March Bear of the Month - Drew Williamson
BEAR FANS! WE ARE INCREDIBLY HONORED AND HUMBLED TO INTRODUCE YOU TO OUR MARCH BEAR OF THE MONTH, 1986 NOBLE GRADUATE, MR. DREW WILLIAMSON!!!
Drew was born and raised in Noble, where he was a three time Oklahoma Coach's Association All State Golfer. He attended Oklahoma City University on a golf scholarship, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and earned a bachelor's degree in business, with a concentration in finance and economics. In addition to being on the varsity golf team for three years, Drew was a member of Kappa Sigma Fraternity, serving as Treasurer and President.
Drew is currently a Senior Vice President with UBS Private Wealth Management, where he advises high net worth and ultra-high net worth families, corporations and institutions. He is a Certified Financial Planner, Certified Private Wealth Advisor and was named to Barron's Top 1200 Advisors ranking in 2018. His team manages over $1.3 billion of client assets. UBS is one of the largest wealth managers in the world, managing over $2 trillion of client assets. UBS Private Wealth management is comprised of an elite group of 200 teams in the United States that focus solely on serving high net worth clientele.
Previously, Drew was employed by Merrill Lynch's Global Wealth Management Group for 26 years, where he also was branch manager for both Merrill Lynch offices in Oklahoma City over a 7 year period. Additionally, Drew served in various other leadership roles at Merrill Lynch, and he was named Resident Director of the Year for Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management in 2003 and 2005. In 2004, he was named MVP for a three state region that had over 1500 employees.
Recently appointed by Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Oklahoma Teachers Retirement System, Drew has been involved in numerous roles in the community. He has served as President of Oklahoma City University's Alumni Board of Directors for 2 years, in addition to being on numerous other boards and committees at the University over the last 20 years. In 1997 Drew was named OCU's Alumni Volunteer of the year. Drew is currently most involved in fundraising efforts for several non-profits in Oklahoma City, with a particular emphasis in the arts and Fields and Futures, which helps fund sports complexes at Oklahoma City's inner city schools.
Drew enjoys a variety of interests. He has completed three Ironman triathlons, in Australia, Brazil and Arizona, but now limits his athletic endeavors to mountain biking, hiking and an occasional round of golf. He is an avid collector of western and contemporary art, and enjoys a second home in Tucson, Arizona.
We caught up with Drew to find out a little bit more about his days in Noble and words of advice he has for current Noble students. Here is what he had to say!
Share with us how your years spent in Noble contributed to shaping who you are today?
I spent the first 18 1/2 years of my life in Noble, attending Noble Public Schools from first grade through high school. Growing up in Noble helped to shape my work ethic and self reliance to be my best and to hopefully do the right thing. Also, I think spending my entire youth there gave me a sense of belonging and loyalty to Oklahoma and its people. I’ve had several opportunities to move to other parts of the country, but always felt this was where I was supposed to be, and it’s really worked out great.
What are some of your favorite memories of growing up in Noble?
The highlight had to be when our high school golf team won the 4A state championship in 1985. It was actually Noble’s first state title in any sport. They had a full assembly in the gym the day after we won, which was immediately followed by a parade on Main Street. They put the team on the fire truck and drove us all the way down Main, while everyone came out and waved at us. Needless to say, Noble was not a golf school, with no golf course and it being a sport that didn’t permeate our town, but it was really exciting and gave the whole town a sense of great pride.
Who were your most impactful teachers at Noble and why?
My elementary school teachers all had a lot of impact, because I spent so much time with them. I had Mrs. Laney in first grade, Mrs. Steiner in 2nd, then Mrs. Norma White (we had two Mrs. Whites) and Mrs. McFarland was my fourth grade teacher. Each of them did all they could to help the whole class learn and still have a little fun.
My middle school principal, Tom Cantrell, was also really great. He loved all of us like we were his own kids, coached the football and basketball teams and really supported us. Our 6th grade basketball team only lost one game, so we thought we were pretty hot stuff, until Union City finally beat us.
Most of my coaches were all great. I played a lot of sports, so they all made an impact in their own way. My high school golf coach, Paul Smith, was also really good to me. He wasn’t really a golfer, but he made sure we got to play in good tournaments and must have been doing something right, because we won state:) He helped me to get a scholarship to play golf at Oklahoma City University, and that really paved the way for me to get a good education and a lot of other great things that went with it.
What advice do you have for the current students of Noble?
1. Set goals and aim high. Very few people do great things by accident.
2. Believe in yourself. You’ll be amazed what you can do in school, sports and beyond just by thinking you can do it.
3. Don’t give up. Anytime you’re trying to do something challenging, there’s gonna be ups and downs. Hang in there.
4. Have fun along the way. Enjoy the moments, cherish friends, don’t worry about fitting in with everybody and just try to have a little fun with it all. I was not great at this when I was young, and I just didn’t realize it at the time.
5. Make good choices in life: This is sort of not fun to talk about, but it all boils down to choices and decisions. If you usually make good decisions and choices, then good things will likely happen. If you usually make bad ones, you’re luck will eventually run out.
What is your personal definition of success?
I’m extremely competitive, so personal achievements have been meaningful to me, but they don’t define me as a person. Overall, I think success is just being happy. If you’ve built a life that makes you happy, you’re probably very successful. Trying not to measure yourself versus others is probably helpful.
Explain to the community what/who inspired you to support our current 50 for 50 Campaign and any words you may have to share with them on your motivation behind supporting the Foundation’s efforts to grow our endowment.
I’ve tried to support things I believed in over the years, as much as possible. When I saw the 50 for 50 campaign, it was like “of course!” I can’t imagine not wanting to help Noble Public Schools, after spending 12 years there. These days, it’s especially important, as our schools are so desperate for funding. Noble needs to have another source, so the endowment is the best thing we can be doing to make our schools better.
WE ARE PROUD TO HAVE DREW IN OUR BEAR FAMILY, AND ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR HIS SUPPORT TO THE FOUNDATION! THE CLASS OF 1986 IS CURRENTLY IN SECOND PLACE BEHIND THE CLASS OF 1993 FOR OUR 50 FOR 50 CAMPAIGN!!!
If you are a member of the Class of ‘86 and want to help your team take the lead for most donations to the Foundation, you can donated here : https://www.flipcause.com/secure/fundraiser/MzAxNzQ=/14816
Not from ‘86 and want to find your team to donate to? Here ya go! https://www.noblepsfoundation.org/donate50for50