BUILDING THE BRAND…Most Ponca City products are sold to other businesses, meaning that marketing and brand recognition are not top priorities. Dorada sells to McDonalds, CME sells to contractors, Mertz sells to energy industries customers and so forth. Ponca City has several notable brands, however, that are well known in the marketplace. Whether you are talking about Phillips 66 gasoline, Head Country bar-b-que sauce, Cookshack smokers, VacuMade products or other goods, these products roll out of Ponca City under their own brand name and serve as ambassadors to our community. 

The PCDA Board of Trustees recently approved an agreement with Vortex Alley Brewing earlier this month to launch yet another brand to venture out into the big wide world. You probably know Vortex as that great micro-brewery on the corner of Central and Third that is open Wednesday through Saturday nights. Under the agreement, Vortex will become a manufacturer too. The agreement is entirely focused on a new manufacturing operation that Vortex will set up. The retail operations are firewalled since PCDA cannot provide incentives to retail. Vortex will soon begin manufacturing canned product (beer) and “export” it outside of Ponca City. The Vortex Brand will join those mentioned above, spreading the good news about Ponca City, along with a little cheer.

KEEPING IT SMALL…You know about Black Friday and Cyber Monday but do you know about “Shop Small Saturday?” On Saturday, November 27^th, Shop Small Saturday will encourage you, us, them and others to shop at small business. The definition of small is up to you but it really means shopping local and keeping money in our community. Rumor has it that some people shop on line for items they could easily buy in a Ponca City small business. Hard to believe, we know. 

Shopping small particularly on Shop Small Saturday, which is wedged in between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, helps make sure that the Mom and Pop stores that used to define main street can continue to be the very important heart of business in our community. If you can’t get out that day due to COVID or some football game somewhere, Ponca City Mainstreet and PCDA partnered to develop an online portal for downtown businesses, poncacitymarketplace.com that will still allow you to support small business. 

The demand for employees continues to spike across the country; Wages are increasing - according to the DOL – with productivity decreasing. While an increase in the minimum wage has been a long time coming, this little data set provides some depth to the story. A pay wage increase is not the only thing that employees are wanting. 

According to another article in Inc., employees just want to have fun! Not just party type of fun, but a good work environment, people that care about them as human beings, motivation which does include pay. As this pandemic continues to change the way we work, Ponca Works is here to help you navigate. Maybe this week – start by asking your employees what motivates them. This nugget of information will be helpful to know and also show them that you care.  

Nov 12-21 // Ponca Playhouse Presents: The Humans by Stephen Karam

Tickets will be available online November 1, 2021 at PoncaPlayhouse.com

LAST WEEKEN.

Nov 18-21 // Evans Children's Academy Presents Winnie the Pooh.

You will want to take everyone to see this family classic.

Tickets available online and at the door.

Nov 25 // Happy Thanksgiving! // City Central

City Central will be closed to the public Thanksgiving Day, Nov 25.

Have a fantastic Turkey Day.

Nov 25-26 // Happy Thanksgiving Weekend // PCDA

PCDA offices are closed both days. No tears, but no Weekly Update.

Wednesday, Dec 1 // 1 Million Cups // Pioneer Tech Center Seminar Room

Join your business community at 8:30 to hear a local business story.

Coffee is provided; networking is assured

8:00 am for networking; program begins at 8:30 am.

Friday, Dec 3 // Lighted Christmas Parade // On Grand 6 pm

Check in with your favorite downtown businesses to see

when they have open houses this weekend.

Saturday, Dec 4 // Grow with Google Saturday // Ponca City Library

Find out how Google can help you grow your business or next venture

Two Sessions: 10 am-12 and 2-4 pm

Rental Property - Available Listings

THIS WEEK…PCDA held its regularly scheduled Board of Trustee meeting on Thursday. And though we think this is the highlight of the week, dare we say month, many other things happened this week that bear mentioning. This past weekend was an absolutely amazing Veterans Day Parade with military marching bands, our local military officials (both past and present), local companies, Native American floats and performers, flyovers and the list goes on. The Ponca City Veterans Day Parade is one of the largest parades of its kind and the sidewalks were filled with families watching. Other wonderful things happening this week included meetings with education partners on workforce alignment and a copyright and trademark program.

On Wednesday, Ponca City Leadership had their Industry Day. Keep reading to find out more. Thursday was the actual Veteran's Day. Thank you for your service! In between these events staff met with 16 government entities on possible grants and programs, researched information and met with 102 existing industry partners and reached out to 50 new industries. Regional partners were met with over 50 different times and City Central had 123 Howdies and Welcome to the building. Small Business Saturday is right around the corner on November 27th, so start making those Christmas lists and get ready to shop small; shop local.

Paint by Numbers: Copyright and Trademark was presented this week by Chad Hinrichs, a patent attorney from the Tulsa area. Six people attended in person and several watched the Facebook live. If you would like to watch the video, please click here to view on the PCDA Facebook page.

Several questions were asked and answered. Artists chatted with each other and quite possibly, a few collaboration projects began this week. If you are a product developer, inventor or wanting to start a business, please give Kat a call at 580.761.3028 or email klong@goponca.com. Now is the time to figure out your next business steps.

The demand for employees continues to spike across the country; Wages are increasing - according to the DOL – with productivity decreasing. While an increase in the minimum wage has been a long time coming, this little data set provides some depth to the story. A pay wage increase is not the only thing that employees are wanting. 

According to another article in Inc., employees just want to have fun! Not just party type of fun, but a good work environment, people that care about them as human beings, motivation which does include pay. As this pandemic continues to change the way we work, Ponca Works is here to help you navigate. Maybe this week – start by asking your employees what motivates them. This nugget of information will be helpful to know and also show them that you care.  

The Ponca City Leadership class spent Wednesday with local industry. This included touring facilities as well as hearing about all the products and manufacturing capabilities of local industries. The day kicked of with an industry panel presented by owners and Facilities Managers giving an overview of their companies and their products. From left to right: Paul Gill, Bliss Industries; Garrett Bowers, Bowers Trucking & Logistics, Asish Adhikary, Continental Carbon and Mike Eckholt, Dorada Foods. That guy standing up is Laurence.

Ponca City Leadership is a great way to introduce yourself or a new employee to our great community. For more information on Industry, Call Laurence. For more information on Ponca City Leadership program, call the Chamber at 580.765.4400.

Nov 12-21 // Ponca Playhouse Presents: The Humans by Stephen Karam

Tickets will be available online November 1, 2021 at PoncaPlayhouse.com

Nov 18-21 // Evans Children's Academy Presents Winnie the Pooh.

You will want to take everyone to see this family classic.

Tickets available online and at the door.

Nov 25 // Happy Thanksgiving! // City Central

City Central will be closed to the public Thanksgiving Day, Nov 25.

Have a fantastic Turkey Day.

Wednesday, Dec 1 // 1 Million Cups // Pioneer Tech Center Seminar Room

Join your business community at 8:30 to hear a local business story.

Coffee is provided; networking is assured

8:00 am for networking; program begins at 8:30 am.

Saturday, Dec 4 // Grow with Google Saturday // Ponca City Library

Find out how Google can help you grow your business or next venture

Two Sessions: 10 am-12 and 2-4 pm

Rental Property - Available Listings

END OF THE YEAR…is signaled by the arrival of November. Some people say December, but they don't own or operate a business. This is the time of year businesses start assessing their tax burdens (or losses), manufacturers rush to complete this year's contracts and fill that pipeline with next January 2022 customer orders and the retail and service industry start the Christmas sales. This year feels a little different than last year and a whole lot different than 2019 now that we collectively enter into the ", after a Pandemic" phase.

COVID shots are available for those that want them; boosters are available if you qualify, but still available. Business and industry are in full swing and as mentioned, Christmas is happening. Supply chain issues still abound and collaboration to get jobs done is on the upswing. Pioneer Technology Center is able to see the light at the end of their construction and we all wait patiently (and not so patiently) for that open house party. The Pandemic taught industry how to work together; how to partner and collaborate. Ponca City is primed to continue this type of business building and we have some success stories to share.

Just a Reminder: Veterans Day is next week on on Thursday, November 11th and take time to attend the Veterans Day Parade this Saturday.

Paint by Numbers: Copyright and Trademark for your created products is happening next week on Wednesday, November 10th at City Central, Room 3C. This Lunch & Learn with Chad Hinrichs, Patent Attorney, will be specially geared for artists and other creatives to safeguard your work and products. Bring a friend. Lunch is provided until it runs out.

Call Kat at 580.761.3028 to sign up or send an email or message. You know who she is. And if you don't sign up and find the time that day to come, program begins at 11:30 and the presentation is an hour. Take your lunch with us on Wednesday, Nov. 10th.

Program will be recorded and uploaded on November 15th for viewing on the PCDA Facebook page.

SAFEGUARD YOU COMPUTERS.....especially at work. As you hear more companies getting ransomed and "hacked", here are some tips to pass on to your employees to keep your computer network safe.

Infection of a single device on your local network can compromise all local data.



If you receive an unexpected email stating you need to update your account password, do not click a link in the email to go reset it. Open another browser and go to that website and reset the account there. The links embedded in the email are often spoofed to have you enter your account information into the bad guys’ system..

Any email with overly aggressive wording, poor grammar or spelling errors, very tight or urgent timelines, or requesting purchase of materials that can easily be turned into cash are most likely fraudulent.

If you receive an email that seems to be from a contact you know and feels out of character, be wary of any attachments, links, or requests. Just don't click. Send a new email to that person confirming the first email or call them. Better safe than sorry.

Make sure your organization has solid backup strategies in place for all data, and is following best practice guidelines for firewall use and Antivirus software. Seriously consider implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) wherever possible to prevent unauthorized access in case of a compromised password.

MORE TIPS: Here is a good link from the Federal Trade Commission that gives details and more tips. Be Safe out there. It is pretty scary in cyberville.

Robotic welding arms. Carbon fiber 3D printers. Micrometers for measuring the smallest designs. And all the upcoming construction plans and project information in and around Kay County. This is all free information and machinery for your Ponca City business to utilize. Where you ask? The Plan Room at Pioneer Technology Business Services. This equipment and information is available, with a short sign up and tour, for Ponca City companies. This Plan and Equipment Room is a partnership with Pioneer Tech and PCDA.

PCDA Staff were introduced to Flippy the robot a few weeks ago. No, robots are not going to replace all workforce. But with the rate of hire going down, robots are going to have to help out. And they can work steadily. 24/7. These robotic workers need to be paired with human counterparts, so make sure to pay attention you high schoolers. This is not your iPhone or XBox. Need more information? Give Laurence a call at 580.761.7071 to find out all the details about robotics, programs and collaborating with other businesses in Ponca City.

Friday, Nov 5 // Main Street Fall Ladies Night // 5-9 pm

Up and down Grand. Participating businesses will be open during the evening.

Bring a friend or five! Food, drinks and fun!

Saturday, Nov 6 // Veterans Day Parade // 10:45 am on Grand

Don't miss the re-enactors, military machines and flyovers celebrating our military veterans. Thank you for your service.

Wed, Nov 10 // Copyright & Trademark for Artists // City Central

Art is big business. Learn how to protect your income with the Lunch & Learn

presentation on copyright & trademark by Patent Attorney Chad Hinrichs.

11:30 to 12:30. Lunch is provided. Call to reserve your seat. 580.765.7070

Thurs, Nov 11 // PCDA Board of Trustee Meeting // City Central

7:30 am in the Gravity Room

Friday, Nov 12 // Business Plan Pitch-off // City Central

Business plans will be pitched to a group of three judges in this

Shark-Tank format. Find out more by calling Kat at 580.761.3028.

Nov 12-21 // Ponca Playhouse Presents: The Humans by Stephen Karam

Tickets will be available online November 1, 2021 at PoncaPlayhouse.com

Nov 18-21 // Evans Children's Academy Presents Winnie the Pooh.

You will want to take everyone to see this family classic.

Tickets available online and at the door.

Nov 25 // Happy Thanksgiving! // City Central

City Central will be closed to the public Thanksgiving Day, Nov 25.

Have a fantastic Turkey Day.

Rental Property - Available Listings