Bridging the Red River: A Regional Economic Strategy for the Texoma Regional Consortium Garvin Pontotoc Coal Murray Atoka Carter Johnston Marshall Love Bryan Cooke Grayson Fannin September 2007 Prepared by: Texoma Regional Consortium Members and Contributors Texoma Workforce Development Board Southern Oklahoma Workforce Investment Board Texas Workforce Commission Oklahoma Department of Commerce Denison Development Alliance – Denison, TX Durant Industrial Authority – Durant, OK Sherman Economic Development Corporation – Sherman, TX Ardmore Development Authority – Ardmore, OK Bonham Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development – Bonham, TX Ada Jobs Foundation – Ada, OK Gainesville Economic Development Pauls Valley Chamber of Commerce – Corporation – Gainesville, TX Pauls Valley, OK Center for Workplace Learning (at Murray County Industrial Authority – Grayson County College) – Denison, TX Sulphur, OK North Central Texas College – Southeastern Oklahoma State Gainesville, TX University – Durant, OK Grayson County Airport – Denison, TX Murray State College – Tishomingo, OK US Department of Labor – Region IV East Central University – Ada, OK Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................................... i Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Defining the Texoma Economic Region ............................................................................................................................ 4 Demographic and Economic Trends ................................................................................................................................. 6 Regional Population Characteristics .................................................................................................................................................. 6 Regional Economic Structure ........................................................................................................................................................... 13 Cluster Analysis .............................................................................................................................................................. 25 Cluster Methodology ........................................................................................................................................................................ 26 Findings about Key Clusters ............................................................................................................................................................ 28 Sub-regional clusters ........................................................................................................................................................................ 35 State and Regional Planning Efforts to Date ................................................................................................................... 40 Texas Statewide Targets .................................................................................................................................................................. 40 Texoma (Texas) Economic Development Strategies ....................................................................................................................... 41 Oklahoma’s Statewide Economic and Workforce Strategy .............................................................................................................. 42 Summary of Planning Efforts to Date ............................................................................................................................................... 44 Cluster Inspired Targets .................................................................................................................................................. 44 Finance and Insurance ..................................................................................................................................................................... 45 Motor Vehicles .................................................................................................................................................................................. 46 Aviation ............................................................................................................................................................................................. 47 Plastics Products .............................................................................................................................................................................. 49 Packaged Food Products ................................................................................................................................................................. 50 Warehousing and Distribution .......................................................................................................................................................... 51 Computer and Electronics Equipment .............................................................................................................................................. 53 Basic Health Services ...................................................................................................................................................................... 55 Hotel and Passenger Transportation Services ................................................................................................................................. 56 Ranching and Equine ....................................................................................................................................................................... 57 Petroleum and Gas .......................................................................................................................................................................... 58 Assets and Issues Analysis ............................................................................................................................................. 59 Strategic Themes: Identifying Challenges and Opportunities ......................................................................................................... 60 A Regional Vision and Action Plan .................................................................................................................................. 70 Our Vision: Texoma as a “Hometown Hotspot” ............................................................................................................................... 71 Our Planned Actions: The Economic Strategies ............................................................................................................................. 71 Implementation Management: Next Steps ...................................................................................................................................... 75 Bridging the Red River: A Regional Economic Strategy for the Texoma Regional Consortium Executive Summary The 13 counties located in south central Oklahoma and northern Texas make up a largely rural and small town area historically reliant on oil and gas, ranching, and manufacturing for jobs Texoma Counties and Population and income. The (2006) Map 1 counties (shown in Figure Pauls Valley Ada Total Texoma Population 1) cover an area roughly 406,459 Garvin Pontotoc the size of Connecticut (35,350) Coal (27,375) (5,634) Murray Atoka and Rhode Island (12,945) Johnston (14,340) (10,436) Atoka 030 combined. The region is Ardmore Tishomingo Miles Carter bisected east and west by (47,503) Marshall (14,558) Bryan Love (38,395) (9,162) Madill the Red River and its Durant namesake, Lake Texoma, Denison an 89,000-acre reservoir Gainesville Sherman Bonham Cooke (38,946) Grayson Fannin managed by the US Army (118,478) (33,337) Corps of Engineers. In addition, the Chickasaw Source: US Census Bureau and Choctaw Tribal Nations contribute significantly to the regional economy, not only through their highly visible tribal casinos and resorts, but also through their investments in a variety of business operations. However, the area’s location along two major highway corridors—Interstate 35 and US 75—north of fast-growing Dallas-Fort Worth and south and east of Oklahoma City opens up many possibilities for a completely different future. The critical question is what that future will be and how much the region’s leaders can play a role in shaping that future. A plan for the future will require a collaborative response. The Texoma Workforce Development Board and the Southern Oklahoma Workforce Board have joined forces with a number of economic development organizations and educational institutions across the 13-county Texoma region to create the Texoma Regional Consortium (TRC), an informal network of regional leaders designed to engage participating counties in defining a common vision for the region’s future prosperity. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness i The TRC engaged the Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (CSW) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) to help frame key issues and facilitate the discussions among leaders toward developing a regional economic growth strategy. The resulting strategy will help the area transition from its dependence