The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber News

Career Fair powered by The Oklahoman and JobsOK.com

khill@opubco.com (Kelli Hill) — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:00:00 -0500

Need a new career?

Come to the largest career event in Oklahoma.

May 13th

10am - 3pm

Oklahoma State Fairgrounds

Expo Hall Building #3

Powered by The Oklahoman and JobsOk.com

Party for Paws

lellis@exchangeokc.com (Lindsay Ellis) — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:00:00 -0500

Party for Paws

lellis@exchangeokc.com (Lindsay Ellis) — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Friends of the Oklahoma City Animal Welfare Division are throwing a fundraiser held at The Exchange. 700.5 West Sheridan Avenue in the Film Exchange District in downtown OKC on Saturday May 11, 2013.

$25 entry goes to benefit the Free Spay & Neuter Clinic & Healing Hearts Fund for adoptable, heartworm positive animals. Both of these are critically in need of support!

The event will feature music, dancing, auction items & food. Come for a fun night in downtown and support your local shelter!

For more information and to register, please visit http://ow.ly/kPY8m

For questions, please contact LEllis@exchangeokc.com

We hope to see you there.

Oklahoma Senate Approves Significant Overhaul to Workers' Compensation

kmcdaniel@okcchamber.com (Kaylee McDaniel) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

OKLAHOMA CITY, April 30, 2013 ? The Oklahoma Senate passed SB 1062, landmark workers? compensation reform legislation, by a vote of 35-12 today. The bill, which was approved by the House last week by a vote of 74-24, will change Oklahoma?s current adversarial system to an administrative system, a revision that is expected to produce approximately $250 million in annual savings for Oklahoma companies.

?Under the current system, Oklahoma had the sixth most expensive system in the nation and was recently given a ?D? ranking for health outcomes,? Chamber President and CEO Roy H. Williams said. ?Both Oklahoma companies and employees deserve a better system, which is why this vote is such a significant victory for the entire state.?

The bill is modeled after a similar system in Arkansas, which boasts one of the lowest costs for workers? comp insurance premiums and claim costs in the nation. The landmark legislation also provides Oklahoma companies an option to opt-out of the state system and provide benefits through an internal company plan.

?Year after year, Oklahoma City businesses have told us that worker?s compensation reform was their No. 1 issue,? Williams said. ?It has also been a major deterrent to companies looking to relocate in our region. This bill will finally produce the significant cost reductions for Oklahoma businesses, and it allows Oklahoma to compete with surrounding states for new jobs.?

SB 1062 will now be sent to Gov. Fallin, who is expected to sign the legislation into law.

Media: For more information, contact Kaylee McDaniel at kmcdaniel@okcchamber.com or 297-8971.

Address to the Business Community

jhughey@diabetes.org (Jerermy Hughey) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

Is your company prepared for the hidden cost and new regulations of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act? Join the American Diabetes Association on May 9, 2013 for a free breakfast to learn more about this important topic. Location - Petroleum Club Date - May 9, 2013 Time - 7:30-9:00 am

The American Diabetes Association presents An Address to the Business Community Prepare Your Company With The Changes That Are Needed To Address The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act ? The Real Cost of PPACA ? Cost Containment Strategies ? Disease Management ? Health Care Reform Through the Eyes of Networks and Providers - Optimizing Your Relationship ? Wellness Programs Including Incentives and Requirements ? Employee Engagement ? Consumerism and Account-Based Plan Design Speakers Robyn Piper Founder and Principal, Piper Jordan Michael Wilson Founder, Healthcare Highways The Petroleum Club: May 9, 2013 ? 7:30-9:00 am 100 N Broadway Ave, Oklahoma City, OK 73102 Breakfast will be provided. Go to www.diabetes.org/oklahomacity or call 405-840-3881 ext 6045 to register for this important event!

Camp Gruber hosts Air Assault Course

editor@oklahomafrontline.com (Oklahoma National Guard) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

CAMP GRUBER, Okla. ? Soldiers and Airmen rappel from UH-60 ?BlackHawk? helicopters as a final test following two grueling weeks of air assault training at Camp Gruber. The Oklahoma National Guard hosts aviators and trainers from around the country every few years to conduct the air assault training program.

Despite the freezing temperatures, heavy rains and thunderstorms, the servicemembers have undergone extensive training such as combat marches while carrying all necessary combat equipment, learning how to rig and inspect sling loads, make Swiss seats for rappelling and proper repelling techniques.

Before the 203 students were admitted into the air assault school, they had to survive ?zero day,? an intense physical test designed to separate those who were able to endure the rigid training requirements. Approximately 25 percent of attendees for the air assault school dropped out after either the pre-qualification obstacle course or two-mile run.

?It?s the challenge; I wanted to see how far I could push myself,? said Cadet Kelsea Schultz, an Oklahoma State University ROTC candidate of Stillwater, Okla., and member of 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Schultz moved through nine obstacles, including rope climbs, belly crawls, high climbing obstacles and more physically intense wooden structures. She said the obstacles weren?t the toughest; it was moving between obstacles that required the most energy. When candidates moved to the next obstacle, often 50 yards away, they lunged, walked on all fours or performed another type of intense workout routine.

The last part of ?zero day? is a full inspection of the servicemember?s equipment, making sure all necessary items were brought by each student and in good serviceable condition for the tough training days that lay ahead.

Acceptance into the air assault school isn?t a guarantee to the students who show up for the school; it?s earned by demonstrating commitment and the fortitude to complete the difficult challenges of ?zero day.? The students are only given two attempts to complete each of the nine obstacles. Failing to finish two or more obstacles, or failing the initial obstacle, ?The Tough One?, means that the Servicemember is removed from the course but is allowed to try again in another course at a later date.

??Zero day? is the toughest day I?ve seen in any of the schools I?ve gone to,? said Sgt. Bryce Behrens, of Altus, Okla., and a member of the 171st Target Acquisition Battery, 45th Fires Brigade.

?A lot of people have trouble with ?The Tough One?, the first rope climb obstacle,? Behrens added. ?For me, it was the rope swing that was toughest; I had to do that one twice.?

The course is broken into three phases, each presenting its own challenges while pushing the students to physical exhaustion. Phase one of the course is combat assault, familiarizing students with aircraft safety and orientation, hand and arm signals and combat assault operations with various attack helicopters.

?Air assault course covers all the different aircraft the Army uses, like close combat attack helicopters, as well as some aircraft from sister services,? said Sgt. 1st Class Wesley Colinger, a member of the Kentucky Army National Guard and assistant air assault instructor for this class.

Surviving ?zero day? and completing the first phase of air assault is still not a guarantee each student can expect to graduate and wear the coveted air assault badge on their uniform. In phase two, students are expected to master sling load operations in which items such as vehicles, supplies and fuel are suspended under either a UH-60 ?BlackHawk? or CH-47 ?Chinook? helicopter for quick transportation.

Sling load operations are vitally important in today?s combat missions, and the students are expected to thoroughly understand the process from beginning to end. Air assault school teaches each servicemember the planning phase of sling load operations, proper rigging procedures, and how to inspect equipment and items being sling loaded.

The students must pass an in-depth written test and stringent hands-on assessment covering everything learned on sling load operations in order to move to phase three of the course. Typically, another 20 percent of students are dropped from the course during this phase because of the high-level of difficulty.

Phase three focuses on rappelling, where the students learn how to make a Swiss seat rappelling harness and belay procedures. During this phase, servicemembers complete several tower rappels from different heights and some while wearing all their combat gear.

?There are three days of rappelling,? said Colinger. ?The first day is on the ground with a small slant wall. The second day allows students to rappel from a tower and the third day is rappelling from a helicopter.?

A cold front passed through the area the night before the students conducted the helicopter rappel. Cold and exhausted from two weeks of rigorous training, the students loaded into helicopters in groups of four to rappel from nearly 100 feet above ground.

Schultz said freezing temperatures made simple tasks such as getting snapped in more difficult, but the adrenaline rush helped her get through each challenge.

Students can still be dropped from the course even during this final phase if they demonstrate a ?fatal hook-up? when loading into the helicopter. The students are expected to correctly prepare riggings and hook into the helicopter. If an instructor spots a student with an incorrect rigging, the student can be removed from the course.

With the repelling phase behind them, the students of the air assault course must complete just one more draining task before they could graduate and wear the honored air assault badge on their Army uniform. The servicemembers are required to complete a grueling 12-mile road march in three hours or less on the morning of graduation.

?I think the toughest part for me is going to be the 12-mile road march tomorrow,? Schultz said. ?I think it?s going to be rough, but I?m going to get through.?

Considered to be one of the military?s elite specialty schools, every student is expected to be proficient in all areas of the course to earn an air assault badge. The instructors push every Servicemember to their physical and mental breaking point during the course, ensuring every graduate has truly earned the air assault badge they sought out to achieve.

Brain gain or brain drain?

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The Journal Record

Don?t say the words ?brain drain? when you talk to Drew Dugan. ?It simply doesn?t apply anymore,? said Dugan, vice president of education and workforce development for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. While Oklahoma?s higher education graduates used to flee the state in droves, today it?s almost completely the opposite, he said.

?When you look at our numbers compared with how it was five to 10 years ago, the number of folks staying here after graduation is way up,? he said.

Until a decade or so ago, most Oklahomans either left the state to go to college or left within one to five years after graduating. Those with an advanced degree, in particular, usually moved elsewhere due to a lack of jobs at home.

Today, with an unemployment rate among the lowest in the nation ? 5.1 percent for December 2012 ? Oklahoma is attractive to higher education graduates, who face a national unemployment rate of 7.8 percent. In addition, Oklahoma?s business-friendly policies have helped create long-term employment opportunities in fields like aerospace, biosciences, defense, engineering, finance, health care, manufacturing, oil and gas and sales, among others. Add that to a low cost of living and an increasingly high quality of life, and you have a magic combination that?s keeping our best and brightest within state borders, Dugan said.

According to the Regents? 2012 Employment Outcomes Report, an average of 87 percent of Oklahoma?s higher education graduates are living and working in the state for at least a year after graduation, with slight variations depending on the type of degree, said Ben Hardcastle, director of communications for the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. Five years after graduation, that rate remains high, at about 70 percent. (See accompanying charts for percentages by degree level.)

?Students want to stay in Oklahoma as they grow their career, and if you look at the recent data, especially the past three years, I think it?s pretty impressive,? he said.

Driving the state?s improved statistics are initiatives like the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber?s six-year-old Greater Grads program, aimed at encouraging college and university graduates to stay in Oklahoma.

A key element of the Greater Grads approach is extensive involvement with career fairs as a way to reach out to students around the state, especially in the metro area. Dugan said the chamber partners with Oklahoma employers to attend and/or conduct 15 to 20 fairs each year, with an average of 1,000 student attendees and more than 100 employers at each event.

The boots-on-the-ground, face-to-face approach is invaluable, Dugan said.

?The whole career fair thing is very important. A lot of impressive students have made their decisions to stay or go based on what they see there,? he said. ?The number of companies participating as opposed to six years ago is really dramatic. Companies know that if they want the best and brightest, they have to get them early.?

The second element in the Greater Grads program is internships. ?National statistics show that if a college student has an internship, he or she is more likely to stay,? Dugan said.

Students who obtain internships develop their skills, find mentors, earn college credit and make valuable professional and personal contacts. If their internship is successful, they are frequently hired by that same company.

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber staff does more than connect students and employers ? they teach employers how to create and manage intern programs and at the same time reach out to educational facilities to boost student interest. The chamber, along with volunteers, also conduct weeklong classes in which student interns learn vital skills like business etiquette, the basics of networking, how to dress for a professional job, how to handle a job interview and how to put together an effective resume.

?They also network with other interns, and the beauty of it is that they get to know other students their same age who are going into other industries,? Dugan said. ?These events will hopefully produce our future leaders and allow them to begin building their own professional network. That makes them even more likely to stay. It?s very important to them that they are part of a community and that they can make a difference.?

Not content with reversing brain drain, state leaders are now focusing on ?brain gain? ? persuading other states? graduates to come to Oklahoma, he said. They have had particular success with students from Texas, he said. For this reason, last fall the chamber participated in its first out-of-state career fair at the University of North Texas in Denton.

?We got an overwhelming response; many of them want to come here for internships,? he said. ?So we determined it?s time to take our message on what?s happening in Oklahoma City on the road.?

This fall, Dugan said Greater Grads representatives plan to take part in student career fairs in Arkansas, Kansas and Texas.

The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber remains one of only a few groups in the country that take this proactive approach to graduate retention, he said. Its Greater Grads program is modeled after a similar one in Philadelphia, which has roughly 120,000 collegiate-level students ? the same as the Oklahoma City metro area.

?Normally people are quite surprised to learn how many of our graduates stay here,? Hardcastle said. ?We don?t have data from 20 years ago, but these numbers are impressive, and I think this speaks a lot about the state. We?re headed in the right direction.?

Denise Reid, director of talent strategies and recruitment for the Tulsa Regional Chamber, concurs with Hardcastle.

?I think there is a misconception about how well we?re doing. We are definitely making some strides. We (Oklahoma) retain a large percentage of our graduates. We have positive in-migration versus out-migration ? that?s changed over the past three to four years,? Reid said.

The Tulsa Regional Chamber?s approach to retaining higher education graduates is to provide an incubator for students who complete internships so that they will connect to the Tulsa area and remain there after graduation, she said.

The Tulsa Regional Chamber partners with the area?s major employers, including Bank of Oklahoma, Williams and Magellan, to create internships for college students.

?It?s how we?re weaving the opportunity and engagement through our community to get them to become part of our culture,? Reid said.

2013 GloRun

summer@trcok.com (Summer Kaulaity) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 14:30:00 -0500

TRC presents its 2nd Annual night time, black light race! August 24th Location is at Mitch Park 1501 W Covell Rd Edmond, OK 73003
Events beginning at 6:00! So bring out your friends and family for a great evening! For more info, visit www.glorunokc.com

This will be the GloRun 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run?s 2nd year. The run will be unlike any other in the metro area. The course will be lined with multiple tunnels filled with artwork and black lights, so make sure to show up in your brightest colors! There will also be a painting booth available to all before the run so that participants will be able to add an additional personalized touch to themselves... to help light the night. Proceeds from the race will benefit The Referral Center. The Referral Center for Alcohol and Drug Services of Central Oklahoma, Inc. is the only private, not-for-profit program in central Oklahoma available 24-hours a day, seven days a week serving chemically and alcohol dependent persons. The center offers medically supervised detoxification and case management without regard for a person?s ability to pay.

?Our continuing mission is to provide exceptional patient-centered chemical dependency services to persons seeking drug-free lives in the state of Oklahoma. The TRC treatment approach is designed to help an individual take the first vital steps away from drug and alcohol dependency. Our team of experienced doctors, nurses, counselors and case managers helps individuals begin their recovery in a loving, caring atmosphere and our treatment program is based on the twelve steps.? stated Don Burk.

The Referral Center, certified and funded by the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, adjusts its fees based on each client?s ability to pay and their health insurance coverage. . We are also a member of the USATF and this is a sanctioned event! To register, visit https://earlysignup.com/glorun . Hope to you see you there!

Camp Gruber hosts Air Assault Course

editor@oklahomafrontline.com (Oklahoma National Guard) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

By Sgt. 1st Class Darren D. Heusel, Joint Force Headquarters Public Affairs

BRAGGS, Okla. ? More than 900 uniformed service members and emergency personnel from six different states converged on the Camp Gruber Military Training Site April 15-19 to participate in an exercise called Vigilant Guard. The training is based on a hypothetical catastrophic earthquake scenario along the New Madrid fault line.

The exercise, an effort to practice support to civil authorities in a crisis situation, was hosted by the Arkansas National Guard and included participants from five other states including Louisiana, Kentucky, Indiana, Texas and Oklahoma, as well as observers from Guatemala and Chile.

?Vigilant Guard is a National Guard exercise that allows states to train for the event of a natural or manmade disaster,? said Brig. Gen. Patricia Anslow, commander of the Arkansas Joint Forces Headquarters and Joint Task Force commander in the scenario.

Camp Gruber served as one of three primary locations for the exercise, with Camp Robinson located just outside of Little Rock and Fort Chaffee in northwest Arkansas serving as the other two primary locations.

?Camp Gruber is an extraordinary training site,? Anslow said. ?There is rubble and an entire village to aid in the simulation. We were able to go through all the search and extraction, which is difficult to simulate without this type of environment. This is an incredible facility for this type of training.?

Maj. Gen. James Joseph, National Guard advisor to the commander of North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) Command and United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM), served as a mentor to Anslow during the exercise and echoed her thoughts on Camp Gruber adding realism to the scenario.

?You have confined spaces and rubble piles and it is central to the six states participating in the exercise,? Joseph said. ?I applaud the Adjutant General of Arkansas for his vision, bringing an exercise like this to the state of Oklahoma and working a potential real-life mission that affects Arkansas and five other states.?

In the scenario, the New Madrid earthquake occurred at 11:09 a.m. on April 13, with the epicenter being located in northeast Arkansas near Marked Tree.

The New Madrid fault line runs along the eastern border of Arkansas, from Louisiana north through Arkansas and Missouri and as far north as Illinois. The zone experienced a major earthquake in the late 1800s, resulting in significant widespread damage.

For exercise purposes, the primary affected area was replicated at Camp Gruber, with the majority of exercise participants conducting training here. The remainder of participants conducted training at Camp Robinson, Fort Chaffee and various other locations around Arkansas.

As part of the Vigilant Guard scenario, the earthquake resulted in possible levee failures and consequential flooding along with widespread fires, overwhelming and degrading local firefighting capabilities.

The earthquake scenario also resulted in damage to transportation and energy infrastructure and a large number of casualties, stressing local medical service providers. There were also a number of hazardous materials spills and significant damage to structures throughout Arkansas as part of the exercise.

Col. Lee Schnell, commander of Joint Task Force 71 (Maneuver Enhancement Brigade) and custodian of the Texas Homeland Response Force, said the exercise provided participants a great opportunity to work together in a disaster-type scenario.

And while Vigilant Guard focused on exercising the participant?s response to a catastrophic earthquake, Schnell said the experience gained from working together with all the various agencies could very well be applied to any type of disaster.

?The scenario we?ve been training for could literally be anything,? Schnell said. ?It could be anything from an explosion at the Port of Houston, where you have lots of chemicals and things, to a hurricane in Louisiana, literally all sorts of things.?

Schnell, whose Homeland Response Force has the responsibility for providing assistance to all of FEMA?s Region 6, said training at Camp Gruber really gives his organization an opportunity to ?stretch our legs.?

?We have a mission to be able to alert, assemble and deploy anywhere within our region,? he said. ?But, we haven?t gone this far north before. As a matter of fact, we haven?t taken the Homeland Response Force outside the state of Texas before now.?

Schnell said Camp Gruber offers some great venues, especially for his Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Enhanced Response Force Packages (CERFPs).

?It offers some collapsed structures and it offers participants the ability to spread out a little bit and presents them with some different challenges,? Schnell said.

Oklahoma City receives 4 wellness center proposals

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:00 -0500

The Journal Record

OKLAHOMA CITY ? An operating partner for the first of Oklahoma City?s wellness centers under the MAPS 3 tax issue could be decided within the next two months, city officials said.

The four proposals received this month by City Hall were submitted by Valir Health, North Care Mental Health, Oklahoma City-County Health Department and Putnam City Baptist Church. Details of those plans were not immediately available Monday.

The voter-approved penny sales tax, which will be collected from early 2010 through 2017, is projected to total about $777 million for several public works projects, including $52.4 million earmarked for four senior citizen wellness and aquatic centers.

Several organizations expressed interest in operating one of the centers in early 2012, after initial project requirements for the centers were established. But only the local YMCA organization and health department actually filed formal bids. City Council members and the oversight committee agreed to refine requirements and accept another round of proposals, which were due a few weeks ago.

Officials familiar with the process said developers initially were frustrated by the specificity of the project requirements, which included swimming pools and classrooms at each of the full-scale activity centers and left little room for anything else. The MAPS 3 issue that city residents originally supported was vague in its description of what a senior wellness and aquatic center would accomplish other than a general goal of improving health for the community?s aging population. Interested parties said they would need the target market clarified and some sort of subsidy would probably be needed to help operate the building.

?The centers will be outcome-focused venues that promote healthy lifestyles, enhance well-being and support social engagement,? according to the latest revised project overview. ?The operating partner will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the Senior Wellness Center ? (and) assist in the planning and programming of the center.?

The overview suggests several examples of programs and services, such as gymnasiums, walking tracks, warm water therapy, swimming pools, arts programs, social services and chronic disease management support. Retail components such as cafes and gift shops also are possible.

?We?ve had an architect on board for more than a year waiting for a partner agreement,? MAPS 3 Program Manager David Todd said, referring to the Glover Smith Bode agency. ?We haven?t even been able to choose sites yet. Part of the latest proposals will tell us where they want to go, so that we?ll know if we need to remodel an existing building or design something new.?

Todd said the oversight committee will schedule interviews soon to determine the best operating partner.