2015 Issue 12
Develop, Innovate, Prosper
Oklahoma Ranked 2nd Nationally for Early Childhood Literacy A national study released November 23rd, ranked Oklahoma second in the United States for implementing a comprehensive system that ensures students develop strong literacy skills and read on grade level by the third grade. The report, “From Crawling to Walking: Ranking States on Birth3rd Grade Policies that Build Strong Readers,” by the national think tank New America scored states on 65 education policy points ranging from teacher preparation to student achievement. New York was the only state ranked higher than Oklahoma. Only the top five states were considered “walking” toward successful literacy rates by third grade on the report’s scale of “crawling, toddling and walking.”
and highly qualified educators, Oklahoma is being recognized as a national leader in preparing students to read on grade level by the third grade. We are making strides in improving academic outcomes that last far beyond early childhood,” Hofmeister said. In particular, the report highlights Oklahoma’s early childhood education programs — including universal pre-kindergarten and required full-day kindergarten — and high minimum certification and employment requirements to teach at those levels, ranking Oklahoma first in the nation in its “Educator” category.
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister congratulated Oklahoma’s educators on the national recognition.
It also spotlighted Oklahoma’s school funding formula and the Reading Sufficiency Act as important pieces of many components working together to achieve higher early childhood literacy.
“This report provides one more reminder that when Oklahomans get behind their schools and put the academic success of all schoolchildren first, we truly achieve great things. Thanks to our early childhood initiatives
Debra Andersen, executive director of Oklahoma’s early childhood initiative Smart Start, praised the progress Oklahoma has made and said it’s an indication that we must continue to strengthen and expand early childhood education programs.
“We are pleased to see Oklahoma rank in the top five among U.S. states that are implementing the right formula for supporting strong readers. From well-trained teachers and aligned early learning standards to universal pre-k and full daykindergarten, our kids have one of the best systems in the nation to support their reading development. To better understand how well these investments are making a difference, we need to continue to improve our efforts in monitoring the progress of our students from early childhood into the early elementary years, increase our outreach to infants and toddlers in vulnerable families and continue to support our educators through training and adequate compensation,” Andersen said. Full Report: http://bit.ly/1OjDWsJ
Insure Oklahoma Offered to Larger Companies p. 3 Ada Jobs Foundation Brings Home Gold p. 5 State STEM Grants Fund Innovative Research and Development p. 5
RX for Oklahoma helps Oklahomans access prescription assistance programs provided by pharmaceutical manufacturing companies. Free and discounted medication assistance has proven to be a much needed service for Oklahomans since the inception of RX for Oklahoma on December 1, 2005. RX for Oklahoma provides better healthcare, improved medication compliance and fewer medical complications for those who qualify. TX
Oklahoma residents, regardless of age, who are uninsured or underinsured are encouraged to apply. Medicare Part D and Medicaid beneficiaries with unique circumstances may qualify.
When applying, please have the following information readily available: • Age • Residential address • Gross annual household income
Call RX for Oklahoma at 1-877-RX4-OKLA (1-877-794-6552) or go to one of the regional processing centers designated for your residential county. RX for Oklahoma staff will take your information including name, age, address and income as well as prescription(s) needed and dosage(s). This information is then entered into a special database that generates the appropriate paperwork for the pharmaceutical companies for which you are eligible. RX for Oklahoma staff will assist you with the completion of the applications and required documentation for submission. The entire process takes approximately one month to complete, so only long-term medications will qualify.
• Complete list of medications you are taking • Physician information • Insurance coverage (if applicable)
There is no charge for RX Oklahoma services. Staff is available to provide assistance with the application process.
YOU MAY QUALIFY FOR
FREE OR LOW-COST MEDICATIONS
Insure Oklahoma Offered to Larger Companies Governor Mary Fallin and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) announced that the Insure Oklahoma program is increasing its employer size limit from 99 to 250 employees. The change is effective immediately. Insure Oklahoma is the state’s premium assistance program that helps businesses and their middle- to lowincome employees afford health insurance coverage. Insure Oklahoma’s funding levels can support premium assistance for about 30,000 individuals. Increasing the employer size limit to 250 employees, which is authorized under the program’s federal waiver, will allow Insure Oklahoma to maximize program usage. Insure Oklahoma launched in 2005 with an initial employer size limit of 25 employees. This is the third time the size limit has been increased. Governor Fallin said increasing the eligibility limit to 250 employees is part of the state’s efforts to be more business-friendly, improve health outcomes and responsibly expand access to health care. “Raising the eligibility cap allows the state to partner with more businesses to provide affordable health insurance to their employees,” said Fallin. “The money that Insure Oklahoma saves employers can be reinvested in more jobs and other employee benefits.” OHCA Chief Executive Officer Nico Gomez said the Insure Oklahoma program has the capacity and funding in place to serve more businesses. “Insure Oklahoma has the capacity to serve more businesses and thousands more working Oklahomans,” said Gomez. “We are ready to accept applications from newly-qualified businesses and employees and look forward to serving them.” Insure Oklahoma currently has both employerbased and individual health insurance options. The employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) option of Insure Oklahoma pays at least 60 percent of the premiums for private market health insurance policies. Participating employers pay at least 25 percent of the qualified employee’s monthly premiums, and the employee pays no more than 15 percent of their health premium. The program also assists with premiums for the employee’s spouse and children.
Raising the eligibility cap allows the state to partner with more businesses to provide affordable health insurance to their employees. The money that Insure Oklahoma saves employers can be reinvested in more jobs and other employee benefits. ~ Mary Fallin, Oklahoma Governor Insure Oklahoma’s Individual Plan (IP) is for working Oklahomans who do not have access to group coverage and earn less than the federal poverty level, as well as those who are temporarily unemployed and seeking work. The program currently serves 17,098 Oklahomans with more than 3,500 businesses participating. Insure Oklahoma is funded by the state tobacco tax matched by federal Medicaid dollars. Funding is secured through 2016, while state leaders continue to discuss a long-term funding agreement. The Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA) administers Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, known as SoonerCare, and Insure Oklahoma, funded by tobacco tax revenue. SoonerCare works to improve the health outcomes of Oklahomans by ensuring that medically necessary benefits and services are responsive to the health care needs of members. Qualifying Oklahomans include low-income children, pregnant women, seniors, the disabled, those being treated for breast or cervical cancer and those seeking family planning services. All must meet income guidelines. Insure Oklahoma assists qualifying adults and small business employees in obtaining health care coverage for themselves and their families. OHCA works with 829,561 current members, a statewide network of 43,652 health care providers and numerous state and local partners to promote responsible health care service utilization, healthy behaviors and improved health outcomes. For more information, visit www.okhca.org or www. insureoklahoma.org.
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Ada Jobs Foundation Brings Home a Gold Award The Ada Jobs Foundation (AJF) received a Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award for its 2014 Ada Jobs Foundation Annual Report for communities with populations of less than 25,000 from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Demonstrating that the AJF is at the forefront of the economic development profession. “From localized community projects, to large scale endeavors, economic development efforts have played a vital role in the global economy,” said JoAnn Crary, CecD, Chair of the International Economic Development Council and President of Saginaw Future Inc. “As we address new and longstanding challenges, these efforts continue to take on even greater importance. The award serves as a salute to pacesetting organizations like the Ada Jobs Foundation for leading the charge.” IEDC’s Excellence in Economic Development Awards recognize the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year’s most influential leaders. Thirty-four awards honor organizations and individuals for their efforts in creating positive change in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Other gold winners recognized this year for best annual reports in their respective population categories were Montreal, Quebec; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Oakville, Ontario. Michael Southard, Ada Jobs Foundation President said, “It is an honor to receive recognition from an International organization like IEDC and be evaluated amongst so many other thriving cities across the country. This
recognition is valuable in raising awareness of Ada amongst our peers in the economic development field, media, and companies looking to expand or relocate.” The 2014 Ada Jobs Foundation Annual Report was designed in-house by Megan Ryan, Economic Development Specialist for the Foundation, and contains an overview of the current and projected demographics, workforce statistics, industry trends, progress on long term initiatives, completed projects, and sets goals for the next year. The report is shared widely as an informational document but also used internally by staff and Ada Jobs Foundation Board. The report measures successes as well as set-backs and helps the board and community establish accountability for both, from year-to-year, while looking forward to the upcoming year. This year’s report was designed as a notebook and implemented the community branding efforts for the first time in an annual report. Successive years will be based on this design to create a comprehensive, branded record of activity in the organization and community. To view the report, visit www.adaworks.org.
Small Cities Block Grant Awarded to Stillwater The Community Development division of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce announced on October 15, 2015 that the City of Stillwater is a recipient of the FY 2015 Small Cities – Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG) award. The City of Stillwater will be able to look forward to more efficient community services as a result of the funding award. The Small Cities set-aside was established for communities with a 2010 census population of 15,000
to 50,000, which are not U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) designated entitlement communities. Each year, tthe Community Development division of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, with funding provided by HUD, makes available various funding set-asides through the Community Development Block Grant Program. For more information on the CDBG program, visit OKcommerce.gov or call Karen Adair at (405) 815-5363.
State STEM Grants Fund Innovative Research and Development at Claremore-Headquartered Hydrohoist Market originator and industry leader, HydroHoist Marine Group, is the recipient of two major grants from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST). Combined, the grants total nearly $150,000 and will support research and development through the year 2017. “OCAST’s mission is to grow and diversify Oklahoma’s economy. We are always excited to see projects like HydroHoist’s which will benefit two key Oklahoma industries, manufacturing and agriculture, while at the same time improve food safety,” said C. Michael Carolina, Executive Director of OCAST. HydroHoist was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Claremore, Okla. The company designs and manufactures hydro-pneumatic boat lift systems for hoisting a number of different vessels. Currently employing 75, HydroHoist has five distribution warehouses located throughout the United States — California, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri and Tennessee — and a network of more than 600 dealers providing sales, installation service, and repair to our customers. According to HydroHoist CEO Mick Webber the company has spent the past five years focused making their products better. Primarily, their systems help preserve the resale value of boats, some of which are worth well into the six-figure range. “We know that if you don’t innovate, you die,” said Webber, CEO of HydroHoist. “We invest in continuous innovation to ensure we don’t
OCAST’s mission is to grow and diversify Oklahoma’s economy. We are always excited to see projects like HydroHoist’s which will benefit two key Oklahoma industries, manufacturing and agriculture, while at the same time improve food safety. ~ Michael Carolina, Executive Director of OCAST stagnate in the markets we serve.” Rotational plastic molding is at the heart of HydroHoist’s manufacturing efforts. Grant money received from OCAST provides resources for HydroHoist to complete research and development on an agricultural product that will diversify the company’s product line.
Jeri Koehler, Executive Director of Claremore Industrial and Economic Development Authority. “Agriculture and manufacturing are two of Oklahoma’s primary industries, and two of the state’s largest wealth generators. We are pleased to see OCAST supporting this important work in our community.”
The objective of this research is to define the necessary engineering parameters and the best materials for a new plastic mushroom growing tray that will significantly improve upon the current wooden trays used at commercial farms.
Additional grant resources secured through an internship program support HydroHoist in a partnership with the University of Tulsa, providing access to student talent and a bridge between industry and academia.
In 2012, there were over 270 commercial mushroom growers in the United States alone; however, many of these growers still build their own wooden growing trays on-site, at a substantial labor cost.
This internship project will be focused on developing the complete documentation package for a line of power pedestals that was acquired from a market competitor. The student intern will collect data, and develop the documentation package.
The new plastic growing trays in this proposed research project would be lighter weight, more stable, more environmentally friendly, longerlasting, and more impervious to disease than what is currently used. “Claremore’s economy benefits when innovative companies like HydroHoist pursue product diversification projects such as this one,” said
Support for both grants through OCAST total nearly $150,000. The Oklahoma Applied Research Support project is for $89,543 through July 2017. The Intern project is for $59,463 through August 2017.
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Myriad Garden’s Receives Urban Open Space Award The Urban Open Space Award celebrates and promotes vibrant, successful urban open spaces by annually recognizing and rewarding an outstanding example of a public destination that has enriched and revitalized its surrounding community. The award was created through the generosity of Amanda M. Burden, New York City planning commissioner and 2009 laureate of the ULI J.C. Nichols Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development. In 2011, the Kresge Foundation, MetLife Foundation, and ULI Foundation joined forces to continue the ULI Urban Open Space Award. 2015 Winners: Two urban parks — one in Oklahoma City, the other in Foshan, China — have been have been selected as winners in the global 2015 Urban Open Space Award competition. The two were selected from an impressive collection of entries, representing urban areas from across the globe. Thousand Lantern Lake Park System, owned by the Nanhai District Government and designed by the SWA Group, is a park system that represents a defining infrastructural effort that is integral to Nanhai’s strategic approach of urban transformation within a successful,
people-oriented urban development district. The park system provides a creative solution for attracting people to its newly constructed Guangdong Financial High-tech Industrial Zone. Myriad Botanical Gardens, owned by the Myriad Gardens Foundation and designed by the Office of James Burnett, and Murase Associates, is a joint investment effort that takes a highly-underused yet prime 15-acre urban downtown garden and park site that had fallen into disrepair, and turns it into a state-of-the-art, highly active destination to improve the quality of life in Oklahoma City and continue the renaissance of the entire downtown. Learn more: myriadgardens.org
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OSUIT Awarded for Energy Saving Initiative When it comes to saving money on energy costs, a little can go a long way. OSU Institute of Technology (OSUIT) participates in PSO’s Peak Performers program, an energy management service that rewards businesses and organizations for reducing their electricity use during peak usage times. Stanley Teague who oversees safety and energy management at OSUIT said the university saved more than $285,000 last year through energy efficiency measures, a 317 percent increase in electricity savings. “It’s everyone on campus that makes this thing work, everyone doing their part,” Teague said. Because of OSUIT’s success in the Peak Performers program, the Physical Plant department received a rebate of just over $15,000 and an award for highest percentage increase in electricity savings. Mark Pitcher, Physical Plant director, said a big part of that cost savings came from his team’s lighting retrofit project as well as outfitting some buildings with newer thermostats that run heating and cooling systems more efficiently. “You’re not running lights in empty rooms, and you’re not trying to heat buildings that are empty,” Pitcher said, and people on campus are just being more conscious of their power usage. “If you don’t need it, don’t power it up. What people do — or don’t do — really, really helps.” One way to save on energy costs is to reduce usage over breaks, like Thanksgiving break, when students, faculty and staff aren’t on campus. “Unplugging anything that can be unplugged will greatly help reduce the energy use,” said Teague, and that includes computers, monitors, phone chargers and lamps. Even if it’s turned off, it’s still drawing power from the outlet. The money saved through these energy efficiency measures, as well as the rebate from PSO, all go back the university’s general fund. Vice President of Fiscal Services Jim Smith said the
savings are used in several ways including funding additional energy saving projects. “In addition, with the cut of over $500,000 in state appropriations for fiscal year 2016, OSUIT was able to absorb some of the cut through energy savings,” Smith said. But even if state funding wasn’t on a downward trend, Smith said operating more energy efficiently would still be important. “It is the right thing to do for the taxpayers of Oklahoma and the students who attend OSUIT,” he said. “Reducing costs helps to minimize future tuition increases; it makes state funding go further in what it accomplishes; and it’s good for the environment.” Pitcher and Teague are already looking at ways to improve energy efficiency in the near future, including updating aging systems on campus and installing new systems at the downtown student housing projects. “We work with our vendors and are looking at new motion sensors for lights. And the housing downtown, even though they’re older buildings, there are all kinds of opportunities in terms of lighting, HVAC systems, water systems,” Pitcher said. “It’s another opportunity to save energy and money.” About Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology: OSU Institute of Technology is Oklahoma’s only university of applied technology, offering accelerated degree programs — including Bachelor of Technology degrees in civil engineering, instrumentation engineering, and information technologies and associates in applied science and associates in science – to students in 73 Oklahoma counties, 24 states and 16 countries.
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Upcoming Events TED ALLEN/DAVID WALKER SCHOLARSHIP; SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITY FOR HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS Applications Due: January 15, 2016 Request for application packs may be made at the following address: Ted Allen/David Walker Scholarship ATTN: John Jones KI BOIS Community Action Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 727, Stigler, OK 74462
OKLAHOMA HOUSING SUMMIT KEYNOTE SPEAKER: IRAQ WAR VETERAN & DANCING WITH THE STARS FINALIST NOAH GALLOWAY April, 14, 2016 8:00 a.m. Moore Norman Technology Center 13301 South Pennsylvania Avenue Business Conference Center Oklahoma City, OK 73170
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Weatherization Housing Advisory Council, each year the Oklahoma Association of Community Action Agencies makes available a $1000 college scholarship in memory of Ted Allen and David Walker.
A one-day conference held every three years, the Oklahoma Housing Summit provides the opportunity for individuals working in affordable housing to come together to learn the latest trends, best practices, and changes in the industry.
To be eligible, an applicant must be a “direct relative” (2nd degree) of an employee of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Oklahoma Department of Commerce (ODOC), Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) or a Community Action Agency (CAA).
The Oklahoma Housing Summit, scheduled for April 14, 2016 in Oklahoma City, will feature Noah Galloway, who skyrocketed to fame after placing third in this year’s 10th anniversary season of ABC’s hit television series “Dancing With the Stars.” He was also named the 2014 Ultimate Guy by “Men’s Health” magazine.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS 1. Applicants are limited to high school seniors with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. 2. Applicants must be a direct relative (2nd degree) of an employee of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Oklahoma Department of Commerce (ODOC), Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency (OHFA), or a Community Action Agency (CAA). 3. Applicants must be planning to attend an accredited four-year college/university or an accredited junior college with plans to complete a degree. AWARD A $1,000, one time scholarship will be awarded each year to one successful applicant based on a 500 word essay entitled “The Importance of Affordable Housing for the Low Income.” Applicants will be judged on punctuation, grammar, style and content. Final award will be presented at the annual Housing and Energy Conference.
In 2005 while serving as an Army sergeant on his second tour of duty in the Iraq War, Galloway lost his left arm above the elbow and his left leg above the knee in an improvised explosive device attack. After a long road of rehabilitation and overcoming depression, he set a goal to get back in shape, live a healthier life, and inspire others. Now a personal trainer and motivational speaker, Noah will share his inspiring comeback story and message of “No Excuses” to attendees of the Oklahoma Housing Summit. The conference is organized by Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency, a statewide agency that administers several affordable housing programs. “Working in affordable housing, we assist individuals from all walks of life, including veterans and persons of disabilities,” said OHFA Executive Director Dennis Shockley. “Noah Galloway’s astounding physical achievements bring home the lesson that there are no limits in life, only possibilities.” For more information please visit: www.oklahomahousingsummit.org