Lillie-Beth Brinkman currently is assistant features editor for The Oklahoman/NewsOK.com. She writes a weekly column about apps called "Get App-y" and contributes to the etiquette column 20-40-60. She also helps manage coverage of travel and nonprofit organizations for The Oklahoman.
She wrote her first story for The Oklahoman at around age 7 -- a book review of a kids' cookbook of Jell-O recipes. Excluding a few breaks, Brinkman has worked for The Oklahoman since she was 16 years old, when she typed in information about weddings and burglaries (usually not at the same time).
Since then, she has been a beat reporter, Lawton Bureau chief, editorial writer, multimedia and niche publications writer and project manager, and "Viva! Oklahoma" editor before joining the Features staff in 2009.
She graduated from the University of Oklahoma with degrees in Journalism and Letters and a minor in Spanish.
With her focus on apps, etiquette, nonprofit groups and travel, Brinkman hopes she is rearing her kids to have good manners, to be tech savvy, to be aware of the world and to stay engaged in the community.
Helen Ford Wallace is a columnist covering society-related events/news for The Oklahoman. She puts local parties online with daily updates. She creates, maintains and runs a Parties blog which includes web casts. She is an online web editor for the Peope/Events page on NewsOK. She also has a Twitter and Facebook presence about Oklahoma City parties and maintains party photo galleries on NewsOK.She has written feature articles for The Oklahoman since 1957 (except for two years when she lived out of state) when she became a teen correspondent for the Oklahoma City Times. She was one of the first people, if not the first person, at The Oklahoman and throughout the country, to set up a modem at home to send columns on an Apple II computer. In the late 1970’s when she did this, the trend had not yet become a major part of the workplace.Current community activities include: Junior League of Oklahoma City board of directors sustaining advisor; Touchdown Club member, Oklahoma Heritage Association member, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum member, Sooner Club. Past activities are: Past Junior League President, Beaux Arts Ball Chairman, Associates Council member, Membership rush advisor for Delta Delta Delta and President of OU Mothers Club. Worked on Public School Foundation dinner events. Awards: Journalism Hall of Fame; Tri Delta Panhellenic Women of the Year; Oklahoma City Public School Foundation Annual Wall of Fame Humanitarian Award; Women In Communication Byliners Award; Dulaney Browne Libraries Award at Awards of Excellence for Oklahoma City University; Oklahoma Hospitality Club Ladies In the News honoree.