Woman of the Year profile: Kelli M. Masters, Fellers, Snider,

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Sep 15, 2006 by Journal Record Staff

As a young girl, Kelli Masters had dreams of becoming a news anchor. She pursued that dream by achieving her bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Oklahoma in 1995 and serving as an intern with an Oklahoma City television station. To gain an edge, Masters decided to get a law degree.

"To my surprise, I fell in love with the law and knew that if I did not practice law, I would regret it," Masters said.

Masters, who paid for law school through scholarship money she won in the Miss Oklahoma and Miss America pageants, graduated from the OU College of Law in 1999.

Today, Masters is a partner with Fellers, Snider, Blankenship, Bailey & Tippens and practices in the areas of civil litigation, and nonprofit/tax-exempt organization law. She also has added athlete representation to her responsibilities and is a certified National Football League contract adviser and registered sports agent. Masters currently represents athletes including Olympic gymnast Guard Young, a 2004 silver medalist in the team competition; Shane Hamman, a two-time Olympic weightlifter; and Cody Hodges, quarterback for the Tennessee Titans.

"While I never would have anticipated it, this transition into athlete representation, considering my background, my goals and my experience and expertise, makes perfect sense," said Masters, who is a 12-time national champion and five-time world champion in baton twirling.

She is a member of the Oklahoma County, Oklahoma and American bar associations and was a member of the Luther Bohanon American Inns of Court.

Masters' civic and nonprofit involvement includes serving as co- founder and president of The Hope Foundation for Aspiring Youth and co-founder and director of Defenders of Dreams Heritage Center Foundation. She also currently serves on the legal community fundraising committee for Allied Arts. In addition, she is a former board member of the Citizens for Juvenile Justice, president of Oklahoma County Court Appointed Special Advocates and has volunteered her time with Oklahoma Lawyers for Children.

Her honors include receiving the title of Miss Oklahoma 1997 and being named talent winner and Quality of Life Community Service Award finalist at the Miss America pageant in 1998. She also received the Gold Medal Letzeiser Award as Top Senior Woman at OU and the Griffin Scholar Award for Outstanding Journalism Student in 1995. In law school, she was a member of Phi Delta Phi, an honorary fraternity. A co-feature twirler for The Pride of Oklahoma Marching Band, she was a member of the 1990 and 1993 U.S. Twirling Teams.

Masters said she gained a lot from her experience as Miss Oklahoma.

"Besides earning scholarships to pay for law school, I also gained a great deal of confidence. Although I was accustomed to performing, I had never been comfortable speaking in public. As Miss Oklahoma, I had to overcome that fear, especially when I was speaking up to 25 times per week (over 350 appearances total). That confidence has served me well as an attorney and agent."

Masters' philosophy for life can be summed up in two verses from the Bible - "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you," Matthew 6:33; and "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it," Matthew 16:25.

"When we choose to serve a purpose that is larger than ourselves, then we choose to really live," Masters said.

About Kelli:

Birthplace: Oklahoma City, Okla.

First job: News intern at KWTV Channel 9

Dream job: "I love being a sports agent! If I wasn't a lawyer/ sports agent, I'd enjoy being an author or political speech writer."

Hobbies: Running

Favorite type of food: Mexican or Italian

Favorite type of music: Contemporary Christian

Favorite vacation spot: Maui