WEEKLY UPDATE      April 27th, 2007

OKLAHOMA IDOL ...okay, so maybe our Tim, "eye candy" Burg isn't exactly Carrie Underwood but he shows well at conferences. Today, Tim was in McAlester talking to three workforce boards about partnerships between workforce and economic development. In the meantime, PCDA's David Myers. (aka "the other") spoke to the Oklahoma World Trade Conference on Wednesday and the Chamber of Commerce monthly membership meeting today. Ponca City continues to get attention from communities and regions trying to replicate the way our community implements economic and workforce development programs. THE WIND-UP AND THE PITCH we tell you periodically about proposals we've made and the truth is not all proposals are created equal. Some are for small projects, some for medium projects and some for big projects. None are more important than the other, they just vary in terms of the preparation needed. This week, PCDA made a big pitch to a company trying to decide between a location in another state and Ponca City. PCDA was joined by our partners at Pioneer Tech and ODOC. We'll know the important reaction, (yes or no) after the other state makes its pitch. The project has 125 jobs in play with potential long term growth. FILL 'ER UP ...the project mentioned above began about 18 months ago and has progressed to the "drive it or park it" stage. In order to make sure there are customers 18 months from now, (and two and three months for that matter) PCDA continues to do things to fill the pipeline. This week, we responded to two RFP's, (request for proposals) one from the state and one from a site consultant. We also toured one company through Bob yesterday, met with a new one today, spoke with another one considering Bob, worked with another consultant searching for a client, pursued a referral from an employee of $#@#$&…you get the picture. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS ...as someone in the know, you know that real job growth occurs in the companies smart enough to already be here. Most of our time this week, therefore, was spent with those people who write paychecks in Ponca City. This includes our ongoing business surveys, consultations with businesses needing specific help, and continued work with Pioneer Technology Center and OESC on workforce recruitment and development. TAKING WHATS-HIS-NAME TO THE MOUNTAIN ...it's pretty hard moving the Rocky Mountains so instead of that old saying about bringing the mountain to someone, we're going to Denver on Sunday for the Corenet Global Trade Show, a conclave of site consultants, industrial realtors and others involved in corporate location decisions, (co-sponsored by PCDA, ODOC and other Oklahoma cities). This is part of that pipeline metaphor, mentioned above, as is our co-sponsorship and participation in Bio 2007, the following week in Boston. UPCOMING.... Sun.-Tue. Apr 29th-May 1st: Corenet Global trade show, (site selectors) Denver Sun.-Wed. May 6th-9th: Bio 2007 trade show, Boston Thu. May 10th: PCDA Board of Trustees monthly meeting, 7:30 am, Chamber Office Ponca City Development Authority 102 S. Fifth Street, Ste. 3, Ponca City, OK 74601 580.765.7070/580.765.0969-fax Or E-Mail - David Myers CEcD - Executive Director Visit Ponca City Development's Latest News Archives © www.goponca.com - Ponca City Development Authority - Ponca City, Oklahoma