metro
10-24-2008, 07:55 AM
Schnake Turnbo Frank plans permanent OKC office
by Kelley Chambers
The Journal Record October 24, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY – Tom Searls is moving on up to the 11th floor of the 101 Park Ave. office building and taking the Oklahoma City offices of Schnake Turnbo Frank with him.
Alli Blake, Rachel Wright, Senior Account Executive Rob Crissinger and Vice President Thomas Searls with Schnake Turnbo Frank stand in their new office space at 101 Park Ave.
The Tulsa-based public relations firm was started in 1970, and while it has had Oklahoma City clients, the company did not have a dedicated office in the city until March.Searls, a 20-year veteran of public relations, advertising, and marketing, was hired to test the water for an Oklahoma City expansion.
The company set up shop in two leased offices at the Executive Suites at 100 Park Ave., but quickly outgrew the space.
Searls said since he opened the Oklahoma City office the firm has seen a 300-percent increase in Oklahoma City business.
“As we started to grow we began to look at the economics of it and realized it made sense to find a permanent home,” he said.
But he didn’t just look out his office window at the neighboring 101 Park Ave. and decide to move there.
“We looked at more than 20 properties before deciding on 101 Park Avenue,” Searls said. “Chuck Wiggin is very civic-minded, has a great property there, and his team really went above and beyond during lease and build-out negotiations. It made our final relocation decision a very simple one.”
The firm has 20 employees in Tulsa. Searls will run a four-person operation with Rob Crissinger, senior account executive who joined the firm in June, along with interns Alli Blake and Rachel Wright.
And if the firm’s Oklahoma City staff continues to grow, they have first right of refusal for additional adjoining office space. The company has a five-year lease on 2,251 square feet in the building.
A.J. Jacobs, with CB Richard Ellis Oklahoma, helped Searls find the perfect spot for the Oklahoma City office.
“People are going to continue to look at downtown because it offers good assets,” Jacobs said. “Certainly a lot of businesses like Schnake Turnbo Frank that thrive in a downtown setting will always need to be downtown or close to downtown.”
Searls said he hopes to have the work complete and move into the new office, and his corner office with views to the north and west, by December.
“As a longtime Oklahoma City resident, I am truly humbled by the warm welcome Schnake Turnbo Frank PR has received from the Oklahoma City business community,” he said. “Our growth over the past seven months has been unprecedented and this office expansion further asserts the firm’s long-term commitment to Oklahoma City.”
by Kelley Chambers
The Journal Record October 24, 2008
OKLAHOMA CITY – Tom Searls is moving on up to the 11th floor of the 101 Park Ave. office building and taking the Oklahoma City offices of Schnake Turnbo Frank with him.
Alli Blake, Rachel Wright, Senior Account Executive Rob Crissinger and Vice President Thomas Searls with Schnake Turnbo Frank stand in their new office space at 101 Park Ave.
The Tulsa-based public relations firm was started in 1970, and while it has had Oklahoma City clients, the company did not have a dedicated office in the city until March.Searls, a 20-year veteran of public relations, advertising, and marketing, was hired to test the water for an Oklahoma City expansion.
The company set up shop in two leased offices at the Executive Suites at 100 Park Ave., but quickly outgrew the space.
Searls said since he opened the Oklahoma City office the firm has seen a 300-percent increase in Oklahoma City business.
“As we started to grow we began to look at the economics of it and realized it made sense to find a permanent home,” he said.
But he didn’t just look out his office window at the neighboring 101 Park Ave. and decide to move there.
“We looked at more than 20 properties before deciding on 101 Park Avenue,” Searls said. “Chuck Wiggin is very civic-minded, has a great property there, and his team really went above and beyond during lease and build-out negotiations. It made our final relocation decision a very simple one.”
The firm has 20 employees in Tulsa. Searls will run a four-person operation with Rob Crissinger, senior account executive who joined the firm in June, along with interns Alli Blake and Rachel Wright.
And if the firm’s Oklahoma City staff continues to grow, they have first right of refusal for additional adjoining office space. The company has a five-year lease on 2,251 square feet in the building.
A.J. Jacobs, with CB Richard Ellis Oklahoma, helped Searls find the perfect spot for the Oklahoma City office.
“People are going to continue to look at downtown because it offers good assets,” Jacobs said. “Certainly a lot of businesses like Schnake Turnbo Frank that thrive in a downtown setting will always need to be downtown or close to downtown.”
Searls said he hopes to have the work complete and move into the new office, and his corner office with views to the north and west, by December.
“As a longtime Oklahoma City resident, I am truly humbled by the warm welcome Schnake Turnbo Frank PR has received from the Oklahoma City business community,” he said. “Our growth over the past seven months has been unprecedented and this office expansion further asserts the firm’s long-term commitment to Oklahoma City.”