RIVERSPORT names Michael Ming as its Chairman of the Board

Michael Ming has been named Chairman of Oklahoma City’s RIVERSPORT Foundation. Ming succeeds Ronnie Irani who has served as Chairman since 2018.

“We are fortunate to be transitioning from one insightful board chairman to another,” said Mike Knopp, executive director. “Michael has a vision and passion for what we do at Riversport RIVERSPORT that promises to take the Foundation to the next level as an organization. Ming is somebody who has been a leader in the field. Leadership and passion -- when you put those two things together with a really good chairman, it sets the tone for all the initiatives going forward.”

Ming is the president and founder of Ming Energy Partners, LLC. He retired in 2018 as the VP - Executive Liaison for marketing and technology for Baker Hughes, a GE Company. Before that, Ming served as general manager of General Electric’s Global Research O&G Technology Center in Oklahoma City. He was Oklahoma Secretary of Energy under former Gov. Mary Fallin, the President of the Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America (RPSEA), and was an independent natural gas producer as a Managing Member and principal of K. Stewart Energy Group and K. Stewart Petroleum Corp. 

“Today, like everyone in our community, we face circumstances no one could have imagined,” Ming said. “My goal is to face our challenges today and position the Foundation to thrive tomorrow and serve our community with all the exciting developments that lie ahead, including the addition of the new surfing attraction later this season and the opening of the second floor Leadership Center in the McClendon Whitewater Center.”

The surfing attraction, Surf OKC, is slated to open in August and the McClendon Whitewater Center second-floor construction is slated for spring 2021.

In addition to his leadership on the board, Ming is an avid RIVERSPORT enthusiast. He regularly rows, is a whitewater paddler, and enjoys kayaking and stand up paddleboarding. “When we say RIVERSPORT is a lifestyle, it really is for me,” Ming said. 

RIVERSPORT Foundation, formerly the Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation, focuses on creating access to water sports such as rowing, canoe/kayak, sailing and surfing as well as outdoor urban adventure experiences for people from all walks of life, especially underserved youth and families.