“May we find the good in each day and magnify it during these challenging times. While we may be distancing ourselves, let's find ways to come together to support one another. And may we find comfort in community.”
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The Okmulgee Area Development Corporation (OADC) was established in 1996 as a non-profit private organization that strives to serve all of Okmulgee County with economic development services. It is supported by private donations, corporate donations, and a management services contract for Economic Development Services with the City of Okmulgee.
The OADC is the official contact point for the Okmulgee Business Complex, the Okmulgee Regional Airport Industrial Park, the West Industrial Area of Okmulgee and the South Industrial Park. The OADC owns the Okmulgee Business Complex; the Airport Industrial Park is owned by the City of Okmulgee. The West Industrial Area is not an official industrial park but additional land in the West 20th Street area is available from private owners.
The OADC’s Mission Statement is to Advance the Economic Vitality for Okmulgee County. We focus our efforts to:
Retain existing jobs
Encourage the expansion of our current industrial partners
Recruit new industry and business (industrial and retail)
Encourage and support new start-up firms
Support public education in Okmulgee County School systems to emphasize STEM classes from K-12
The OADC also assists and supports other development organizations in the County, including Chambers of Commerce, Main Street, and both common education and higher education. A good example would be the Small Business Development Center at Green Country Technology Center. Our staff serves on several boards and advisory councils that promote development throughout the County and Eastern Oklahoma. The OADC staff and board contributes hundreds of man-hours in support of other community development organizations and initiatives.
We are led by a volunteer Board of Directors composed of thirteen women and men who represent a wide variety of industries, utilities and development agencies. The OADC is currently staffed by Court Newkirk (Executive Director), Deb Marshall (Assistant Executive Director) and Peggy King (Retail and Property Strategist). The OADC staff has over seventy years of combined development experience.
Other activities in the past few years include the operation of the business office for the Okmulgee Airfest Airshow 2017 and 2019. The staff managed and solicited funds for the Okmulgee Public Schools STEM Lab, raising over $240,000.
We have always been excited to make presentations to clubs, civic organizations, schools and development groups about modern economic development practices and trends in development. Whenever the time comes that we can come together face to face again, if your group would like a presentation about the OADC, contact us at Info@ChooseOkmulgee.com or call 918-759-8676.
In the meantime, be sure to also check out our new website (still in stages of development but it is 'live' already) at www.ChooseOkmulgee.com.
About the Author
Court Newkirk is the Executive Director of Okmulgee Area Development Corp (OADC). A native of Oklahoma, he has decades of community and economic development experience, some of which was in Okmulgee in the 90s. Court is a big believer that Okmulgee can be anything it wants to be, if we all work together. Contact Court at Court@ChooseOkmulgee.com.
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