Dr. Greg Winters capped a 44-year career as an Oklahoma educator with an April 14 induction into the Oklahoma Career Tech Hall of Fame.
Winters is one of six inductees this year and 86 members admitted overall. He retired as Canadian Valley Technology Center superintendent in August 2018. He served as CV Tech superintendent for 10 years, having also held that title at both Eastern Oklahoma County and Kiamichi technology centers.
He also served various roles in common and higher education, including teacher, coach, adjunct professor, principal, and assistant superintendent.
CV Tech’s current Superintendent, Dr. Gayla Lutts, said Winters has a knack for connecting with others quickly and making them feel as if they have known him for years.
“He is a master at building relationships, including those with community stakeholders,” Lutts said. “Dr. Winters quickly becomes an integral part of every community with which he associated. This is due to his ability to make friends quickly with his larger-than-life, charismatic personality.”
Few school administrators ever face circumstances like those which ensued on May 31, 2013. The widest tornado on record destroyed CV Tech’s El Reno Campus. Winters made a promise to CV Tech faculty and staff that nobody would lose their job, and school would start on time.
“He set high standards and didn’t budge,” Lutts said. “He would not accept less than having the school up and running in 72 days. He emulated leadership and strength by communicating regularly and transparently with staff and working alongside employees during a crisis.”
Winters served on numerous boards and commissions throughout his career, including 26 years on the board of directors for the National Technical Honor Society. He was elected NTHS board president for two separate, two-year terms. He also served as a board member for the Canadian County United Way, Oklahoma Teacher Retirement System, and INTEGRIS Canadian Valley Hospital. He was twice elected president of the Oklahoma Association of Career and Technology Education.
He was honored for a lifetime of service within CareerTech by being presented the prestigious Dr. Francis Tuttle Career Excellence Award in August 2014.
The Oklahoma Career Tech Foundation maintains the Hall of Fame at the Career Tech state agency in Stillwater.
