WEATHERFORD, Okla. – Local businessman Stan Garrison has been selected as the 2019 recipient of the Cecil Perkins Service Award.
 
The award, which is presented by the SWOSU Athletic Department, will be awarded later this month at the department's annual All-Sports Banquet, held on Wednesday, April 24th at the Pioneer Cellular Event Center.
 
"I was surprised really when Todd (Thurman) called me but I'm very thankful for the Athletic Department to choose me for this award," Garrison said upon learning of his selection. "I knew Cecil Perkins for a lot of years, he was a good man who had a big heart and cared about people. It means a lot to earn an award in his name."
 
Garrison graduated from Cordell High School and then attended school at SWOSU in the late 1970's, earning a degree in Accounting in 1979. While in college, he began developing rental properties and eventually moved to New Mexico to build hotels before returning to Weatherford in the early 1980's. From there, he established Garrison Rentals, which operates several properties around town while his wife, Tammy, runs It's All About Moi, a boutique located in downtown Weatherford.
 
Although his history attending games at SWOSU dates back to high school and some of his best memories of sporting events include his college years, Garrison took an increased role when he helped form the current version of the Athletic Association. He credits other Bulldog supporters such as Gary Winters, Max Pyron and Dr. Joe Phillips for helping to grow the group with the help of Perkins, then Athletic Director and other department employees Todd Thurman and Rouben Tourian. In addition to raising money for the Athletic Department, the group took an increased interest in engaging with the teams and student athletes, which has led to Garrison volunteering to cook meals for the teams multiple times throughout the year.
 
Stan resides in Weatherford along with his wife Tammy as does their daughter Jylian and her husband Rusty Voight along with grandchildren Avry and Camryn.
 
This is the seventh year that the Cecil Perkins Service Award has been presented. The award is named for Perkins, the former SWOSU Athletic Director who passed away in September 2013. Perkins helped pioneer the direction of the Bulldogs' athletic programs for more than a quarter century, elevating the SWOSU Athletic Department to the NCAA Division II level. His philosophy of putting the student-athlete first in any decision has led to hundreds of individual success stories that continue to positively impact the new generation of students, coaches and teams at SWOSU and beyond.
 
Cecil Perkins Service Award Recipients
2019: Stan Garrison
2018: Les Crall
2017: Jim Litsch
2016: Jimmy Harrel
2015: Rick Koch
2014: Max & Judy Pyron
2013: Joe Phillips