Regent FL Holton

Regent F.L. Holton has served as a CASC regent since 1972 and was a charter member of the board. He is the longest-serving regent in Oklahoma and possibly the nation, with a career in higher education that spans four decades.

Seven governors have reappointed Holton: David Hall, David Boren, George Nigh, Henry Bellmon, David Walters, Frank Keating and Brad Henry.

In 1993 he was inducted into the CASC Hall of Fame. In 1997, the Holton family established the F.L. Holton Endowed Professorship and the CASC business center is named in his honor.

He graduated from Poteau High School in 1937 and graduated with a B.S. degree in business administration from Oklahoma A&M College in 1941. While in college, he met Genevieve Benbrook of Woodward and they were married in 1942.

F.L. spent the next four years in the Army Air Corps. He entered as a private, attended Officer Candidate School at Yale University, served in a B-17 group for a year and then attended contract school at Harvard University. He served as a contract officer assigned to aircraft plants during World War II. He was discharged as a captain in 1946.

After the war, F.L. took over management of the Holton businesses in Poteau and carried them to new heights. At one point, Holton-owned businesses accounted for 10 percent of the total sales tax collected in LeFlore County.

F.L. has been one of Poteau’s outstanding civic leaders for more than 50 years. He has served in leadership positions in the Poteau Rotary Club, the Poteau Chamber of Commerce, the Poteau Industrial Authority, the United Fund and the Eastern Oklahoma Historical Society.

In 1992, F.L. became the first recipient of the Poteau Lifetime Contribution Award.