Greater Oklahoma City Chamber - Official Home Page (http://www.okcchamber.com/)

If we were giving out a report card to the Okc Chamber of Commerce, How would they grade?

What is the last big company to relocate jobs to Okc?

It seems every other week we read positive reports with "Okc low cost of living", "Okc great place to start new business", "Okc top place to raise a family", "Okc most affordable housing", "Okc recession proof", etc. etc.

Has any of this resulted in "New Business", companies moving jobs to Okc?

Many of you that are in touch with the Greater Okc Chamber, what is holding Okc back? What are the obstacles that Okc is facing?

Is there more that Okc can do?

Greater Oklahoma City Chamber - Official Home Page (http://www.okcchamber.com/)

If we were giving out a report card to the Okc Chamber of Commerce, How would they grade?

What is the last big company to relocate jobs to Okc?

It seems every other week we read positive reports with "Okc low cost of living", "Okc great place to start new business", "Okc top place to raise a family", "Okc most affordable housing", "Okc recession proof", etc. etc.

Has any of this resulted in "New Business", companies moving jobs to Okc?

Many of you that are in touch with the Greater Okc Chamber, what is holding Okc back? What are the obstacles that Okc is facing?

Is there more that Okc can do?

This will definately turn into a OKC Chamber bashing, no matter what success they have had, most will have nothing good to say.

The Chamber is certainly not something holding OKC back. They do a fantastic job.

I think we have an outstanding chamber in OKC.

How do you think we get on a lot of those rankings.

The Chamber is certainly not something holding OKC back. They do a fantastic job.
I agree. Led by Roy Williams, the Chamber does its job in our community very well.

Their major problem is that they need more funding. We always talk about recruiting outside firms, but they have a limited budget compared to other big cities. If more people would join, they could fund more ad campaigns in other areas such as California, New Jersey, Oregon, Chicago, etc.

I did not intend for this to be a "Bash the Okc Chamber Thread" and hope it does not become that.

I am curious to know what is holding Okc back in the corporation recruiting area.

I feel like as a citizen of Okc we have so much going for us here, but why is that not enough? Or is Okc so far behind that all the improvements are only getting us caught up to our peer cities?

Is there anything that could help the Chamber do a better job of selling Okc to outsiders?

If you are looking to assign blame for OKC's lack of recruiting of businesses, you may need to look at the folks who work at 23rd and Lincoln before you start critiquing the chamber. Honestly the state in its inability to invest in things like roads and education and pass any sort of tax reform does way more to hold OKC "back."

For what its worth the chamber does a good job with the hand its dealt. Are headquarters flocking to OKC? No, and its something we need to work on. But there are a lot of small businesses here that are expanding and contribuiting greatly to the local economy and don't get noticed by anyone. The chamber, however, does a great job working behind the scenes to facilitiate this. Think about it, we don't have one of the lowest unemployment rates by accident.

I did not intend for this to be a "Bash the Okc Chamber Thread" and hope it does not become that.

I am curious to know what is holding Okc back in the corporation recruiting area.

I feel like as a citizen of Okc we have so much going for us here, but why is that not enough? Or is Okc so far behind that all the improvements are only getting us caught up to our peer cities?

Is there anything that could help the Chamber do a better job of selling Okc to outsiders?

I don't have a laundry list, but hasn't OKC had a number of relocations over the last few years, mainly from buyouts?

Either way, we are obviously doing something right in the jobs creation department. That said, we always want to improve our position.

My only critical observation is that our major companies are oil and gas, and though we love them and the jobs they provide, we need to get into other sectors more, like what's happening in the biotech space.

But I also think we need to be a creative incubator in other industries, including music, film, fashion, and publishing. Not sure what the chamber can do to make this happen but OKC needs better representation in those areas to become more of a global city.

I wish that chambers did more for small business, entrepreneurs, start-ups and incubatees, and that includes matching the afore-mentioned with funding sources (either debt or equity).

I have been using the Chamber web site recently as I toy with this idea of moving back to OKC and opening a business in Midtown. Their GIS application is really nice and useful. If you haven't seen or played with it I recommend you check it out.

The city of OKC gave the chamber $5,000,000.00, last year. Just curious what amount they should get?

Yeah, I believe they have a $7million a year budget, so it's not like they have a whole lot to work with. For the most part, I think they do a great job with what they're given. I am a little curious as to their retail recruitment, but other than that, nothing has struck question with me.

I would give them a C. About average.

My perception of the Chamber is that they are OKC's cheerleader. They can be really good at going out and making the initial contacts to interest new business in our city, but in the end, it's the city itself that sells.

The positive posts are nice, but CEO's of major corporations can read thru the BS headlines like "recession proof" and know it's positive hype to keep optimism high for all.

I think they do a good job with what they get funding wise, but obviously have some reservations when it comes to the chamber taking millions from the city when all departments are being asked to cut.

Unfortunately, we don't get to see that results of the Chamber's work unless a major business comes out and publicly states that the Chamber was the sole reason for them even looking at OKC in the first place. I would be interested in knowing if a corporation has made that type of public announcement in the past few years.

I think a major boost for the Chamber would be a high profile, very well liked celebrity working with the chamber to help promote OKC. Wonder if Garth Brooks would consider a part time job with them?

The city of OKC gave the chamber $5,000,000.00, last year. Just curious what amount they should get?

How much did they give the police union last year?

here we go ..........

Here's the difference..the City of OKC doesn't actually do economic development itself. The city does nothing to bring corporations here, get us ranked high on Forbes, and so on..

The Chamber does a fantastic job in the defense sector, including making sure that Tinker is well supported, retaining and expanding the state's number one employer.

Spartan, your ugly is showing! I am gonna take a guess, the union is funded solely through membership dues, whadya think? Way to go, mess up our nice little civil conversation.

Spartan, your ugly is showing! I am gonna take a guess, the union is funded solely through membership dues, whadya think? Way to go, mess up our nice little civil conversation.

The Union is not totally supported through membership, The Union President is paid by the City of OKC.

OMG, you are correct sir! He receives approx. 60 percent of his salary from his still held position on the fire dept. But I dont think that was Spartans point. I believe he was saying the union was getting money on the scale of the CoC. If you count salaries of all employees then he would be correct, although that is some kind of voodoo accounting.

The Union is not totally supported through membership, The Union President is paid by the City of OKC.

Ummm - I thought every member of the Polcie Union was paid by the city. Am I wrong?

AAAAnyway, back to the chamber.

The only issue I have with the chamber is that quite often they will expend a lot of energy to try and attract a company to town instead of trying to help grow the company that's already in town that does that same job. I'm not talking the BIG corporate guys, but the smaller players in the 2-300 employee range.

For example, OKC flirted with a transcription company to bring it to town. What they failed to realize is that a company like that hires home-based employees. So the actual office here could have less than 10 people, with the other 300 being spread out all over the country. They neglected to pay any attention to the transcription companies that were already in town, some of which were having some financial difficulty and could have really used that influx of dollars. At least then, the comany would have been BASED in OKC instead of just having some small regional office.

Other than little things like that, I think the CoC does a fantastic job. They really do a great job of getting OKC's name out there in a positive light. Compare the marketing to even a decade ago and it's night and day. Sure, they could do more with more money, but who couldn't.

But once again, I ask the MOB....how do you measure the CoC success. Surely it isn't just from an opinion poll?

OMG, you are correct sir! He receives approx. 60 percent of his salary from his still held position on the fire dept. But I dont think that was Spartans point. I believe he was saying the union was getting money on the scale of the CoC. If you count salaries of all employees then he would be correct, although that is some kind of voodoo accounting.

Please don't let andy157 know, I prefer to continue letting him believe I'm totally clueless.

OMG, you are correct sir! He receives approx. 60 percent of his salary from his still held position on the fire dept. But I dont think that was Spartans point. I believe he was saying the union was getting money on the scale of the CoC. If you count salaries of all employees then he would be correct, although that is some kind of voodoo accounting.

Seriously? The City pays 40% (or ANY of the head of the union(s) that they are often at odds with)? Conflict of interest???

Have no problem with the City paying the salaries of the firefighters (and if the union head is an active firefighter, then that's ok too). But the City should NOT be paying any union dues, union staff, union leadership etc etc. That should come strictly from the union dues and any fund raising they might want to engage in.

Do we have any documentation on this? I skimmed thru the 600+ page budget report but didn't readily find any mention of the City paying any Union stuff. Thanks!

and to try to get back to the thread topic, the Chamber of Commerce should get its funding from its members. The City shouldn't be contributing one dime towards it. As it is it acts as a pseudo arm of City Hall. Again, Conflict of interest???

Seriously? The City pays 40% (or ANY of the head of the union(s) that they are often at odds with)? Conflict of interest???

Have no problem with the City paying the salaries of the firefighters (and if the union head is an active firefighter, then that's ok too). But the City should NOT be paying any union dues, union staff, union leadership etc etc. That should come strictly from the union dues and any fund raising they might want to engage in.

Do we have any documentation on this? I skimmed thru the 600+ page budget report but didn't readily find any mention of the City paying any Union stuff. Thanks!
and to try to get back to the thread topic, the Chamber of Commerce should get its funding from its members. The City shouldn't be contributing one dime towards it. As it is it acts as a pseudo arm of City Hall. Again, Conflict of interest???

Sad but true. The Union Presidents of all three groups (Police, Fire, AFSCME) are paid by the City, in addition I know the police and fire have more then one officer that's paid by the City, they still earn and receive benefits (retirement, health ins, etc:) and if/when they lose re-election, they return to their previous City job.

and to try to get back to the thread topic, the Chamber of Commerce should get its funding from its members. The City shouldn't be contributing one dime towards it. As it is it acts as a pseudo arm of City Hall. Again, Conflict of interest???

Larry, I think the City contracts with the Chamber of Commerce to recruit businesses to the City. The CoC is a vendor to the city, not a handout recipient.

If you want to start a business recruiting companies to OKC then the City can hire you as well. You will probably need to start on a commission based pay plan but if you prove successful enough you can probably just charge for the service straight up. I thought about doing this myself when I graduated from OU.

Seriously? The City pays 40% (or ANY of the head of the union(s) that they are often at odds with)? Conflict of interest???

Have no problem with the City paying the salaries of the firefighters (and if the union head is an active firefighter, then that's ok too). But the City should NOT be paying any union dues, union staff, union leadership etc etc. That should come strictly from the union dues and any fund raising they might want to engage in.

Do we have any documentation on this? I skimmed thru the 600+ page budget report but didn't readily find any mention of the City paying any Union stuff. Thanks!

and to try to get back to the thread topic, the Chamber of Commerce should get its funding from its members. The City shouldn't be contributing one dime towards it. As it is it acts as a pseudo arm of City Hall. Again, Conflict of interest???Larry they are active employees. In the case of Fire who ever the members elect to represent them and speak on their behalf is assigned to the Chiefs office as opposed to being assigned to a station and a specific piece of equipment. Fire has 1 officer on special assignment, not 2 as junkie would try to make you believe. He has gone from being clueless to being a liar.