The Ponca City Chamber of Commerce Education and Workforce Committee held their regular monthly meeting on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 4 pm. Arlene Stauffer called the meeting to order.
Ponca Politics forums will return on Friday, Sept. 30 from 12 pm to 1 pm at City Hall with a State of the City address.
Another Ponca Politics forum will be held on Friday, Oct. 28 at City Hall with representatives from Pioneer Technology Center, the University Center, Northern Oklahoma College and Ponca City Public Schools for the state of education in Ponca City.
One more Ponca Politics forum will be on Friday, Nov. 18 with District Attorney Brain Hermanson to discuss Kay County government.
Members of different schools then provided their updates.
Tracy Thorpe, Superintendent at Pioneer Technology Center (PTC), provided an update.
PTC is about a month into classes and enrollment is up from the COVID years. Adult enrollment took a hit during the pandemic, as a result, practical nursing has had lower number. Despite this, this year will see a full class of 24 in practical nursing in September, with 11 signed up for March.
The basic peace officer certification academy has started and will wrap up at the end of this semester.
The ribbon cutting for the new areas at PTC will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 5:30 pm prior to the board meeting with tours available families groups. Other programs are offered on a limited basis including Mental Health court and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
Prescription medication services are provided by board certified psychiatrists, APRN’s (nurse practitioners) and PA’s (physician assistants) and are continually monitored and adjusted as the individual progresses.
GLMHC operates three 24 hour clinics, including Structured Crisis Center and Psychiatric Urgent Care in Pryor, OK and two from 5:30 pm and 6:30 pm.
Several industry training opportunities are now available including class-B CDL training in partnership with the City of Ponca City. They are also offering class-A CDL training.
PTC is getting ready to sell tickets for “The Roast of Senator Bill Coleman” on Nov. 3.
PTC also has several new cooking classes that utilize the new space.
Rachel Kirk with Northern Oklahoma College (NOC) provided an update.
Enrollment is up at NOC and is still enrolling for late start classes.
NOC is selling tickets and tables for the Shenandoah concert on Thursday, Sept. 29.
Oct. 12 will be the grand opening for the Pickens Learning Commons.
Robyn Armstrong, CEO of University Center (UC), provided an update. Students are back in the building and enrollment is up. There are about 58 concurrent students this semester and a total of 220 students.
The LEGO robots after school program has been delayed to next week.
Chamber President Rich Cantillon provided his Chamber update.
Cantillon listed several of the PIE Partners with the schools in Ponca City. This year is the most PIE Partners thus far:
East Middle School partners are Albertson’s Distribution Center, Blackwell Dentistry, and First National Bank.
First Lutheran School has Continental Carbon Company, The House FM/House of Praise, and Martin, Jean and Jackson Law Office.
Garfield Elementary has Head Country, Inc., Philips 66, and Holmes, Yates and Johnson Law Firm.
Kildare School has First National Bank of Oklahoma, and Josh Short Plumbing.
Liberty Elementary has Cookshack Inc., Cherokee Strip Credit Union, and First Baptist Church.
Lincoln Elementary has Dorada Foods, Evans and Associates Enterprises, Inc., First Christian Church, and Stuteville Ford.
McCord School has Kyler Construction Group.
Po-Hi has AllianceHeath Ponca City, Stuteville Chevrolet, Family Vision Care, and the House FM/House of Praise.
Roosevelt Elementary has Boettcher, Devinney, Ingle and Wicker, GenesisCare, Stolhand-Wells Group, and RCB Bank.
Saint Mary’s Catholic School has Bintz Pharmacy, Edward Jones Office – Judy Eckholt, and Tyndall Family Dentistry.
Trout Elementary has Dolese Bros. Co. 7 Mile, and RCB Bank.
Union Elementary has Anderson Flooring, Charity Angels, and Ponca City Rotary Club.
Washington Pre-K Center has Kyler Construction Group, the Rusty Barrell Supper Club, and Sterling Broadcasting.
West Middle School has Alberton’s Distribution Center, Custom Mechanical Equipment, Buchanan Family Dentistry, Lindsay Manufacturing, Spencer and Lindsay Grace, and the Soroptimist Club.
Wildcat Academy has Community National Bank and Trust, and Edward Jones Jodi Cline.
Woodlands School has Blackwell Dentistry, Equity Bank, McPherson Enterprises, and Team Radio Marketing Group.
The State Chamber invited 15 legislators to Ponca City to tour rural economic development on Wednesday, Sept. 7. Theses legislators went to Philips 66, Dorada Foods, and Custom Mechanical Equipment.
The 36th Leadership History Day is Wednesday, Sept. 14.
A ribbon cutting will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 27 for the Ponca City Tag Agency.
Another ribbon cutting will be on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 2 pm for the Cell Barn.
A customer service training will be at the Chamber on Wednesday, Oct. 5 from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.
The next Cash Mob will be on Thursday, Oct. 6 at Atwood’s.
The next meeting will be on Thursday, Oct. 6 at 4 pm.
