May 2008

WELCOME TO THE TABLE – New Members

Moran-K Oil, LLC, Seminole. The company also does business as Moran Oil Enterprises and has been in business in Seminole since 1953. It is a private company and its line of business is crude petroleum and natural gas production. Melvin Moran is their CEO.

ROUNDTABLE SPONSORS BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN MAY

CORENET GLOBAL SUMMIT. This CoreNet event was held earlier this month in San Diego. The attendees for this show are corporate executives, corporate real estate professionals, site locators, and economic developers. ODOC and state economic development partners hosted individual meetings, lunches and dinners with business prospects.

NEW YORK “21″ CLUB RECEPTION. Commerce Department and other chamber executives have annually hosted NY/NJ area site consultants and corporate real estate professionals as well as financial professionals from tax, insurance and banking firms. The famed “21″ Club is centrally located and is well received as a reception and meeting venue and over 80 were in attendance.

ROUNDTABLE PRESENTS SCHOLARSHIP AWARD

Governor Brad Henry and Chairman Steve Hendrickson presented the first Roundtable $5000 Scholarship Award to OU undergraduate student Eddie Coates at the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Awards Dinner last month.

Roundtable members who served as judges for the five finalists were Ed Martin, Tom Maxwell and Dave McLaughlin. The 30 minute presentations by the finalists were outstanding, according to the judges, and it was not easy to select a winner.

Eddie Coates will make a short presentation at our Tulsa meeting and discuss his ideas of strengthening entepreneurship in Oklahoma.

OKLAHOMA COMPETITIVENESS RANKED

Oklahoma fared well in the newly released 2008 KPMG international business costs survey.

Competitive Alternatives 2008 compared business competitiveness for more than 100 cities in ten countries: Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, UK, and the United States. Oklahoma City was the only Oklahoma community featured in the survey.

Oklahoma City ranked among the lowest in business costs of all cities. The city ranked 2nd lowest in the Midwest region; 4th lowest of 58 U.S. cities and 11th lowest of all global cities surveyed.

However, the state did not rank well in the latest Aelera State Knowledge Economy Index report. The index examines the assets that determine a state’s competitiveness in an increasingly knowledge-intensive economy. Four assets were measured: human capital, innovation capacity, research & development, and the public education system.

Of 50 states surveyed, Oklahoma ranked 42nd. Oklahoma segment rankings were: Human Capital (38), Innovation Capacity (40), R&D (47) and Public Education (45).