Ponca City Development Authority WEEKLY UPDATE     
February 27, 2015

FUN FACT....or more to the point how facts may not really be the facts. There is a huge, huge movement these days towards "big data." So many decisions are made using analytics because data is assumed to be objective. Maybe. A great case in point as to how data can be misleading, or how the analysis of data can be misleading, came out of those fun loving folks at CNBC this week.  Their website reported on Tuesday that the Russian stock market was the best performing stock market in the world! Their rationale: it is up 27% since the first of January. Sweet! If you paid any attention to last year's Russian stock market, however, the story gains context. You may recall that last year the Russian stock market was under siege due to international sanctions and the plummeting price of oil. It dropped like a rock. It had, to be blunt, nowhere to go but up and any gains would appear very significant from a percentage standpoint. Meanwhile, the Dow, S&P and the NASDAQ have been flirting with all-time highs so the gains, from a percentage standpoint, are much smaller. This is not to bash Vlad the Happy or any of his friends. The point is to make the point that data is only as good as its context.

UPCOMING......

   

Fri, Feb 27: Ponca Politics in Commission Chambers Noon to 1:00.  

Wed, Mar 4th: Managing Effective Meetings Workshop at PTech:  1:45 to 1:45 pm.

Thur. Mar 5th: "Come and See" the Contractors Plan Room at Pioneer Tech; 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. For more information, call 580.762.8336. 

Thurs, March 12: PCDA Regular Board Meeting, 7:30 am in the Chamber Meeting Room.  Open to the public (except, uh, the part that isn't).   

THARS A NIP IN THEM THAR HILLS...Two things you need to know about the weather. The first is that it is cold outside. The second is that it is February. We'll throw in a bonus and point out how much better our weather is today than most of the rest of the country, including a lot of other places in Oklahoma. Sure, it's warmer in a couple of places in the southeast and southwest but that comes with a price tag both in terms of dollars and social costs. For those smart enough to be enjoying weather in Ponca City that 75% of the rest of the country would envy, economic activity in Ponca City has been keeping things warm. PCDA is spending today, among other things, looking for a building for a company that needs more space (see story below). In highly technical economic development speak, we call that an "expansion." Four other expansion projects continued this week in various stages. The non-oil and natural gas economy in Ponca City is booming; now if the price of oil would kindly oblige, all would be well. Yesterday, PCDA was in Tulsa making a presentation about how cool Ponca City is, (people wise, not meteorologically wise). On Tuesday, we met with a business from an area getting hit with tough weather today about a Ponca City location. This was not really related to weather but we'll spin anything to our advantage. Word went out to several companies and site consultants this week about great opportunities in Ponca City, a couple of whom have responded, but these are distant scout forays and only time will tell if there is real interest.

ISN'T THAT SPECIAL???....the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) just released a major study on workforce and economic development. Their conclusion? "Workforce Development is the next wave of economic development." This report urged economic development organizations to jump into workforce development with both feet. They had case studies about areas doing amazing things in workforce development. Several were linking companies with employment offices (you mean like PoncaWorks?). Others were being proactive and having teacher road trips to industry to see the jobs available in their community (you mean like Pioneer Tech did last summer?). One community was lauded for visiting schools and helping kids see the kind of skills they would need to succeed (you mean like PCDA, the school district and Pioneer Tech did with the Mets truck at Po High last week?). There was one, get this, that actually interacted between potential job seekers and companies. Don't get too excited. That program was still at a mucky-muck level of "advising" not the kind of point of sale, actual placement stuff that PoncaWorks does. Okay, PCDA's arm is getting sore patting Ponca City on the back. The point is that Ponca City is not only way ahead of this curve, we're so far ahead of the curve that the mainstream can't even see us to report on what we're doing. Please forgive us. Ponca City schools, Pioneer Tech, PCDA, the City of Ponca City, the Chamber, etc. are obviously spending way too much time on actually implementing things, rather than joining committees to talk about things. Don't see that changing, however.

BUILDINGS PLEASE....for our Ponca City inventory.  PCDA has had a recent influx of people coming through the door looking for buildings and/or office space to rent.  If you have visited GoPonca.com to check out our building inventory, you will have noticed the shortness of our list.  How many people have asked about buildings or office space?  This week alone, we have had three different companies/business owners inquire about stand alone buildings for industrial uses or larger office space as their current office is getting to small for the business. What are we to do but ask for your help to increase our building stock.  Send us information on your building or office space.  If it fits our criteria, heck we will send someone out to get a picture and get that puppy listed on GoPonca.com ASAP.   Send information to [email protected].  Just the basic stuff like address, square feet, lease availability and overhead doors/space info.  Staff is mostly dealing with leasing requests so if you are wanting to sell a building, think about a one year lease while it is for sale.  Please. As always, give us a call at the office anytime for more information or to give us your building information.  580-765-7070 and talk to you soon. 

             
      WE'RE TALKING JOBS...
 

 

This has been a fun week for PoncaWorks, starting with Sarah presenting to the Blackwell Alternate Education students at Blackwell High School.  The group learned about job applications, resumes and interview appearance and preparation.  It was a fun group, with prizes for some of the job application and mock interview winners.  We hope after this conversation, all those students will know some of the tricks of the trade when it comes to applying for jobs.

 

We also have lots of sales positions currently with PoncaWorks.  So if you or anyone you know has the gift of gab, and ability to ask someone to buy a product, send them our way! Or if you have any Girl Scouts who are looking to get out of third grade and into the job market, they've already got it down with all those cookie sales! Check out www.poncaworks.com for those and other positions needed in our community!

 

 

                            Ponca City has jobs.  Now we just need you.   

 

PCDA Staff were in Tulsa this week......

 
Elsewhere In Ponca City.....


Other PCDAers (far left holding microphone) were in Tulsa presenting to the Sustainable Tulsa Business-2-Business group about the wonders of Lighten the Load.
PCDA Staff presented Ponca City industry information to the Ponca Young Employees (PYE) Lunch & Learn this week.  And everyone was enthralled with said staff's information.