2004

Tom Cole
Tom Cole was elected Nov. 6 to represent Oklahoma's 4th Congressional District, which includes 10 of 13 counties within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation.

President of nationally-recognized political consulting firm Cole, Hargrave, Snodgrass and Associates since 1989, Cole also served as an Oklahoma state senator and as Oklahoma's first Republican Secretary of State.

Cole's mother, the late Helen Cole, is a member of the Chickasaw Hall of Fame as well as a former state senator and state representative from Moore, Okla.

His great grandfather, Thomas Benjamin Thompson, was the last elected treasurer of the Chickasaw Nation before statehood. Famed Chickasaw storyteller Te Ata is Cole's great aunt.  

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William Paul
William Paul, who was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame Nov. 20, 2003, is a former managing partner of Oklahoma's oldest and largest law firm, Crowe & Dunlevy, and past president of the American Bar Association. He was honored by Queen Elizabeth II, English Prime Minister Tony Blair and officials from many other countries for his leadership of the American Bar Association, the largest professional organization in the world.

Mr. Paul's great-great-grandparents founded the city of Pauls Valley, Okla., In addition, his great-grandfather was a senator in the Chickasaw Nation in the late 1800s and his father was president of the Oklahoma Senate.