January 28, 2022

1/28/2022

ECONOMIC GARDENING...

is a phrase PCDA staff use all the time when talking about “growing our own”. This includes workforce, entrepreneurs, products and resources. It is part of the “shift” mentality needed to stay relevant in this time of change at the end (we hope) of this pandemic. How does economic gardening work? you might ask. Well, here is an overview from our the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Our mothership in economic development if you will. The emphasis is in Stage II companies: those with 10 to 100 employees and over one million in sales.

You might recognize your company or a friends business in the description. It takes a village, and economic gardening has a lot of moving parts. PCDA is happy to be a catalyst and driver in our community. Now, about growing our next workforce....

CENTER OF EXCELLENCE

Yes, we are thank you very much. Ponca City is part of a regional group certified a Center for Workforce Excellence by the state of Oklahoma, lead by our very own Pioneer Technology Center. We are in good company as you can see by this map with eight other Centers in Oklahoma. This is to focus on growing our own workforce as well as retaining existing workers with pay, benefits and quality of life. Find out more about Centers of Excellence and other Oklahoma workforce initiatives. The more you know......

10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Dorada Foods has been in the Ponca City community for a little over 10 years now. And growing their workforce has been a main focus. Starting with 350 jobs and a projected economic impact of over $217 million for 10 years, this McDonalds contracted facility has grown their product lines every few years to now employ over 700. That’s a lot of nuggets and other products heading to stores outside the Ponca City, heck even the Oklahoma area. Read more about the original announcement here. Congratulations Dorada Foods and all their employees for a successful ten years. Here's to twenty more.

WIND UP FOR THE PITCH

The PCDA Spring Pitch off is just around the corner for those with a great business idea or an existing business ready to get to the next level (remember Stage II from earlier). Maybe you are an inventor or product developer ready to launch the next big thing. We want YOU to write that business plan and pitch your idea to our group of judges on Friday, March 11^th. Call Kat at 580.761.3028 or Ben Evans at 580.718.4262 to get started on your business plan writing. You will have access to a great online resource called LivePlan to help you write and refine your plan. What are you waiting for? Your future is just a PITCH away! Find out more information here.

FINDING THE NEW

NEW OPPORTUNITIES

Has your business explored working with the largest contractors in the United States? We are of course talking about the guvment. As your business seeks new contracts or clients, turn your search to government contracting at the city, county, Tribal, state and federal levels. How? Well, Kay County just happens to have a very helpful Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) representative. Just Ask Dawn! Dawn Brakey is part of the Business Services Team at Pioneer Tech. Stay tuned for upcoming Lunch & Learns to get your business into the government contracting game. Give her a call at (580) 718-4261 or dawnb@pioneertech.edu.