June 5 Update
Mayor Doug Hutchens' leadership resulted in a vote by the Lincoln City Council to join HAMMRC as our sixth member.
HAMMRC Board Chair Mayor Ernie Penn welcomed Lincoln Consolidated School District Superintendant Mary Ann Spears at the May 12th board meeting.
LINCOLN JOINS!
The Lincoln City Council voted on May 16th, 2023, to join HAMMRC as our sixth member. Mayor Doug Hutchens will join the Board of Directors and now has a "seat at the table" as we pursue and entertain prospective medical manufacturing companies. The City has identified several available buildings that appear to be suitable for prospects, and we are in the process of listing those sites on our HAMMRC website.
Several community leaders, including one City Council Member, attended the HAMMRC Board Meeting in Lincoln on May 12th, met our Board Members, and observed a presentation on research and data analysis that is now available to members.
The Lincoln membership is unique in that it features a partnership between the City and the School District. Superintendent Mary Ann Spears has been a strong supporter of the potential employment opportunities HAMMRC offers to LHS graduates. Superintendent Spears said: "I am excited about the opportunities that our partnership with HAMMRC will bring to our community and our students!"
Dax Moreton, Executive Vice President for Arvest Bank, an Investor - Partner in HAMMRC, said: "I believe that the HAMMRC partnership with the City of Lincoln is a great way to advertise and promote our community. Hoping to see great results for Lincoln!"
ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS = $
Mark Goodman, Economic Development Director for the Fayetteville Chamber, demonstrates the value of data analysis to the audience at the May 12th board meeting.
All of our communities focus their attention on “business development.” That focus is on new business start-ups, business attraction (recruitment), and retention of existing businesses. To succeed at business development, there is analysis that can be conducted to understand what a business (existing, future or potentially lost) means to the community, and a region, in terms of jobs, income, and revenues.
By definition, economic impact analysis is a method of calculating the economic effects associated with a change in economic activity. Those measuring economic impact use models or create their own model to assist in calculating these effects of economic activity. These models rely on local, state and national employment data sets which identify economic linkages between each and every business type. Chamber Fayetteville has access to impact models to study these effects of business on our entire HAMMRC region.
To read more about a new value proposition offered to members, click the button below.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Next board meeting will be July 14th, 10 am, at the Cherokee Nation Outpatient Health Center.
Address: 19600 E Ross St, Tahlequah, OK 74464 (see map below)
Editor's Note 1: Newsletters will now be published once monthly, on the first Thursday of each month.
Editor's Note 2: Beginning with the July newsletter, we will recognize individuals who complete the AEP/SWEPCO online course "Energizing Economic Development." Notify Wayne Mays when you complete the course.
SPOTLIGHT ON OZARKS ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE/OZARKSGO
Mayor Ernie Penn presents Investor - Partner plaque to Ashley Harris of Ozarks Electric Cooperative/OzarksGo
Ozarks Electric Cooperative was incorporated in 1938 and served 1,000 customers. Since then, Ozarks Electric has grown to over 87,000 meters that service businesses, farms, and homes.
The non-profit member-owned cooperative serves counties in both Arkansas and Oklahoma. In Arkansas, they serve Washington, Madison, Benton, Franklin, and Crawford counties. Oklahoma counties that are served are Delaware, Cherokee, Adair, and Sequoyah.
This coverage of counties in both Arkansas and Oklahoma makes them the perfect HAMMRC partner. In a unique collaboration between a HAMMRC member and an investor, in 2021, the cooperative and Today's Power Inc. built a 25-acre Solar Park near Lincoln. The 25-acre park will service five entities with 2.7 megawatts of solar panels. In addition to the Coop, its telecommunications subsidiary OzarksGo provides high-speed and reliable fiber internet allowing businesses and consumers exceptional access to the rapidly changing landscape of the internet.
For more information on Ozarks Electric Cooperative, click the button below.
LEARNING OPPORTUNITY AND VALUE FOR MEMBERS
As a benefit of HAMMRC membership, each city is permitted to refer citizens to attend the robotics training course at a discount of 35%. These citizens can be students, business owners/employees, or anyone of your choice. Please contact the Fayetteville Chamber or visit the Robotics Lab website to see when classes are available.
You can also click the button below to visit the Robotics Lab Website.