The Ozarks Technical Community College commencement ceremony will be on May 18, at 5 p.m., at Great Southern Bank Arena on the Missouri State University campus.
Michael Parson, the 57th Governor of Missouri, will give the commencement address. Before joining the executive branch, Mr. Parson held office in the Missouri House and Senate and was the Polk County Sheriff for over two decades. Before becoming Governor in 2018, Mr. Parson served as lieutenant governor. The Governor and his wife, Teresa, live in Bolivar.
Craig Dort is the 2023 Distinguished Alumnus. Dort graduated in 2001 with a heating, refrigeration and air conditioning degree. He went on to work for Walmart in Kansas City, where he was responsible for building environments and refrigerators for 16 stores in the Kansas City region. A desire to be closer to family brought the Fordland High School graduate back to the Ozarks. He now works for Johnstone Supply — a wholesale dealer of heating, refrigeration and air conditioning supplies. In 2003, Dort represented the college and the United States at the World Skills competition in Switzerland.
The commencement student speaker is Haydan Crall. The 2021 Lebanon High School graduate planned to skip college. But Haydan’s neighbor, who was also an OTC employee then, offered him a student-worker position at the OTC Waynesville Education Center if he would enroll in classes for the fall. Haydan flourished in college. After graduation, he will transfer to Missouri State University to pursue a degree in film and media.
The doors to Great Southern Bank Arena will open at 3:30 p.m. The ceremony will also be live-streamed on OTC’s website.