After being the first woman to finish the surgical residency program at OU, Dr. Linda Mae Johnson has spent her entire career serving the health needs of Grady County residents and the surrounding area, the personification of leadership and service. Born in San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Johnson is a graduate of Chickasha High School. She earned a bachelor of arts degree from Oklahoma College for Women in 1964 and studied medicine at the University of Oklahoma, graduating in 1968. At OCW, she was named to Hypatia. Following her internship at the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center in 1968-69, Dr. Johnson was the first woman to finish the surgical residency program (1969-73). She was Board Certified for General Surgery in 1975 by the American College of Surgeons, and joined the Southern Plains Medical Center professional staff in 1973. In 1967, she received a Smith, Kline and French fellowship to Ghana West Africa. In 1971, she participated in a surgical fellowship to Malaysia. She was first named to the State Board of Health in 1979 and was elected as its president for 1987-88. Her contributions in civic pride earned her the honor of being named Chickasha's "Outstanding Business Woman" in 1974.