MISSION
The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber is the voice of Business and the visionary organization in Oklahoma City.

GOALS
> To create a business climate that attracts new businesses and enhances growth and expansion opportunities for existing businesses.
> To create a community with an irresistible quality of life.
> To create value-added membership opportunities and benefits.

With the welcoming of the Thunder, 2008 will be remembered as the year the NBA found a permanent home in Oklahoma City. But this Big League City saw even more accomplishments as the Chamber worked to attract new and expanding companies, enhance the region's business climate, and make Oklahoma City a better place to live, work, play and visit.

Highlights from 2008 include:

GROWING THE ECONOMY
>Passed a $55 million county bond with 53 percent voter approval. Proposition 1 included acquiring the shuttered GM manufacturing plant and leasing it to Tinker Air Force Base, saving taxpayers money by providing a facility to take the place of 69 substandard facilities in need of maintenance and renovation, and providing space for new job creation.
>Attracted more than 8,000 new jobs through expansions and attraction of new companies.
>Led more than 90 Oklahoma delegates to Bio 2008 in San Diego, making more than 2,500 national and international contacts.
>Announced a new regional AAA office to be built in Oklahoma City, creating 825 new jobs.
>Completed a study of the Presbyterian Health Foundation (PHF), finding that the organization has an annual direct economic impact of $93.8 million in the Greater Oklahoma City region; and added a new 150,000 square-foot building to the complex.
>Passed an extension of a one-cent sales tax with 62 percent of the vote to fund $121.6 million for renovations of the Ford Center as well as the construction of an NBA practice facility.

LOBBYING FOR BUSINESSES
>Supported much needed changes to the Oklahoma Quality Jobs Program to allow for incentives to help bring an NBA basketball team to Oklahoma City.
>Joined as a co-plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, successfully challenging the constitutionality of HB 1804 which imposes unreasonable burdens on Oklahoma's businesses, putting them at a disadvantage compared to their competitors in other states.
>Supported measures to address a $10 billion backlog in maintenance of state roads and bridges. The Oklahoma House and Senate passed HB 2272 to allow for the sale of $300 million in bonds to maintain funding for ODOT's Eight-Year Construction Plan.
>Supported the Aerospace Industry Engineer Workforce Bill (HB 3239) which allows for some companies to qualify for incentive tax credits to help keep aerospace engineers in Oklahoma and provides employers with compensation tax credits and a tuition reimbursement tax credit, in certain instances.

MARKETING OKLAHOMA CITY
>Honored by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) with Award for Excellence in Chamber Image Campaign and Public Policy Campaign categories.
>Led the "Citizens for a Big League City" campaign with just two months to promote the merits of the measure to voters.
>Organized 75 member events with a combined attendance of 15,462.

RECRUITING THE BEST & BRIGHTEST
>Hosted the Greater Grads Career Fair with more than 125 exhibitors and more than 800 students attending.
>Honored for the GreaterGrads.com Web site at the 2008 IEDC Excellence in Economic Development Awards.
>Held the 2008 Greater Grads Summer Internship program, with 270 interns from 67 companies, 50 universities and 23 states.
>Honored by the Oklahoma Economic Development Council (OEDC) for Best Practice, Workforce Development.

PROMOTING TOURISM
>Launched the new Convention & Visitors Bureau ad campaign to build on the duality of Oklahoma City and share the surprises the city holds.
>Saw more than 7.5 million visitors come to Oklahoma City with a direct spending impact of $1.4 billion.

A THRIVING MEMBERSHIP
>Set a record of $2.3 million in our annual Total Resource Development Campaign.
>Increased Board of Advisor membership by 13 percent.
>Ranked as a top 10 chamber for new member sales and member retention.
>Organized the Intercity Visit benchmarking trip to Charlotte for more than 60 Chamber Board of Directors and Board of Advisors.