Inaugural Impressions
Kimberley (Kim) Blain Henry (1964–)
Kimberley (Kim) Diane Blain was born in Norman, Oklahoma, on September 24, 1964. She was the only daughter of Monte and Janiece Blain, who also had three sons. When she was five years old, Kim’s family moved to Shawnee, Oklahoma, where her father worked as a butcher, and her mother worked as a clerk at a local grocery store. Her family also attended First Baptist Church of Shawnee.
Kim met Charles Bradford (Brad) Henry at a Halloween party. They married and moved to Norman, where Brad was attending the University of Oklahoma (OU). Kim also attended OU, earning a bachelor’s degree in 1986. The couple moved back to Shawnee by 1990 when Brad became city attorney. Kim taught courses in history, economics, and government at Shawnee High School for ten years, receiving the Close-Up Foundation’s Linda Myers Cozen Award for Teaching Excellence in Civic Education for 1999–2000. The couple have three daughters.
Brad was elected governor of Oklahoma in 2002 and was reelected in 2006. Although Kim resigned from teaching to assist in the campaign, she remained committed to education and civic involvement. For example, while in office, she promoted the “Success by 6” early childhood education program. The family also had fond memories of residing in the Governor’s Mansion, including having dinner on the second-floor balcony overlooking the Capitol. One Christmas, the furnace in the mansion went out, and the family made do by bundling up and gathering next to the fire to open presents. It was one of the family’s best Christmases, she recalled.
Kim was selected as executive director of the Sarkeys Foundation in June 2009. She assumed the position immediately while still carrying out her responsibilities as First Lady. That same year she was inducted into the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame. She has also served on the board of directors for numerous organizations, including the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Leadership Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence.
Kim Blain Henry and Governor Brad Henry, 2007
(23389.486.35, Jim Argo Collection, OHS)
