Oklahoma: A Story Through Her People

CHARLES D.
(CHUCK) MILLS
Left: Left to right, David and Chuck Mills.
Right: Left to right, Chuck and David Mills.
Chuck Mills of Shawnee, Oklahoma leads
by example. He is a successful business owner
and executive; a valued civic and community
leader; and perhaps most of all, a “practical
visionary” for the State of Oklahoma.
As owner and president of Mills Machine
Company, Inc., a major custom manufacturer
of earth drilling tools founded by his family in
1908, Chuck began his lessons in leadership
at a young age, working in the machine shop,
alongside his father, David. Chuck began to
learn the business, but of equal importance,
he gained early insight into the value of
practical experience or, “understanding by
doing,” something that still resonates
throughout his private and public career.
Alongside this early work at Mills Machine
Company, Chuck’s foundation in leadership
began with boyhood experiences in scouting,
first as a Cub Scout and later as a Boy Scout,
where he eventually earned the Eagle Scout
Award and where he learned the value of
cooperative effort and team achievement.
Through his father’s encouragement,
Chuck also entered DeMolay, an international
organization dedicated to preparing young
men for successful, productive lives. It was in
DeMolay that Chuck gained more leadership
experience and had his first opportunity to
make public presentations.
In preparing for these early public performances,
Chuck learned not only the
importance of careful preparation and
scripting, but he began to realize the power
of communication. As visual thinker, he
recognized the need to translate his thoughts
into clear, direct language. As his experience
developed, Chuck began to see that the real
objective was not simply to share thoughts,
but to communicate vision.
Chuck attended the University of Central
Oklahoma and earned a BBA in management
in 1979. While there he achieved leadership
positions in multiple campus organizations
including Sigma Tau Gamma (STG) Fraternity
and he began a lifelong commitment to this
organization and its service-oriented goals.
Over the years, he held a variety of volunteer
positions, including national president and
trustee for the STG Foundation.
O K L A H O M A : A S t o r y T h r o u g h H e r P e o p l e
250