Tribute to John Weeman and his Skirvin legacy

By: Bert Belanger//Guest Columnist//December 20, 2018

David Chapman asked me to pinch hit in this column, due to his recent candidacy for Edmond City Council. I enjoyed a stint as an adjunct professor at the University of Central Oklahoma in Chapman’s real estate program. I found this experience energizing watching young college students catch fire about the profession that both Chapman and I love.

When asked to invite a developer to speak to my class, my first and most obvious choice was John R. Weeman Jr. Weeman gave an inspiring talk about his journey through the hotel business; after years in the Hilton corporate hierarchy, he was introduced by an old friend to the venerable Skirvin Hotel in Oklahoma City. Weeman described to my students his “love affair” with the then-decrepit shell of what had once hosted presidents and national celebrities.

Weeman understated to my class the angst that he felt as he worked feverishly to hold together a redevelopment contract with the Oklahoma City Urban Renewal Authority, first replacing a contractor partner and then an equity financier.

I had personally seen Weeman’s attention to detail and passion as he moved the development closer to completion, then to a glorious opening on the eve of Oklahoma’s Centennial celebration. While I had no role as his lawyer at that point, I did share his joy in the reborn Skirvin Hilton; my wife and I held our daughter’s wedding reception there as one of the first events after the hotel reopened, with Weeman in proud attendance.

My personal and working relationship with Weeman deepened over the years, as he embraced my whole family, and while he stayed very involved with the Skirvin Hilton, he moved on to other hotel ventures, including the recently opened Edmond Hilton Garden Inn and Convention Center. Sadly, however, John Weeman was unable to see this achievement, at least not from an earthly point of reference, He died suddenly two years ago this month.

This holiday season, I will no doubt think of the wide smile that Weeman couldn’t suppress when speaking about his work in Oklahoma City on the Skirvin Hilton Hotel; my plans include raising a glass to him at the Red Piano Bar, in the lobby of the fine hotel that has become part of his legacy. Cheers and Merry Christmas!

Bert Belanger is a broker with Adept Commercial Real Estate and a real estate attorney with Riggs Abney (bbelanger@riggsabney.com).