Lawton Constitution: Big Dreams Started in the Small City

Lawton Constitution - Tiffany Martinez

Perseverance, prayer and patience nourish small-town dreams in a big-time city. That’s the perspective of Suzanne Hogan, a former Lawtonian who works at the Library of Congress. Hogan recently led production efforts for the broadcast of the prestigious 2014 Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song and independently revamped the way in which the prize is presented — first changing its location and then incorporating dance into the show for the first time. The 90-minute production honored world renown entertainer Billy Joel, an artist whose lifetime contributions in the field of popular song exemplify a standard of excellence. It featured the likes of performers LeAnn Rimes, Boyz II Men, John Mellencamp, Natalie Maines, Tony Bennett, Michael Feinstein, Josh Groban, Gavin Degraw, Twyla Tharp and host Kevin Spacey — many of whom Hogan worked on an intimate level with for many weeks.

As a seventh-year Gershwin Prize production coordinator, life beneath the big lights — truly among the rich and famous — has become somewhat typical, but Hogan has never forgotten where she comes from. She credits Southwest Oklahoma for laying the foundation for much of her success.

“Being involved in this production — the skill set that it takes, you can find in every job I’ve ever had,” Hogan said, elaborating on her working career in Lawton that began in 1977. She started out as a personnel clerk at Goodyear before taking a customer service position at a Gibson’s Discount Center. After working her way through the ranks at the Lawton Chamber of Commerce and Industry, she served as a field representative for Fourth District U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts for five years.

“I would say that Lawton gave me an opportunity to gain many skill sets,” she said. “No kindness that was ever bestowed upon me, and no opportunity that I have ever been presented, have I taken for granted. I will forever be grateful for the community of Lawton; it’s the place I call home.”

Indeed, it is where she met the man she married, obtained a bachelor’s degree, built networking connections, started a family and cultivated her lifelong passion of songwriting and music performance.

When her husband’s military career took her family to Washington, D.C., in 1999, Hogan took a perfected work ethic and a glowing confidence — two of her distinguishing traits, both molded in Lawton — right along with her. She began working for the Telos Corporation, an information technology consulting company, and then advanced her career three years later when she signed on to work in the communication department at the American Red Cross headquarters.

“I always believed the best job in the world was that of a songwriter,” she admitted, although she pursued more practical careers. “I mean, I had these dreams that were so big and so ambitious, I would never even utter them. But being a mom and being a wife took precedence. I knew for certain I could go to my grave without being a successful songwriter, but I could not make the same claim about marriage and motherhood.”

The music lover would soon land her dream job, however, or something mighty close to it.

“I then went to work at the Library of Congress,” Hogan said. “I worked as a senior adviser for special programs in a very entrepreneurial way — expanding the reach of the library beyond Washington, D.C. Then the Gershwin Prize started in 2007 and the program really wasn’t on solid ground, so I was asked to come in on that project. I worked on it in a primarily supportive way until the last three years. The last three years I have been the executive in charge of production... Everything I had done done led up to this opportunity — I guess I was prepared when it presented itself.

“I really do think that by keeping my eyes on the things that were most precious in this great universe— my children and my husband — I was able to encounter this opportunity. What goes around comes around; it was as though the good Lord said, ‘You’ve done those things you needed to and you’ve served your family well, so now you get to do this.’”

The award show calls for a 10-month pre-production phase during which Hogan takes part in cross-country scouting, negotiating, interviewing, pitching and composing, among other things— not to mention working side by side with countless legendary musicians. Previous Gershwin Prize recipients include Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Paul Mc-Cartney, Burt Bacharach, Hal David and Carole King.

“I remember when I met Billy (Joel) for the first time he had told me he just came from the dentist. I said, ‘Do you mind if I give you a hug?’ He just looked like he needed a hug, and I don’t know if he quite knew what to do there,” she said, chuckling, revealing a bit of her Southern charm.

Hogan meshed well with Joel and his crew. Their meeting set the scene for a positive experience for those on both sides of the camera.

The show was filmed Nov. 19 at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., and proved to be such a hit that PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) and CPB (Corporation for Public Broadcasting), its investors, granted show producers an additional 30 minutes of broadcast time for its nationwide premiere on Jan. 2.

“That was a significant and unanticipated vote of extra confidence in what we produced, from broadcasters and funders,” Hogan said. “The show is really a fast 90 minutes. I’ve seen it eight or nine times now and it moves quickly, but that was partly by design.”

Highlights of the show included a surprise harmonica solo from Spacey and an elegant opening number to Joel’s “Shameless,” a ballad made popular by country artist Garth Brooks. On a more personal level, Hogan said, her greatest memory of premiere night involved those she truly holds dear.

“It made me so happy to know that there in the audience — where my mom and dad couldn’t be, and on a night when my sisters couldn’t make it — that I had some amazing people sitting beside me,” Hogan said, explaining that close friends from Lawton traveled to Washington to support her that evening. “These people are so dear to me — these are people that were there when my kids were born and there during my husband’s deployment. It was just the ultimate highlight for me. That’s what mattered most to me ... that they were there. I knew the show would be fine, but it was very satisfying to share the experience of it with a group of people who have known about some of these dreams of mine. I loved that they were apart of it too.”

Hogan said she is already gearing up for the 2015 Gershwin Prize presentation and hopes to incorporate just as many innovative elements into it as this year’s production. The honoree could be announced as early as Feb. 1.

“The best thing I can do is love the life that I have and be grateful for it — the glass is always half full no matter how bad it may get,” Hogan said. “I’m blessed to wake up each morning and have something purposeful to work toward. You know, I think Lawton is full of dreamers that need to know that they’ve got what it takes to step out and do big things. I’m here to tell them that you can never dream or act too big.”

Online: Lawton Constitution