As I left the house of Charles and Kelley Conaghan Sunday afternoon I found myself inspired, and I must admit, a bit overwhelmed. Going to school and growing up with Charles and Kelley I thought it might be a pretty easy article. Not so much.Charles graduated from Tonkawa High School in 1974 and Kelley followed in 1978. They were both involved in school, church, and community as HS students. I cannot list all their contributions and achievements in these same areas of their adult life so I’ll just touch on a few. Charles received his bachelor’s from NWOSU in 1980 and Kelley graduated from OSU in 2013. Charles has served the City of Tonkawa as a Councilman, Fireman, Storm spotter, and much more! Kelley beautified the campus of NOC from 1990 - 2010 and was a Master Gardener from 99 - 09. The two of them together have amassed so many awards from school, City, and state it would take another article to list them all and I would still miss some. What a team!The care they have for people is hard to express in one article. They both seem to always be there for people. Having witnessed this in person more than once in my life I’ll finish with one example. Blessed with the opportunity to be involved in that great Buccaneer football run of 3 straight 15 game seasons, the third ending in a State Championship, I’m reminded of one of those moments. After finishing the 03 season one game short of the Gold Ball we all were tired and, even though it was a special year, a bit dejected. As the bus pulled into the parking lot late that Saturday evening we braced ourselves for a slap of cold air from the remnants of a winter storm. There was Charles, glow stick in hand, making sure we were safely home.Part three in a series running through Homecoming week.
