Chamber announces five-year job, capital investment goal in Tulsa’s Future plan

4.19.2011
Leaders reveal amount invested to fund regional economic development program

The Tulsa Metro Chamber announced today job creation and capital investment goals for the second five-year phase of its ongoing regional economic development plan, Tulsa’s Future. Officials also announced the plan’s list of investors and total amount invested following a seven-month campaign to fund the aggressive plan.

Under the leadership of campaign chair Steve Malcolm, retired chairman, president and CEO of Williams, and campaign co-chair Stuart Solomon, president and COO of Public Service Company of Oklahoma, the Tulsa’s Future campaign secured $15.75 million in pledge commitments from 122 investors, including 25 Oversight Committee members.

“Like any business, a program will only succeed if it is properly funded,” said Solomon. “And as is the nature of our community, when asked, leaders in our region stepped up to the plate to establish Tulsa’s Future as a professional and competitive economic development program.”

Tulsa’s Future is a five-year, public-private economic development plan with a goal to create 10,000 primary, high-value jobs with salaries of $50,000 or more and generate a capital investment of $1 billion in the Tulsa region. It is designed to leverage diverse strategies to enhance the greater Green County region’s standing as a place for business, residents, visitors and students of all ages. High-value growth in existing and new businesses, thriving public and private educational institutions, and flourishing communities and downtowns will make the Tulsa region a national model for quality and sustainable regional development.

“It has been said competition fuels opportunity and growth, and the stakes couldn’t be higher for the region’s businesses and communities,” said Jake Henry, vice chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors for economic development, a Tulsa’s Future Oversight Committee member and the president and CEO of Saint Francis Health System. “Tulsa’s Future is a multi-purpose, regional-centric strategy that better positions the entire Northeast Oklahoma region to take full advantage of improving economic conditions.”

Using a holistic approach, Tulsa’s Future will accomplish its primary goals and outcomes through the following programs: business retention and expansion; business attraction marketing; entrepreneurship and small business development; education and workforce attraction; advocacy and outreach; and community development.

Tulsa’s Future also focuses efforts on industries identified as those most concentrated in the Tulsa region with the greatest growth potential. These industries include energy; aerospace and aviation; health care; regional headquarters and professional services; machinery and electrical equipment manufacturing; and transportation, distribution and logistics; as well as two emerging targets, information security and entertainment/tourism.

“Tulsa’s Future has been essential to the economy of our region over the past five years,” said Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Tulsa Metro Chamber. “Moving forward, it is even more important to sustain and continue that momentum.”


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