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Hertz announces plans to buy Dollar Thrifty
Late Sunday night, plans were announced for the purchase of Tulsa-based Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc., by Hertz Gobal Holdings Inc. for $1.27 billion in cash and stock.
The purchase will allow Hertz to expand its leisure-travel operations while maintaining its position in the business-travel market.
“Company officials notified us regarding this announcement which is indicative of the close, working relationship between our offices,” said Tulsa Metro Chamber President and CEO Mike Neal. “Its leader, Scott Thompson, has had great success in returning DTAG’s operations to profitability. He currently serves on the Chamber’s board of directors and is an oversight committee member for our economic development program, Tulsa’s Future.”
For more than 15 years, Dollar Thrifty has been a great friend to the Tulsa community through employment, community involvement and an overall positive economic impact.
“Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group has maintained a significant presence in Tulsa since Thrifty launched in 1958,” said Neal. “When Chrysler purchased Thrifty and Dollar more than 20 years ago, the cost of doing business in Tulsa could not be matched and we are fortunate it selected Tulsa as its headquarters since 1994.”
No predictions as to the effect the purchase will have on the Tulsa region have been made, but the Chamber is committed to assisting in any efforts toward a positive impact.
“This process is long and tedious. It’s certainly too early to speculate about its outcome, but the Chamber’s number one focus is to be supportive of a long-standing corporate partner and to aggressively pursue a relationship with a new successor,” said Neal.
A primary target of Tulsa’s Future includes the travel industry, primarily the aviation and aerospace industry, but it is closely aligned with companies like DTAG, Avis-Budget, and Enterprise-National Alamo. An emerging target is the tourism industry which also includes these businesses. The Tulsa regional workforce is a tremendous asset in these areas and makes Tulsa a powerful competitor.
TYPros 5-year anniversary party wows crowd
Tulsa’s Young Professionals marked five years of fun, networking and economic development this past Saturday with a black-tie event at the Tulsa Community College Center for Creativity. The event was held throughout the building, including the open air rooftop deck which provided spectacular views of downtown, and local music acts performed for the crowd of about 300.
Event co-chairs Andrea Myers and Brittany Sawyer hosted a short program that featured remarks from Chamber Chairman Don Walker about the impact of the TYPros members on the cultural, political and economic landscape. State Farms’ John Wiscaver also congratulated the organization and reiterated State Farms sponsorship of TYPros for the coming year.
After a short video program highlighting TYPros activities and featuring interviews with members and leadership, Myers presented awards to TYPros founders Matt Pavarnik and Sheila Curly, founding members, past chairs and past directors.
“We’ve accomplished so much in a very short time,” Myers said. “It was a great night to recognize how far we have come and to give us encouragement for the future.”
OneVoice successes mount
With just one month left in the 2010 Legislative session, the Tulsa Metro Chamber and regional partners are seeing the movement of several OneVoice top priorities through the House and Senate toward the governor’s desk for signing.
Recent victories include:
o Passage of the Quality Events bill out of the House and on its way to conference committee.
o Signing of the Gilcrease Expressway feasibility study bill by Gov. Brad Henry.
o And signing of the measure to continue appropriations for the OSU Medical Center by Gov. Henry.
"Passage of the Gilcrease Expressway feasibility study is the first step in fulfilling a critical need for the Tulsa region," said Don Walker, Tulsa Metro Chamber 2010 chairman of the Board and president and CEO of Arvest Bank. "It has, and will continue to be, a top priority of the Tulsa Metro Chamber's Regional OneVoice Legislative Agenda until this critical leg of roadway is built. Thus, we are very encouraged to see the support of our legislators and the governor on this measure.
"The signing of this measure and passage of the Quality Events bill further demonstrates the effectiveness of working together as a region. We greatly appreciate the time of our legislators in allowing us to bring our concerns to the Capitol last week and we look forward to progressing other issues on our OneVoice agenda in the remaining weeks."
The Legislative session will Sine Die by 5 p.m. on Friday, May 28 making the next four weeks critical days at the Capitol to see passage of legislation for the advancement of the Tulsa region.
As a service to members, the Tulsa Metro Chamber distributes a weekly Legislative Update every Friday during session outlining bills, issues and their current status. To ensure you’re receiving the weekly Legislative Update, contact Tracy Pope at 918.560.0249 or email tracypope@tulsachamber.com .
Chamber welcomes new businessesEach month the Tulsa Metro Chamber's Hospitality Club welcomes new businesses and new Chamber members to the community by assisting with ribbon cuttings and groundbreaking announcements.
Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic PLLC
Dr. Travis Ring
6922 S. Lewis Ave.
Tulsa, OK 74136
Phone: 935.3432
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