go ponca

Weekly Update

05/02/08

May 2, 2008

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE...first of all, please understand, (or remember) that on July 1, 2003, the day PCDA was born, the unemployment rate was 7.8% in the Ponca City MSA. The most recent figures for the Ponca City MSA, (March, 2008) just released by the OESC? Well it's down a little....to 3.0%. According to the OESC figures, there are more people working in the area today than ever before. In Ponca City proper, the rate is estimated at 1.3%. This is a mixed bag. It's good news if you're PCDA and claiming credit for job creation, (and we don't take credit for this. Job creation is done by companies....we like to think we help). It's also good news for employees as low unemployment drives wages up. It's bad news for employers who are trying to find workers. It's also bad news for PCDA when we try to attract companies here. They see the unemployment rate and say, "Uh...something's missing."

A WHOLE NEW MIND...On Tuesday, Pioneer Technology Center hosted PCDA to a seminar with Dan Pink, the author of "A Whole New Mind." Pink argues that innovation and creativity are the new coins of the realm and that a new way of thinking will be needed for success. More to the point, he asserted strongly that routine work would not stay in the United States to the extent that it is even still here. That means the days of plant relocations with 500 employees is over. Nothing new here...it's just helpful to have someone else say it. Pink's argument is that the good paying jobs of the future will be in knowledge based companies, (information based work is often routine and can be digitized and therefore likely candidates to be off shored. Knowledge based jobs require that you really figure out a new way of doing things) are the future of this nation. He suggested that communities link up with universities and strive for commercial opportunities connected with that. Maybe, we think aloud, we should work with OSU on one of their core strengths like, say, sensors, to build a commercial application in Ponca City. Think it would work? Now why didn't we think of that?

GRADUATION DAY!!...if you have ever had kids in college, and survived it, you know the feeling when one graduates and goes "off the payroll." Yesterday, at 10:13 a.m. CDT, a temporary occupancy permit was issued for the building formerly known as Bob. This will allow Continental Technologies to begin their Ponca City operations...and start paying rent.

THIS WEEK...so this week, we sent a draft agreement to one company, met with a new company considering Ponca City, broke bread with the new Oklahoma Biosciences Association and did follow-up with another new company. There is also some bad news from two other companies that we would love to have here. The bad news was that, after driving them around town and looking at the few obtainable buildings, they didn't like anything that was available and are now considering other areas. This, of course, breaks PCDA's heart.

UPCOMING...

 Thur. May 8th: PCDA May Board meeting, 7:30 a.m., Chamber Conference Room

 Wed.-Fri. May 14-16th: New York Call Trip, sponsored by the Guv.'s ED Team and ODOC

 Sun-Wed. May 18-21st: ICSC Retail trade show (Recruitment) with the Chamber

Ponca City Development Authority. 102 S. Fifth Street, Ste. 3, Ponca City, OK 74601

580.765.7070/580.765.0969-fax, email dmyers@goponca.com, www.goponca.com