At May 15 luncheon, Patrick Rooney will be honored for TEEM work


Patrick Rooney, longtime chairman of The Education and Education Ministry (TEEM) in Oklahoma City, will be honored for more than two decades of service at the 2019 community luncheon benefiting the group. 
Rooney, a Roman Catholic, worked with Kris Steele, a Methodist minister to methodically evolve the TEEM mission over the past several years. 
TEEM began in 1987 as part of Sunbeam Ministries, rooted in the Methodist tradition. For more than two decades, TEEM primarily assisted unemployed individuals seeking to shift their lives from the edge of despair toward a more hopeful future. 
As the current executive director, Steele – former Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives —  is successor to the work of previous ministers of the Gospel who have served with the appointment of the state Methodist Conference’s bishop, with support of the TEEM board of directors. 
As described on the organizational website, in past years “TEEM primarily served men with alcohol and substance abuse issues.”
That focus remains for those most in need of hope, with the emphasis now explicitly on people emerging from (or seeking to avoid) incarceration. Today, TEEM serves thousands of people every year with practical programs and counseling to become law-abiding and tax-paying citizens and good neighbors.
In the group’s own description of work, “our emphasis is on giving a hand up to individuals re-entering society, through educational preparation, social services, and job training and placement. We strive to provide our clients a second chance at success; in essence, a chance to redefine themselves by their gifts, skills, talents and passions, instead of a troubled past. All TEEM’s services are free of charge to our clients.”
The 90-minute agenda for Wednesday, May 15 (11:30 a.m.- 1 p.m.) includes a discussion of criminal justice reform issues with Oklahoma County Judge Cindy Truong and benefactor Sue Ann Arnall, moderated by Jane Jayroe Gamble. 

The 2019 TEEM Steering Committee members for the TEEM community luncheon includes these public-spirited local citizens: Mo Anderson, Christy Everest, Tricia Everest, Louise Bennett, Sue Ann Arnall, Jane Jayroe Gamble, Barbara Brou, Kirk Hammons, Terri Cornett, Ann Johnstone, Marilyn Davidson and Cathy Keating. 
The benefit and community luncheon to advance TEEM’s mission is slated for the Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club (7000 N.W. Grand Boulevard, Nichols Hills). 
Individual tickets went on sale in April, for $100 each (and remain available until May 9) at this link: https://teem.salsalabs.org/2019TEEMCommunityLuncheon/index.html. 
For information about supporting TEEM, contact Mandy Dorman at (405) 601-6651 or via email: mdorman@teem.org.  

NOTE: Patrick B. McGuigan, an educator and publisher/editor of The City Sentinel, served for more than a decade on the TEEM Board of Directors, most of that time as Patrick Rooney’s vice-chairman. 
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