BOREN, AND COMMUNITY LEADERS TO HONOR WES WATKINS AT BENNINGTON POST OFFICE DEDICATION CEREMONY Congressman Wesley “Wes” Watkins will be honored with the designation of the Bennington Post Office being dedicated in his honor at a ceremony to be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, August 30
PoliticalNews.me - Aug 27,2010 - WASHINGTON, DC — Congressman Wesley “Wes” Watkins will be honored with the designation of the Bennington Post Office being dedicated in his honor at a ceremony to be held at 2:00 p.m. on Monday, August 30.
This special tribute to Wes Watkins results from legislation, Public Law 111-101, authored by U.S. Congressman Dan Boren and signed into law on November 30, 2009 designating the Bennington Post Office as the Wesley “Wes” Watkins Post Office Building.
This fitting tribute to Wes Watkins got its start in March 2009, when U.S. Congressman Dan Boren introduced legislation, HR 1713, in the U.S. House of Representatives to dedicate the Post Office in the name of Congressman Watkins.
The ceremony will be held at the Bennington Post Office located at 310 North Perry Street, and will include the mounting of a plaque dedicating the Bennington Post Office as the Wesley “Wes” Watkins Post Office Building. The ceremony will also feature a special pictorial postmark commemorating the event.
“It is an honor to acknowledge Congressman Watkins’ service to the people of his community and to the State of Oklahoma in this way. He remains today a devoted public servant who works on behalf of several civic, national security, and university projects that provide a stronger future for Oklahoma,” said Boren. “Wes was a mentor for me when I worked on his Congressional staff. He continues to fulfill that role for me now that I represent the Second District, which includes large portions of his former congressional district. He is a positive influence on all who know him,” said Congressman Boren.
“It is with great pleasure that the Postal Service honor Mr. Watkins, a former U.S. Representative, by having the Bennington Post Office building permanently display the dedication plaque that bears his name,” said Oklahoma District Manager Julie Gosdin.
Watkins was born December 15, 1938 in DeQueen, Arkansas, but graduated from Bennington High School in 1956. He attended Oklahoma State University graduating in 1960 and earned a master’s degree there in 1961. After graduation, Watkins returned to work as an administrator at OSU and at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington D.C. He also served in the Oklahoma Air National Guard from 1960 to 1967 and the Oklahoma State Senate in 1975 and 1976. Watkins was then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978 from Oklahoman’s Third Congressional District, and served consecutive terms until 1991. He was again re-elected to the U.S. House in 1996 and served until 2002. Watkins is currently retired from public life and resides in Stillwater with his wife, Lou. He is still very active on various business, economic, and community development projects throughout the state of Oklahoma.
