Nurses from across Oklahoma will be recognized Thursday night in Norman as the Oklahoma March of Dimes holds its 17th annual Nurse of the Year Awards Gala, a fundraising celebration recognizing the state's nursing profession. The event is set for 6 p.m. at Riverwind Casino's Showplace Theatre, where finalists will learn their fate the old-fashioned way: an envelope, opened live, in front of the room.
According to News 9, the gala honors nursing excellence while raising money to support the Oklahoma March of Dimes' broader mission and programs. Getting to the stage is no small feat. A panel of 50 nursing executives from around the state reviews and scores every application, a process that narrows the field down to five finalists in each award category, the station reports.
Oklahoma March of Dimes Executive Director Laurie Applekamp described the moment of truth in simple terms: “You open an envelope the night of the event and announce who the winner is,” she told the station. Applekamp also said the fundraiser is designed to honor nurses from every corner of Oklahoma, not just one region or hospital system.
This Year's Nomination Count
News 9 reports that organizers received 1,200 nominations this year, a figure Executive Director Laurie Applekamp gave to the station.
What is clear is Memorial Health's own stake in the evening. The health system said it submitted 150 nominations for 2026 and had 20 of its nurses represented among this year's finalists, according to the same blog post. The health system's blog notes that Comanche County Memorial Hospital had 20 finalists across 14 categories in 2025, which the blog described as the most from a single Oklahoma hospital ever.
A Decade of Growth for the Statewide Honor
The gala's roots go back further than this year's headline numbers suggest. Back in 2016, the Oklahoma March of Dimes honored 20 nurses with that year's Nurse of the Year Awards in partnership with the LeNorman Family, according to The Oklahoman. That year drew more than 500 nominations statewide, with 52 nurses ultimately selected as finalists — a far smaller scale than the thousands now described in connection with this year's event.
Event chair Michelle Welander, who also serves as chief nursing officer at OU Children's, framed Thursday's gala as a tribute to what nurses carry day in and day out. “The resilience and the hard work and the dedication that they give to our patients and their families,” is what the evening is meant to honor, she said, per the station's report.
Ways to Pitch In Before Thursday
Organizers aren't done building the night. Applekamp said volunteers are still needed, whether for Wednesday's setup or to help out during the event itself, and the organization also still has some sponsorship opportunities open. For those who can't make it to Riverwind Casino but still want to back Oklahoma's nurses, Applekamp said donations of any amount are welcome.
