February 24, 2023

3/9/2023

HAPPY TRAILS…if you are at all familiar with our dear friend Rich Cantillon of the Ponca City Chamber of Commerce, you know two things. The first thing is that he is retiring today and the second is that the Chamber only does one fund raiser every two years (and they are the only one that does this!). We’ll leave the latter for others and turn our attention to the former. Rich is retiring today from chamber life to be a professional traveler, leading tours of folks going to interesting places (including back to Ponca City). To say that PCDA wishes Rich well would be a significant understatement, but we will nevertheless use that term and hope that you understand we mean so much more.

Rich has been a superb cheerleader for Ponca City, for the local economy, and for PCDA for which we are very grateful. Through recessions, good times, challenges and opportunities, Rich has been a great partner during live fire SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) drills played out in real time where it mattered most. Many people have used many words to describe Rich over the years. That is largely because if he is in a room…you know it. He wears his passions on his sleeve and we are thankful that Ponca City has been a major passion of his for these past 19 years. Rich has been the energizer bunny, fueled by a deep well of optimism, strong faith and, yes, a little Sooner Magic. He will be dearly missed. His short term and long-term successors are clearly up to the challenge of replacing him and we expect great things going forward. To borrow a Rich-ism, PCDA “is excited” to start working with them. Let’s face it, however, there is only one Rich, and to him PCDA says “thank you, job well done and happy tails.”

NEXT WEEK.....is a large contract manufacturing show for the central United States region in Texas. Ponca City's own manufacturers will be attending the Design 2 Part Trade Show (otherwise known as the Trade Show Brigade) and are getting their marketing materials ready. One company who has just recently joined the Ponca City manufacturing landscape is Century Products.

Century manufactures agriculture products including cattle feeders and hay bale holders. Since moving to Ponca City in 2021, Century has added new equipment and entered the rotational molding arena, adding more capacity to this fast growing food and ag business. Working with other manufacturers in the area, Century's capabilities with metal and rotational molding are adding value to products without costly shipping and time consuming delays. Welcome to the Trade Show Brigade Century Products.

POSSIBLE FUNDING.......The State of Oklahoma will fund another round of grants this year through the “Oklahoma Innovation and Expansion Program,” (OIEP). The application period for the program, which has budgeted $15 million that will go to qualifying companies throughout the state, opens on April 3^rd and closes on April 14^th.

In order to help prepare Ponca City companies that might be interested in the program, PCDA, Pioneer Technology Center and the Oklahoma Development Finance Authority (ODFA) will sponsor an informational lunch on Friday, March 10 at 11:30 a.m., Room B-131 at Pioneer Technology Center.

Jeremy Stoner from the ODFA will be on hand to make a brief presentation about the opportunity and to answer questions. The goal is to help any business that is interested to decide if they should apply for the program and, if so, to help them prepare for the short application process.

During the 2022 application period, Commerce received 163 submissions for project funding. Of those applications, 125 projects received awards ranging from $25,000 to $150,000 with the total awards funding reaching $9.241 million. The funding will facilitate $58.065 million in projects. These companies plan to create 767 jobs with a total payroll of $35.4 million.

This lunch meeting is free and you may certainly bring an associate or someone in your place, but an RSVP is required. Please email or call David Myers at [email protected] or 580.765.7070 and let us know if you can attend.

For more information on the Oklahoma Innovation and Expansion Program, visit OKCommerce.gov/OIEP.

BLUE SKIES..... continues to frame our favorite project in the Airport Industrial Park. Though the weather was a little schizophrenic this week, the cold weather brought clear blue skies and "skin" being added to the "bones" at Duke. Insulation is next. If you want a walkthrough of Duke, check out this handy little marketing video put together by a local marketing company. Duke Virtual Tour

Tuesday, February 28 - Pioneer Technology Center

YOU STILL HAVE TIME.... to build your work team by acknowledging diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. This unconscious bias training will give your management team an added layer of success when training employees and volunteers. These strategies will make recruits to your organization feel supported and sustained in their efforts.

You still have time to sign up for this workshop with presenter Linda Jenkins. Register now at Pioneer Tech by clicking this link.

WORK YOUR PITCH.....at the Spring 2023 Business Plan Pitch Off. Is your business ready to grow here in Ponca City? Maybe you need more manufacturing space or your business is ready to be the next big thing. PCDA want's you in Ponca City. First: write and refine your business plan. Second: send business plan to [email protected] on or before March 22 at 5 pm. Third: Call Kat and start working your pitch for judges on April 3rd. Fourth: Win $5000 for your business.

All the information on the PItch-off can be found h ere. Call Katherine at 580.761.3028 or email if you have more quesitons. Business must be located in or plan to relocate to Ponca City to receive incentives.

FOX ALERT!..... coming to a street or location near you: fox statues. You may have seen them around town or even at their holding location at City Central when you and the family were checking out the Seed Reef. These larger than life statues are sponsored by individuals and businesses all over Ponca City to delight locals and visitors both. PC Arts is the driving organization behind this foxy project and City Central is glad to be these foxes holding location before their final installations.

E.W. Marland brought the sports of polo and fox hunting to Ponca City (don't get upset; it was the thing to do in the 1920s) and the descendants of the "fox that got away" can be seen all over our lovely community. Stay tuned for an updated "fox hunt" and keep on the lookout as new foxes are added to the PC scenery each week.