09 Salute Lauded as Best Yet!

The 16^th Annual Academy Salute, held August 21 at the Doubletree Hotel Warren Place in Tulsa, was lauded as one of the best Salutes in the event’s history.

The evening attracted nearly five hundred Academy supporters and friends and the money raised will help fund the organization’s program of work and daily operations for the following year.

As the organization’s only annual fundraiser, a successful event is imperative. The Academy Board of Directors and the event organizers work hard to ensure a fun and entertaining evening for all who attend.

This year, the Salute featured political pundits Pat Hall and Jim Dunlap (pictured above) as the evening emcees. Mayor Kathy Taylor welcomed everyone to Tulsa for the event, and garnered a few laughs herself with a witty and engaging speech.

The Capitol Steps, a comedy troupe out of Washington D.C., returned to the Academy Salute with fresh material and a lot of laughs. The material was so new and raucous it even momentarily stumped some of the performers, giving way to some hysterical and creative improvisation.

While humor certainly played a role at the event, the Oklahoma Academy set aside some time to “salute” the state’s elected and appointed officials who serve to ensure a bright future and better quality of life for Oklahomans.

The Oklahoma Academy also recognized several Academy members as the 2009 Key Contributors for their dedication and service to the organization.

Key Contributor awards were presented to Roy Peters, Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance, Tulsa; David Stewart, Cherokee Nation Entertainment, LLC, and Cherokee Nation Businesses, LLC, Catoosa; Doug Branch, Phillips Murrah, Oklahoma City; and John Feaver, University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma, Chickasha.  

Though the 2009 Salute featured some familiar installments, the Oklahoma Academy employed some new strategies to promote and improve the event. 

First, we challenged our membership to represent their region at the Salute via ticket sales and attendance, and we had a great turn-out!  Oklahoma City and Tulsa competed against one another while the four quadrants (NE, NW, SE, and SW) competed. Our goal was to sell 100 tickets, which we surpassed.  The winning regions (though all were represented) were Tulsa with 43 tickets sold and the Southeast region with 18.

The Academy is establishing its presence on the popular social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. During the regional ticket sales competition, we used these online media to keep our members and friends posted on the competition.  We will continue to maintain our presence on the World Wide Web; so look us up and share your thoughts with us!

At the 2009 Salute, the Oklahoma Academy premiered a new recognition: the Making a Difference award. This award was created to recognize and show appreciation for those individuals who take initiative with an Oklahoma Academy recommendation and work to position it for implementation.

The first Make a Difference award was given to Michael Harrison, a strategic analyst for the University of Oklahoma’s Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth in Norman. Harrison spent nearly two years working on a 2006 Town Hall recommendation on broadband initiatives.

Volunteers for the 16th Annual Academy Salute:
Paul Bickford, Claremore
Mary Jane Calvey, Oklahoma City
Brian George, Norman
Peggy Miller, Stigler
Ray Miller, Stigler
Lori Sears, Tulsa

2009 Town Hall: Oklahoma's Education & Workforce Systems

The 2009 Oklahoma Academy Town Hall will address Oklahoma’s education and workforce development systems. Entitled “Getting Ready for Work: Education Systems and Future Workforce,” the 2009 Town Hall will be held at the Norman Embassy Suites Hotel Sunday, October 25 through Wednesday, October 28. 

Mike Lapolla and Craig Knutson co-chair the Town Hall research committee responsible for assembling the background document. In the document’s preface they write, “This Town Hall will address the optimal preparation of every Oklahoman to be a productive member of the workforce.”

Knutson said he expects panel discussions may  include issues such as: enhanced focus on the student, teacher training and preparation, workforce needs, dialog between educators and employers, as well as, coordinated education-training curricula and how to more successfully incorporate science, technology, engineering and mathematics into the system.

"This Town Hall is all about human capital and how to make more Oklahomans  productively competitive," said Knutson.

According to Knutson, the research shows that a state or region that is rich in competitive, focused human capital attracts the investment capital that creates quality jobs and imported wealth.

“My perspective is that we are Global Wannabes, especially when you consider energy, agriculture and manufacturing investments, “ said Knutson, referring to the Oklahoma Academy’s Four Plausible Futures. “But, more often than not, our culture, attitude and educational or entrepreneurial competitiveness hold us back. “

According to Lapolla,  the 2009 Town Hall participants should not be distracted by the issues of poverty and limited funding, but rather look decades into the future for recommendations and solutions to overcome the issues.

“We don't want to be distracted by discussions about how to eliminate poverty or argue about funding levels," said Lapolla. "We want people to accept the realities that there is poverty and there are funding limitations. So, what are we going to do about it?"

Lapolla said participants should ask themselves what significant changes need to be made to the education system to improve the future workforce recognizing that results won't be seen for decades.

"Policy recommendations needs to be made now," said Lapolla. "But there is very little we can do today that will change the product tomorrow."

The majority of participants for this Town Hall have been selected. Currently, there are 142 participants from across the state and representing all walks of life. Six legislators are attending, and up to 12 university students will also participate.

Town Hall participants are asked to complete a biographical survey to 1) help the Academy select a diverse, yet representative, group of people and 2) encourage participants to get to know one another.

 Here’s a peek at the demographics. The majority of participants are members of the Oklahoma Academy; 77 are regular members and 17 are board members. Forty-nine participants work in the private sector; 15 work in the public sector; and 70 identified themselves as educators. Educators were given their own category separate from the public and private sectors.

Though all of the membership regions are represented, Tulsa (34), Oklahoma City (45), and the Northeast region (30) have the highest number of participants.  The Northwest region (9), the Southwest region (6) and the Southeast region (18) will be represented but, in general, trend toward lower numbers of representation at Academy events.

The Oklahoma Academy is no longer accepting applications for participation in the Town Hall, but there is still room for observers. Observers attend the panel discussions for the entire conference or only a portion, but they are not allowed to participate in the discussions, debates or plenary session. For more information on being an observer or for an observer application, contact the Oklahoma Academy.

Outreach Receptions, Presentations Held Across State in 2009

Throughout the year, the Oklahoma Academy hosts outreach receptions and Academy presentations across the state. While the presentations and outreach receptions vary in format, both events aim to: raise awareness of and promote the Oklahoma Academy and Town Hall recommendations; reach out to members of the various regions; encourage discussion among Oklahoma Academy members; strengthen the Oklahoma Academy community; and recruit new members to the organization.

In 2009, we’ve had a number of successful, informative presentations and outreach receptions.  Receptions and presentations have taken place in every Academy membership region and resulted in sixteen new members. We’d like to recognize and thank our Academy members who have organized and hosted a presentation or reception in their area, and welcome our new members.

2009 Outreach Receptions: Barbara and Roy Peters, Tulsa; Leslie and Cliff Hudson, Oklahoma City; Jim Strate, Bert Mackie and Lew Ward, Enid; Ken Fergeson and Holley Urbanski, Altus; Susan Winchester and John Feaver, Chickasha; Larry Rice, Claremore; Nancy and Bruce Bolzle, Tulsa; Susan Paddack and Kelly Hurt, Ada

2009 Academy Presentations: Tulsa Area Manufacturing Alliance and Leadership Broken Arrow, both organized by Cheryl Hill, Broken Arrow.

New Academy members: Pat Woodrum, Tulsa reception; Monica Barczak, Tulsa reception; Janet Selser, Tulsa reception; Andrea Schlanger, Tulsa reception; Martin Ozinga, OKC reception; Bill Nations, OKC reception ; Tom Kielhorn, OKC reception ; Hemanth Parasuram, OKC reception ; Lynn Biddle, Enid reception ; Pamela Huddleston-Bickford, Claremore reception; Mick Webber, Claremore reception ; Patrick Brooks, Chickasha reception; Ryan Posey, Chickasha reception; Mysti Reneau, Altus reception; Jeff Warmuth, Ada reception; Mary Warmuth, Ada reception.

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The Oklahoma Academy

www.okacademy.org · (405) 232-5828 · 120 E. Sheridan, Ste. 200 · Oklahoma City, OK 73104