Two Employees Celebrate 30 Years at Oklahoma Housing Finance
Agency
OKLAHOMA CITY –
After 30 years of dedicated service to Oklahoma Housing Finance
Agency, John Pettis and Larry Keith still aren’t looking to
retire any time soon.
“Glad to
still be here and look forward to another 30 years,” said
Pettis, who is a rental assistance team manager.
Keith echoed his sentiment.
“I plan on
being here for my 50th anniversary,” Keith said.
Pettis and Keith joined OHFA when it first opened its doors on
June 1, 1976. At that time OHFA employed 25 people and provided
a single service - rental assistance.
Today, the
agency administers nine programs statewide and employs 115
individuals. Its programs contribute to its mission of “Helping
Place People in Homes.”
OHFA helps
families become first-time homebuyers, allocates funding for the
construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing, and
provides rental assistance to working families, the homeless and
the disabled.
Pettis and
Keith are proud to have witnessed the growth in OHFA’s programs
and the improvements in affordable housing over the past 30
years.
“Thirty
years ago if you needed assistance you would have had, for the
most part, to live in public housing,” said Pettis. “Now there
are more choices. OHFA has taken the lead in implementing new
affordable housing programs.”
OHFA is
known in its field for utilizing the latest technology to
provide the most comprehensive and most efficient service to its
customers. For example, its field agents, who work across the
state, use lightweight portable computers and mobile printers to
communicate with their clients and with OHFA’s office in
Oklahoma City.
Keith, who
is a district field agent for southeastern Oklahoma, is
continuously amazed at how quickly technology advances.
“In 1981,
the computer we used to print checks filled an entire room,”
said Keith. “Now the agency is completely computerized.”
However,
time doesn’t alter all things. After 30 years, Pettis and Keith
continue to feel immense pride and satisfaction in doing their
jobs.
For Keith,
it’s providing quality and safe housing for Oklahomans on a
day-to-day basis. For Pettis, it’s his love for the housing
field and helping families who have been renters become
homeowners.
“There is
nothing like helping families who really appreciate your
assistance,” Pettis said.
OHFA
recognized the two men at a recent all-agency staff meeting
where they were presented with watches featuring the OHFA 30th
anniversary logo.
“They have
been long and loyal OHFA staff who have helped grow OHFA into
the vibrant institution of public service it is today,” said
Dennis Shockley, OHFA executive director.
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