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Person of the Year
Clockwise from top left: Jeff Mims, Kandyce Mitchell, Michael Duncan, David Walters, Peter Fulmer, Mike Cantrell, Angie LaPaglia, Daniel Miley, Jimmy Durant, Karen Hulebak, Terry West, Cordon DeKock, Jason Shepherd and Cindy Rosenthal. (NonDoc)

While it started as a Twitter joke about how President Donald Trump supposedly “took a pass” at being named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year, we are proud to announce the inaugural NonDoc Person of the Year competition.

Below are 14 names of strong Writers’ Fund supporters who have agreed to place themselves in the running for this enormous honor that “probably” will be given to one of them.

While we have had 150 amazing contributors to our Writers’ Fund this year, we had to set a cut-off line to qualify for today’s competition. Let’s just say that our highest monthly contributors and our largest one-time supporters were offered the chance to participate, but we truly appreciate every single Writers’ Fund member.

Selecting the NonDoc Person of the Year

So here’s how this works. The poll embedded below will be active through 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30. Vote for who you believe should be NonDoc’s Person of the Year.

But if you really want to help ensure that your choice wins, make a one-time Writers’ Fund contribution as well. Each $1 given in the name of your choice will be added as one additional vote for that person.

Got it? As always, your support of the NonDoc Writers’ Fund invests in local media, allows for compelling freelance stories and provides training opportunities for young journalists.

Ready? Set? Vote!

[yop_poll id=”2″]

RESULTS ARE IN

Person of the Year winner

NonDoc’s first Person of the Year: And the winner is … by NonDoc Staff

Should you want to make a contribution and pad the above vote totals, you can do so through the PayPal link here:


Choose your support level:
Name your PoY pick below:



(Be sure to fill out which Person of the Year candidate you are supporting in the text box above.)

NonDoc Person of the Year candidate descriptions

Angie LaPaglia is the founder of Earth Girl Communications and a supporter of Water 4. She has a passion for photography, poetry and hiking.

Cindy Rosenthal served three terms as mayor of Norman and is the current director of the Carl Albert Congressional Research & Studies Center.

Cordon DeKock is an Enid native who serves as vice president of political affairs for the Oklahoma State Chamber. During a voter registration drive at a western Oklahoma church, he once handled poisonous snakes with the congregation.

Daniel Miley is a pharmacist and avid bike rider. He hosted NonDoc’s 2017 summer soiree at his Oklahoma City home, and he authors commentary on the site as well.

David Walters served as the 24th governor of Oklahoma and is the president of Walters Power International. He authors commentary that NonDoc publishes, and NonDoc occupies office space in one of his buildings.

Jason Shepherd is CFO and business manager for Burton Controls, an oil and gas electrical company. He lives in Tuttle and spends his free time imitating Baker Mayfield.

Jeff Mims is a field consultant with DXC Technology and an advocate for arts, music and culture. He holds a master’s degree in rehabilitation science, plays guitar and wrote a letter of support for Charlie Christian’s (yet unfulfilled) inclusion in the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

Jimmy Durant works at the Capitol by day for SSM Health and works as a baseball umpire by night. He remains unsure which arena earns him a worse reputation with the public.

Kandyce Mitchell is a native of Woodward who is a committed advocate for responsible public policy. She serves on the board of Let’s Fix This and prevents the world from having to endure her husband Scott’s zanier ideas.

Karen Hulebak is a former chairwoman of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which helps establish international food standards. She holds a doctorate from The Johns Hopkins University in toxicology, which offers a great number of metaphors for the importance of journalists covering government.

Mike Cantrell is a prominent oil industry expert and a co-founder of the Oklahoma Energy Producers Alliance. Known colloquially as “Bubba,” he is a driving force behind an anticipated ballot initiative about gross production taxes.

Michael Duncan is an OKC attorney, a NonDoc contributing writer/photographer, a proud OU fan and the publisher of SoonerGuys.com.

Peter Fulmer is an OKC-based real estate appraiser with a sports journalism background. He graduated from the University of Kansas and worked briefly at KTEN in Denison, Texas. He is a past president of the Bricktown Rotary Club.

Terry West is the founder of The West Law Firm in Shawnee, which is celebrating its 50th year in practice. He is an alumnus of The Oklahoma Daily and worked briefly in journalism.

As always, thanks for reading (and voting)

Thank you again for your support of NonDoc and for taking the time to help select a Person of the Year. We look forward to announcing the results and providing the winner with a week’s worth of giggles and good-natured ribbing.

Perhaps we can find one of those infamous Time Magazine mirrors hanging around somewhere.

(Update: This post was updated at 12:15 p.m., Friday, Dec. 1, to include a link to the results of this year’s competition. Thanks to all who participated!)