ORU Adds 5 Members to Board of Trustees

Oral Roberts University (ORU) has inducted five new members to the academic institution’s Board of Trustees, Robert W. Barron (’84), Camella Barnhill Binkley (’80), Dr. Michael Fletcher (’85), Tim Lyons (’82) CPA and Brad Thomas (’77 and MBA ’79).

“These new Board members are all alumni who have a passion for ORU,” said ORU Board Chair Rob Hoskins. “I am confident that their knowledge and expertise will be of great value as the University moves forward into the next five decades.”

“We are honored to welcome these new Board members who have volunteered their time and talents to advance the vision and mission of this great institution,” said ORU President William M. Wilson. “We pray that God will bless each of them and grant wisdom as they work with the rest of the Board to ensure the future success of ORU.”

Barron is a corporate and commercial real estate business attorney and partner with Berger Singerman LLP, and 85-plus Florida-based business law firm with four offices in Florida. As a student at ORU, he was a resident adviser and was a member of the summer music ministry team “Steadfast.” He is also a graduate of Louisiana State University Law Center. He has been recognized in The Best Lawyers in America, Corporate Law and Real Estate Law, Florida’s Super Lawyer, Florida Trend Magazine’s Legal Elite and with other honors and awards. Barron and his wife, Dr. Laurie Scott (’83), have two boys.

Binkley graduated from ORU with a degree in psychology. While at ORU, she was a resident adviser and was involved with music ministry. She is the owner and COO of Express Employment Professionals in Waxahachie, Texas. Previously, she served on both the staffs of James Robison Evangelistic Association and Edwin Louis Cole Ministries. Binkley is also the vice president of the New Name Society International, a nonprofit organization that she and her husband, Bruce, founded to offer hope to disadvantaged people, especially orphans, in Cambodia, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mexico, Belize, Rwanda and Nicaragua. Binkley and her husband have two children and four grandsons.

Fletcher is a 20-plus-year private physician. He received a B.S. in biology with a minor in theology from ORU and an M.D. from the University of Louisville School of Medicine. While practicing in Northern Kentucky, he also serves as a US Air Force Flight Surgeon in the 123rd Airlift Wing, Kentucky Air National Guard and is a member of the Board for Teen Challenge Kentucky. Additionally, over the past many years he has participated in numerous short-term international medical mission outreaches with Healthcare Ministries and holds ministry credentials with the Assemblies of God. He and his wife, Deborah, live in Independence, Kentucky, and have five children. The three oldest are currently enrolled at ORU.

Lyons is president and CEO of TTCU the Credit Union, a 1.6 billion full-service financial institution that serves more than 115,000 members online through 16 branches in Tulsa and across northeastern Oklahoma. As the largest state-chartered credit union in Oklahoma, TTCU counts in its membership teachers, school employees, students and their family members, as well as employees from more than 700 companies. He is the chairman for the Temple Foundation, which seeks to meet the health, welfare and education needs of children in the Tulsa metropolitan area. Lyons and his wife, Carol, have two daughters and four grandchildren.

Thomas is president and CEO of Inter-Chem, a trading, distribution and logistics company with its roots in the plant nutrient industry headquartered in Tulsa. He joined the company as manager of operations in 1985. Previously, Thomas was Hewlett Packard’s national account sales manager for Phillips Petroleum Co. He holds a certificate in ocean chartering from the Association of Ship Brokers and Agents. He actively serves on the boards of SpiritLife Church, Oklahoma Department of Transportation Waterways Advisory Board, the Oral Roberts University Golden Eagle Club and India Practical Missions. Thomas and his wife, Brenda (’79), have two daughters, both of whom are ORU graduates, and two grandchildren.