Service Award: Mike Sharp, 35 Years

July 13, 2015

Mike Sharp, Office of Geographic Information and Technical Services director and Abandoned Mine Land (AML) Reclamation Program assistant director, was recognized for 35 years of service at the July 9, 2015 meeting of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission. His recognition reads:

**Mike Rooker, OCC Chair, and Trey Lam, OCC executive director, present Mike Sharp with a 35 year service pin and certificate.**

“Mike began his career with the state of Oklahoma in January 1971 as a graduate assistant at OSU with a double major in Animal Nutrition and Biochemistry, which resulted in a PhD in 1977. He was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship in computer modeling of animal physiological and biochemical systems at the University of California at Davis. Upon completion of the fellowship, he returned to OSU as a research associate until May of 1980.

The family farm in Nowata County beckoned, so he returned home, farming and ranching full time until April of 1987, when he moved to Oklahoma City to take the job of Secretary to the Commissioners of the Land Office. During this time, Mike served as a District Director for Nowata County Conservation District. With a change in administration in 1991, Mike returned to the family farm until June of that year when he took the job of Assistant Director of the AML program. From 2002 through 2008, Mike served as the project manager for the mine reclamation work in the Tar Creek Superfund Site in Ottawa County. In addition to his AML work, Mike is the director of the Information Technology Division. He also serves as the coordinator and chair of the State Geographic Information Council.

Mike has been and continues to be an excellent representative of OCC. He teaches multiple courses each year for the Office of Surface Mining. Mike has also testified before Congress on behalf of minimum program AML states. And through his work with the GIS Council, has been called upon numerous times to provide assistance to the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety and Office of Emergency Management.

Recently, Mike and his brother Richard, following up on some earlier work done by the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, have developed a sonar tool for mapping flooded underground mine voids.

Mike is a very valued employee with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and we are proud to present him with his pin and certificate for 35 years of service to the State of Oklahoma.”

Congratulations, Mike!