WEEKLY UPDATE      August 31st, 2007

NO DOGS DAYS OF SUMMER ...you would think the last week of summer, when the weather is delightfully warm, school is back in session and the Labor Day weekend is approaching, would be a good time for things to settle a little. Rightttt! This week, PCDA staff met with three companies seeking new locations, met with an industrial realtor about one of those companies, did some follow-up on a meeting held last Friday with an out of state company, continued to work on the bids documents for the Encompass Tool Project, met with an out of town site consultant, arranged a meeting with an out of town housing developer and completed the agreement with Sykes Enterprises, as reported in yesterday’s Ponca City News. MEET ME IN PONCA CITY ...this was the week, however, where everyone scheduled meetings that had Ponca City economic implications and to which PCDA sent representation in order to further said economic interests. PCDA staff attended and otherwise participated in the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce Board meeting on Tuesday, met with the city to discuss web site issues Tuesday and Wednesday, traveled to OKC Wednesday to discuss the Opportunity Fund with the author of that bill, participated in the Chamber’s Retail Task Force meeting that same day, held a special meeting of the PCDA Board of Trustees on Thursday, attended the Ponca City Medical Center Board of Trustees’ meeting later on Thursday, chased that with attendance at the UML Board meeting in Stillwater Thursday evening and topped off the week at the OSU NPDC Advisory Board meeting in Stillwater today. This was in addition to regular meetings and presentations made to the companies mentioned above. Fortunately, only three out of four PCDA staffers took all or part of the week off on vacation. GROUND BROKEN, LAND GAINED ...there was big economic development news on Tuesday of this week, even though PCDA was not involved. The ground breaking for the new emergency room at Ponca City Medical Center ushered in a new day for medical services in Ponca City. Hospitals and medical care in general are big economic development drivers for several reasons. You just can’t attract or keep a business in town without first class medical care. You can also attract dollars into your community when others come here for that care. I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER ...at least that’s what we can say to our Tim, “Summer Vacation” Burg. Tim spent part of his summer vacation this week down in Beaumont Texas helping that community work through workforce issues. Beaumont was hit by Hurricane Rita two years ago and there was significant economic upheaval following the storm. PCDA, along with our partners at Pioneer Tech, continues to receive national attention for many of the innovative approaches to connecting workforce development and economic development, a no-brainer for business but a difficult cross-turf maneuver for a public agency. UPCOMING.... Mon. Sept. 3rd: Labor Day, PCDA office closed (five will get you ten Burg will still come in) Thur. Sept. 13th: PCDA Regular Monthly Meeting, 7:30 a.m., Chamber Conference Room 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