Don Nickles: “the great success of our Nation is rooted in the labors of millions of Americans who work every day to make America a…”

“the great success of our Nation is rooted in the labors of millions of Americans who work every day to make America a better place. I'd like to take a moment to recognize one such American--a fellow Oklahoman, Denise Bode, who has dedicated most of her adult life to making our Nation a better place through her work in the public and private sector. Soon she will begin a new chapter of service to the people of Oklahoma. For this reason, I am very proud to take this opportunity to recognize her contributions over the past several years. Denise Bode became involved in Government right after she graduated from the University of Oklahoma, serving as an adviser to my former Senate colleague David Boren who was the Governor of Oklahoma. When David Boren was elected to the Senate, Denise became a member of his U.S. Senate staff and developed an expertise in energy and tax policies. Even though she was working full time, she somehow found time to take courses at night and earn both a law degree and a masters of law in taxation, and devote time to her son Sean as well as be a helpmate to her husband John Bode, who was an Assistant Secretary of Agriculture in the Reagan Administration. For the past 6 years she has served as president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, an organization founded in 1929 in Oklahoma and which today is the Nation's largest membership association representing America's oil and natural gas producers.”