Edmond Champions of Character

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Edmond resident Lauren Vargas received the Champion of Character for Gratefulness award on February 2, 2026, at the offices of the Stewart Title Company where Lauren is the Business Development Officer.  Joining in the celebration were Lauren’s husband, Ramiro, mother Tracy Ratcliff, and Stewart Title team members, Kelli Brinkoetter, Traci Coker, Sarah Spottedhorse, Ann Dixon and Miranda Taylor. The Character Council of Edmond’s president, Diane Krakowski and board member, Gloria Baumann, were also present.

Lauren was born in Durant but has lived in Edmond for most of her life. She graduated from Edmond North High School in 2003 and from UCO in 2008 with a journalism and public relations minor and major in broadcasting. She and her husband, Ramiro, were married in 2013. Ramiro is an Edmond realtor at Keller Williams Central Oklahoma.

The couple enjoys outdoor activities, which is reflected in the names of their children. Their daughter Lakyn is ten years old and their son, River, is five. Rounding out their family is their pet dog, Walker.

In her nomination, Lauren’s friend, Stephanie, said, “One thing stands out for me with Lauren, she is always grateful.” Stephanie went on to say that Lauren is thankful for her family, her job and co-workers, for her community and for all the blessings that come with each day. Lauren agreed with Stephanie’s observation that she is grateful all the time. “Honestly, I know I’m human, but I do feel very appreciative. That’s been one of my biggest prayers, even if my kids and I have a rough start in the morning when we leave the house every day, we say a

prayer and mean it, ‘Dear Jesus, thank You for this day. Thank You for everything You do for us.’ We pray for everyone to be happy, healthy and safe” Lauren said.

She credits her family for modeling gratefulness throughout her life. Her parents, Anthony and Tracy Ratcliff were always supportive when Lauren and her younger brother, Austin, were growing up. They showed up for Lauren and Austin’s sports events and other activities they were involved in. The family attended church and volunteered together. Lauren said, “It meant the world to us to have our parents there supporting and encouraging us.” Through her parents’ example Lauren learned to value family, work and her community.

Lauren’s focus is to maintain an awareness of gratefulness. She confessed that she has stressful moments when she may indulge in venting for a bit. Lauren said, “I definitely have to talk to myself if I feel like I’m having a human moment where I’m a little stressed about something. At the end of the day, I’m like, ‘You have a job, you have a steady paycheck coming in, you need to make sure you are thankful and grateful for it.’”

There are two special times that brought Lauren a deep heart-felt sense of appreciation and still does. When each of her babies were born. She was overwhelmed with gratitude over the way her family and friends showed up. The gifts and the meals were special, but she was surprised and delighted by the mom gifts. Friends brought things she didn’t realize would make such a difference for her as a new mom. Lauren said, “I definitely had a lot of moments that I appreciated, but that for sure really touched me with how everybody comes out and they are so happy for you.”

Lauren will celebrate her eighth anniversary at Stewart Title in May. She was promoted three years ago to sales representative. In that position she asked herself, “How can I get out there in the community and show that we are involved and helping?” She wanted the community

to know that Stewart Title isn’t just a title company, “I wanted them to see that we care and will show up,” Lauren said.

Due to her upbringing, Lauren enjoys giving back to the community to show her gratitude. Lauren said, “I’ve done that the whole time that I’ve been in sales. It is how I got connected with Stephanie. I think I’ve been on the events committee with her for the past two years, for sure. She’s great. I love working with, helping her and all the ladies.”

Stephanie said, “Lauren is always helping downtown Edmond with their many events and fundraisers. She is grateful for having the opportunity and that is something that she exemplifies in her happy spirit and the beautiful smile.”

Deck the Downtown is Lauren’s favorite event that takes place in November. The whole Stewart Title team gets involved making s’mores and passing them out to the community. The local Edmond Fire Department helps by working with them to contain the fire.

Lauren, her kids and husband take part in the Turn Edmond Purple event in May which involves the community in raising Alzheimer’s awareness. Downtown Edmond is decked out in purple. Lauren said, “I like that my kids do that because they can see what it’s like to serve.”

Describing the benefits of Lauren’s gratefulness to the Edmond community, Stephanie said, “Her family, friends, co-workers and community are reminded to be grateful with every action Lauren takes. You realize that being grateful for all the little things makes your life a happier more vibrant place.”

On behalf of the City of Edmond and the Character Council of Edmond, Lauren Vargas was honored as a Champion of Character for exemplifying the character trait of gratefulness, defined by Character First as “demonstrating appreciation to others for what I have and how they have helped me.”  The Character Council is a grassroots, nonprofit organization committed to creating a citywide initiative to build Edmond into a "Community of Character." 

Pictured: Lauren Vargas

Please complete the form located on our website to recognize an EDMOND citizen for a specific character trait. Forms may be submitted from the website or mailed to the 

Character Council of Edmond 

Champions of Character

PO Box 392 

Edmond, OK 73083-0392.

or contact: Gloria Baumann  contact@edmondcharacter.org 

Champions of Character Honorees

2014 to Present:

• Steve Wilson Initiative December, 2025
• Robert Launhardt Forgiveness June, 2025
• Dena Jones Diligence January, 2025
• Tyler Shaw Trustworthiness December, 2024
• Jennifer Thornton Thoroughness October, 2024
• Linda de la Garza Loyalty August, 2024
• Amanda Jenson Positivity February, 2024
• Perry Sneed Dependability November, 2023
• Irene Liang   Punctuality October, 2023
• Jeff Morefield Courage July, 2023
• Shaun Pryor Flexibility June 2023
• Diana Pate Generosity April, 2023
• Jim Hulsey Enthusiasm March, 2023
• Carol Anderson Orderliness September, 2022
• Susan Isaacs Patience June, 2022
• Stephanie Carel Creativity April, 2022
• Salvador Garcia Trustworthiness March, 2022
• Beth Conner Diligence March, 2022
• Darrell Davis Respect January, 2022
• Judy Pike Thoroughness December, 2021
• Gary Wallace Loyalty September, 2021
• Sondra Reid Availability August, 2021
• Becky Crow Honesty March 2021
• Justin Rowley Positivity February, 2021
• Laura Liles Resilience December, 2020
• Pete Reeser  Courage December, 2020
• Amy Stephens Dependability  December, 2020
• Michelle Schaefer Discipline June, 2020
• Dick Opalka Generosity February, 2019
• Yara Ford  Attentiveness  March, 2019
• Chrislyn Sperry  Respect   January, 2019
• Kathryn Olds Persuasiveness  November, 2018
• Jill Castilla  Creativity  September, 2018
• Maureen Coury Compassion  January, 2018
• KC Williams Dependability October, 2017
• David Ford  Humility  July, 2017
• Steve Bowlware Enthusiasm, March, 2017
• Laura McGee Truthfulness, April,  2017  
• Richard Killgore  Generosity  February, 2017
• Peggy Geib Gratefulness  January, 2017 
• Dustin & Erikka Ault  Initiative  January, 2017
• Chris Waugh  Initiative  January, 2017 
• Nathan Walters  Orderliness  November, 2016 
• Kris Rush  Diligence  March, 2016 
• Jason Henley Compassion  January, 2016 
• Ray Vaughn Dependability  August, 2015 
• Jean Holt  Sensitivity  April, 2015 
• Brian Maughan  Availability  April, 2015 
• Chris Shorow  Joyfulness  October, 2014 
• Virginia Peters  Endurance  September, 2014 
• Bea Sprouse  Discretion  August, 2014 
• Krista Law  Creativity  July, 2014 
• Cora Stamps  Initiative  January, 2014