June 17, 2022

6/17/2022

GET YOUR CAMP ON....... While PCDA staff continue to get work done on several building projects, City Central is getting ready to host some great events: camping, birthdays, dancing in the Courtyard, DXDT and so many others. But lets talk about those campers. There are the Pioneer Tech Career Camps for 8th to 10th graders in Firefighting, Mechtronics and Salon Academy that are happening the next few weeks. Find out more here. Though art camp for the first to sixth grade is full, there is always theDoodle Academy, Arts Adventure at NOC in Tonkawa, activities at the RecPlex, all the 27 parks, five splash pads and the AMBUCs area by the swim beach for the kiddos to participate. Why are PCDA staff so into all these summer activities? These activities keep our youths engaged and remembering their childhood fondly. These activities bring them (the yuths) back as adults (read workforce). Some of these camps, Pioneer Technology and Girl Power STEM camp, show our future workforce what jobs are available and what necessary skill sets are needed to perform them.

Workforce recruitment and retention has been in the spotlight for many years, but since the pandemic, it is at a critical point. Engaging family, friends, visitors and the next generation of workforce is vital to keeping the Ponca City economy moving and grooving. So, let's get camping.

Small Business & Information Coordinator

Kat Long

Kat is the idea lady. She can help you find a gap for a needed start up in the community; think about your current business plan a little differently; assist with writing that business plan and connect you with people to help your inventions and ideas come to life. Her brain is rarely quiet and Kat loves solving your small business issues. If you are looking for information, she can connect you with people who know things.

In the words of Jerry McGuire - LET ME HELP YOU.

IN SEARCH OF.....workforce. Pioneer Tech, K&C Manufacturing and PCDA staff heading to Pittsburg, Kansas to check out the Pittsburg State University's Plastics Engineering Technology program. You may not know this, but there are two companies who work with plastic molding here in Ponca City. To expand their facilities, workforce is at the top of the wish list.

To that end, Ryan Burkett, Trysen Willits, Janet Schwabe, Kirk Brown (and our own Laurence Beliel behind the camera) headed up to the other Pittsburg to start building a pipeline of future employees.

A WORKFORCE THEME....Ponca Works hosted a remote work luncheon in 2019 with a panel of white collar employees who worked remotely for companies that were headquartered in other states or countries. At the time, people liked the idea of working from home, but it wasn’t as wide spread and so the questions of home bound feelings, workplace comraderies, and how to track performance left many with uncertainty. Fast forward less than one year and the entire world learned how to work from home. While it was more conducive to some industries and positions more than others, remote work is here to stay. Tulsa, Oklahoma was the first to the stage of recruiting those ‘work from homers’ to their communities with incentives, but were soon followed by other cities and states. Now there are full websites that remote workers can browse areas to pick their new place to work from home in. Ponca City started a campaign to recruit these types of workers last month, and Ponca Works has already had over 20 people apply for the program. The incentives we are offering are memberships to organizations, to help new community members get connected and stay here long term. Growing the white collar work force in this way is a new and progressive idea, but with workforce in demand the way it is, can you blame us for trying all the things. If you see new faces around town, tell them “hi” and welcome them to Ponca City. That’s what we are good at, after all, being kind and inclusive.

WALKABILITY..... happened this week at City Central as 100 people gathered to learn what communities like Ponca City have done to make their community more inviting and well, walkable. It was a full day of speakers from Enid, Oklahoma City and other communities on projects that have increased visitor numbers. Which many times increases population numbers, because we know to be in Ponca City is to love Ponca City. Food trucks brought people outside for more strolling time and the afternoon breakout exercise led to more walking to check out downtown locations such as City Hall, Veterans Plaza and the Library to name a few. Great comments and usable feedback on our Ponca City walkability and placemaking efforts.