Edmond Champions of Character

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Dena Jones, Regional Manager for Champion Hotels, received the Character Council of Edmond’s award recognizing her as Champion of Character for Diligence on February 24, 2025, at the Fairfield Inn. Visit Edmond Tourism Director, Jennifer Thornton nominated Dena for the honor and attended the presentation. 

In her nomination, Jennifer said, “Dena is diligent in the time she spends promoting Edmond as a destination as a regional sales director for Champion Hotels.”  Dena earned her Hotel and Restaurant degree at UCO. She and her husband Brady met when they were working at Doc’s Restaurant while both attended UCO. They married in 1998 and have a daughter, Mckenna.

During her college years Dena worked as a desk clerk for Marriott Hotels and developed a passion for tourism. In her current position with Champion Hotels, she oversees 14 properties throughout Oklahoma. She has also served on Visit Edmond's Tourism Advisory Board for 12 years and as chair for four years.

Jennifer said, “Dena works diligently to welcome visitors who spend the night in Edmond. In turn, these visitors shop, dine and play in Edmond and increase sales and lodging tax. This revenue helps fund city services, parks, new attractions and more so Edmond continues to be a great place to live.”

Dena said, “I’m proud of the city I live in. It’s a matter of where I'm from and what I like about my community. Edmond is a big, small town. If you don’t think it’s a good place to live, then it’s a good place to visit.”  Dena describes herself as a worker bee. Even though some consider her to be in tourism, she sees herself mostly in customer service. She concerns herself with providing special care to make a visitor’s stay in Edmond so enjoyable, they want to come back again.

Dena is an active member of First Presbyterian Church of Edmond and has taught Sunday School there for seven years. Her parents, Vicky and Bill Godding, raised Dena and her sister, Christy, in the Christian faith. Dena said, “My parents brought me up to have a good ethic and do everything to the best of my ability.”  

Mrs. Godding said when Dena was growing up, she tended to hurry through her work. One day Dena was helping in the kitchen. She made a big salad, but the leafy greens were too large to eat. Mrs. Godding used the occasion to teach her daughter the difference between quantity and quality. Dena remade the salad, taking the time to cut the vegetables into bite sized pieces. Dena said, “My mom always taught me that quality was going to show my character more than rushing through my life.”

Due to the importance of diligence in her own life, Dena taught her daughter, McKenna, “If you have pride in what you do, you will be able to succeed in life.”   Diligence has influenced Dena to set a high standard for herself. She focuses her energy on her work and does the job right. Jennifer said, “Dena’s diligence motivates tourism leaders to find new ways to welcome visitors. She is a dependable leader and makes it FUN to enjoy Edmond.”

On behalf of the City of Edmond and the Character Council of Edmond, Dena Jones was honored as a Champion of Character for exemplifying the character trait of diligence, defined by Character First as “focusing my effort on the work at hand.”

Pictured: Dena Jones

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 (405) 317-9089    Gloria_Baumann@outlook.com  

Champions of Character Honorees

2014 to Present:

• Jennifer Thornton Thoroughness January, 2025
• 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