Norman Business Association

09/20/2024

Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame sportswriter Berry Tramel says college sports have been changed fundamentally in recent years by the transfer portal and emerging Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rules. Both developments have given players unbridled freedom and financial benefits that were unheard of only a few years ago.
In football, there are two professional leagues these days, he said. One is the NFL and the other is composed of the SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and the PAC-12.
That’s not a bad thing necessarily, he said. It has created greater parity along with more uncertainty, and both of those make for greater excitement in the sports world.
As guest speaker at the Norman Business Association’s weekly meeting on Friday, Tramel touched on a broad range of topics, from little league softball to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and you could hear a pin drop in the crowded room at The Trails Golf Club in Norman.
Inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2018, Tramel continues his 46-year career, which started at the Norman Transcript in 1978. He spent 32 years at The Oklahoman and now he writes for the Tulsa World.

Photos Below:
Hall of Fame sportswriter Berry Tramel entertains members of the Norman Business Association with a menagerie of stories from more than 40 years of covering sports in Oklahoma.

Sportswriter Berry Tramel (right) stands with NBA member and former Norman Transcript editor Andy Rieger following Friday's presentation.

09/19/2024

The City of Norman could be benefit from tens of millions of dollars in state matching funds to help offset the cost of a billion-dollar entertainment district development the city council approved on Sept. 17. The money would come through Oklahoma’s Enterprise Zone Incentive Leverage Act.
Under the economic development program, the state Department of Commerce can approve matching funds to help cities offset the cost of economic development projects. And, according to Aldwyn Sappleton, the department’s deputy director of research and economic analysis, the project appears to be an ideal candidate to benefit.
Sappleton, the Norman Business Association’s guest speaker on Sept. 13, said the development will create more than 4,000 new jobs once it is complete, and the Tax Increment Finance district being created to help fund the project could be eligible for 100% matching funds if set up correctly, and from what he has seen so far, the project is in good position to qualify for such a match.
The development at Interstate 35 and Rock Creek Road has a $1.1 billion price tag, which will be paid for with a combination of private and public funds, with private developers covering more than half of the cost. The remaining costs will be divided between the City of Norman, Cleveland County and the University of Oklahoma.

09/06/2024

Members of the Norman Business Association recognized Link Cotham as the organization’s Business of the Month on Friday, highlighting their fellow member’s long and award-winning career in finance. Link has been providing financial advisory services to clients in Ponca City and Norman Oklahoma for more than two decades. He spoke to the group on Friday about important investing and financial strategies for retirement planning.
Link is currently affiliated with United Planners Financial Services in Norman, and has spent many years with Waddell & Reed, serving clients in Ponca City.
The NBA, one of Norman’s oldest small business advocacy organizations, meets every Friday morning to discuss local business developments and to hear from leaders in business, technology, government, media, sports, and a variety of other areas. Any Norman-area resident who owns a business, manages a business, or plays a key role in the operation of any for-profit or nonprofit organization is welcome to join. For information about the NBA and how to contact us, go to normanbusiness.com.

NBA Business of the Month Honoree Link Cotham, left, visits with long-time NBA member and former NBA President Karen Vahlberg.

09/03/2024

Public speaker and executive coach Ray Sanders told members of the Norman Business Association that the quality of life on top of the heap isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The stresses of responsibility and leadership can wear people down, take their toll and leave home lives in disarray.

The key to navigating career success without harming personal happiness is focus, and that starts by remembering how you got to the top in the first place. We should focus on being a force for good in our communities and guard against the kind of negativity that could harm others, said Sanders, founder of Oklahoma City-based Coaching Leaders.

The NBA, one of Norman’s oldest small business advocacy organizations, meets every Friday morning to discuss local business developments and to hear from leaders in business, technology, government, media, sports, and a variety of other areas. Any Norman-area resident who owns a business, manages a business, or plays a key role in the operation of any for-profit or nonprofit organization is welcome to join. For information about the NBA and how to contact us, go to normanbusiness.com.

08/27/2024

There have been a few transformational moments in Norman’s history. The first was the community’s selection as home of the University of Oklahoma in 1890. Many years later, the U.S. Navy selected Norman as the site of its pilot training base shortly after the start of World War II. Two decades after the war ended, the federal government completed construction of Lake Thunderbird in east Norman and not long after that, Interstate 35 was built on the city’s west side.
Soon, Norman will be facing a new wave of transformational development, according to Norman development attorney Sean Rieger, who addressed the Norman Business Association on Friday. He says construction of an Oklahoma turnpike, stretching across the city’s north side is now certain and plans for a $1.1 billion entertainment district at Rock Creek Road and I-35 are finally falling into place. Urban planners expect Norman’s population to surpass 180,000 within the next 25 years. And those expectations are driving a housing and commercial development boom that has already begun and could eventually transform the city from its inner core to its outer edges.
The NBA, one of Norman’s oldest small business advocacy organizations, meets every Friday morning to discuss local business developments and to hear from leaders in business, technology, government, media, sports, and a variety of other areas. Any Norman-area resident who owns a business, manages a business, or plays a key role in the operation of any for-profit or nonprofit organization is welcome to join. For information about the NBA and how to contact us, go to normanbusiness.com.

08/19/2024

The Norman Business Association welcomed veteran meteorology researcher Kevin Kelleher as its guest speaker on Friday to talk about his experiences behind the scenes in the shooting of Twister and its recently released sequel, Twisters.
Kevin, a Norman resident and former deputy director of the National Severe Storms Laboratory, lent his decades of experience in weather research to the two film projects. He consulted on script dialogue and helped producers understand the nature of severe weather and the behavior of tornadoes.
His experiences on the set of Twister was a great adventure, he said, and when they asked him back to consult with them again on Twisters, he did not hesitate.
This time around, there was even an opportunity for Kevin to take some film crew leaders on a bonified Oklahoma storm chasing excursion that led to a dramatic sighting just across the border in the Texas Panhandle.
The NBA, one of Norman’s oldest small business advocacy organizations, meets every Friday morning to discuss local business developments and to hear from leaders in business, technology, government, media, sports, and a variety of other areas. Any Norman-area resident who owns a business, manages a business, or plays a key role in the operation of any for-profit or nonprofit organization is welcome to join. For information about the NBA and how to contact us, go to normanbusiness.com.

NBA member Randy Gardner, left, stands with his long-time friend and meteorology researcher Kevin Kelleher, who talked about the shooting of the blockbuster sequels Twister, which was released in 1997 and Twisters, which is still in theaters

Non-profit organisation

08/12/2024

Norman City Manager Darrel Pyle met with the Norman Business Association about the city’s unprecedented effort to plan for the community’s rapid growth over the next 20 years.
In his presentation on Friday, Pyle said Norman’s population is expected to surpass 180,000 over the next two decades as it continues to stretch the community’s housing capacity. Through the planning process, which includes municipal staff and residents, the city is addressing innovative housing, transportation and business district development models that welcome greater urban density.
In addition to housing, commercial development and transportation, Pyle said the planning project is also addressing other infrastructure and quality-of-life aspects of the community, such as water, stormwater and parks.
The NBA, one of Norman’s oldest small business advocacy organizations, meets every Friday morning to discuss local business developments and to hear from leaders in business, technology, government, media, sports, and a variety of other areas. Any Norman-area resident who owns a business, manages a business, or plays a key role in the operation of any for-profit or nonprofit organization is welcome to join. For information about the NBA and how to contact us, go to normanbusiness.com.

Non-profit organisation

08/02/2024

The Norman Business Association recognized member Jerry Hatter and his OU apparel store, Balfour of Norman, as the club’s business of the month on Friday, just in time for the Sooner’s historic move into the SEC.
Jerry took the opportunity to talk about the sales boom his business is experiencing as fans look forward to OU’s entry into the most elite athletic conference in college football. He showed off a variety of team gear emblazoned with the iconic SEC logo, which has been selling like hotcakes since the transition became official on July 1.
The OU football team kicks off its 2024 football season in a home game against Temple on Aug. 30.
The NBA, one of Norman’s oldest small business advocacy organizations, meets every Friday morning to discuss local business developments and to hear from leaders in business, technology, government, media, sports, and a variety of other areas. Any Norman-area resident who owns a business, manages a business, or plays a key role in the operation of any for-profit or nonprofit organization is welcome to join. For information about the NBA and how to contact us, go to normanbusiness.com.

07/21/2024

Dick Prior, award-winning Oklahoma journalist and general manager of KGOU radio, told the Norman Business Association on Friday that societal forces have influenced the objective nature of news coverage in America. Prior says social media, the proliferation a news outlets, the 24-hour news cycle and the commercial interests of networks have affected the way the media packages and delivers the news today. Also, he said the lines between objectivity and opinion have blurred over time as cable networks focus as much attention on entertainment value as they do on informing the public.
As general manager of University of Oklahoma-based KGOU, Pryor has nearly 50 years of experience as deputy director, managing editor, news manager, news anchor and host for OETA, Oklahoma’s statewide public television network. He joined KGOU in 2016.
Pryor earned a B.A. in Journalism and a J.D. from the University of Oklahoma. In 2015, he was chosen a Distinguished Alumnus of the Ga***rd College of Journalism and Mass Communication at OU, where he has served as an instructor of Mass Communications Law and Radio News. Pryor was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame in 2009.
The NBA, one of Norman’s oldest small business advocacy organizations, meets every Friday morning to discuss local business developments and to hear from leaders in business, technology, government, media, sports, and a variety of other areas. Any Norman-area resident who owns a business, manages a business, or plays a key role in the operation of any for-profit or nonprofit organization is welcome to join. For information about the NBA and how to contact us, go to normanbusiness.com.

Non-profit organisation

07/15/2024

The Norman Business Association welcomed Max Wertheimer Airport Administrator Lance Lamkin to speak about new developments at Oklahoma’s third-busiest general aviation airport.
At the top of the airport’s construction agenda is a $36.5 million package of projects that will include hanger construction and a major overhaul of Max Westheimer’s main runway. The work will encompass lengthening and thickening. The renovation is meant to bring the runway to a higher standard necessary for large private passenger jets, such as the Gulfstream V, a popular long-range aircraft capable of flying from Norman to Europe without stopping.
Seating up to 14 passengers and weighing more than 90,000 pounds, the G5 is a workhorse in the world of corporate aviation and its pilots have expressed a preference for Max Westheimer over the congestion of Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers Airport. But runway limitations have all but prohibited G5 flights at Norman’s airport, resulting in the loss of millions in economic opportunity for the local economy.
Lamkin’s presentation also included planned construction of two new hangers and a new control tower. He said the airport has not seen a significant facility upgrade in three decades, and all of these upgrades could mark the beginning of a new era of improvement for Max Westheimer.
The NBA, one of Norman’s oldest small business advocacy organizations, meets every Friday morning to discuss local business developments and to hear from leaders in business, technology, government, media, sports, and a variety of other areas. Any Norman-area resident who owns a business, manages a business, or plays a key role in the operation of any for-profit or nonprofit organization is welcome to join. For information about the NBA and how to contact us, go to normanbusiness.com.


Max Wertheimer Airport Administrator Lance Lamkin stands with NBA members Jordan Cramer (left) and Cyril Solaude.

Non-profit organisation

07/01/2024

Maybe Nathan Gunter was born to be the editor-in-chief of Oklahoma Today magazine. Not only is he a native Oklahoman, Nathan comes from a family who arrived in the Sooner State six generations ago, when Oklahoma was known as Oklahoma Territory.
Gunter was the speaker on Friday at the Norman Business Association’s weekly meeting, talking about Oklahoma’s colorful history, its bright future and how fortunate he is to be in the front seat, observing all that is great about our state and then telling its story through his award-winning magazine.
Nathan says he loves to go on long road trips, preferring state highways to freeways when possible. Maybe that’s because he can learn more from 100 miles on a local road than he could ever learn from a thousand miles on an interstate highway.
It was good to meet Nathan and we were glad to add him to a rich and diverse list of speakers that continues to make the NBA special.
The NBA, one of Norman’s oldest small business advocacy organizations, meets every Friday morning to discuss local business developments and to hear from leaders in business, technology, government, media, sports, and a variety of other areas. Any Norman-area resident who owns a business, manages a business, or plays a key role in the operation of any for-profit or nonprofit organization is welcome to join. For information about the NBA and how to contact us, go to normanbusiness.com.

Non-profit organisation

06/24/2024

The Norman Business Association on Friday welcomed Norman executive Nolan Gray to provide an overview of ACT, an international company serving dozens or corporate giants from around the world.

Advanced Call Center Technologies (ACT) is a quiet giant, crossing the threshold this spring as Norman’s top private-sector employer with the addition of 800 new employees to a workforce that had already reached 700 after opening in Norman just two years ago

A 13-year veteran at ACT, Nolan is director of operations of the Norman call center, which is part of a network that also includes offices in Montego Bay, Jamaica; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Douglas, Ariz.; Carmichael, Calif.; Junction City, Kan.; Harlingen, Texas; Johnson City, Tenn. and Logan, Utah. ACT has more than 10,000 employees worldwide.

Established in 1997, ACT provides a wide range of customer service support in eight languages. The Norman office’s services include fraud and dispute management as well as claim processing to clients primarily in the financial sector.

The NBA, one of Norman’s oldest small business advocacy organizations, meets every Friday morning to discuss local business developments and to hear from leaders in business, technology, government, media, sports, and a variety of other areas. Any Norman-area resident who owns a business, manages a business, or plays a key role in the operation of any for-profit or nonprofit organization is welcome to join. For information about the NBA and how to contact us, go to normanbusiness.com.

Non-profit organisation