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Chamber events postponed due to inclement weather
Due to inclement weather reports from the National Weather Service and local news stations, the Tulsa Metro Chamber is postponing all events and announcements scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 1 to be rescheduled for a later date.
Events include the Tulsa Regional Legislative Reception. The Chamber is currently working to secure a new date and time for the reception and attendees will be notified as soon as a new date is set. The Chamber offices will employ the Tulsa Metro Chamber’s Inclement Weather Policy regarding office closings, and staff will notify any visitors as to meeting cancellations.
We apologize for the inconvenience, but the Chamber’s primary concern is that of our members and guests.
HVAC accessories company establishes facility in Tulsa
Ductmate, the largest heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) accessories manufacturer in North America, announced it has chosen Tulsa for its new distribution warehouse location. Ductmate has leased a 61,520-square-foot facility located on 9.4 acres at 3248 N. Sheridan with a five-year plan to expand its Tulsa operation to include manufacturing. The privately owned company moved into the new site Jan. 3 and began operations last week.
“We are excited Ductmate chose to locate in Tulsa. Ductmate could have chosen to establish a presence anywhere in the U.S., and we congratulate them on choosing Tulsa for its convenient location, quality workforce and business-friendly atmosphere,” said Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Tulsa Metro Chamber. “Through the Tulsa’s Future economic development plan, our staff will continue to assist the company with further growth and success in this region.”
Headquartered in Charleroi, Penn., Ductmate has three manufacturing facilities – two in Pennsylvania and one in California. Locating a distribution center in Tulsa presents the opportunity for Ductmate to effectively expand into the Southern U.S. market. Once Ductmate grows to include manufacturing at its Tulsa location, the company could employ anywhere from 10 to 25 employees, all to be hired locally.
“We are very pleased to have chosen Tulsa,” said Ray Yeagar, president and CEO of DMI Industries, parent company of Ductmate. “The city and Chamber have created an environment where companies such as Ductmate can operate profitably. Profitability will help create opportunities and jobs. We look forward to being a good corporate citizen, giving back to the community in which our employees live.”
Governor Fallin selects Dave Lopez as Secretary of Commerce
Governor Mary Fallin announced she has selected Dave Lopez to serve as secretary of commerce.
Lopez is a longtime civic and community leader and currently serves as president of Oklahoma City-based American Fidelity Foundation, a charitable foundation that gives grants for economic development, education, human services and the arts.
“I’ve said from day one, my main focus as governor will be to improve our economy and work to create more jobs and opportunities for Oklahomans. The secretary of commerce will play an important role in that process,” Fallin said. “Dave Lopez has been a successful businessman and tremendous civic leader with connections all around the nation. He brings a great deal of expertise and enthusiasm to the job and I’m happy to have him serve in my cabinet. Dave is going to join an experienced and diverse cabinet dedicated to moving the state of Oklahoma forward.”
Lopez previously served as president of SBC Communications (now AT&T) in Oklahoma and Texas. Prior to serving as president, he held a variety of executive positions that took him across the region including stops in Houston, Dallas, St. Louis, San Antonio and Austin. Before joining American Fidelity Foundation, Lopez served as president of Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc.
“Governor Fallin has told me she is ready to take an active role in helping the Commerce Department and state and local business leaders attract new jobs to Oklahoma,” Lopez said. “I’m honored to serve in the governor’s administration and look forward to working with her to grow our economy and bring more jobs and opportunities to our state.”
Lopez serves on numerous boards including the American Fidelity Corporation, Oklahoma City National Memorial, the City of Oklahoma City Economic Development Trust, the Oklahoma Health Center Foundation, the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation and the board of BancFirst Corporation.
He also previously served as president of the Oklahoma Business Roundtable and was a co-chairman on the steering committee of Oklahoma’s EDGE Fund.
“We welcome Dave to his new role and look forward to working closely with him in putting into place the proper programs, tools and resources needed to attract new companies and new jobs to Oklahoma,” said Jim Fram, Tulsa Metro Chamber senior vice president of economic development. “We have a wonderful working relationship with the Department of Commerce and look forward to growing, expanding and strengthening it with the governor’s newly appointed leadership.”
Volunteers sought for college readiness program
The Tulsa Metro Chamber is working with the OU-Tulsa Community Engagement Center and Tulsa Public Schools on a new program called Career Access College Readiness (CACR) to help students prepare for college upon graduation.
CACR matches volunteers from the local business community with small groups of seventh and 10th grade students to help them learn about and plan for college through a variety of subjects, including how to apply for college, how to acquire funding for college and knowing which courses to take. Volunteers began working in classrooms in January, but spaces are still available. Former Tulsa mayor Kathy Taylor is one of the most recent individuals to sign up.
“The value of sharing your time as a career coach to a student will pay dividends to our community, the student and your business,” she said. “Statistics prove that children with an adult to help them form goals and show their support do better in school, are less likely to drop out, more likely to continue their education.”
TPS secondary students are in need of reliable, caring and trained coaches to help develop workplace and college readiness skills for success beyond high school. Click here to access the volunteer coach sign-up form. For more information, contact Heather Johnson at heatherjohnson@tulsachamber.com or 918.560.0218.
Deadline extended for Small Business Award nominations
Due to an overwhelming response, the Chamber has extended its nomination deadline for the esteemed Crystal Star Small Business Awards through Friday, Feb. 4. Business members are invited to nominate rising stars of Tulsa’s small business community to receive recognition. The awards include 10 categories, including:
• Small Business Person
• Entrepreneurial Success
• Small Business Exporter
• Young Entrepreneur
• Family Owned Business
• Financial Services Champion
• Home-Based Business Champion
• Minority Small Business Champion
• Veteran Small Business Champion
• Women in Business Champion
Nominees must be Chamber members and in business a minimum of three years. Awards will be presented at the Chamber’s annual awards luncheon Tuesday, May 17. For a complete list of categories and instructions, click here to visit the Chamber website.
US Chamber President comments on State of the Union
(from ft.com) Tom Donohue, chief executive of the US Chambers of Commerce, was supportive of the president’s central themes in last week’s State of the Union address.
“Tonight President Obama highlighted the urgent need to revitalize our economy, create jobs, build a world-class infrastructure system, and strengthen America’s competitiveness,” Donohue said. “America must move swiftly to create millions of jobs, unshackle entrepreneurs and small businesses, and restore America’s economic leadership around the globe or we will be left behind.”
He added: “While there will be differences on how to achieve these goals, we must find enough common ground to ensure America’s greatness into the 21st century. Our country and our economy will succeed only when the administration, Congress, the business community and active citizens work together. The US Chamber will work with anyone who shares our goals and we don’t care who gets the credit.”
To read additional comments about the State of the Union from the nation’s leaders, visit Financial Times.
The Tulsa Metro Chamber is leading a group of area business and community leaders to Washington, D.C., Feb. 8-10 for the annual D.C. Fly-In where two full days will be devoted to meeting with the Congressional delegation regarding Tulsa’s economy and measures that must be taken this Legislative session in order to remain competitive.
Hoyt discusses Tulsa’s “Destinations to Watch” designation, NCAA Tournament
The Journal Record sat down with Tulsa Sports Commission Executive Director Ray Hoyt to discuss Tulsa's status as a "Destination to Watch" and the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
Click here to view the interview.
What we’re working onExecutive
• Attending Management Team Retreat.
• Making Tulsa’s Future II presentation to the Broken Arrow Chamber and Economic Development Commission.
• Attending monthly breakfast meeting with mayor’s Chief of Staff Terry Simonson.
• Attending monthly board planning meeting with Chamber chair and incoming chair.
• Speaking at Tulsa Midtown Rotary luncheon.
• Hosting One Voice press conference.
• Hosting Tulsa regional legislative delegation and regional chamber coalition leadership meeting.
• Hosting Tulsa Regional Legislative Reception.
• Hosting dinner with BNSF Economic Development Department.
• Hosting Mayor’s Business Retention Breakfast.
• Attending Tulsa’s Future II CEO calls.
• Attending new board orientation meetings.
• Meeting with Tulsa Business Journal regarding 2011 Economic Development Impact Awards.
• Attending the Economic Development meeting with Electanetics.
• Meeting with TYPros leadership at the Forge.
• Attending the Resource Campaign’s top cash producers dinner.
• Meeting with Dr. Keith Ballard.
• Hosting the Washington D.C. Congressional Fly-In pre meeting.
• Making Tulsa’s Future II presentation to members of Greater Tulsa Board of Realtors.
• Attending Speaker Kris Steele’s Speaker’s Ball in Oklahoma City.
Economic Development
• Tulsa’s Future calls with local business leaders.
• Meeting with BNSF officials.
• Conference call with KPMG to discuss targets and strategy.
• Attending the OneVoice legislative reception.
• Attending the Mayor’s BRE Breakfast focusing on the banking industry.
• Meeting with the Tulsa Board of Realtors.
• Submitting an RFP for a manufacturing project.
• Participating in the Let's Do Business Committee meeting.
• Meeting with small business owner regarding issues with Workers Comp laws
• Attending the Downtown Coordinating Council meeting.
• Hosting a Small Business Council meeting to develop plans for the Chamber’s small business programs.
• Completing the February issue of the SourceLink newsletter.
• Attend the OAA’s Central Oklahoma Aerospace Forum in OKC.
• Meeting with Flight Safety International and touring the construction site of its new manufacturing facility.
• Meet with Career Tech to work on Aerospace Summit agenda.
Education and workforce
• Scheduling/coordinating the next Northeast Oklahoma Health and Human Services Roundtable.
• Planning the next Adult Enrollment Blitz.
• Meeting with TYPros College & Universities Crew Leaders to discuss internships and InternInTulsa.com website.
• 2011 ROI Summit planning and identifying chair.
• Interviewing executive director candidates for Workforce Tulsa.
• CACR coach checkpoint meeting with partners.
• Finalizing the Education Guide.
• Coordinating TPS Oklahoma Scholars kickoff.
• Recruiting CACR coaches.
• Recruiting Oklahoma Scholars presenters for TPS and Union.
Tulsa’s Young Professionals
• Completing the interview process for program coordinator position.
• Hosting Typros Board Intern Program seminar in partnership with Leadership Tulsa.
• Hosting a newly created monthly “orientation” series for new members.
Tulsa Sports Commission
• Hosting USA Fencing for a site visit.
• Preparing for Strike Night, first fundraising event of the year for Tulsa Sports Commission, on March 3, 2011.
• NCAA due diligence on housing, marketing, operations, community efforts, etc.
VisitTulsa
• Working on pre marketing and sales calls for Destination Showcase and Affordable Meetings.
• Finalizing preparations for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament 2nd and 3rd Round games at the BOK Center.
• Meeting with Appaloosa Horse Club meeting planners in preparation for their event at Expo Square this summer.
• Attending RCMA convention this week.
Government Affairs
• Attending State Chamber Legislative Affairs Committee meeting.
• Finalizing D.C. Fly-In preparations.
• Preparing for legislative session and monitoring legislation.
• Preparing for Congressional Luncheon featuring Congressman Frank Lucas.
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.
new businesses:
Aaron's
Aristocrat Construction & Landscape, Inc.
Body Shapers International
Colossal Cleaners
Electranetics, Inc
Freedom Hospice LLC
Girouard Vines
Integrated Health Care Informatics
Mint Dental
Proforma Faith Marketing
Southern Roofing Contractors, Inc.
Stow's Office Furniture
Vincetrox
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