A true Oklahoman, Edward Lewis Gaylord was born in 1919 and was a lifelong resident of Oklahoma City. He graduated from the Asheville School for Boys in North Carolina and went on to graduate from Stanford University in 1941. He enlisted in the U.S. Army after just a year at Harvard Business School. While in the Army, he became an officer and aide to a brigadier general in the Panama Canal. Upon returning, we joined his father’s company, the Oklahoma Publishing Co. He quickly made his way up the latter and took over as CEO and Chairman of the OPC in 1974. While a very successful business man and owner, one of his lesser known feats still has lasting effects to this day. E.L. Gaylord saved the State Fair of Oklahoma in 1961! Prior to E.L. Gaylord taking over as president of the board, the State Fair was on the brink of financial collapse. However, within a decade, E.L. Gaylord completely redefined and made the Oklahoma State Fair one of the most profitable state fair in the nation. We all owe E.L. Gaylord our appreciation for saving one of Oklahoma’s biggest event of the year!