Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Blueknight Energy Partners’ Extensive Third-Party Services Portfolio


Based in Oklahoma City, Duke Ligon has an extensive background in corporate litigation and executive experience in the oil and gas and financial sectors. Additionally, Duke Ligon sits on the boards of a number of companies, including Blueknight Energy Partners, LP, headquartered in Oklahoma City.

A limited partnership formed in 2007, Blueknight Energy maintains a portfolio of midstream energy assets spanning services such as processing, terminalling and storage, and transportation. This includes storage capacity for 16.6 million barrels of oil and more than 200 crude oil transport vehicles, as well as liquid asphalt storage facilities and terminals in more than two dozen states. 

Blueknight Energy’s business strategy entails responsively meeting third-party requirements for quality, budget-conscious midstream services in the energy logistics sphere. The firm pursues organic expansion through increasing storage capacities and developing new terminal locations with the aim of boosting its overall revenue profile.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

The Nature Conservancy's Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve



Based in Oklahoma City, Duke Ligon maintains a community presence that extends beyond his leadership in the oil and gas industry, financial services, and the law. Duke Ligon serves on the board of directors of the Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum, and he is also an active member of the board of the Oklahoma branch of the Nature Conservancy.

One of the Nature Conservancy’s central projects is the nearly 40,000-acre Joseph H. Williams Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, the largest intact remnant of a tallgrass prairie ecosystem that once spanned 14 states. Over the past 30 years, the land has been restored as a fully functioning habitat that sustains 2,500 free-ranging bison and has prescribed burning as part of its management ethos. 

This “patch-burn" strategy is one that is also presented by the Conservancy to ranchers who are seeking environmentally friendly ways of grazing, while ensuring that bottom-line concerns are met. The organization also offers conservation easement arrangements to ranchers seeking to preserve their land in perpetuity.

Monday, November 27, 2017

Panhandle Oil and Gas Names New Board Member


Duke Ligon is a longtime Oklahoma City business executive with a diverse background in oil, law, and finance. In August 2017, Duke Ligon was appointed to the board of directors of Panhandle Oil and Gas, Inc

In accepting board membership, Mr. Ligon took on a newly created position that will involve standing for election at the next annual shareholders meeting. Panhandle’s chairman of the board described a sense of enthusiasm at having the Oklahoma City business leader join the board, because in addition to being a longtime company shareholder, he offers a unique combination of Wall Street acumen and oil and gas business experience. 

Panhandle Oil and Gas is a company recognized for its results in the production and exploration of oil and natural gas. Established in Range, Texas County, Oklahoma, in 1926, Panhandle possesses 255,000 fee mineral acres and has royalty and working interests in approximately 6,200 wells. With more than 5,500 shareholders, it pays quarterly dividends on stocks.

Thursday, November 16, 2017

UT Austin School of Law Earns Recognition for Value, Small Class Size


Tuesday, October 17, 2017

Peter J. Solomon Company Provides Strategic Advisory Services


A respected executive with nearly five decades of experience in the energy sector, Duke Ligon serves as the principal owner and manager of Mekusukey Oil Company in Oklahoma City. Recently, the Peter J. Solomon Company (PJSC) appointed Duke Ligon as a senior advisor to its Energy Advisory Group in Houston, which has enabled the company to expand into the energy sector. 

An investment banking advisory firm, PJSC offers strategic advisory services to senior managers, boards of directors, and chief executive officers. Over the course of almost 30 years, the company has been providing a broad array of advisory services such as restructuring, capital markets solutions, acquisitions, and mergers. Seeking to provide strategic solutions that lead to shareholder value over the long term, the company has advised clients in numerous transactions. PJSC has represented a variety of clients ranging from small, rapidly growing firms to large multinational organizations in sectors such as energy, real estate, technology, and retail.

For the full press release, please visit http://www.pjsc.com/news-and-events/duke-r-ligon-former-devon-energy-executive-joins-peter-j-solomon-company.

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Met’s World War I Exhibit Highlights a Harrowing Era


With decades at the helm of major oil, natural gas, and mineral companies in the Oklahoma City area, Duke Ligon is a prominent business executive, attorney, and patron of the arts. He has made significant contributions to local and national arts organizations, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Duke Ligon continues to serve on the museum’s Major Gifts Committee, assisting with long-range planning and development. 

Among the Met’s recent exhibits is one dealing with the artistic legacy of World War I. On view from summer 2017 through the first week of the New Year, “World War I and the Visual Arts” commemorates the Great War’s centenary by showcasing a chronological record of the ways artists came to grips with the war’s devastation of their societies.

The Met’s own collections supply most of the works in the exhibit, which encompasses book illustrations, patriotic posters and prints, photos, drawings, and other materials. The international group of artists included worked in a variety of media and responded to the war with a variety of attitudes, from enthusiastic support to deep pessimism. 

German Dada artist George Grosz, known for his biting social critiques, is among the best-known artists included in the exhibit. The European-born American photographer Edward Steichen, a major influence on photographers to this day, is another.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

New Book Outlines the Growth of the Civil War Trust


The founder and CEO of Mekusukey Oil Company, LLC, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Duke Ligon also holds board positions with other oil, mineral, and natural gas companies in the region. Outside of work, Duke Ligon sits on the board of directors for a number of charitable organizations, including the Civil War Trust in Washington, DC.

The Civil War Trust engages in the purchase and preservation of historically significant Civil War sites, and educates the public about the war’s legacy for all Americans. Thanks to its members and donors, the trust has been able to acquire more than 46,000 acres of land in 23 states.

In a new book, the trust memorializes its three decades of work to preserve this vital part of the country’s heritage. Entitled Fighting the Second Civil War: A History of Battlefield Preservation and the Emergence of the Civil War Trust, this 30th-anniversary commemorative volume outlines the growth of the trust, from its grassroots beginnings to its current status as the nation’s premier battlefield preservation organization.

Among the trust’s challenges and triumphs, the book outlines how the group fought the construction of a shopping mall on the site of the Battle of Bull Run and a casino at Gettysburg. The book is available through the trust’s website.

Monday, August 7, 2017

Met’s Simple Gifts Exhibit Spotlights Shaker Culture


Oklahoma City’s Duke Ligon, a strong supporter of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, serves on the Major Gifts Committee of the museum’s board of directors. The broadly-experienced energy industry executive, who currently heads Mekusukey Oil Company, LLC, and sits on the board of Oklahoma-based Blueknight Energy Partners, L.P., also works to promote the interests of numerous arts and educational nonprofits. Thanks in part to the dedication of Duke Ligon, these organizations continue to offer major programs that benefit the national community.

In one recent exhibit, which ran from July 2016 to August 2017, the Met focused on the heritage of the Shakers. Through Simple Gifts: Shaker at the Met, museum-goers had the opportunity to learn more about this distinctive American culture and its traditions of heartfelt religious devotion and precision craftsmanship.

Numerous 20th and 21st century artists have absorbed influences from the Shakers, known for their minimalist approach to the construction of furniture, tableware, and household articles. For the exhibition, the museum assembled some of its most representative objects made by members of Shaker communities, which thrived in New York and New England, particularly in the early 1800s.

The Shakers, a dissident religious group focused on the values of peacefulness, communitarianism, work, and simplicity, inspired composer Aaron Copland to create a richly evocative arrangement of their hymn “Simple Gifts” for the 1944 Martha Graham ballet “Appalachian Spring.” The Met’s exhibition paired its Shaker pieces with video footage of the ballet.

Thursday, June 22, 2017

The Purpose of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame


Based in Oklahoma City, Duke Ligon is an attorney and businessman with extensive experience in corporate litigation. The founder and the owner of Mekusukey Oil Company, Duke Ligon also serves on the board of directors of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame at the Gaylord-Pickens Museum, located in Oklahoma City.

Founded in 1927, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame is a nonprofit organization created to honor the citizens of Oklahoma who have made an impact in their industry. To this end, it exhibits a showcase of many outstanding Oklahomans who have contributed to the state’s heritage. It also works to facilitate educational programming, including field trips for school-aged students and publications that detail the history of the state.

Essentially a private donation-funded organization, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame is governed by a primary board of directors. Moreover, there is also a teen board comprised of high school students that organize an annual fundraising program and a second century board consisting of young professionals who help to promote the organization in their respective networks. Together, the boards help preserve Oklahoma’s unique history for another generation.

Friday, June 2, 2017

Seurat’s Circus Side Show at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Blueknight Energy Partners Demonstrates Community Responsibility


Since founding the Mekusukey Oil Company in 1970, Duke Ligon has become a respected authority on energy production. In addition to managing his own company, he also sits on the board of directors at Emerald Oil, PostRock Energy Corporation, and Panhandle Oil and Gas. In 2008, Duke Ligon took up the role of an independent director and chairman of the board at Blueknight Energy Partners of Oklahoma City, which maintains values of ethics and excellence that reflect his personal commitment to community service.

Blueknight refers to this service as the need to be a “responsible corporate citizen,” one of Blueknight’s core values. This responsibility is demonstrated by maintaining strict safety standards, preserving natural resources, and offering volunteer work and funds for charitable causes.

In 2015, Blueknight made a substantial donation to the Wounded Warrior Project of San Antonio while in the course of building a 160-mile oil pipeline from East Texas to the Houston Ship Channel. Blueknight also named the pipeline the “Knight Warrior” pipeline. 

In another charitable cause, in late 2016, Blueknight participated in a project with Central Oklahoma Habitat for Humanity. Habitat offers home purchasing options with zero-interest mortgages for low-income families, asking only for 300 hours of volunteer work on the part of the new homeowner, helping to build their own or others’ houses. In the case of this most-recent partnership, 50 employees of Blueknight assisted Habitat in building an addition for a family of first-time homeowners, adding a $10,000 donation to help them be comfortable in their new home.

Saturday, April 15, 2017

How the KBH Energy Center Fulfills Its Mission


Friday, February 24, 2017

Oklahoma City Museum of Art Offers Dinner and A Movie Package


A former attorney for the Oklahoma-based Mekusukey Oil Company, Duke Ligon possesses more than four decades of experience in the energy and oil industry. Duke Ligon also serves on the board of several community organizations and serves as an officer on the board of trustees for the Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OKCMOA). The museum’s film program offers the Dinner & a Movie package. 

The Dinner & a Movie package invites guests to enjoy a two-course meal at the Museum Café, followed by a film of their choice from the museum’s current film lineup. Available Thursday through Saturday nights, the package guarantees a minimal wait at the Museum Café in the event that all guests order off the Prix-Fixe menu. Guests will also pick up their film tickets during dinner.

Dinner options include a cup of soup with choice of either a house or Caesar salad for the first course and a choice between three dishes for the main course. Main course options consist of a fish, chicken, or pasta dish. In order to ensure enough time to order and complete their meals, guests are recommended to make dinner reservations at least one hour prior to the showing of their selected film.

Dinner & a Movie packages cost $29 per person, not including tax or gratuity. To learn more about the package and currently showing films, visit www.okcmoa.com/dinner-a-movie.

Thursday, February 2, 2017

The Civil War Trust – Battlefield Preservation


The former senior vice president of Devon Energy Corporation, Duke Ligon now owns and manages Mekusukey Oil Company, LLC. Mr. Ligon previously was the strategic advisor at Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, based in Oklahoma City. Duke Ligon sits on the board of trustees of the Civil War Trust, an organization dedicated to protecting the battlefields of the American Civil War.

The Civil War Trust notes that 20 percent of American Civil War battlefields have already been destroyed, often due to commercial projects and property development. Further, only 15 percent of the battlefields are part of national parks, leaving 65 percent unprotected.

The Civil War Trust aims to increase the number of protected battlefields and currently works toward saving acreage in Virginia and Mississippi. The trust preserves battlefields by either ensuring the current landowner retains possession of the land, purchasing the land itself, or obtaining a permanent conservation easement.

Monday, January 23, 2017

OKC Philharmonic Foundation Starts Students Young


As a board member for six nonprofit organizations in Oklahoma City, Duke Ligon’s charitable endeavours are wide ranging. Duke Ligon is an attorney with more than 35 years of experience in energy law, while his nonprofit efforts are heavily focused on arts and education, including his position with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Foundation.

In addition to bringing highly-regarded musicians to perform in Oklahoma City’s Civic Center Music Hall, OKC Philharmonic partners with local schools to inspire and entertain students. Eight youth concerts are held each year free of charge for more than 17,000 students in Oklahoma in grades three through five. 

In-school programs and other educational opportunities are also offered for young students who are musically inclined. Sound Images, an art program and contest for students in grades three through eight, aims to foster students’ creativity through orchestral music. The We’ve Got Rhythm program, meanwhile, gives kids an introduction to the orchestra and includes an in-class performance from OKC Philharmonic musicians who are encouraged to engage with students. Various programs and internship opportunities are also offered for high school and college students.

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Salem Church - One of the Civil War’s Lost Battlefields



  Energy lawyer Duke Ligon of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, owns and manages operations at Mekusukey Oil Company, LLC. His extensive service on other boards of directors in his field has given him an in-depth knowledge of his industry. In addition, Duke Ligon supports his alma mater, the University of Texas School of Law, and a wide range of nonprofits, including the Civil War Trust in Washington, DC.

The Civil War Trust works primarily to restore and maintain the nation’s Civil War battlefields as sites of historic importance. The United States Congress has estimated that fully one-fifth of the battlefields from that era have already been lost due to poorly planned development. The trust offers the example of Salem Church in Virginia as a site almost destroyed by urban sprawl.

Salem Church represents an often-neglected chapter in the story of the Battle of Chancellorsville. In early May 1863, the church was the scene of intense fighting, as Confederate sharpshooters fired on approaching Union troops through its windows. The marks of Union bullets are still visible on the church’s facade near the upper gallery.

The church itself, along with monuments to the 15th and 23rd New Jersey Volunteer Infantry troops who fought there, is all that remains to testify to the battle. The surrounding expanse of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park honors the troops of the Battles of Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, and the Wilderness, one of the bloodiest regions of the conflict.