His patients know him as Dr. Pollard.

His fellow 1969 Hennessey High School graduates call him Barry.

Now, much of the state knows him as Barry Pollard, M.D. Member of the 2023 class of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame.

Pollard and seven others were announced as members of this year’s honorees last week.They’ll be formally inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame during a ceremony Thursday, Nov. 16, at the Embassy Suites Hotel & Conference Center in Norman.

They’ll also be recognized with the unveiling of their portraits at the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and Gaylord-Pickens Museum.

Their biographies, photos and videos will be accessible through interactive exhibits in the museum.

The state’s highest honor is just the most recent for Pollard, who served as a neurosurgeon in Enid for more than four decades.

His other honors have included 2001 HHS Hall of Fame, 2014 OSU College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Distinguished Alumni, 2017 OSU Hall of Fame in recognition of his lifetime achievement in society and professional life and the 2020 Oklahoma Agriculture Hall of Fame.

Pollard is the son of Patsy Pollard of Hennessey and the late Russell Pollard.

He grew up in Hennessey and actively showed pigs and cattle at county fairs and at 4-H and FFA stock shows.

He was awarded the State Farmer Degree in 1991 and in 1999 received a Leadership Award from the OSU Department of Animal Science.

Pollard, who lives in Waukomis, graduated from OSU with a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from its College of Agriculture in 1973 before earning his doctorate of medicine in 1977 from the University of Oklahoma.

Pollard’s commitment to his hometown area allowed local citizens to receive treatment and long-term care close to home as he performed more than 20,000 life-saving and life-changing surgeries in Enid.

Many of the procedures he performed were previously unavailable in this rural part of the state.

In addition to his Neurological Surgery Associates office, he also owns P&K Equipment Inc. and Pollard Farms where he farms more than 10,000 acres and has a registered Angus cattle herd.

In 2007, he created the OSU Medical Cowboys Scholarship designed to promote OSU as the first choice for undergraduate students to strive to pursue a career in medicine.

In 2008, he and OSU created the Barry Pollard, M.D./P&K Equipment Professorship in Agribusiness to encourage excellence in cross-disciplinary teaching and scholarships in agri-business.

He is a member of the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees and a past chairman of the OBU Foundation Board of Trustees.

Pollard has also been a member of the American Angus Association board of directors, currently serves as vice president of the national organization and will be president in 2024.

He is currently on the board of directors for the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and is an Oklahoma State University President Medallion member.

The doctor has been part of the OSU Cherokee Strip Regional Alumni Association since its inception.

Pollard lives by the phrase “You only live one life,” and said it’s a lifestyle his parents instilled in him. He has also worked to instill it in his family.

He and his wife, Roxanne, have five children, and several grandchildren.

His siblings are Brad Pollard, Melinda Hobbs, Shelly Sheffield, Sheila Duell and Bryan Pollard.

Other members of the 96th class of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame includes Dwight Adams, Edmond, creator of the National DNA Database System; John A. “Rocky” Barrett, Jr., Shawnee, chairman of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation; Judith James, M.D., Ph.D., Pond Creek, rheumatologist and leading autoimmune researcher; Bill Lance, Sulphur, secretary of State of The Chickasaw Nation; J Mays, Maysville, celebrated automobile designer; Madeline Manning Mims, Tulsa, Olympic gold medalist and the first woman to break two minutes in the 800 meter; and Mary Golda Ross, Park Hill, the first Native American female aerospace engineer.