The Tulsa region is key to Oklahoma’s economic success, with Tulsa’s Future playing a leading role in the state’s economic development. That’s what Oklahoma Lt. Governor Todd Lamb, business leaders and elected officials had to say at the annual meeting for the Tulsa Metro Chamber’s Tulsa’s Future economic development initiative this week.
The event, hosted April 16 at Tulsa’s Summit Club, included a recap of the Tulsa’s Future program’s successes the past year, as well as a look ahead and a Tulsa-region economic forecast for 2012. For 2011, the Tulsa’s Future program contributed to the announcement of more than 8,200 new jobs in northeast Oklahoma. More than half of those jobs were above the initiative’s target annual income of $50,000 or greater.
Oklahoma Commerce Secretary Dave Lopez also praised northeast Oklahoma and the Chamber for the contribution the region makes to the state’s economic development efforts. The Chamber works closely with the Department of Commerce and the Commerce Secretary on its regional economic development efforts.
The Tulsa region’s economic development accomplishments would not be possible without the many partners that participate as Tulsa’s Future investors, Tulsa Metro Chamber President and CEO Mike Neal said, citing major economic development successes and continued economic progress in the region as examples of the Tulsa’s Future plan’s momentum.
Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett reiterated the importance of a regional approach to economic development, noting that Tulsa and the surrounding communities must be cohesive in their efforts of working toward a brighter future for all of northeast Oklahoma.