Despite the challenges our region has faced, we remain optimistic for a brighter future.
The northeast Oklahoma business community has displayed unwavering courage in the face of adversity. Companies large and small banded together, unified in the face of multiple challenges, to persevere.
In spite of everything, optimism is still well-founded. The Tulsa region's unique virtues – our low costs of living and doing business, high quality of life, central location, educational and training institutions, and eager workforce – have attracted the attention of businesses and talent alike looking to trade big city hassles for a more manageable and satisfying way of life.
As your partner in prosperity, the Tulsa Regional Chamber has helped accelerate economic recovery by leading for the future, empowering businesses, advocating for relief and building community in meaningful ways.
Despite a significant strategy pivot in 2020, our ultimate aim remained the same: improving the quality of community life through the development of regional economic prosperity.
This commitment to future prosperity, supported by the engagement and investment of more than 2,150 member companies, was recognized at the national level. For the fourth time in 15 years, the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives honored the Tulsa Regional Chamber as its National Chamber of the Year.
Northeast Oklahoma has always been a resilient region. That resilience will serve us well yet again through 2021 and beyond.
The Tulsa region experienced record capital investment in 2020. Tulsa's Future, the Chamber-led regional economic development partnership supported by public and private investors, helped facilitate a number of significant projects in 2020:
- American Airlines announced a $550 million investment at its Tulsa maintenance base, the largest capital investment in Tulsa’s history.
- Amazon opened its $130 million, 600,000-square-foot Tulsa fulfillment center and began hiring for more than 1,500 full-time positions.
- The Chamber and City of Tulsa celebrated more than 25 years of partnership with Whirlpool as the company opened its $55 million factory distribution center.
- Sofidel formally opened its $360 million, 1.8 million-square-foot facility in Inola.
- Milo's Tea Company began operations at the company's $60 million production and distribution center.
With the onset of the pandemic, the Chamber shifted its focus to meet the immediate needs of area businesses and help retain as many jobs and workers as possible. That work will continue in 2021 with Tulsa’s Future: Road to Recovery. This one-year strategic work plan will address today’s urgent needs for recovery and stabilization while paving the way for a new longer-term Tulsa’s Future plan to launch in 2022.
Tulsa’s Future: Road to Recovery will also capitalize on the national exposure Tulsa earned during its bid for a Tesla Gigafactory. While Tesla ultimately chose Austin, CEO Elon Musk said he is very impressed with Tulsa and the company “will strongly consider Tulsa for future operations down the road.”
The more than $40 million of free publicity surrounding the Tesla project substantially elevated Tulsa’s profile and positions us to better compete for transformative projects in the future.
Our region is not only on the map for higher-caliber economic development projects, but the word is out on Tulsa as a must-see destination. Despite the pandemic's heavy toll on the local tourism industry, Tulsa was named a top place to visit in 2021 by National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure magazine.
Tulsa Regional Tourism, the Chamber's destination marketing organization, helped build this momentum by assisting with 77 events safely held in our community during 2020, which had a total economic impact of more than $145 million.
Additionally, Tulsa Regional Tourism secured major new events for the future, including the 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s satellite screenings at Tulsa's Circle Cinema, the 2021 IRONMAN North American Championship and the 2023 NCAA Division 1 Wrestling Championships. With more than 60 events on the books for 2021 and an expected economic impact of $161 million, awareness of Tulsa's tourism brand is poised for continued growth.
Business-driven leadership
In April, the Chamber partnered with Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum on the creation of the Mayor’s Economic Recovery Advisory Committee. This diverse 23-member committee is made up of veteran CEOs and business leaders, including 15 members of the Chamber’s Board of Directors.
The committee's recommendations will help lead our region's short-term recovery and long-term economic growth. The Chamber has led on a number of these recommendations, including an analysis of displaced workers in the Tulsa area and an action plan for re-skilling and re-deploying local talent.
Lending further critical mass to these efforts, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce designated Tulsa’s Future as a Manufacturing Center of Workforce Excellence. Centers are certified, localized collaborations that meet and exceed superior workforce development standards. This designation will help ensure northeast Oklahoma has the skilled talent needed for continued growth and post-pandemic recovery.
Continued collaboration between the public and private sectors will help ensure we rebound as safely as possible.
Telling Tulsa's story
With funding from Tulsa County CARES, a number of Chamber initiatives took the lead on telling Tulsa's safety story to the world.
In August, Tulsa Regional Tourism launched the Tulsa Safely Pandemic Partnership. More than 200 area businesses, attractions and venues signed on to the partnership and committed to following CDC and Tulsa Health Department guidelines for reopening.
With a directory of participating businesses, digital content detailing how to experience Tulsa safely, and a robust digital marketing campaign that reached more than 50 million potential travelers, Tulsa Safely has anchored much of the regional tourism industry's relief efforts throughout the pandemic.
The Chamber also partnered with New York-based place marketing firm DCI on a proactive media relations strategy to complement Tulsa Safely.
DCI's two-pronged approach targeted economic development site selectors and key corporate decision-makers with information on the strategic and operational pivots made by our region in response to the pandemic, as well as meeting planners and potential visitors with information about the health and safety measures taken by area businesses and attractions.
Tulsa Regional Tourism's efforts during the pandemic not only drove millions of people to consider Tulsa for their next trip, but also aided in elevating Tulsa's reputation as a premier destination.
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While 2020 was full of unforeseen obstacles for the entire business community, the pandemic has been especially hard on our region’s small businesses. Shortly after the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Tulsa, members of the Chamber staff personally reached out to each member company to learn how we could best support them.
Based on feedback from these calls, as well as additional surveying of the region’s business community, we focused time and effort on resources that helped business owners and operators address practical needs:
- Throughout the pandemic, Chamber staff compiled and disseminated the most relevant and useful information about public health guidance, assistance and relief resources, and workforce best-practices.
- We launched our virtual Business Support Series of conference calls and webinars to share timely information, expertise and know-how. More than 800 people benefited from the 28 installments of this event series during the peak of the economic crisis.
- In July, we partnered with Tulsa County and TAEMA to source and distribute free personal protective equipment (PPE) to area small businesses. This partnership was able to distribute 2,550 kits to nearly 2,000 companies at a time when these vital supplies were difficult to find – and essential for a safe reopening.
Our annual member retention rate of 86% – exceeding a goal set pre-pandemic – shows area businesses remain committed to supporting each other.
Events are a cornerstone of the Chamber's programming and services. In response to the increased financial hardship facing so many of our members, and to provide the greatest value to area businesses, our dozens of virtual events in 2020 were free and open to all. These virtual gatherings not only shared important information with a wide audience, but championed and celebrated stories of persistence and excellence.
Bolstering the recovery of our region's creative industries
The Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Arts & Culture (Tulsa FMAC), an accredited film commission under Tulsa Regional Tourism, leveraged funding from Tulsa County CARES to provide assistance to our region's music and film industries.
Through Play Tulsa Music, we supported more than 700 live music performances at 33 Tulsa County music venues. These performances generated more than $150,000 of income for area musicians.
A second project, the Tulsa County Film Recovery Program, awarded $90,000 to five film projects, which resulted in 320 jobs for local film professionals, 1,169 workdays for local film crew members and 2,389 booked room nights at Tulsa County hotels.
Sustaining these industries is vital to preserving Tulsa's vibrant, creative identity.
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The pandemic has clearly shown how action and responsiveness from our elected officials – whether at the local, state or federal level – can have enormous implications for individual companies and entire industries.
Throughout the year, Chamber staff stayed in constant contact with policymakers to ensure our members had the latest information about relief and assistance programs, and to ensure the voices of Tulsa-area businesses were heard in Oklahoma City and Washington, D.C. From ad hoc forums to private conference calls to virtual signature events, the Chamber provided dozens of opportunities for engagement between elected, business and civic leaders.
Hundreds of Chamber members and regional partners participated in an all-virtual OneVoice legislative process, which culminated at our annual OneVoice summit in October. These volunteers dedicated hundreds of collective hours to establishing a unified voice around policy priorities essential to our region's recovery.
While the advocacy of our members and regional partners looked different than in years past, it was no less vital – or effective.
Chamber advocacy also helped secure progress on several long-term OneVoice priorities:
- The Chamber joined a coalition of organizations endorsing Medicaid expansion through State Question 802, which voters approved in June. More than 200,000 Oklahomans will now have access to health insurance through expanded Medicaid eligibility.
- Quick action from Chamber members helped protect critical state economic development incentives, including a manufacturing tax exemption that has helped create more than 75,000 jobs since 2016.
- After years of sustained effort, rehabilitation of the west Tulsa levee system moved several steps closer to completion. The project received a final recommendation from the Army Corps of Engineers in April and congressional authorization in December.
20/20 vision
In 2016, the Tulsa Regional Chamber coordinated the “vote yes” campaign for the Vision Tulsa sales tax package, and in 2020, we celebrated progress on several projects that will have a major impact on our community.
After two years of renovations, the Cox Business Convention Center held a grand reopening. This $55 million project included completion of a brand new entryway and Grand Hall, which is now Oklahoma’s largest banquet space and is sure to attract lots of future conferences and events.
Tulsa leaders also broke ground on the new Zink Dam, a $48 million project that will improve safety and increase the depth of the Arkansas River. This project will transform how Tulsans use and enjoy our region’s greatest natural asset.
Continued progress on Vision Tulsa projects like these are proof positive that Tulsans believe their best days are ahead.
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Among the multitude of challenges our nation faced in 2020, issues of race, privilege and power took center stage. The need to reckon with these issues in our own community feels particularly urgent as we approach the centennial anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
We are determined to increase economic opportunity for all, particularly those who have been excluded from progress in the past.
The Chamber helps facilitate the business community's engagement primarily through Mosaic, our coalition of companies and nonprofit partners committed to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
In 2020, Mosaic hosted several forums, training sessions and community conversations with a particular focus on equity:
- Our virtual State of Inclusion highlighted the increased engagement of Tulsa-area companies with community DEI work.
- Chamber staff conducted more than 40 presentations at individual businesses and nonprofits.
- In June, Mosaic hosted a free, virtual community implicit bias training attended by more than 600 people.
Developing the next generation of civic leaders
We continued to develop young talent, both to aid in their pursuit of professional goals and their stature as significant voices in our community.
With a significant number of elections throughout 2020, TYPROS, our young professionals organization, re-ignited its 918 Vote campaign. Dozens of volunteers helped register more than 1,400 new voters, and TYPROS partnered with the League of Women Voters to host the only livestreamed virtual candidate forum ahead of Tulsa’s mayoral primary.
A number of ongoing TYPROS initiatives shifted focus to pandemic-related needs:
- As businesses adjusted to the reality of social distancing, TYPROS used its annual Street Cred event to showcase the potential of outdoor parklets, which are now a fixture at dozens of restaurants.
- The TYPROS Foundation awarded 10 micro-grants to projects providing relief to the Tulsa community.
- TYPROS' annual Boomtown Awards recognized the people, businesses and organizations that helped Tulsans persevere through the year.
By connecting people, developing leaders and building community, TYPROS helps make our region a great place to live, work and play.
