My wife, Allison, and I welcome you to the official site of the 2009 Oklahoma Speaker’s Ball. We are excited to host a gathering of elected officials and special guests as we kickoff the First Session of the Fifty-Third Legislature.

We are pleased to announce that net proceeds from the Ball will benefit the Oklahoma Arts Institute, Oklahoma’s Official School of the Arts. Through OAI’s Angel Fund, the Ball will help underprivileged Oklahoma high school students afford to attend the Summer Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain.

We also are pleased to introduce a new element to this year’s Ball: an exciting art auction. Auction proceeds will benefit the Oklahoma Arts Institute’s general scholarship fund. As always, the night also will include dinner, dancing and live entertainment to celebrate the opening of the legislative session.

We hope you will choose to join us, and we look forward to seeing you there.

Respectfully,

Chris Benge
Speaker of the House
Oklahoma House of Representatives