The story of Drover Hills Golf Course is exactly why I started writing #TheGoodStuff. Not long ago, the future of Chickasha’s golf course looked pretty bleak. The previous owners were seriously exploring the idea of turning the land into a housing development. For a lot of communities, that would have been the end of the story: another golf course lost, another green space gone. Chickasha chose a different path. Instead of watching the course disappear, the City of Chickasha stepped in and purchased the property. That decision bought time, but more importantly, it opened the door for the Community to reimagine what this course could be. A group of local business leaders came together, raised money, and formed a nonprofit called the Chickasha Golf Foundation. Their vision wasn’t just to save a golf course; it was to create a youth-focused golf experience that would serve both young and old, beginner and seasoned player. They now lease the land from the City and have thrown the doors open wide. The course is open to the public and has been given a new name with deep local meaning: Drover Hills Golf Course, a tribute to Chickasha’s history and to the USAO Drovers. While Drover Hills is new in name, it’s rich in tradition. Golf on that land dates back to 1915. In 1928, it first hosted the Washita Valley tournament, which is recognized as the oldest golf tournament in the state of Oklahoma. That’s nearly a century of memories, competition, and Community on those fairways. Instead of bulldozing that history, Drover Hills is embracing it, honoring the past while building something new for the future. The Chickasha Golf Foundation hasn’t stopped at just mowing greens and keeping the course alive. They’ve already raised enough in donations to build the Orville Moody Practice Facility, dedicated to helping young people learn the game. Orville “Sarge” Moody’s story is woven into this place. He grew up right here, helping his dad take care of the course. In 1969, he went on to win the U.S. Open, one of golf’s greatest championships. From Chickasha to the top of the golf world…proof that big dreams can begin on small-town grass. Now, kids in Chickasha can practice at a facility that carries his name, on the same ground where his story started. Ask around town, and you’ll hear the same thing…”Drover Hills is in the best shape anyone can remember.” Fairways are greener, greens are cleaner, and there’s a renewed sense of pride in the place. That doesn’t just happen. It’s the result of people who care deeply about their community and are willing to show up, roll up their sleeves, and do the work, and that story starts with Cary DeHart. As Cary has taken a break from his role as CEO of Willowbrook, he’s chosen to spend his time volunteering to run the course. His commitment to serve, quiet, steady, and genuine, has been contagious. People see his example and want to be part of it. Leaders like Pete Bush and many others have followed suit, investing their time, energy, and resources because they believe Chickasha’s young people deserve a place to learn the game, build confidence, and belong. Next week, Drover Hills is going to host a fundraiser dinner called “Legacy and Links.” It will be held on Thursday, July 2 nd and they will share their Mission and Vision for the course. This is perfect timing as the Washita Valley Golf Tournament will start the next day. Call the course to reserve your spot for the dinner or the tournament or both. This is just another example of Community leaders stepping up to share #TheGoodStuff! 

Growing up in Chickasha in the 1970s was a pretty special time. Downtown was hopping with retail and Chickasha had recently been recognized as an All American City by the National Civic League. For a kid coming of age here, it felt like the center of the world. My first job was Downtown at the old Dixie Department Store. Back then, you could walk downtown on a Saturday and see people on every block, every storefront lit up and busy. It was a fun time to be here, and an even better time to be a kid with a front-row seat to a community that believed in itself. At the center of my world was my dad. To me, he was simply my hero. To most everyone else, he was their driver’s ed teacher, their VICA sponsor, or the assistant principal at Chickasha High School. A lot of you reading this may have sat in his classroom, ridden in the driver’s ed car with your white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel, or visited with him in the hallways at CHS. His name was John P. Cowan. Forty years ago, just days before Father’s Day, my hero passed away from heart problems. It’s hard to believe it has been that long. Anniversaries like that have a way of making you look back, not just on the person you lost, but on the place and the people who helped shape you. As I reflect on growing up here, and on what called me back home in 2020, it’s easy to see my dad’s fingerprints all over that decision. He cast a big shadow, not in the sense of something to get out from under, but as a place of protection and purpose to stand within. Any time I’m having a rough day, I drive down the street named after him after he passed away. Thank you to then Mayor Charlie Furguson for making that street dedication happen. He was a husband and a father, but he was also something else… he was invested in this town. He believed in Chickasha, in its kids, in its future. Whether it was teaching teenagers how to parallel park, helping students in VICA learn skills that would carry them into careers, or serving as assistant principal at the high school, he poured himself into this community. He understood that building a life wasn’t just about taking care of your own household, it was also about taking care of your hometown. This past Sunday, the Chamber hosted a Flag Day celebration in Downtown Chickasha, just half a block from where I worked my very first job. That event, full of flags, families, and familiar faces was held as part of our ongoing effort to honor the 25th anniversary of Chickasha being recognized as an All American City and America’s 250 th birthday. Standing there, so close to where my working life began, watching our community gather in celebration of our country and our town, I couldn’t help but think about him, and about all the fathers who came before us. As we celebrate Father’s Day in Chickasha, I want to say thank you to all the incredible fathers in our community today. Those raising kids, coaching teams, leading classrooms, running businesses, volunteering at church, and showing up in a thousand quiet ways that may never make the paper but absolutely make a difference. And I especially want to thank my father, John P. Cowan, for standing up so many years ago and casting a shadow that I am honored to stand in today. His example is one of the main reasons I came back home. The older I get, the more clearly I see that the best way I can honor him is to try, in my own small way, to do for today’s Chickasha what he did for mine. The truth is, those fathers from Chickasha’s past, men like my dad and so many others whose names you could add to this list are still impacting our community today. Their influence lives on in the lives they touched, the students they taught, the values they modeled, and the love they had for this town. This Father’s Day, as you fire up the grill, make a phone call, visit a grave, or look at an old photograph, I hope you’ll take a moment to think about the fathers and father-figures who helped make Chickasha the place we’re proud to call home. We are, in many ways, still walking in their shadow which helps us appreciate #TheGoodStuff!