GETTING READY......for a REAL summer here in Ponca CIty. Outdoor events are happening (check out the Kay County Ampitheater opening tomorrow) and other upcoming events in thePonca CIty Monthly, May Edition for kids and adults both. Graduation celebrations are less than three weeks away, fundraisers abound and manufacturers are manufacturing all the things!

How does PCDA know "all the things?" Because it's what staff does: eavesdrop on conversations, insert ourselves into projects and be all around helpful with supplying information and demographics. All the while promoting Ponca City business, industry and non-profits. Speaking of small business and non-profits, make sure to get your Ponca City Grant applications submitted by Saturday, April 30th (that is tomorrow!). Grants in the amounts of $2500 to $10,000 will be awarded in early June to local small businesses (20 employees or less) and non-profits. Find your application here and keep reading if you have already uploaded your app.

REMOTE WORK....“The pandemic accelerated existing trends in remote work, e-commerce, and automation, with up to 25% more workers than previously estimated potential needing to switch occupations.”Find the complete McKinsey Institute article here.

There is not a day that goes by that Ponca Works doesn't talk to employers about how to entice employees back into offices. The work life balance has become much more important to workforce since many employees started working from home, at least part time, for the last several years. Another aspect which has been rushed is automation. There are many Ponca City companies who have invested in artificial intelligence as a way to increase production with the absence of new employees.  Lastly, many people may need to make an occupation change during these times. Re-skilling employees is a way to help fill your gaps in employment. Pioneer Tech, and the Workforce Development Board have scholarship opportunities to help fill these gaps. 

 

PONCA CITY GRANTS..... are only open today and tomorrow! Businesses with less than 20 employees and non-profits in the Ponca City limits you must apply online to receive this grant. The application is here for both; just get your information together and apply. $2500 to $10,000 is available for losses due to COVID during the March 2021 to March 2022 time frame. If your business was "in business" January of 2020, you need to apply.

PONCA CITY LEADERSHIP…Class of 35 wrapped up their year of everything Ponca City with a crash course on economic development lead by PCDA Staff. What's next for Ponca City? What are the future needs? Now Needs? All the questions were asked and several answers were put on the whiteboard (see all the writing). Get your application at the Chamber now and be part of the Ponca City Leadership Class 36.

MADE IN PONCA CITY......Staff likes to brag on our local industry any chance we get. So this beautiful product pictured here is our chance to brag on two companies. K&C Manufacturing (a Ponca City company) is making these product lids for Century Products (another Ponca City company). This is the kind of business to business activity which makes us all gooey eyed and dreamy. These injection molded covers are the lid to Century Products mineral feeder. Aren't they just beauties to behold?

Friday, April 29 // Wacky Golf Signups Due // See flyer below

Make sure to sign up your Wacky Golf Crew before May 1st

for the annual AMBUCs Charity Angels fundraiser.

April 30 // Ponca City Grant Submission Deadline // Midnight

Get your grant application submitted. Click here to apply

Wednesday, May 4 // 1 Million Cups // Pioneer Tech Center 8:00 am

Hear local business stories and find out how you can support

start-up and existing businesses in and around Ponca City.

Tuesday, May 10 // Business on the Balcony // City Central

PCDA office

Make sure to mark your calendar for this early morning

networking event. Begins at 7 am until 8:30 am

Thursday, May 12 // PCDA Board of Trustee Meeting // City Central

Regular PCDA Board Meeting - 7:30 am in Room 101.

Friday, May 20 // Ponca City High School Graduation // 8 pm

Livestream on the PoHi Website.

Friday, May 20 // Deadline for Girl Power! Camp // Sign Up Here

See information below to get your soon to be 8th Grade girl signed up.

Rental Property - Available Listings

END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR......events are in full swing. 2022 Grads are back to in person events, the PoHi Prom was last weekend, fundraisers are happening again (support your local org), and finally, people are planning those summer trips, gas prices be darned. As a community with a refinery, gas prices are always a topic of discussion. The weather is warming and the days are getting longer. Biking and walking are not only good exercise, but will get you from point A to point B, at least in Ponca City proper. Check out the Move This May Challenge info below.

Let us not forget the delayed, but still very proud, Chamber Banquet awards given out this week. The one PCDA staff is always jazzed about is the Industry Award and we are happy to announce.... well, keep reading for the whole story. Don't forget to get your Ponca City Grant application in while we welcome Spring in full force to Ponca CIty.

INDUSTRY OF THE YEAR…Ponca City has been on understandable edge for some time, waiting to find out who the Chamber Industry of the year will be for this year. The insufferable wait, after the Chamber Celebration was postponed in late January, came to a fitting conclusion last night when Garaga-Mid America Door was presented with the coveted honor. Garaga has increased their jobs in Ponca City by more than 35% and significantly upped their wages over the last couple of years (well, two years and now three more months thanks to the celebration’s postponement in January due to a COVID surge). The Canadian parent company has invested millions and greatly enhanced and expanded their Ponca City facility. It was hard to say whether last night’s crowd at the award ceremony held at the new Concert Hall was more about the excitement for Garaga or relief that no presenter was slapped (on stage, at least). Everyone there, however, came away with a much deeper appreciation for their garage door when they got home. PCDA joins the Chamber and the community in congratulating the men and women of Garaga Mid America Doors on this high and very well deserved honor!

PONCA CITY GRANTS..... are only open for 8 more days! Businesses with less than 20 employees and non-profits in the Ponca City limits you must apply online to receive this grant. The application is here for both; just get your information together and apply. $2500 to $10,000 is available for losses due to COVID during the March 2021 to March 2022 time frame. If you business was "in business" January of 2020, you need to apply. Call Kat or Lori if you have questions or need further information. 580.765.7070

MOVE THIS MAY.... is a free month long challenge to engage in physical activity. Participate individually or create a team of four and track your movement on the free Challenge Runner app or website. Just use the QR code to sign up or go to here to register.

Tuesday, April 26 // SBA Lending - 7A and 504 Loans // Online

Why you should see SBA financing for what types of projects!

Find out more and register here.

Friday, April 29 // Wacky Golf Signups Due // See flyer below

Make sure to sign up your Wacky Golf Crew before May 1st

for the annual AMBUCs Charity Angels fundraiser.

April 30 // Ponca City Grant Submission Deadline // Midnight

Get your grant application submitted. Click here to apply

Wednesday, May 4 // 1 Million Cups // Pioneer Tech Center 8:00 am

Hear local business stories and find out how you can support

start-up and existing businesses in and around Ponca City.

Tuesday, May 10 // Business on the Balcony // City Central

PCDA office

Make sure to mark your calendar for this early morning

networking event. Begins at 7 am until 8:30 am

Friday, May 20 // Ponca City High School Graduation // 8 pm

Livestream on the PoHi Website.

Rental Property - Available Listings

SOCIAL CALENDARS......are starting to book up quick. Everyone is ready to go to a wedding, reception, graduation, dance or prom.....All the things are happening as life gets back to a new normal. This includes meeting and conference space bookings here at City Central. A new art gallery opened this week in City Central (check out all the info at City Arts) and Central Cafe was hopping with juices, smoothies and other vegetarian options.

In the world of industry, 14 MOUs (Memos of Understanding) and four contracts were signed with two pitches to companies made for contract work. Most of these can be traced back to contacts made at the Design 2 Part show which happened last month in Arlington, Texas. You may remember staff mentioning this award winning Trade Show Brigade program a few times. And of course, Happy Easter from the PCDA staff. We know you may not open this until Monday, so we put the deadlines in the first paragraph. Keep reading!

PONCA CITY GRANTS..... are only open for 15 more days! Make sure to fill out the information for your Ponca City small business or non-profit to receive this grant. This three page application will take you a little bit of time to fill out, but it is worth up to $10,000 to help out with COVID costs to your business over the last year (March, 2021 to March 2022). Do you have questions? Need an assist on figuring something out? GIve PCDA a call at 765.7070. There is also a computer kiosk set up here at City Central if you need a quiet place to work. 15 days people! Unless you are opening this on Monday, then you have 12 days.

FILE YOUR TAXES

OR EXTENSIONS

BY

MONDAY

APRIL 18, 2022

WORKFORCE PIPELINE..... City Central was host to the Dream It, Be It program this week held by the local Soroptimist Club. Find out more about this organization here. This group of local professional women introduce possible jobs and workplace etiquette to eighth-grade girls each year. The annual table-talk luncheon gave 40 girls the opportunity to ask questions of professionals in fields such as marketing, law, small business, arts, medical and many more. Thanks to all the women who took time out of their day to talk to these girls about next steps and what each of these areas of work entails from education to time to self investment.

B on the B....was back with a vengeance this week. As it was REALLY windy on the balcony and a little on the chilly side as well, most of the networking took place on the inside of the balcony. With over 40 people attending this early morning event, it was deemed "Very helpful" from a new participant and "Great people" from a new City Central tenant. Business cards exchanged; connections made with a little bit of breakfast thrown in!

Mark you calendar for May 10th to meet for Business on the Balcony.

Sunday, April 17 // Happy Easter Sunday! // All day

Enjoy the (we hope) wonderful Easter weather.

Monday, April 18 // Tax Day // All Day

Don't forget to upload or mail those taxes or extensions in today.

Wed, April 20 // Financing Your Small Business // Online Event

Money is always needed for small business to grow and thrive.

Find out what resources are available and how to access.

Register here.

Tuesday, April 26 // SBA Lending - 7A and 504 Loans // Online

Why you should see SBA financing for what types of projects!

Find out more and register here.

Friday, April 29 // Wacky Golf Signups Due // See flyer below

Make sure to sign up your Wacky Golf Crew before May 1st

for the annual AMBUCs Charity Angels fundraiser.

Wednesday, May 4 // 1 Million Cups // Pioneer Tech Center 8:00 am

Here local business stories and find out how you can support

local start-up and existing businesses in and around Ponca City.

Tuesday, May 10 // Business on the Balcony // City Central

PCDA office

Make sure to mark your calendar for this early morning

networking event. Begins at 7 am until 8:30 am

Rental Property - Available Listings

SHOW ME THE MONEY..... is definitely a topic of discussion today. The City of Ponca City grant applications for small business and non-profits is open until April 30th. Keep reading for all the info. And for our manufacturers, you have a state grant open until April 15th. The Business Plan Pitch-off participants from last month are making food and taking names, literally. Both businesses are officially open and Ponca Citians are raving about authentic Mexican tacos fromNena Tacos and Central Cafe juices, protein snacks and Buddah bowls.

In other news, people are still looking to get out of the house as working and living under the same roof has caused some lack of life/work balance. Hmmmm, who'd of thunk? Other fun bits of trivia in the office were phone calls for boat dock measurements out at Ponca Lake, Native American population and tribal impact on North Central Oklahoma, someone seeking statistics on pay for industry jobs, both starting and salary, a couple of tours for office space, an inquiry on outdoor event space and a couple of visits to our wonderful Airport Industrial Park. It was a good week. Well, the boat dock measurement went to another office, but the rest of those inquiries are what we are all about here at PCDA.

PONCA CITY GRANTS..... are available for small businesses (less than 20 employees) and non-profits in the Ponca City city limits. This three page application will take you a little bit of time to fill out, but it is worth up to $10,000 to your business or non-profit to help out with COVID costs to your business over the last year (March , 2021 to March 2022). Do you have questions? Need an assist on figuring something out? GIve PCDA a call at 765.7070. There is also a computer kiosk set up here at City Central if you need a quiet place to work.

B on the B....is back. Business (and Breakfast) on the Balcony here at City Central, Suite #200 on the PCDA Balcony. From 7 to 8:30 am (that's morning time) next Tuesday, April 12 and every second Tuesday through the summer, grab some grub and meet some peeps. This is a great way to connect with the City Central tenants, business staff from Pioneer Tech and all your favorite people from local businesses. On the Balcony. Flyer below for more details. See you next Tuesday. It is come and go, so even if you only stay for 15 minutes, you will meet somebody or have a conversation that will help you with your job, your project or connecting with the community. It's kind of our thing.

STATE GRANT PROGRAM FOR

MANUFACTURING COMPANIES…Manufacturers still have to to apply to a grant program aimed exclusively for YOU!!!. This is statewide program which received 137 applications last year. 108 of those were approved, so the chances are good for your company. The Oklahoma Innovation Expansion Program (OIEP) is seeking to encourage capital investment and expansions, particularly those that help diversify the state’s economy and increase manufacturing capacity. Successful grants are paid as a payroll rebate to the company on a monthly basis so it’s not a lump sum. It does not necessarily require an increase in job creation but that certainly would make an application more attractive. There is some company buy-in as well, but hey, it's money for your company! Applications will only be open from April 4^th to April 15^th so get going. Visit The Oklahoma Commerce Website here. to fill out this simple application.

WORK/LIFE BALANCE..... now that people have been working from home, either full or part time, and may have seen the We Work movie, PCDA would like to assure you City Central is no We Work, but we can help out that life/work balance. City Central has a Co-work or shared work space on the first floor called The Link. If you want a little tour, check out the website here and if you have more questions, PCDA staff are standing by to help you, a friend or family member find a great temp to permanent office space. Now, if you need water in your office, we will give you some referrals to other downtown spaces. City Central is a bathroom and kitchen have water only kind of lady. Check out building tenants here.

Friday, April 8 // T-Mobile Presentation // Veteran's Plaza

12:00 pm - Noon

Be there to see the kick-off for the portable ice skating rink.

Tuesday, April 12 // Business on the Balcony is BACK! // City Central

7 to 8:30 am on the 2nd floor balcony, Suite #200

Mark your calendar for a little breakfast and a lot of networking.

Sunday, April 17 // Happy Easter Sunday! // All day

Enjoy the (we hope) wonderful Easter weather.

Monday, April 18 // Tax Day // All Day

Don't forget to upload or mail those taxes or extensions in today.

Wed, April 20 // Financing Your Small Business // Online Event

Money is always needed for small business to grow and thrive.

Find out what resources are available and how to access.

Register here.

Tuesday, April 26 // SBA Lending - 7A and 504 Loans // Online

Why you should see SBA financing for what types of projects!

Find out more and register here.

Rental Property - Available Listings

APRIL FOOLS DAY..... is today. If you are a prankster, we wish you well. Just keep in mind that post-COVID people are not taking jokes so well (anyone see the Oscars?) With THAT out of the way, on to the information part of our day. The word of the day is Grants. Grants for small businesses, grants for non-profits and grants for manufacturing companies looking to increase capacity and diversify. Keep reading to get in on all the grant funding. Yes, you have to apply. Some are City sponsored, some are state sponsored. Timing is everything.

Finding a J-O-B has never been easier. And harder. Companies are being picky about who they hire because, hey, training and on-boarding new employees costs $$$ AND those looking for the jobs actually have to apply. There's that word again. Apply: to make a formal application or request. That means a resume, filling out an application and, gulp, interviewing with the company face-to-face. The next generation of workforce is a little lacking in those skill sets. Ponca Works to the rescue. And if that isn't enough to get you started, make sure you look at the online application for Ponca City grants which goes live TODAY. See below for more information and ALL the upcoming events.

Welcome to April people. "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller

RUBBING SHOULDERS...... with the bigwigs. On Tuesday night, PCDA was invited by one of PCDA’s leaders (board member) to go with them to a reception that introduced members of the Oklahoma Defense Industry Association with state legislators. Said leader who opened the door and saved the taxpayers some money wanted to remain anonymous. We therefore told Garrett we wouldn’t mention his name so don’t ask. The reception was held in the shadow of the Capitol and provided PCDA with a target rich environment for visiting with folks who can either help Ponca City’s future economy, add to that future economy or both. These were companies, leaders within state government who had lots of connections with companies in the industry and numerous legislators themselves who are trying to grow this industry in our state. Senator Coleman and said anonymous benefactor, call him “Mr. B” ushered PCDA around the room to make sure the right introductions were made and the right conversations were had. Business in America, and even more so in other parts of the world, is about relationships. You can’t have a relationship until you meet someone with whom you want to have (and build) a relationship. Without that foundation, business is simply not going to grow or find Ponca City. We thank “Mr. B’ for his vision and generosity. This stuff really helps.

STATE GRANT PROGRAM FOR

MANUFACTURING COMPANIES…Beginning this Monday, the State of Oklahoma will begin accepting applications for a grant program aimed exclusively for manufacturing companies. This is a competitive program meaning that a lot of companies will be competing for the grants. Last year, for example, the program received 137 applications, approved 108 of those and awarded a total of $7.74 million. The OIEP is seeking to encourage capital investment and expansions, particularly those that help diversify the state’s economy and increase manufacturing capacity. Successful grants are paid as a payroll rebate to the company on a monthly basis so it’s not a lump sum. It does not necessarily require an increase in job creation but that certainly would make an application more attractive. In addition, it requires company investment as well. Applications will only be open from April 4^th to April 15^th so it’s a relatively short time window to apply. Fortunately, the application is relatively simple (provided you have the information they need). For more complete information, visit The Oklahoma Commerce Website here.

ITS A JOB THING.....

The state of workforce in Ponca City is lean. 1.9% unemployment rate and 2000 unique job postings.  Speaking with employers over the last few days makes staff aware that employers have to get creative with recruitment! Implementing AI and other technology, using the remote workforce, offering unique benefits, making down payments on employee houses and many other smart ideas makes staff stand up and cheer for these great companies and motivates Ponca Works to keep working with the next generation of workforce to help them choose a career that will fill these gaps. At the last PoHi Career Fair, hundreds of kids signed up for more information about In Demand Careers in our region. See the Oklahoma wide list here

Friday, April 1 // Ponca City Grants Application Opens // Online

Here is the link to the application.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate

to contact our office at 580.765.7070.

Saturday, April 2 // Seed Swap @ City Central // 10 am to 1 pm

Bring seeds, plants to swap or just come check out

what is available to take home for your garden.

Chat with other gardeners and let's grow some stuff.

Monday, April 4 // Central Cafe Grand Opening // City Central

Make plans to stop into the new Central Cafe at City Central.

Open Mon-Wed-Fri. 7 - 3 pm Catering available.

Wed, April 6th // Navigating Global Trade // Online Event

If your company is looking at international sales,

this workshop is for you!

Check out this link to register.

Friday, April 8 // T-Mobile Presentation // Veteran's Plaza

12:00 pm - Noon

Be there to see the kick-off for the portable ice skating rink.

Tuesday, April 12 // Business on the Balcony is BACK! // City Central

7 to 8:30 am on the 2nd floor balcony, Suite #200

Mark your calendar for a little breakfast and a lot of networking.

Wed, April 20 // Financing Your Small Business // Online Event

Money is always needed for small business to grow and thrive.

Find out what resources are available and how to access.

Register here.

Tuesday, April 26 // SBA Lending - 7A and 504 Loans // Online

Why you should see SBA financing for what types of projects!

Find out more and register here.

Rental Property - Available Listings