Eric "Sodbuster" Benson
Eric Benson brings a career mix of leadership roles that span federal, state and local government agencies. A career Navy officer and son of a career USAF officer he is the proud father of two military sons both of whom are combat veterans. It is this core ethic of service above self that defines Eric’s focus on life and commitment to standards of excellence.
Eric Benson is a graduate of Oklahoma State University with a BS degree in Agriculture. His commitment to education is evidenced by his multiple advanced degrees from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, Salve Regina College and the Naval War College. He has been a contributing columnist for “Perspectives” and “Wings of Gold” and the Enid, OK News and Eagle. His news magazine “Enid on the Move” was recognized in 2010 with an ADDY award for best community periodical. He also won the Thomas Jefferson Journalism Award for developing the “Jet Observer”, a magazine and newspaper for Navy families. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of OSU and is listed in the Naval Aviation Museum for logging over 1,000 carrier landings.
During his Navy career he commanded an F-14 Tomcat squadron, winning all fleet awards for safety and operational readiness and he was a Chief of Naval Operations finalist for the John Paul Jones Leadership Award. He also commanded the world’s largest tactical fighter base, Naval Air Station Oceana, in Virginia Beach, VA. During this assignment he designed a functional alignment process that was adopted by the Chief of Naval Operations. The resulting consolidation of shore-based facilities became the Navy model for infrastructure management.
After a 29 year Navy career he was selected by President George W. Bush for the Senior Executive Service and served as a member of the Presidents Cabinet. He served the Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs as his senior advisor and later as the Acting Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs. In this capacity he was recognized for designing the “largest expansion of the national cemetery system since the Civil War”. Under his leadership the National Cemetery Administration evolved from an agency mired in bureaucratic decline to being recognized as the federal agency with the highest record of customer satisfaction. Applying leadership tactics that embrace Plan Based Execution, high-reliability operations and sweeping safety reform, he traveled the country and the Far East speaking to federal audiences about developing efficiencies, profitability and organizational improvement.
After a short retirement from federal service he was lured back to Washington DC and served as the Deputy Director of the US Selective Service System. In this capacity he supervised the annual registration of 10 million Americans.
In January of 2007, he was hired to manage the city of Enid, OK, a community of 50,000 citizens. He incorporated an array of technological advances to reduce demands upon labor-intensive operations while delivering improved services. Enid was the first community in Oklahoma to utilize an automated GPS supported waste collection system. He delivered the first successful ad valorem funded bond campaign in 68 years and designed a strategic financial plan that identified 225 million dollars in capitol improvements as well as the means to pay for them. His keys to success are resident in the in and wholly embracive of the Check 6 management strategies.
Eric Benson enjoys hunting big game, training quarter horses and riding mules. He counts as his greatest achievement the privilege of serving with American sailors who proudly wore the cloth of their country.