VOLUME 94 / ISSUE 6 2018 DECEMBER / NOVEMBER FROM BEIGE TO BOLD Tulsa’s street art FOLLOW US LEADING OKLAHOMA’S TURNAROUND An interview with Gov.-elect Kevin Stitt The Chamber Report (ISSN 1532-5733) is published bimonthly by the Tulsa Regional Chamber, Williams Center ToWer I, One West Third Street, Suite 100, Tulsa, OK 74103, (918) 585-1201. Members receive a subscription for $12 paid from annual dues. Nonmembers can subscribe for $24 per year. Periodical postage is paid at Tulsa, Oklahoma. Publisher reserves the right to refuse any advertising. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Chamber Report, Williams Center ToWer I, One West Third Street, Suite 100, Tulsa, OK 74103. IN THIS ISSUE PG 4 : FROM BEIGE TO BOLD PG 20 : FINDING INSPIRATION INTERCITY VISIT TO COLUMBUS SHOWCASES THE POWER OF COLLABORATION PG 22 : PUTTING THE BOOM IN BOOMTOWN TYPROS HONORS TULSA TRAILBLAZERS AT ANNUAL BOOMTOWN AWARDS PG 12 : STATE OF THE 918 TULSA MAYOR G.T. BYNUM DELIVERS ANNUAL ADDRESS PG 24 : SMALL BUSINESS CONNECTION SPOTLIGHT PENCE LAW FIRM, P.C. PG 14 : LEADING OKLAHOMA'S TURNAROUND AN INTERVIEW WITH GOV.- ELECT KEVIN STITT PG 25 : D&I 101 A YEAR IN REVIEW FEATURED ARTIST NIGHTINGALE PG 17 : EIGHT YEARS RUNNING BIG 12 WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIP TO REMAIN IN TULSA THROUGH 2024 PG 26 : LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP WHIRLPOOL INVESTS IN TULSA-AGAIN PG 18 : EXPANDING EQUITY BUILDING A STRATEGIC APPROACH TO A MORE INCLUSIVE REGION PG 29 : NEW MEMBERS 2 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2018 LEADERSHIP TEAM PRESIDENT & CEO Mike Neal, CCE, CCD, HLM EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT & COO Justin McLaughlin, CEcD, CCE REGIONAL ECONOMIC & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Brien Thorstenberg, CEcD Senior Vice President Bill Murphy, EDFP, CEcD Vice President REGIONAL TOURISM Ray Hoyt Senior Vice President, VisitTulsa, Tulsa Sports Commission & Tulsa FMAC Vanesa Masucci Vice President, VisitTulsa Jessica Lowe-Betts, IOM Vice President of Marketing & Branding, VisitTulsa & Tulsa Sports Commission Vince Trinidad, CSEE, IOM Executive Director, Tulsa Sports Commission REGIONAL BUSINESS & EDUCATION ADVOCACY Elizabeth Osburn Senior Vice President Zack Stoycoff Vice President ON THE COVER: Street art is a visible indicator of a COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Maggie Hoey community's vibrancy. Local muralist (and Chamber Executive Director, TYPros employee) Chris Rogers created a custom mural for Kuma Roberts, IOM the story's artwork. See a timelapse of its creation at Executive Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion tulsachamber.com/streetart. RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT Allison Walden, CFRE, IOM Senior Vice President Steffanie Bonner Vice President, Resource Development Courtney Dresher To advertise in The Chamber Report, email Vice President, Member Engagement and [email protected] Investor Relations or call 918.560.0250. Karen Humphrey, IOM Executive Director, Resource Campaign FINANCE Nancy Carter, CPA Vice President THE CHAMBER REPORT IS PUBLISHED SIX TIMES A YEAR BY THE TULSA REGIONAL CHAMBER COMMUNICATIONS, MARKETING & EVENTS EDITORS CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jim Morgan Jim Morgan Taylor Costley Senior Vice President Senior Vice President, Communications Senior Account Executive Chris Wylie Chris Wylie Jarrel Wade Vice President Vice President, Communications Senior Account Executive HUMAN RESOURCES PUBLICATION AND DESIGN Piper Wolfe Cynthia Simmons Taylor Bryan Campbell Senior Account Executive Director of Creative Services Head of Talent, Culture & HR Michelle Stokes Senior Graphic Designer TULSACHAMBER.COM | THE CHAMBER REPORT 3 4 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2018 In Tulsa’s historic Greenwood District, a new large-scale mural has become a destination for residents and visitors alike. The enormous letters painted on the side of Interstate 244 nod to the district’s vibrant history as one of the largest concentrations of black-owned businesses and wealth in the country. “Black Wall St.” is a powerful telling of Greenwood’s tragedy and triumph. Destroyed during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre only to be rebuilt and decimated again by interstate construction and “urban renewal,” Greenwood is still recovering from decades of silence and neglect. But that recovery, led by local organizations and community coalitions, epitomizes Greenwood’s legacy of resilience, not defeat. To mark that legacy, Tulsa artist Chris “SKER” Rogers developed the idea for a street mural in collaboration with the Greenwood Cultural Center and the 1921 Race Massacre Centennial Commission. He hoped to spark ongoing conversations about the district and its history, particularly as the community approaches the massacre’s 100th anniversary. These partners enlisted nationally recognized muralist Donald “Scribe” Ross and received funding from the TYPros Foundation, the 1921 Race Massacre Centennial Commission and Fowler Ford. “The goals of the Black Wall Street mural were three-fold: to help strengthen the placemaking efforts currently underway in the Greenwood District, to showcase Greenwood’s vibrant community spirit and to help foster important conversations,” says Rogers, who managed the mural project. Rogers also happens to be the Chamber’s sales and operations specialist for VisitTulsa. The mural’s original concept was simply “Greenwood.” However, Bill White at the Greenwood Cultural Center suggested changing it to “Black Wall St.” to better represent the neighborhood’s legacy. “The Black Wall Street story draws people from around the city, state and world,” says White. “We thought that the mural needed punch, and we knew people coming to the area were thirsty for artwork that was interesting, historical and thought-provoking.” Unveiled in July, the mural has already had a positive impact on the Greenwood community. “The mural has generated thousands of social media mentions, it has been written about nationwide in several prominent magazines and blogs, and it has become a go-to spot for visitors to the Greenwood District,” says Rogers. “It has drawn many new visitors to the area, increasing foot traffc to local businesses and strengthening awareness of the many other good things that are happening there.” TULSACHAMBER.COM / THE CHAMBER REPORT 5 6 NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2018 "Oversized storybook" In Greenwood and elsewhere, street art tells a community’s story in unique and interesting ways. Not only that, murals have a signifcant impact on a community’s quality of place. Quality of place is defned as the physical characteristics of a community – the way it’s planned, designed, developed and maintained – that affect the quality of the experience people have living, working and visiting there. Renowned urban studies theorist Richard Florida, writing for the Urban Land Institute, explains: "Quality of place can be summed up as an interrelated set of experiences. Many, like those provided by the street-level scene, are Chris Rogers leads a discussion about the dynamic and participatory. You can do more than be a spectator; you Black Wall Street mural with members of the can become a part of the scene … Quality of place defnes the very Chamber’s executive committee. soul of a successful community; the factors that go into it – aesthetic, cultural, demographic – add up to the things that everyone wants in their communities." A city’s arts and culture scene is a key indicator of quality of place. Local artist Josh Butts has been painting murals for 20 years. A graphic Street art is often the most readily experienced form of art – it’s designer by trade, murals give him a chance to make art that impacts his available to anyone, at any time, often in unexpected places. The surroundings. Among his many works throughout the region, Butts has more visible a community’s creativity and character, the stronger the teamed up with the Mental Health Association for a mural addressing community’s sense of identity. homelessness in downtown Tulsa, several large projects in Sand Springs and two murals on Route 66, one funded by the TYPros Foundation. Chad Oliverson with Arts Alliance Tulsa says that murals show the region is “bursting with new ideas and new stories.” “If done well, murals can be transformative, both physically and psychologically, in the way the community feels about a particular space,” “Murals are an important tool in telling stories to diversifying Butts says. “In the same way you would dress nicely for a job, when a city communities,” says Oliverson. “We connect to this ‘oversized has public art, it is attractive to those who visit. It shows that we take pride storybook’ that tells a new tale by turning a street corner rather than in our city.” by turning a page. Tulsa is becoming ‘The Painted City,’ a city that is not content to be silent with its past or its future visions.” In other words, murals change the impression of a city from beige to bold. TULSACHAMBER.COM / THE CHAMBER REPORT 7 Walls as canvas More often than not, street murals are com- missioned works of art. “It’s an organization or company that’s saying, has a portfolio, examples, a website and Most of all, clients should be transparent ‘I want art created,’” Rogers says. “Then they professional accolades,” says Rogers. about the budget. go and put out word.” The commission should also be upfront with Cost determinants include wall size (especial- Rogers recommends that commissioned any specifc styles, goals or ideas the client ly height), the design’s complexity and, most pieces solicit muralists via a request for has in mind, as well the amount of creative of all, time. Some projects require a lot of art- qualifcations, and that the creation of any freedom given to the muralist. ist input and management, in which case the original content – including original ideas artist should be compensated for that work as that may or may not be the fnal product – be “Art is subjective,” Rogers says. “Not every- well. compensated. one is going to like it. Focus on your goals: do people take notice of the mural, and does it “There’s more than just painting that goes “If you’re hiring for a professional mural, spark interest?" into large-scale murals,” Rogers says.