Colonial Education (2022); continues advancing Indigenous self-determination through teaching and leadership.Citizen in the Arts
Jo Ann Knecht
Jo Ann Knecht is a longtime leader in the Lawton arts community.
President of Arts for All and Co-Chair of the Arts for All Gala Auction Committee.
Board Member of the Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra; Treasurer of the Lawton Book & Play Club.
Serves in leadership roles with Entre Nous, Holy Family Church, and PEO Chapter EB.
Retired in 2015 after 38 years of leadership at Comanche Memorial Hospital.
Holds degrees from Southwestern Oklahoma State University (BS) and Oklahoma City University (MBA).
Honored as 2024 Arts for All Volunteer of the Year and recognized by the 2025 Gala Committee.
Business in the Arts
The Vaska Theatre
The Vaska Theatre opened on March 4, 1948, and operated as a premiere theater through the early 1980s.
During its prime years, the Vaska hosted cutting-edge theatrical innovations, including sensurround in the 1970s and early stereoscopic 3D technology in the 1980s.
Justin Hackney began working at the Vaska on November 1, 2003, managing the box office and concessions.
Hackney took over the business in 2015 and purchased the building in 2018.
In 2021, the theater returned to first-run film showings and completed major building improvements.
These updates revitalized the Vaska, restoring it as a premier entertainment venue in Lawton, Oklahoma.