TULSA, Okla. – June 24, 2009 – ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE) today announced the retirement of Samuel Combs III, president of ONEOK Distribution Companies, after nearly 25 years of service. Pierce H. Norton II, ONEOK executive vice president, has assumed Combs' responsibilities.
"We wish Sam well in his pursuit of new opportunities and thank him for his years of valued service and many contributions to ONEOK," said John W. Gibson, ONEOK chief executive officer.
Combs joined Oklahoma Natural Gas, a division of ONEOK, in 1984 and held various engineering, marketing and management positions with the company. Combs became president of Oklahoma Natural Gas in 2001 and had been in his current position since 2005.
A past president of Leadership Oklahoma, Combs has been active as a leader in the community and the state. He was recognized by Black Enterprise magazine on its list of the "75 Most Powerful African Americans in Corporate America." Combs was also honored as an "Oklahoma Star" by Governor Brad Henry and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.
A native of Bristow, Okla., Combs holds a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering from Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, where he received the Distinguished Alumni Award. He graduated from the Ross School of Business Executive Program at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1999 and has completed advanced studies at Harvard University.
ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE: OKE) is a diversified energy company. We are the general partner and own 47.7 percent of ONEOK Partners, L.P. (NYSE: OKS), one of the largest publicly traded master limited partnerships, which is a leader in the gathering, processing, storage and transportation of natural gas in the U.S. and owns one of the nation's premier natural gas liquids (NGL) systems, connecting NGL supply in the Mid-Continent and Rocky Mountain regions with key market centers. ONEOK is among the largest natural gas distributors in the United States, serving more than two million customers in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas. Our energy services operation focuses primarily on marketing natural gas and related services throughout the U.S. ONEOK is a Fortune 500 company.
For information about ONEOK, Inc., visit the Web site: www.oneok.com.
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