November 2010
www.okcchamber.com
chamber helps recruit grocery wholesaler Another victory for the Chamber’s Economic Development team came in October when MDV Nash Finch, a national grocery wholesaler that supplies Tinker Air Force Base and other military installations, purchased two warehouses totally over 500,000 square feet in Oklahoma City and announced their plan to open a distribution center at the locations. They plan additional expansions. The facilities will employ about 200 people.
In total, the company is investing $24 million in the region – including upgrades and expansions. They plan to have the facility fully operational in 2012. “Nash Finch will service more than 40 commissaries in 10 states from the Oklahoma City facilities ranging from Texas to North Dakota,” said Ed Brunot, chief operating officer of MDV, formerly known as Military Distributors of Virginia. The Chamber worked on this project in cooperation with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and Price Edwards & Company.
OKLAHOMANS SAY NO TO STATE QUESTION 744
After months of difficult campaigning with nearly $2 million raised, the One Oklahoma Coalition celebrated victory as State Question 744 was defeated in all 2,229 precincts with 81.4 percent against the measure. The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber joined more than 100 other organizations in opposing SQ 744 through the One Oklahoma Coalition. “It was vital that we defeat State Question 744 in order to ensure that our state and its hundreds of agencies can continue to function properly,” said Roy H. Williams, Chamber president and CEO. “Now that we’ve had this victory, it’s time for us to work together to enact meaningful reforms in our state’s education system.” The Chamber is a long-standing advocate for education funding and reform in the region as well as the state, and will continue to pursue reform opportunities in the coming legislative session.
Governor Brad Henry thanks One Oklahoma Coalition supporters at the No SQ 744 watch party.
“Both sides of the issue care deeply about our state and the quality of our education and the future of our young people,” said Governor Brad Henry, honorary chairman of the One Oklahoma Coalition. “We owe it to them to put aside our differences and come together, not as Democrats and Republicans, but as Oklahomans who care about the future of our state.”