Lifetime Achievement Award

A Founding Member of the Annie Oakley Society, Josephine “Jose” Freede was an active Museum docent for many years. In fact, at the request of her good friend, Katherine Binkley, Jose was instrumental in starting the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum’s hugely successful Docent Council.   The legendary Oklahoma volunteer and philanthropist is a native of Plymouth, United Kingdom and came to the U.S. in the 1950’s with her husband Henry.   For over 60 years Jose has embodied the spirit of Annie Oakley in her approach to bettering her community.  The 2002 Inductee into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame became known as “the million dollar volunteer,” referring to the money she has raised for the worthy causes that she and her family believed in.  An avid supporter of education and the arts, her longstanding civic involvement in organizations including Allied Arts, Oklahoma City Republican Women’s Club and Oklahoma City University are testament to her lifetime of achievements in our community.