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OUTLOOK: THE WAY WE LIVE
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EDITOR’S
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INSPIRATION IS AT ROOT OF CREATIVE ENDEAVORS O UTLOOK 2015: The Creativity Issue is a puzzle. A ball of moving pieces. A collaborative space. A project of creativity. It certainly is ambitious. This year, our reporters, photographers and editors talked to and referenced more people than ever before for this annual section about something that’s on the mind of the Oklahoma business, education, health, religion, arts and sports communities: creativity and innovation. Even our section covers were created differently, with three different artists providing designs. It must be our new digs. I certainly am feeling inspired these days in our beautiful downtown offices at the corner of Sheridan and Robinson, across the street from the Myriad Botanical Gardens. In fact, the day I wrote this column, a colleague and I — Ebony Iman Dallas, whom you will read more about later — took a walk over to the gardens. It was a beautiful Saturday, the fountains were on, and children, puppies and — yes — even adults splashed in the waters. It was the kind of day you don’t even mind working. I hope you’ll sense that while reading all the great content in these sections: The Way We Live, Business & Technology, Advancements in Health and Education & Careers. Each story, photo and graphic imparts creativity and innovation in some way — from the community members who told us what inspires them, to the winners of our annual photo contest. And then there’s “Faces of Creativity,” which lists some of the top thought leaders in creativity and innovation. Originally, we wanted a list of 50 people, but when we realized that was simply impossible, we stopped at about 80. It is by no means a definitive list, and we tried to narrow it to newer people you may not know, along with
Yvette Walker Editor, Outlook 2015: The Creativity Issue
people who have made lifetime contributions in many areas. The stories carry over to Outlook’s digital playground on NewsOK. You can see video that accompany many of the stories on NewsOK.com/outlook, so please check that out. In many ways, Outlook 2015 is a more personal section than in past years. Not personal only to me, but to you and to others in these pages who reveal their thoughts and dreams through their works. I mentioned the cover artists involved with Outlook this year, and I’d like to introduce them to you: Todd Pendleton graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in commercial art. He has been with The Oklahoman since 1986, starting out as a dispatch runner before working as an advertising layout artist. In 1989 moved to editorial and he has been an illustrator and designer here since. Todd became the Art Director in 2005 with the Multimedia Department and the current News and Information Center. His illustrations today consist of new technologies mixed with hand-drawn techniques. Todd is responsible for covers of “The Way We Live” and “Business & Technology.” Steve Boaldin has worked as an artist for The Oklahoman since 1988. Steve has a passion for illustration and fine art, and has loved drawing from a very early age, espe-
Seeking creativity within newsprint’s confinements
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NE EVENING, early in my career, I was editing a story from sports columnist Berry Tramel. Berry was the assistant sports editor at the time. He organized much of the coverage, made most of the assignments and coached many of the reporters. He helped hire me here at The Oklahoman in 1997, and my first job was on the sports desk, editing copy and designing pages. At the time, we ran the daily sports columnists along the left-hand column of the front page. The columns didn’t jump. That was the deal. So the columnists had to write to fit that column – or someone like me would cut the copy to fit. I’ve heard Berry talk about those columns. He said it helped hone his writing. He wasn’t allowed to go on as long as he wanted to. He had to be creative with
his words. He had to make it fit. But that evening, early in my career, Berry missed the mark. He missed it by two lines. I had to cut about five words. And if I could find a widow — a word that broke a line at the end of the paragraph — then I could probably only have to cut about three words. I used tricks of the editor trade. I adjusted the spacing a bit on some lines to try to squeeze letters to save a few words. If you cheat just a bit, the reader doesn’t notice. Maybe I broke a rule for our desk. I was young. Regardless, I saved a line that way. But I still needed to trim a word or two. I’m not afraid to cut copy. I wasn’t afraid to cut copy 17 years ago, either. It’s usually pretty easy to cut entire paragraphs from most columns from most writers. That’s not unusual.
COVER ART BY TODD PENDLETON
This should have been easy. It was just one line. I worked on that column for about 20 minutes. Berry didn’t have one stray word in that column. I don’t remember what the column was about, but I remember that 20 minutes. I remember being frustrated that something that should take two minutes was taking 20. Berry was constrained by time (the deadline) and restricted by space (the length of the page), but he used every bit of what he had. That’s my definition of creativity. The cliche is ‘thinking outside the box.’ That’s what you say when you want to get creative; when you want to attack a problem from a different point of view. But the reality is that we don’t often get to make new rules in our lives. Many times, that box is the only
cially portraits of people. When he was a boy he would draw pictures out of Norman Rockwell books. Steve enjoys Western art as well and is a talented practitioner. Steve is responsible for the cover of “Advancements in Health.” Ebony Iman Dallas is a painter, designer and founder of Afrikanation Artists Organization. She received her BA Journalism/Art degree from the University of Central Oklahoma and an MFA in Design from California College of the Arts in San Francisco. Through her artwork, she combines rich and fiery hues with whimsical forms in order to bring the spirit and energy of her subjects to life. With a focus on authenticity and progress, her artwork takes form organically with each line determining the shape and direction of the next. Ebony is responsible for the cover of “Education and Careers.” Christopher Schoelen received commercial art training at Platt College, before they were a culinary school, and before Macs were used. Chris has worked for The Oklahoman since 1985, first in advertising and then in the newsroom. He is inspired by sunsets and cloud formations. While Chris did not design a cover, he is responsible for many of the art treatments throughout Outlook, including the “what does creativity mean to you?” quote pictures and the Community Inspirations page. Last but certainly not least, Caroline Wertz is the primary designer for Outlook. Her hands (mouse?) touched every single page and created a unifying style and look to the sections. She studied journalism at the University of Central Oklahoma and has worked for The Oklahoman since 2005. As mentioned above, you’ll notice Oklahomans sprinkled throughout the sections with an answer to the question “what does creativity mean to you?” I challenge you to think about this question, and apply it to your own life. Enjoy reading!
Alan Herzberger aherzberger@ oklahoman.com
space you are allowed to work in. It’s your cubicle. It’s your spreadsheet. It’s your business plan. It’s our newspaper page. It’s our home page on NewsOK.com. It’s our deadline. How can you be creative in that confined space? How can you make the most of the tools and the resources you have? How can you shift ever so slightly within the tight space you are working with to create just a little bit more elbow room? Creativity with the restrictions of reality — that’s what I’m always most impressed with. Berry impressed me that day many years ago. He taught me a lesson I still remember well. Be so efficient and creative within the confined spaces of reality that it becomes almost impossible to change your work of art.
Todd Pendleton
Steve Boaldin
Ebony Iman Dallas
Christopher Schoelen
STAFF BOX Outlook Editor Yvette Walker Art Director Todd Pendleton Designers Moran Elwell Caleb McWilliams Amy Raymond Christopher Schoelen Caroline Wertz Photo Director Doug Hoke Assignment Editors Clytie Bunyan Kimberly Burk Kathryn McNutt Don Mecoy Scott Munn Bryan Painter Matthew Price Ryan Sharp Online Editors Tiffany Gibson Richard Hall Videography Grayson Cook Paige Dillard Greg Singleton Advertising Jerry Wagner Audience Sponsorship Manager 475-3475 Outlook covers The Way We Live and Business &Technology covers designed by Todd Pendleton; Advancements in Health designed by Steve Boaldin; Education and Careers designed by Ebony Iman Dallas. Photography by Doug Hoke.
Pictured on the cover: Lance McDaniel, executive director of deadCenter Film Festival; Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard; Tracey Zeeck, principal of Bumbershoot Public Relations.
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OUTLOOK: THE WAY WE LIVE
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
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FOOD
People enjoy the weather Oct. 25 at the Bleu Garten in Oklahoma City. The food truck park opened in 2014 and has done brisk business, along with other newcomer neighbors Fassler Hall, the Dust Bowl and The R&J Lounge and Supper Club. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
2015 shaping up to be historic year for metro’s dining scene BY DAVE CATHEY Food Editor
Creativity is usually on display in Oklahoma City’s dining culture, but 2015 is shaping up to be more memorable than usual. We’ve already had rock god Jack White stir controversy with his guacamole fetish, which was part of a tour rider delivered to the University of Oklahoma before a performance in February, but that isn’t nearly the biggest thing that’s happened in Oklahoma City’s food scene thus far. Chef Jonathon Stranger has purchased a farm that will become one of the state’s premiere dining and entertainment venues in Carlton Landing. The first conversation I ever had with Stranger about six years ago he revealed that his longterm goal was to purchase a farm that he could use to be ground-zero for his chefdriven endeavors. The new farm is near Lake Eufaula and has a schedule of events forming for the year, including Outstanding in the
Field in October. The farm also will establish a Community-Assisted Agriculture program and host community dinners. For more information, go online to carltonlanding.com. As if building a reputation as the market’s most-respected chef weren’t enough, Kurt Fleischfresser has taken on the tallest task in the city in overseeing culinary operations at Vast in the Devon Tower. Fleischfresser’s task was to revitalize private and corporate events, revamp the menu and improve service. So far, so good, but that wasn’t enough for Fleischfresser who also piloted the first Turning the Tables on Hunger event at the Homeless Alliance and was primed to act as celebrity chef for the Wine Forum of Oklahoma on April 10-11. Cafe Kacao, one of the city’s hottest three breakfast spots and killer lunch to boot, will open a new concept in downtown Oklahoma City. The new spot will
Kurt Fleischfresser oversees culinary operations at Vast in the Devon Tower.
SEE FOOD, PAGE 5R
PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? INSIDE: Read how other creative thought leaders answered the question throughout this section and the rest of Outlook 2015.
“If a city isn’t willing to evolve with its collective personality, it can’t innovate. And if it can’t innovate, the people can’t be creative.”
Tracey ZEECK
“When I think of a ‘creative and innovative city,’ I think first about the people — many with great new ideas — and how well the city embraces, responds to and maybe even anticipates the needs of those people so they want to stay. Public transportation, bike lanes, sidewalks and all sorts of other services play a role in saying, ‘We want you here!’ But also, what are the opportunities for civic engagement? Can anyone really have a voice, or is it ultimately limited to a handful of Rich Uncle Pennybags? “Next, I think a creative and innovative city needs its own personality. Not just to ‘be like’ another city. The authentic OKC experience exists, but it is also rapidly evolving, in real time, right now. It is a changing place, and it is becoming what those who are working to change it want it to become. You can either choose to contribute to that change, or just enjoy the ride. It’s that easy. “Finally, a creative and innovative city has to have affordable places to blossom. As you read this, in little districts all over town, people with new ideas are busy bringing those ideas to fruition. Artists, performers, developers, architects, filmmakers, poets, musicians and all types of makers and culinary innovators. … cool-but-
broke young people creating significant works and spaces because they can afford to live the life creative. “But everyone should care about innovation, because that equals growth. H&8th is just one of the hundreds of examples, but this night market has grown into a food truck phenomenon attended by 30,000 people each month, the biggest of its kind in the country. The goal of the event was always place-making, and it was led by some innovative thinkers in a less-developed neighborhood. Not the city’s traditional leadership group, but a creative layer of business people who wanted to see their neighborhood grow their way. If you looked at the businesses around Midtown three years ago and compared that to today, you would be hard-pressed to convince me that H&8th didn’t play a part in that growth. But the best part is, it wouldn’t have happened if the city hadn’t responded to the needs of the people, innovatively, by changing laws so that food trucks could peacefully assemble. “If a city isn’t willing to evolve with its collective personality, it can’t innovate. And if it can’t innovate, the people can’t be creative. I think OKC is doing a great job moving forward with both. Zeeck is founder and owner of Bumbershoot Public Relations.
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OUTLOOK: THE WAY WE LIVE
H&8th Night Market opened its season March 27 along Hudson Avenue in Oklahoma City.
be called La Condesa and serve lunch and breakfast. While Cafe Kacao is known for Guatemalan cuisine, La Condesa is named after a section of Mexico City, which will inspire the new menu. The space La Condesa will occupy is adjacent to the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library. Previous occupants include The First Edition Cafe and Hemingway’s. West is opening a second location in the space formerly occupied by Nonna’s Ristorante in Bricktown. In March, owner Avis Scaramucci signed over the space to the Haynes brothers, who founded the original West on Western Avenue and Urban Johnnie’s based on the Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler concept their father founded and they continue to own and operate. A Good Egg Dining Group owners Keith and Heather Paul recently were named Urban Pioneer Award winners by the 16th Street Plaza District Association for their continued efforts to revitalize the community. To prove they’re not done, Good Egg will expand its Tucker’s Onion Burgers holdings into Norman and open The Drake, the city’s first new independent seafood restaurant in decades. The Drake will occupy the keystone space on the corner of NW 23 and Walker in The Rise development. Executive chef of The Drake will be Chad Willis, formerly of The Metro Wine Bar and Bistro, Saturn Grill and The George Prime Steakhouse. H&8th kicked off in late March and throngs of people showed up to show the love affair with food trucks had not waned. In fact, Bleu Garten food truck court has done brisk business when conditions are right and along with Elliott Nelson concepts Fassler Hall and the Dust Bowl and The R&J Lounge and Supper Club from Stranger
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PHOTO BY ALYSSA RAMSEY, THE OKLAHOMAN
Above: In March, Nonna’s Ristorante owner signed over the lease for its Bricktown space to the Haynes brothers, who will open a second West location there.
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PHOTO BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
and his partner chef Russ Johnson filled the void in Midtown between the 10th Street circle and the east side of Automobile Alley. Meanwhile, the food truck world saw Roxy’s Ice Cream Social add bricks and mortar to its arsenal, opening a store in the heart of the Plaza District at 1732 NW 16, between brandnew Oak and Ore and last year’s runaway success, Empire Slice House. Guernsey Park has opened its first spinoff restaurant with Covell Park, 1200 W Covell Road in Edmond. The Asianinspired restaurant that bridges the gap between classic cuisines and those of the Far East is located just steps from Uptown Grocery Co. Chris Lower and chef Kathryn Mathis have expanded their impressive holdings to include Pizzeria Gusto, which serves Neapolitanstyle pizzas and an impressive array of Mediterranean tapas. With Big Truck Tacos, Mutt’s Amazing Hot Dogs and Back Door BBQ already in hand, pizza was the next natural step. All this despite crude oil prices going into free-fall last year. But progress comes with a cost.
Industry’s losses
The passage of time always wins as proven by the loss of local wine and spirits pioneer Wayne Hirst, who passed away in
March, but left behind a legacy of well-stocked wine bars, restaurants and liquor stores. He’s also the namesake of the state’s annual hospitality and service awards ceremony. We lost VZD’s, though chef Eric Smith (Sara Sara Cupcakes and Pierre Pierre Creperie) is on the verge of re-imagining the concept. Local closed in Norman, Kyle’s 1025 closed, ending a long line of successful restaurants to run out of the former Kentucky Club. The Haunted House goes on the auction block because co-founder and owner Marian Thibault, 89, has fallen ill. Marian, like Florence Jones-Kemp, is one of the city’s restaurant survivors. Now, she must concentrate her considerable tenacity on her health, which won’t be easy after spending the better part of a half-century in the spooky confines off Miramar. Here’s hoping a local restaurateur steps up to extend the shelf-life of this ongoing ghost story. That would’ve been enough to fill out many full years in the local food scene, but we’re not even halfway through and the news is only going to intensify, according to my industry sources. So, put your napkin in your lap, mind your posture and keep your elbows off the table because Oklahoma City’s food-service professionals are barely
done serving appetizers for 2015.
Above left: Pizzeria Gusto’s head pizzaiolo Josh Wion makes a pizza at restaurant at 2415 N Walker in Oklahoma City. PHOTO BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
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MAPS 3
DILEMMA CHALLENGES CONVENTION BY WILLIAM CRUM Staff Writer wcrum@oklahoman.com
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hen efforts to acquire the MAPS 3 convention center site faltered, proposals for creative thinking and creative financing rose to the surface. City leaders decided to start over in the face of delays and costs that far exceeded the convention center’s already hefty $287 million budget. “Why limit ourselves?” asked David Greenwell, the councilman from Ward 5 in southwest Oklahoma City. MAPS 3 project managers responded with a proposal to examine or re-examine 10 possible sites, including four in Bricktown, the Cox Convention Center, and several bordering the new downtown park. An expedited evaluation schedule was to produce a recommendation by early summer, compressing into about 10 weeks a process that took much longer the first time around. Criteria to be applied included familiar questions from the original search such as:
I What will it cost to acquire and build on the site? I Will construction disrupt existing business? I Will the complex be accessible on foot, by bike and by public transit? I Will the convention center promote development nearby? I Will out-of-town visitors be close to hotels, dining and entertainment (think Bricktown)? Added to the evaluation were questions about how creative use of public financing and public-private partnerships could make the project a success. Innovation already marked the original design. Architects had proposed a building open to its surroundings, featuring lots of glass, to serve as a transitional element between Myriad Botanical Gardens and the new MAPS 3 downtown park. From inside, inspiring views of downtown and the park were promised. Below ground, a 200,000-square-foot exhibition hall was to feature high-tech accommodations for large gatherings. A luxury hotel next door was to serve as convention headquarters and provide additional meeting space. Designers will be looking to incorporate those ideas once a site is selected.
MAPS 3 needs streetcars unplugged BY WILLIAM CRUM Staff Writer wcrum@Oklahoman.com
When Devon Energy Corp. Executive Chairman Larry Nichols suggested in 2013 that overhead wires would amount to clutter downtown, it intensified the search for an off-wire solution for the MAPS 3 modern streetcar. Streetcars already were going to have to run short distances off-wire to pass beneath the elevated BNSF Railway tracks that divide downtown and Bricktown. Streetcars generally are powered by an overhead system — catenary wires — supported by cantilevered poles extending over the street. Battery technology could reduce, but not eliminate, the need for wires. Consultants recommended capability to run without wires be the top priority for manufacturers competing to supply Oklahoma City’s streetcar. Suppliers responded with seven proposals incorporating Onboard Energy Storage Systems, or OESS. Those proposals were evaluated and negotiations have begun with a Czech manufacturer, INEKON Group. INEKON offered to fulfill Oklahoma City’s order for five streetcars with its TRIO model, at a cost of $4.4 million each. INEKON said its streetcar could achieve a maximum speed under wireless operation of just under 20 miles per hour. Oklahoma City’s proposed TRIO model could run, with new batteries, 15.5 miles on a level track on a single charge, the company said.
Many streetcars draw the power they need to operate from overhead electrical wires. Wireless streetcar designs are being sought for downtown and Bricktown. PHOTO PROVIDED
INEKON predicts substantial savings by eliminating the need for wires on part of the route. Experts say OESS gives cities more flexibility in selecting routes for the streetcars. OESS systems are built or proposed in Dallas, Detroit and Seattle. With a new and evolving technology, battery life, maintenance and replacement costs are among the unknowns.
STREETCAR
FAC T S A N D
FIGURES
Oklahoma City’s streetcars will run through downtown in a loop linking Midtown and Bricktown. ROUTE: 4.6 miles. STOPS: About 22. DESIGN: Low floors for easy on-off.
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CENTER’S DESIGN FOCUSES ON SENIORS BY WILLIAM CRUM Staff Writer wcrum@Oklahoman.com
Doug and Ellen Gallow’s Twitter username describes their approach to meeting the changing needs of older adults: @design4tomorrow. Principals of Lifespan Design Studio in Loveland, Ohio, the couple’s ideas are integral to the design of the first MAPS 3 senior health and wellness center, to be built next to Putnam City Baptist Church at NW 112 and Rockwell Avenue. Opportunities to socialize were central to the design of an engaging space that will be light, bright and energetic. The Gallows’ designs reflect a determination to create safe spaces where seniors feel welcome. As baby boomers age, the need only grows. “Something as simple as a single step, a heavy door, or dim lighting can be inconvenient — even disabling — to a person who doesn’t fit the designer’s definition of ‘average,’ ” they say in describing their response to the challenges of aging. The centerpiece of Oklahoma City’s first MAPS 3 senior health and wellness center is a warm-water “hybrid” pool about half the size of an Olympic swimming pool, fit for activities from water aerobics to lap swimming. A social wing in the 40,000-square-foot center will include a lobby, coffee bar and cafe, arts and crafts studio, billiard and game room, and meeting rooms including one with space for up to 120 people. The big gathering room’s doors will open onto a garden. Fitness facilities will include the pool and a gymnasium with walking track, workout room, aerobics studio and locker rooms. Space for preventive health care services is included in the design. The lobby will have seating and a library for socializing. The design features natural light and bright interior lighting that accounts for changes in eyesight as seniors age. The parking lot’s curbless design is intended to reduce the danger of tripping and falling. Seniors making their way from lot to building will have walkways to save them from having to walk behind cars as drivers back out.
MAKING SENIOR CENTERS WORK Doug and Ellen Gallow, of Lifespan Design Studio, say designers often fail to consider concerns that are key to a senior center’s success. I Older adults have diverse physical, mental and sensory capacities. I Design must accommodate activities specific to senior living. I Storage is necessary to make multi-use spaces productive.
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
A SINGLE STEP ... CAN BE INCONVENIENT — EVEN DISABLING — TO A PERSON WHO DOESN’T FIT THE DESIGNER’S DEFINITION OF ‘AVERAGE.’
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OUTLOOK: THE WAY WE LIVE
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EVENTS
The Festival of Arts will return to its original home at Civic Center Park starting with the 2016 event.
PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
HOMECOMING FOR FESTIVAL IN 2016
BY STEVE LACKMEYER Business Writer slackmeyer@oklahoman.com
The Festival of the Arts, downtown’s largest annual festival, is set to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2016 back at its original home at Civic Center Park. The park was home to the festival from 1967, when it was launched by a three-month-old Arts Council of Oklahoma City, until 1984 when it was moved to a then-barren and unfinished Myriad Gardens. The arts council began searching for a new location last summer as Chicago-based Clayco sought to develop the property that is now home to the organization and hosts the festival’s food court and performance stages. If all plans come to fruition, the intersection of Sheridan and Hudson avenues — the current core of the festival — will see construction of five towers going up over the next few years. “The Civic Center Park offers a lot of
opportunity for us,” said Peter Dolese, director of the arts council. “The changes to our property here, the fact we will be losing all the hard surface space for the food booths, and then the loss of Hudson Avenue, where we have all of our artists’ tents, made us take a good long look at other opportunities.” Infrastructure — sewage, hot and cold running water, electrical access — was a major consideration. The lack of such permanent amenities hampered the festival at its prior stint at Civic Center Park and were added to the current home at the Myriad Gardens and arts council plaza. Dolese said his organization is meeting with electrical consultants and city engineers to make arrangements at the park, which successfully hosted the council’s annual New Year’s Eve Opening Night. “We have to move,” Dolese said. “All of the infras-
tructure we have in place has to be put in place no matter where we move. Even if we had reconfigured our space at the Myriad Gardens, we would have needed to do something because we wouldn’t be able to use any of the existing infrastructure.”
Garden party
Maureen Heffernan, director of the Myriad Gardens Foundation, supports the festival’s move but also hopes the gardens can remain linked to the event once it moves. “We’ve loved being a part of it, being in the middle of everything,” Heffernan said. “We love people enjoying the gardens and we hate for it to move in that sense. But clearly it’s not going to work anymore due to construction and the limits of space afterward, so it’s a change
that is happening.” Heffernan, however, is hoping the gardens can still serve as a “satellite” location for festivities, activities and displays. She does not see the loss of the festival, however, as a financial hit to the Myriad Gardens, which has experienced a surge of popularity after being redesigned as part of Project 180. Events bring people to the once desolate gardens throughout the year. City leaders wanting the festival to bring people to the gardens was a factor in the move from Civic Center Park two decades ago. Officials at City Hall are once again urging the festival’s organizers to consider an eventual move to the new Core to Shore park set to be built as part of MAPS 3 south of the future downtown boulevard between Robinson and Walker Avenues. Dolese, however, is not eager to make that move until the area is more developed, and he sees the festival staying at Civic Center Park for at least the next decade. The arts council, however, is considering moving into the former Union Train Station, which is at the south end of the future Core to Shore park.
A new park
Civic Center Park, meanwhile, is very different from what it was in 1984 when it last hosted the festival. In those years, the park was filled with big trees and had far less hardscape. A large concrete memorial bunker built as part of the 1976 Bicentennial celebrations stood as an obstacle for festivities. SEE FESTIVAL, PAGE 9R
Jackie Jones, who was coordinator of the Festival of the Arts in 1981, stands atop Civic Center Music Hall, overlooking the festival. The annual festival will return to its original home in 2016. OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES PHOTO
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Myriad Gardens hosts last festival before 2016 move The 2015 Festival of the Arts is the last to be held at downtown Oklahoma City’s Myriad Gardens before it moves to Civic Center Park for its 50th anniversary in 2016. The 2015 festival ends today.
Amanda McPhetridge and her daughter look at a storm photo by Colorado artist and storm chaser David Mayhew during the 2014 Festival of the Arts. PHOTOS BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
Festival FROM PAGE 8R
“It took up a large chunk of the park and made it pretty much unusable,” Dolese said of the monument, which was removed in 2001. In 2002, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art opened across the street, and just one year earlier the city completed the renovation of the Civic Center Music Hall. The park, surrounding streets, lighting and sidewalks were all reconstructed as part of Project 180 two years ago. “We will be using this park
completely different than we did in the old days,” Dolese said. The park, Dolese said, is better designed for the festival, and the surrounding streets can better accommodate booths and tents. Mud is not expected to be the issue it was previously. Dolese said his organization and the festival’s army of several thousand volunteers are ready to handle whatever changes are ahead. “We’ve been here for the good times and bad times as well,” Dolese said. “We’ve been a gateway for residents to enjoy downtown Oklahoma City.”
WE’VE LOVED BEING A PART OF IT, BEING IN THE MIDDLE OF EVERYTHING. A kinetic sculpture made of copper spins in the wind April 26, 2014, at the Festival of the Arts in downtown Oklahoma City. The sculpture by Oklahoma City artist Dean Imel is titled “Double Diamond.”
MAUREEN HEFFERNAN
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OUTLOOK: THE WAY WE LIVE
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SCRAPPED BRIDGE DESIGN CREATES A NEW VISION BY WILLIAM CRUM Staff Writer wcrum@oklahoman.com
PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
Dropping a lengthy bridge from designs for the Oklahoma City Boulevard created opportunities to promote a new vision of downtown. Prompted to modify what many saw as a return to the elevated Crosstown Highway, designers were challenged to produced plans for a road intended to keep commuters moving while promoting the notion that anyone downtown will feel encouraged to walk to the MAPS 3 downtown park. And they saved money. The favored design meets a majority of the city council’s goals for downtown, said Eric Wenger, Oklahoma City’s public works director. Predictions were that plans for a quarter-mile-long bridge extending well into downtown would impede redevelopment, especially in the area of Film Row, near where an innovative hotel and museum, 21C, will occupy a former auto assembly plant. The current design includes an elevated section crossing over Western Avenue and Classen Boulevard before descending to Reno Avenue.
Passing the park, traffic will slow considerably through a tree-lined section envisioned as a magnet for walkers, bicyclists, runners and families. The latest park designs feature an entrance with an open-air cafe, sculpture and benches on roomy plazas. From there, the park will spread across 70 acres south to the Oklahoma River. Fountains, trails and a lake will form the heart of an urban playground. Goals include: I Walkable districts with wide trails bordering the boulevard. I Re-establishing languishing neighborhoods bordering the park. I Moving commuters and Thunder fans in and out of downtown efficiently. The cost of completing the boulevard through downtown dropped from $62 million to $39.5 million when the lengthy bridge fell out of the picture. Closure of E.K. Gaylord Boulevard marks a sensitive phase of the project, as construction workers complete a tunnel beneath the elevated BNSF Railway tracks, another aspect intended to shake off the legacy of the deteriorated freeway that was torn down when Interstate 40 was relocated.
OUTLOOK: THE WAY WE LIVE
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ONLINE
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LIBRARY
ONLINE PRESENCE IS ONE WAY LIBRARY SYSTEM INNOVATES BY MATT PATTERSON Staff Writer mpatterson@oklahoman.com
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HE Metropolitan Library System has stayed ahead of the curve with technology in the last several years with Playaway machines, online books and soon, tablets that can be checked out in the libraries that will alleviate some of the crunch for computer time. But perhaps the most noticeable innovation to customers is the system’s revamped website and card catalog system. Both launched this year and helped solve a long-term problem. The library had used a system that was designed in house, but when its designer retired last year the library faced a problem of keeping it updated. “We loved the old system, but he was the only one who really knew the ins and outs of it,” Metro Library System marketing director Kim Terry said. “And it was also time for us to update it.” The new system was purchased from a vendor who sells similar programs to other libraries. Oklahoma City having its own in-house system was relatively rare, Terry said. The new system has a completely different look, including pictures of book covers, a listing for new titles, better flexibility with searches, the ability for users to create their own reading list and more options for managing accounts online. Terry said results can be filtered efficiently, similar to those on popular sites such as Amazon.com. It also will include newspapers and other periodicals in search results, and a re-
A screengrab from the Metropolitan Library System’s online catalog search shows recommendations for books and DVDs. The revamped website offers better flexibility with searches and the ability for users to create their own reading lists. METROPOLITAN LIBRARY SERVICES WEBSITE
vamped section for upcoming library events, news releases and a place for readers to post reviews of books. The system also will be available in Spanish. The kids catalog has been redone with clickable pictures and book covers that young readers can easily identify and select. “We think this will serve our customers well,” Terry said. “It’s a streamlined website that is very easy to use and allows for a lot of flexibility.”
WE LOVED THE OLD SYSTEM, BUT (THE RETIRED DESIGNER) WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO REALLY KNEW THE INS AND OUTS OF IT. AND IT WAS ALSO TIME FOR US TO UPDATE IT. KIM TERRY
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU?
“A renaissance is not defined by the creativity that leads it; rather, it is defined by the support for that creativity.”
Tony MORTON “This state has long been a bastion for creative minds, and while historically Oklahoma has not done the best job of retaining them, we have seen a huge change in that trend; at this point we’re attracting innovators. “The result of creativity can only be growth. Growth is realized through the deliverance of all things new, conceptual to subjective. As we soak in that pool of creativity, as more and more of it surrounds us, our percep-
tions change. We evolve as individuals and, accordingly, as a society. “I expect to see dramatic change in our state as more people make the choice to be receptive to ‘new.’ A renaissance is not defined by the creativity that leads it; rather, it is defined by the support for that creativity.” Morton is an art consultant, independent curator and the director and chief executive officer of Kasum Contemporary Fine Art, a private commercial gallery in Oklahoma City’s Plaza District focusing on progressive examples of contemporary fine art.
ONLINE Want more Outlook 2015? Check out videos and see more photos from these and other Outlook stories from each section online at NewsOK.com/outlook.
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ARTS
Pieces of Rory McCallister’s work, including wind chimes, vases and figurines, are shown. PHOTOS BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN
Glassblower loves ‘fluidity’ of making his creations BY KYLE SCHWAB Staff Writer kschwab@oklahoman.com
Rory McCallister stood only a few feet away from an open heating chamber sizzling at upwards of 2,400 degrees. On a mild March day at Blue Sage Studios in Oklahoma City, the 55year-old glassblower held a fivefoot pole with a molten glass bubble attached to the end inside the scorching cavity. As McCallister slowly began to twist the pole, the glowing orange piece of rounded glass blossomed into a saucer-like shape. His spinning picked up speed as the fiery form was pulled from the inferno. He then swung the pole back and forth like a pendulum with great velocity. This action of twisting and swinging caused the rubbery glass to lose its luminous glow quickly and develop ruffled edges resembling a flower in bloom. The glass rapidly settled, revealing streaks of red and white throughout the bowl. Before the object dipped below 1,000 degrees,
Above and top left: Rory McCallister uses a torch and other specialty tools to snip, twist, bend and shape his glass art.
McCallister snapped the hardened glass off its pole and placed it into an annealing oven to gradually cool over 12 hours. Glass must be cooled extremely slowly to prevent cracking or breaking.
Instant obsession
Almost two decades ago, McCallister witnessed glassblowing for the first time at Silver Dollar City. He instantly wanted to learn the art form because he “thought it was the
coolest thing ever.” “I had been trying lots of different mediums — painting, pottery, stone carving — and I just really wasn’t hitting on anything that I wanted to do,” he said sitting outside the studio at 1218 N Western Ave. “Clay gets your hands dirty and whittling rocks takes too dang long so I just settled on glass.” When he discovered a place in Stillwater willing to teach him the craft, he commuted from Oklahoma City once a week for seven years. He said he’s been blowing glass for about 18 years, but doing it full time for four. “There are so many way better glassblowers than me out there, but I don’t think anybody has more fun than I do doing it. I’m way better than I used to be, but not as good as I want to be,” he said. McCallister said he loves watching the “fluidity” of the magma-like glass move while he works on various projects. He said he feels a connection to all the SEE GLASS, PAGE 13A
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DRAWN TOGETHER BY NATHAN POPPE Entertainment Writer npoppe@opubco.com
Welcome to the best of Drink & Draw, an event that invites doodlers of all skill levels to gather on a weekly basis in Oklahoma City. From 8 to 11 p.m. every Thursday, Drink & Draw is hosted at one of three locations in the metro. And, sometimes, the event is hosted at Oklahoma City Museum of Art. It’s come a long way since Tree & Leaf Clothing Co. owner Dusty Gilpin started
hosting the event in his living room. “2014 was a great year for Drink & Draw,” Gilpin said. “Since we started publishing images with LOOKatOKC, our attendance and consistency has increased quite a bit. Also, with the addition of rotating our location between Tree & Leaf, Brass Bell Studios and The Okay See, we’ve been able to reach a wider audience and expose our attendees to different small local businesses.” Typically, on the third
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Weekly drawing event boasts serious art talent
and fourth Thursday of the month, the event is held at Tree & Leaf Clothing, 1705B NW 16, in the Plaza District. And that’s where you’ll encounter the Drink & Draw Challenge. A random theme is selected, participants are kindly requested to draw on specially designed Drink & Draw paper and then the results are published monthly in LOOKatOKC, The Oklahoman’s entertainment magazine. I’ve selected some of the best work, and you can see it
on Page 23S. It’s been a pleasure to see new faces join the festivities, and I’ve enjoyed the event every time I’ve visited. The intentions of the event are more than simple. It’s an excuse to show off the talented artists in our city and invite anyone with a hint of artistic aspiration to join the fun. Again, Drink & Draw is an invitation to an open dialogue in the art community. Pens, pencils and markers of all shapes and sizes are welcome.
TV series focused on creativity in Oklahoma BY DARLA SLIPKE Staff Writer dslipke@opubco.com
A variety of stories of innovation and creativity were documented through an Oklahoma Educational Television Authority series called “State of Creativity.” About 10 years ago, before the television series, OETA developed “creative moments” — short videos about creativity in Oklahoma and saluted people who had creatively expressed themselves, solved problems or improved the quality of life in Oklahoma. From those snippets, OETA decided to create a television program dedicated to creativity in Oklahoma. The “State of Creativity” series lasted about two years until funding ran out, ending in 2009, said Bill Perry, a deputy director at OETA and the executive producer of the documentary department at OETA. The first show featured a then-7-year-old boy from Midwest City named Kyle Bratcher who had a brain tumor. Kyle’s family enjoyed riding dirt bikes. Tony Baustert, a man from Bethany who built motorcycles, came up with the idea of building a remote control dirt bike for Kyle so he could ride, too. The series highlighted various other examples of creativity. As part of the series, OETA randomly picked a county in Oklahoma and explored the types of creativity there to show that creativity is everywhere. Another episode focused on relationships and how people creatively managed to
WE LIKE TO EDUCATE THE PEOPLE, SHARE STORIES ABOUT THE PEOPLE AND LET THEM KNOW THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE STATE. BILL PERRY
Rory McCallister twirls a rod with glass on the end of it inside a box with extremely high heat at Blue Sage Glass Blowing Studio in Oklahoma City. PHOTOS BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN
Glass FROM PAGE 12R
keep their relationships together, Perry said. The last episode, which won an Emmy, was called “The Science of Composing.” Prominent Chickasaw musician and composer Jerod Tate worked with research doctors from the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation during a retreat to help them compose their own music, and OETA documented the process. Although the series has ended, other OETA programs feature examples of creativity and innovation in the state. OETA takes great pride in educating people and telling the stories of Oklahoma, Perry said. “We like to educate the people, share stories about the people and let them know the positive aspects of what’s going on in the state,” Perry said.
pieces he creates even though he doesn’t physically touch his art till it’s cooled and completed. “It’s one of the only art forms that I make something and I don’t have to actually touch it with my hands. You touch (and roll) it with tweezers, (wooden shaping) blocks, the marver table, but you don’t actually put your hands on it,” he said.
The creation process
The creation of any item begins with gathering an amount of hot, liquid glass on a pole, which is dipped into a furnace able to hold 300 pounds of molten glass. McCallister can mold the soft glass with various tools until it gets too cool to manipulate. He’ll then place the glass at the end of the rod into a heating chamber for a few seconds. This reheating of the glass is repeated until the desired form is reached. “Get ’er hot and beat on it till it looks like what you want,” he said before making
Glass art is used as an element of landscaping in front of Blue Sage Glass Blowing Studio.
a deer antler. Using a pair of pliers, McCallister stretched and pulled the original glass orb taken from the furnace into a thinner body. After half a dozen trips in and out of the heating chamber, he was able to form the antler, points and all. He said he mainly enjoys the challenge of sculpting animals like deer, fish or birds. The studio, which opened in 2003 and has
been at its current location for eight years, is filled with all kinds of colorful pieces for sale. Smaller items like wine stoppers, ornaments and paperweights, and even larger vases, seashells and figures are on display in the shop. McCallister said the possibilities are virtually endless. He doesn’t think he’s mastered the art form yet but said he’ll continue improving his skill as long as his body will let him. The shop also opens its doors for glassblowing classes, field trips and parties.
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DRAMATIC GROWTH:
Central Oklahoma theater scene gets bigger and better BY BRANDY MCDONNELL Features Writer bmcdonnell@oklahoman.com
Instead of heading for Hollywood, Erin Woods moved from Southern California to Oklahoma City to pursue her career in the entertainment business. “My parents had just moved to Enid ... and they said, ‘You really need to visit Oklahoma,’ ” said Woods, who grew up in Oregon. After she came to Oklahoma in 1999, she quickly opted to transfer from the University of California, Santa Barbara to the University of Central Oklahoma to finish her undergraduate studies as an actress, playwright and theater producer. “There were so many theater opportunities, especially for young actors, all over town. Kids were doing (Oklahoma) Children’s Theatre and Carpenter Square and the Pollard, and I started auditioning in my first semester,” she said. “The shows I was seeing here had so much more heart than the live theater that I was seeing in Southern California at the time.” Now, Woods is part of a central Oklahoma theater scene that is continuing to grow and thrive. She and her husband, Tyler Woods, are the co-founders of Reduxion Theatre Company, which is in the midst of its seventh season of revisiting classic comedies, dramas and musicals.
Multiple choices While the Jewel Box, Carpenter Square and Lyric theaters have been operating for three decades or more, the central Oklahoma theater scene has come a long way in the past 20 years or so. “When I first started at Jewel Box Theatre 37 years ago, there were only three theaters. Now, they are all over the place, and how lucky for Oklahoma City
and the state. There are so many choices,” said Chuck Tweed, production director for the Jewel Box, which is celebrating its 58th year at the First Christian Church on N Walker. Rhonda Clark, artistic director of the 31-year-old Carpenter Square Theatre, said each of the area’s theaters has developed its own niche. Several groups produce the classics, some focus on musicals, and others, like Carpenter Square, specialize in contemporary works. “In those early days, CST was considered rather risque. The theater produced plays as the playwright intended,” Clark said in an email. “The theater did not censor strong language, and still doesn’t. Right out of the gate in the first season, we produced plays that included gay or sexually ambiguous characters, such as ‘Torch Song Trilogy’ and ‘The Rocky Horror Show.’ ” Lyric Theatre Artistic Director Michael Baron said in the past five years he has seen OKC’s theater scene expand across the board, from professional companies to community theaters to university programs. “Lyric has grown in size and scope with a season that started out with four summer shows to now having eight main-stage shows in two venues,” Baron said in an email. “I’ve seen particularly strong growth in the theater programs at OU, OCU and UCO — both in the level of talent they are recruiting and the amount of collaborations they are doing with professional theater companies in the area. I think the programming is also becoming more daring and thoughtprovoking at all of the theaters.”
Diverse issues
JuNene K. played Camae and W. Jerome Stevenson portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. in “The Mountaintop,” a 2015 co-production of Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre, Guthrie’s Pollard Theatre and the Poteet Theatre. “I wanted to see it five more times immediately,” said Kris Grimes, the Poteet Theatre’s education director. “W. Jerome Stevenson portrayed such an honest, moving, and specific portrayal of MLK, I was crying!” PHOTO PROVIDED
W. Jerome Stevenson, artistic director of Guthrie’s 28-year-old Pollard Theatre, said audiences now want more sophisticated pieces. “When I first began working in the area (over 20 years ago) our audiences had very specific limitations about they wanted (and didn’t want) in theater. ... However, we continued to lace our season with more contemporary, lesser-known works. Fast for-
hing out to the African-American community, working to bring in more black actors and audiences. Artistic director Jay Prock said the outreach effort started when he somewhat controversially cast a black Eve opposite a white Adam in “Children of Eden.” The Poteet has since staged such plays as “The Color Purple,” “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” and the state premiere of “Dreamgirls,” along with co-producing the Martin Luther King Jr. drama “The Mountaintop” with the Pollard and Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre.
National acclaim
When Oklahoma City Repertory Theatre, now in its 13th season, opened, it was the first year-round professional Actors Equity theater in Central Oklahoma, said CityRep’s Founding Artistic Director Donald Jordan. Since, Lyric has expanded to year-round operations, and Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park also has joined the ranks of Equity, the professional actors union. Several other theaters have begun using guest artist contracts, which allow Equity actors to work at nonEquity and community theaters as they work toward fully professional ward 20 years and now we’re seeing that there is a growing audience for works like ‘Avenue Q’ and ‘Passing Strange,’ ” he said in an email. At Oklahoma City Theatre Company, diversity is a major focus, said Artistic Director Rachel Irick. The company will close its 16th season in May with its sixth annual Native American New Play Festival. OKC Theatre Company has made an effort to reach out to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community since Irick became artistic director in 2013. “We have made a targeted effort to choose shows (‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’ in 2013, ‘The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told’ in 2014, and ‘Corpus Christi’ this year) that address issues of significance and appeal to the LGBTQ community,” Irick said in an email. “While many individuals in positions of political leadership in our state actively seek to subjugate and bully this community into hiding in the shadows, we seek to shine a light on equality.” For the past five years, Poteet Theatre, a ministry of St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, has been reac-
status. Jordan said the boost in quality and professionalism has drawn attention on the national and regional level. CityRep’s recent production of “The Grapes of Wrath” received press in New York, Illinois, California and Texas, he said. “That kind of national awareness and attention is unprecedented. … Our recent co-production of ‘The Mountaintop’ was the lead story on American Theatre Online, the leading online theater website, the first time Oklahoma has garnered such coverage,” Jordan said in an email. “The arts are an essential component of civilization, vital to the aesthetic, educational and economic vitality of every community.” With Reduxion Theatre’s move into a bigger space in Automobile Alley, Erin Woods said it has been able to stage larger productions like “Sweeney Todd” and “Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons)” and accommodate larger crowds. “Central Oklahoma patrons are now discovering that they don’t need to go outside the state for quality, innovative and boundary-pushing entertainment. It is growing here,” she said.
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Writing about musical innovation can take a fresh eye ... or ear BY NATHAN POPPE Entertainment Writer npoppe@oklahoman.com
Seeing and hearing are two very different things. When I took my position as entertainment writer at The Oklahoman a year ago, I tackled music coverage in a different way. Instead of only seeing and reading about Oklahoma-based bands, I wanted people to hear them, as well. That’s why I’ve spent the past several months debuting music on the Middle of Nowhere, my music and culture blog on NewsOK.com. From the studio to the front row, I’ve been working alongside bands recording new music to make sure a piece of their story can be told in a creative way with The Oklahoman. Here’s just a few excerpts from some of the track debut stories we’ve released in 2015. And if you just want to hear the music then go online to blog.newsok.com/middleofnowhere.
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BEAU JENNINGS ON ‘ME & WILEY’
If you can’t imagine what Will Rogers would have written on his typewriter as the Winnie Mae crashed in Alaska back in 1935, then allow Beau Jennings’ rendition of “Me & Wiley” to shed some light on the subject. If you haven’t followed the Normanbased singer-songwriter (pictured below), he’s been crafting an original documentary and an album focusing on his boyhood hero. I first heard about the project when Beau was still living in New York and visited Oklahoma for the Norman Music Festival. His enthusiasm for Rogers and the project hasn’t waned. “I’ve always loved Will Rogers, and he always just seemed like the patron saint of where I’m from,” Jennings said digitally. “You grow up with God and the Bible in Oklahoma but Will is kinda mixed up in there too. The Verdigris River flows from his hometown to mine, and I couldn’t help but see that as a kind of opportunity to grab whatever he sent floating downstream." “Me & Wiley” began as Jennings searched for an album centerpiece. He said the Beach Boys’ track “Surfs Up” was a big inspiration for the song. Three or four pieces of music Jennings had been saving ended up getting glued together in the ambitious track. Jennings made a special note that composer/songwriter Allen Vest (Starlight Mints, doubleVee) was instrumental in adding a string score to “Me & Wiley” and helping shape the song.
YOU GROW UP WITH GOD AND THE BIBLE IN OKLAHOMA BUT WILL (ROGERS) IS KINDA MIXED UP IN THERE TOO. PHOTO BY KT KING, FOR THE OKLAHOMAN
BEAU JENNINGS
PHOTO PROVIDED
JOHN CALVIN ABNEY ON ‘SIRENS’
PHOTO BY NATHAN POPPE, THE OKLAHOMAN
KAITLIN BUTTS ON ‘SAME HELL, DIFFERENT DEVIL’
When Kaitlin Butts looks at her debut album, she can’t help but think of her grandma. When the Oklahoma City-based country newcomer started at ACM@UCO, she received the antique figurine that graces the cover of “Same Hell, Different Devil” as a gift from her grandmother. The cover adds a personal touch to the album, which resembles Kaitlin’s intentions on her inaugural release. The songs on the record are just simple, honest stories of things and moments that impacted me,” she said in an interview with The Oklahoman. “The music I have always been drawn to is like that. I like stories of things that are real, told in a way that is plain, but at the same time profound.”
When John Calvin Abney finishes a set, he said he’s used to hearing one thing. It’s not about his slick guitar playing or his clever lyrics. It’s usually about the honesty of his songwriting. That’s in full display on “Sirens,” a cut off of the January release “Better Luck.” A sense of urgency fueled the recording as the musicians aimed to finish in nine days. When they weren’t reworking tracks, they were sleeping on the studio floor or grabbing tacos with studio owner John Vanderslice. “Sirens” started out as a more folky tune, but the addition of three synths, deep electric guitar sounds from Kyle Reid on a Les Paul Baritone (with a huge neck) and John Moreland’s backing vocals led to a dreamier pop sound. I especially like the booming percussion and the Elliott Smith-inspired guitar. Abney (pictured above) said he was proud of the results of the song and the entire album. “‘Better Luck’ is a complete idea,” he said. “Those nine days, we knew we were going to make this happen. A lot of this was ditching the perfectionist attitude that I had on anything I had made beforehand.”
PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
JOSH SALLEE ON ‘MAYBEHEAVENWASJUSTLONELY’
Josh Sallee is a pretty sick rapper. No seriously, the Oklahoma City-based musician wasn’t feeling well when I reached out to him digitally. So, I appreciate him all the more for answering a few questions about his surprise EP release. “MaybeHeavenWasJustLonely” caught my attention because of its dynamic delivery. It shifts between a bombastic WU LYF-esque chorus and more mellow, confessional verses. Sallee said the song is about his grandmother who died on Dec. 15, 2014. The same day he set out to write and record the five songs on “All in a Night’s Work.” True to its namesake, the album was recorded in one night at Sallee’s house and then promptly mixed in Tulsa. “The second verse is written from the perspective of my grandpa,” he said. “It’s a very special record to me. I had the opportunity to show all my family individually, which was really cool.”
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FILM
A crowd watches “Footloose” during a 2014 screening for the deadCenter Film Festival on the Great Lawn at the Myriad Gardens in downtown Oklahoma City. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
deadCenter celebrates 15 years of supporting independent film BY BRANDY MCDONNELL Features Writer bmcdonnell@oklahoman.com
Zeroing in on its 15th anniversary, deadCenter isn’t just growing as a film festival, it is growing into more than a film festival. “The first 10 years of deadCenter, they did an amazing job of setting up this great festival. And they’ve always done education … and outreach to the community. I believe what we’ve done a really good job of the last five years is turning that into a really formal program,” said Lance McDaniel, who became the executive director of the deadCenter Film Festival in 2010, after five years of serving as a volunteer. “I think that the implications of that is it’s opened us up to how do we serve filmmakers all over Oklahoma and not just the people that are here in the urban core. And how do we inspire rural kids who now have access to those technologies that’ll allow them to make movies … to tell great stories and to focus on the stories that are true to them?” For the Alva native, programs like deadCenter University for high school students, workshops for organizers of other Oklahoma film festivals and last fall’s 15-city film festival and educator tour are vital to fulfilling deadCenter’s core mission. “Our mission as an organization is to support and celebrate independent film. That’s it,” McDaniel said. “I do think that that’s the next challenge for Oklahoma: We’ve got
“The best thing about living in Oklahoma City ... is that it is an environment where people are inspired to be creative and come up with innovative ideas.”
THEN: Ford Austin and Lauree Dash attend the deadCenter kick-off party June 6, 2002, in Kerr Park. The festival’s attendance has ballooned to about 25,000 film fans in its 15-year run. OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
to keep the (state’s 35 percent Film Enhancement) Rebate going, but Oklahoma will not become Austin, Texas, or a hub for independent film until we have local filmmakers make it bigger. I think there’s several that have the ability to do that, from Kyle Roberts to Brent Green to Casey Twenter. There’s a lot of people that are already on their way to getting there, but I believe that for Oklahoma to really be taken seriously as a hub of independent film, we need local filmmakers to get better funding and to make better movies.”
Year of the volunteer
The 15th annual deadCenter Film Festival is planned for June 10-14 in downtown Oklahoma City. Last
Lance MCDANIEL
year, approximately 25,000 film fans attended the festival. Along with about 100 films, the 2014 edition included filmmaking panels, screenplay table reads and concerts presented by the Arts Council of Oklahoma City. “We’re calling this the year of the volunteer. The reality is, our organization is only around for 15 years because we have enjoyed the support of tons and tons of volunteers. The three employees that work here all started as volunteers for deadCenter,” McDaniel said. “There are going to be a lot of fun, really celebrative type of things at the festival. But our main focus is going to be a thank you to the volunteers.” An independent filmmaker who has worked on 14 feature films, in-
cluding Oscar winner “Million Dollar Baby,” McDaniel said the 2014 festival garnered more than 1,000 submissions, a record for the event. Plus, the quality of the films the festival screens has increased: Among last year’s selections was the documentary “Last Days in Vietnam,” which went on to an Oscar nomination; Edmond native Taylor Johns was an associate producer on the film. “The reason I fell in love with deadCenter — and I fell in love the first day that I attended in 2006 — is because they have always been focused on filmmakers, on celebrating you as a filmmaker and celebrating the fact that you made this five-minute short film, even though you’re a high school kid or a senior citizen. They did a better job than any place I have ever been since at celebrating the filmmaker at the festival. I think that is what has allowed our organic growth, because any time a filmmaker comes to deadCenter … they are treated great,” McDaniel said. “One of the beauties of being run by active, working filmmakers (is), as we encounter things in our own careers that are challenges, then we look to how can deadCenter help solve this for the next person.” He said deadCenter has both benefited from and fed into Oklahoma City’s cultural and creative renaissance. “I think Oklahoma City in the last 10 years has just exploded as this really exciting place,” he said. “People now are looking for fun SEE FILM, PAGE 18R
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “What I believe creativity and innovation means is that the city has created an environment that allows people to feel like they can participate in the growth of that city. “The best thing about living in Oklahoma City, in my mind right now, is that it is an environment where people are inspired to be creative and come up with in-
novative ideas, from food truck courts to small businesses to apps to anything. I think a city has to create an environment where people feel comfortable and supported in starting new ventures — and I think Oklahoma City is there right now.” McDaniel is an independent filmmaker and executive director of deadCenter Film Festival.
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People find a place to sit before a screening of “Footloose” in June 2014 at the Myriad Gardens in downtown Oklahoma City. PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
IT FEELS LIKE A REAL URBAN AREA WHERE PEOPLE ARE USING ALL SEVEN DAYS OF THE WEEK TO EXPLORE THEIR GREAT CITY. LANCE MCDANIEL
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
From left are Ryan Bellgardt, vice president and creative director of Boiling Point Media; Lance McDaniel, executive director of deadCenter Film Festival; and Kim Haywood, programming director for the deadCenter festival. They were on hand at Moore-Norman Technology Center to critique short film ideas from digital film production students. PHOTO PROVIDED
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things to do. Before, it was ‘what am I doing on Friday and Saturday?’ Now, it’s ‘I’m booked Friday and Saturday, can we do it Tuesday? I’ve got this play then, this concert then,’ and it feels like a real urban area where people are using all seven days of the week to explore their great city.”
GOING
ON
I What: 15th anniversary deadCenter Film Festival I When: June 10-14 I Where: Downtown Oklahoma City I Information: www.dead centerfilm.org
Beyond Oklahoma City
But deadCenter is extending its reach beyond Oklahoma City through its educational programs, especially statewide outreach for high school, Career Tech and college students. “What that allowed us to do is make bigger strides in increasing the quality of work that’s coming out of rural Oklahoma and the
quality of work that’s coming out of all the filmmakers. So, the high school shorts we get now are infinitely better than we used to,” McDaniel said. “There’s a lot of schools that we’ve been going to five years, and now they’re starting to get people into the festival.” For the last two years, the fes-
tival has included deadCenter University, inviting high schoolers to come to OKC and take classes from the likes of Wes Studi on acting, Jeff Robison and Casey Twenter of “Rudderless” on screenwriting, and Matthew Mungle, an Oscar-winning makeup artist, on special effects makeup. This year’s festival will feature its first free teachers’ conference for film and video teachers from across the state. “A lot of them had a background in English and won teacher of the year and then the principal asked them to take on a new subject, which was film,” he said. “Most of those teachers, they’re outstanding teachers, but what they don’t have is access to a bunch of different ways of learning about how to teach
film.” In addition, this year’s deadCenter will offer training for organizers of other film festivals around the state. Since deadCenter started 15 years ago, fests have launched in Duncan, Stillwater, Enid, Ponca City and other communities. “Everyone at deadCenter feels like the more festivals, the better. … Now that we have 1,000 people applying for 100 spots, that means 900 people aren’t getting in (to deadCenter), so our goal is to work with all these different people that want to start a festival,” he said. “Now that we are 25,000 people and nationally recognized, I believe we have a responsibility to help other people start organizations like ours because we need a statewide network.”
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RECREATION
An artist’s rendering shows plans for the renovated Arcadia Lake overlook. Plans are to turn the overlook into a tranquil gathering and recuperative outdoor space to bring healing to those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. PHOTO PROVIDED
ARCADIA LAKE TO GET UPDATED OUTDOOR SPACE BY DIANA BALDWIN Staff Writer dbaldwin@oklahoman.com
EDMOND — Plans are to turn the worn Arcadia Lake overlook into a tranquil gathering and recuperative outdoor space for natural healing for combat veterans, paramedics and police officers who are suffering with post-traumatic stress disorder. Partners for Heroes, a newly-formed non-profit organization headquartered in Tulsa, is dedicated to doing just that. Their goal is to raise private funds to change neglected lakeside settings into therapeutic areas for sufferers of PTSD and related psychological afflictions and brain injuries. The Edmond lake will be the second project for Partners for Heroes. The first, at Lake Skiatook, is named after retired U.S. Secret Service Agent Clint Hill, an agent with President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963. He was the man who climbed aboard the limousine as it rushed to Parkland Hospital, too late to save the injured and dying president. In the years that followed, Hill suffered with alcoholism, nightmares and depression. Hill attended the ribbon cutting Nov. 22 at the Clint Hill Gathering Place at Lake Skiatook. It was the 51st anniversary of the assassination. Hill attended the groundbreaking at the overlook at Arcadia Lake and a fundraiser dinner in Edmond later that day. Plans are to reinvigorate overlooks at four Tulsa District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes: Skiatook, Keystone and Arcadia in Oklahoma and El Dorado in Kansas. Later, other sites could be added in the corps’ Southwest Division, which has district offices in Tulsa; Fort Worth, Texas; Galveston, Texas; and Little Rock, Ark. Susan Erler, Partners for Heroes executive director, said they will work with veterans groups, who will be able to book the gathering place. The venue will be available for a fee
Craig Dishman, Edmond parks and recreation director, stands at a lookout area at Arcadia Lake. Partners for Heroes is planning to renovate the area. PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
The Arcadia Lake overlook will be named after Melvin Moran.
to the public for weddings and other events. Veterans or emergency responders would be able to rent out the area for family reunions or weddings, for example. “We are excited,” said Craig Dishman, Edmond’s
parks and recreation director. “It is a win-win situation for everyone. It will also be for the public. It is a great location for outdoor recreation.” “It is a great plan. I think it will be well used,” Dishman said. “We are waiting to see if the money is raised.” The Arcadia renovation is expected to cost $85,000. Edmond expects to raise between $45,000 and $50,000 as part of the private-public partnership and through the National Recreation and Park Association. Donations can be made at www.fundyourpark.org. Dishman proposed the place to gather and participate in activities like fishing, hiking, archery, kayaking and paddle boarding. The renovation also will include an outdoor pavilion and recreation area with
amenities like outdoor kitchens and dining areas, gas fire pits, water features, large observation decks, horseshoe pits, and areas for bocce ball, archery and volleyball. Approval and fundraising is to be completed in 2015 with construction completed in 2016. Arcadia Lake was a natural choice because of the Paralympic activities involving the University of Central Oklahoma and Arcadia Lake. UCO hosts the Endeavor Games for athletes with physical disabilities each year. “There is high military use there,” Erler said. “What better place to have to relax?” Arcadia Lake’s overlook will be named after Melvin Moran, a U.S. Air Force veteran, who was stationed for two years in England, where
he met his wife Jasmine, a British actress. After his discharge from the military, Melvin Moran moved back to Seminole. He and his wife founded the Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum in Seminole, one of America’s largest children’s museums, with visitors numbering over 62,000 annually. Among his honors are induction to the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame and the Seminole Hall of Fame, as well as winning a lifetime achievement award from Leadership Oklahoma. Melvin Moran insists his most cherished achievement are his three children, six granddaughters and four great-grandchildren, and his wife.
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ANIMALS
Above: Inmate dog trainer Bill Miller works with maltese/ poodle mix Jesse in January at the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center. PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
Top: Bill Gassaway stands with a poodle in July 2013 in Lexington. PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS,
STATE INMATES FIND PURPOSE TRAINING DOGS IN INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS
THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU?
“We like to say we’ll do anything short of sin to reach people who don’t know Christ. That perspective has shaped our approach to ministry.”
Bobby GRUENEWALD “At LifeChurch.tv, we like to say we’ll do anything short of sin to reach people who don’t know Christ. That perspective has shaped our approach to ministry — the ideas we pursue, the experiences we create, and the talent and tools we leverage. “Both today and in the future, to reach people no one is reaching, we’ll have to do things no one is doing.” Gruenewald is LifeChurch.tv innovation leader, pastor and founder of the YouVersion Bible App.
BY GRAHAM LEE BREWER Staff Writer gbrewer@oklahoman.com
Situated between a cell block and a razor wire fence on the edge of a prison in Lexington is a tiny cinder block building. Inside, there are two rows of cells separated not by thick walls or sealed shut with steel bars, but made simply of chain link. They are small, perhaps five feet by three feet, and inside you will find something unexpected. This is the prison’s dog kennel, and within those chain link pens are canines awaiting the inmate that will train them. Many were rescued from abusive situations or puppy mills. They cower in the corner and give a low growl as you walk by. Others come from loving homes but are in need of obedience training. They jump and SEE DOGS, PAGE 21R
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OUTLOOK: THE WAY WE LIVE
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
Bill Gassaway hugs Luke at the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center in July 2013 in Lexington.
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PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN
TO KNOW THAT YOU’VE TRAINED A DOG AND YOU’VE DONE YOUR BEST AT IT AND HE’S GOING TO A HOUSE OR HOME OR CENTER, IT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD THAT YOU’RE GIVING BACK SOMETHING TO SOCIETY. YOU’RE GIVING PEOPLE SOMETHING, BUT YOU’RE ALSO SAVING A DOG. BILL MILLER
Dogs FROM PAGE 20R
Inmate dog trainer Bill Miller works with maltese/poodle mix Jesse in January at the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center in Lexington. PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN
lick at the fence as you approach. Inmates at the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center have been training dogs for life as companion animals for more than two decades. A similar program at the Mabel Bassett Correctional Center, a female institution in McLoud, was opened last year. Those who help operate the program will tell you the animals are not the only ones who benefit from the program. “I think it gives (the inmates) a sense of responsibility and a purpose, too,” said John Otto, a Norman-based veterinarian who helps run the program. “Think of your life without a purpose. That’s where I think this theme of hope comes in. Giving back can make them have hope that things will get better.” Otto said through the program he’s seen several inmates find a sense of purpose, something that can be hard to come by in prison. “I’m grateful for it, but it’s not about me, it’s about the dogs,” said Bill Miller, a Lexington inmate who has been training dogs for years. Miller is serving a life sentence for a murder conviction. “To know that you’ve trained a dog and you’ve done your best at it and he’s going to a house or home or center, it makes you feel good that you’re giving back something to society,” he said. “You’re giving people something, but you’re also saving a dog.” Earlier this year, Sarge, a schnauzer-mix, was adopted into the Oklahoma pet hall of fame for his work as a therapy dog at the Norman Veterans Center. Lee Fairchild, a case manager who runs Lexington’s dog training program, shares Otto’s assessment of the program and its positive effect on the prisoners who participate. He said it offers inmates a chance to not only give back to the community but to also grow themselves. “It’s like a snowball rolling down a hill,” Fairchild said. “They just learn so much discipline.”
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OUTLOOK: THE WAY WE LIVE
Therapy dogs take a nap at The Animal Conference in the Skirvin Hilton Hotel.
PHOTO PROVIDED
FOUNDATION HOSTS CONFERENCE WITH ANIMAL APPEAL BY CARLA HINTON Staff Writer chinton@oklahoman.com
Animal lovers, many with their favorite furry friends in tow, recently converged on the Skirvin Hilton Hotel for a oneof-a-kind event hosted by an Oklahoma City-based philanthropic organization. The Kirkpatrick Foundation’s inaugural Animal Conference drew 330 people from 16 states and Washington, D.C., to discuss animals from many different perspectives and levels of expertise, said Louisa McCune-Elmore, the foundation’s executive director. Along the way, attendees received much information and also had fun, she said. McCune-Elmore said she and the foundation couldn’t be more pleased with the conference’s
success. “We made this thing up and it was absolutely wonderful,” McCune-Elmore said. “People were blown away by it.”
Highlights included:
I A Cat Cafe and Bookstore featuring a pop-up bookstore of cat-themed books provided by Full Circle Bookstore and coffee treats by Cafe Evoke. The Cat Cafe, based on a phenomena popular in Japan, also included kittens for adoption from two local animal rescue organizations. I Several teams of therapy dogs included 15 pooches from A New Leash on Life. I Six plenary sessions, plus a host of different and comprehensive sessions, which included 54 keynote panelists and presenters. I An opportunity to see chickens from the Cleveland County 4-H Club hatch.
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McCune-Elmore said the foundation did some brainstorming in July 2012 and created a 20-year strategy designed to make Oklahoma one of the safest places for animals. She said the Animal Conference was a creative result of that initial strategic meeting. “The whole premise is where animals fare well, people fare well,” she said. McCune-Elmore said the biggest factor in the conference’s success was that it brought people together to talk about a topic they all were concerned and passionate about. “You can’t move the needle of society if people are not brought together in the same room and if people are not inspired,” she said. McCune-Elmore said the foundation hopes to host the event every three years, so the next Animal Conference is set for 2018.
Joel Sartore, a National Geographic photographer and speaker, gives a presentation during a 2015 Animal Conference session at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. PHOTO PROVIDED
YOU CAN’T MOVE THE NEEDLE OF SOCIETY IF ... PEOPLE ARE NOT INSPIRED. LOUISA MCCUNEELMORE
Louisa McCune-Elmore is executive director of the Kirkpatrick Foundation.
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ZOO OFFICIALS OFFER GLIMPSE INTO ANIMAL HOSPITAL BY MATT PATTERSON Staff Writer mpatterson@oklahoman.com
Innovative thinking is nothing new at the Oklahoma City Zoo, but one new aspect of the zoo is going to provide visitors with a unique view of some things that were previously behind the scenes. When Oklahoma City Zoo veterinarian Jennifer D’Agostino surveys the construction of the new Joan Kirkpatrick Animal Hospital, her excitement for the project barely can be contained. For one, the new 20,000square-foot hospital will alleviate space issues at the current facility, which opened more than 30 years ago. But also, it will give D’Agostino and her staff a chance to show the public what they do.
A look at animal care
The new animal hospital will include several viewing windows allowing zoo visitors to view some procedures ranging from lab work to surgeries. Visitors will be able to watch as meals are prepared, and there will be monitors in the viewing area that provide information about medical procedures being performed. “This will be a great opportunity for the general public to learn what it takes to care for a collection this size,” D’Agostino said. “We can incorporate our conservation messages in with it, as well.” She said that even though what the zoo does “isn’t direct conservation in the wild, we’re taking care of these animals so they are healthy, and they can share their stories with the public so they can care about these animals and their wild places and preserving those globally.” The hospital also will include offices for staff, a larger, more
Guests touch stingrays while visiting Stingray Bay March 17 at the Oklahoma City Zoo. A new surgery center at the zoo includes animal quarters and pools. PHOTO BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN
THIS WILL BE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC TO LEARN WHAT IT TAKES TO CARE FOR A COLLECTION THIS SIZE. J E N N I F E R D ’A G O S T I N O
expanded records room and pharmacy, along with radiology. There also will be a small apartment in the building for vets to use during times when an animal needs around-the-clock care. “We will have stalls in our hospitalized animal quarters with pools in them,” D’Agostino
said. “Right now we don’t have that, and it’s difficult to hospitalize ducks or swans, for example. Now we can do that with no problem. Our surgery facility and X-ray room are about twice the size of what we have now. That will be very helpful to us.” Funding for the hospital included $4.5 million from sales
tax revenue and another $4.5 million was raised in a capital campaign led by ZooFriends. The money was raised in about 18 months from more than 620 donors. “The interest level exceeded what we expected,” ZooFriends Executive Director Dana McCrory said. “It’s really amazing to
see what the public-private partnership has produced, and I think when the doors open that will be the ultimate thank you. We will be able to show people the impact of their dollars.” Ground was broken in March 2013 and the hospital will be open for public viewing of certain activities beginning in spring 2015.
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OUTLOOK
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
PHOTO
CONTEST
WINNERS
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#LightUpOKC The 2015 Outlook annual photo contest called for creative light painting photos taken in the Oklahoma City metro area. We put the word out on Instagram, using the hashtag #LightUpOKC, for a chance to win a Nikon D3200 camera and Double Zoom Lens Kit from Bedford Camera & Video. The kit includes the 18-55mm VR lens and the 55-200mm VR lens with a Promaster 16GB SD card and a carrying case. Congratulations, grand prize winner Ricky Barnard, of Norman, and thanks to all who submitted their photos.
Grand prize winner: Ricky Barnard
Finalist: Brandon Puffer
Finalist: Collaboration by Brian Bechtold and Ron Tography
Finalist: Ryan Tauss
Finalist: Vick Nguyen
INSIDE: Read about the entries and why the photographers believe they say “creativity,” PAGE 2S
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THE LIST
Faces of creativity Editor’s note: We sought to find out who were some of the thought leaders in creativity in the Oklahoma City area. I went to the experts: The Oklahoman reporters and columnists, of course. You will recognize some of these names; many you may not know, but that was our purpose this year — to shine light on some folks who don’t always get mentioned. This is by no means a definitive list, but a good sampling of people who are making a creative difference in our state. We tried to limit it to 50 people, but that was impossible.
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT Ryan Bellgardt, film director Nate Bright, special effects makeup artist Dusty Gilpin of Tree and Leaf Clothing Matt Goad of Feel Spectres/Graphic Artist Sha’ree Green and Wendy Parker, film producers at WEERN Production Tate James of Dither/Cheap Rent, cofounder of collaborative digital and printing projects Seth McCarroll and Brady Smith of Old Blood Noise, makers of unique pedals for musicians Lance McDaniel, executive director of deadCENTER Film Festival Robert Mills, artistic director of OKC Ballet Tony Morton, Kasum Contemporary Fine Art gallery Kyle Roberts, film director W. Jerome Stevenson at Pollard Theatre, Guthrie Erin and Tyler Woods, Reduxion Theatre
BUSINESS Greg Archibald, CEO of Oklahoma Citybased Greasebook LLC, a company that streamlines the management of oil pumpers Allison Barta Bailey, independent business consultant for shops, districts and urban developers Jeff Click, homebuilder Allison Cofer, president of Woven, a company that provides legal and financial resources to members of the LGBT community Rand Elliott, architect Kurt Fleischfresser, chef and restauranteur Chaya Fletcher, owner of Urban Roots restaurant, art gallery and performance space
Dr. Elaine Hamm, Venture Advisor, Manager of Proof-of-Concept Center , i2E Inc. Monique Jackson, banker and chair of NW OKC chamber Scott Kinnaird, CEO of Ala Mode, a computer software company A.J. Kirkpatrick, director of operations and planning at Downtown OKC Inc. Danny Maloney, CEO and co-founder of Pinterest analytics company Tailwind Kevin Moore, manager of the SeedStep Angels and Venture Advisor Terry Neese, founder and CEO of the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women Heather and Keith Paul, A Good Egg Dining Group Robert Ruiz, marketing manager and developer at Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads Robin Smith, COO and co-founder, WeGoLook in Oklahoma City Wade Scaramucci, architect Renzei Stone, founder and CEO of Saxum Douglas Sorocco, intellectual property rights attorney at Dunlop Codding Scott Wilson, associate director at the K20 Center, University of Oklahoma Tracey Zeeck, head of Bumbershoot PR
Rob Neu, superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools Liz Roth, associate professor, Department of Art, Graphic Design and Art History, Oklahoma State University Richard Zielinski, director of choral activities at the University of Oklahoma and artistic director of the Norman Philharmonic
EDUCATION
LOCAL AND CIVIC
Steve Agee, dean of Meinders Business School at Oklahoma Christian University James Cooper, adjunct professor of Film Studies and English at Oklahoma Christian University and English at University of Central Ooklahoma Jarred Geller, pre-K teacher at Eugene Field Elementary in OKC Eric Hileman, executive director of information services for Oklahoma City Public Schools Aurora Lora, associate superintendent of student achievement and accountability for Oklahoma City Public Schools
Amber Clour, director of Dreamer Concepts, a nonprofit for emerging young artists Miki Faris, founder and executive director of Infant Crisis Services Jonathan Fowler of Fowler Holding Company, OKC Block Party and the Norman Music Festival Police Chief Keith Humphrey and Carl Pendleton, master police officer, who try new innovative recruiting methods for the Norman Police Department
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE WINNING #LIGHTUPOKC PHOTO ENTRIES FIRST PLACE
Name: Ricky Barnard (Instagram @purspektiv) City: Norman Where: Clear Bay, Lake Thunderbird, Norman Why: I was out there taking sunset photos, remembered seeing the contest on Instagram, so I thought I would give it a try. I believe it’s my first try at “lightpainting.” How: The camera was on a tripod, f22, 30 second exposure. I used a remote to open the shutter, and walked along the shore with the light trying to follow the shoreline. It was pretty much completely dark to the eyes, but the long exposure brought out the twilight in the sky. How it says creativity: I guess you have to be somewhat creative, or bored, to be at the lake when it is dark to find some light left in the sky to photograph, then, to walk up and down the shore with a little LED light, waving it around. Might have looked silly to some I guess. ;) It took a few tries to stay close enough to the shore without getting wet.
SECOND PLACE
Name: Brandon Puffer (@bpuffer360 on Instagram) City: Oklahoma City How: It’s a long exposure shot of Clark Cobbs spinning steel wool that is lit on fire! How it says creativity: “The creativity is in the pic.”
THIRD PLACE
(Collaboration) Name: Brian Bechtold and Ron Tography (@rontography and @chupa_cobra on Instagram) City: Oklahoma City Why: The April 19th bombing was the most bittersweet moment in OKC history. An awful tragedy that brought our city together and made the bond we have as Oklahomans stronger than anywhere I’ve ever been. We will never forget the ones we lost that day. How: 15 second exposure and one handheld LED. How it says creativity: “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn't really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That's because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.” — Steve Jobs
BEING PART OF A COMMUNITY ... PROVIDES EVEN MORE CONNECTIONS FOR “HAPPY ACCIDENTS.” R YA N TA U S S
FOURTH PLACE
Name: Ryan Tauss (@tauss on Instagram) City: Edmond How it says creativity: For me to be truly creative, it’s about setting out into the unknown. I did know a few things to start. I did know how to use a camera. I knew the affect I was going for, but to execute on an idea, I was faced with a lot of unknowns. It’s there I find that I have to be creative in the way I use the talents and resources available to me. I find now that being collaborative is a pure form of creativity. Being part of a community or working in and through relationships provides even more connections for “happy accidents.” This picture is evidence of just that. It’s a “happy accident.”
FIFTH PLACE
Name: Vick Nguyen (@vicious_vick_ on Instagram) City: Oklahoma City Why: I took it because I loved how the surrounding light next to the lake reflects off the water. How: First I had to get someone to shine the light over my friend’s ruckus and then have two of my other friends sit there while someone drew a heart over them. How it says creativity: You can draw/ write anything you want. Express yourself. That’s exactly what creativity is.
HEALTH Mike Brose, executive director, Mental Health Association Oklahoma Terry Cline, state health commissioner Mark Galliart, CEO, McBride Hospital Courtney Houchen, Francis and Malcolm Robinson Chair and Chief in the College of Medicine/Medicine — Gastroenterology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center David Jones, deputy director for Translational Research, Peggy and Charles Stephenson Cancer Center, University of Oklahoma and cancer researcher at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Kendra Orcutt, occupational therapist who created a business to remodel homes to accommodate the disabled Avilla Williams, president of Integris Health Edmond
Ginger McGovern, board member and officer for the 39th Street District Association (Lead organizer of upcoming 39th Street Jazzy Fest on May 16) Marnie Taylor, president and CEO of the Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits Shevaun Williams, internationally known photographer
RELIGION Joseph Alsay, Rector of St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church Blake Gideon, pastor of First Baptist Church of Edmond Bobby Gruenewald, LifeChurch innovation leader Ben Nockels, head of 111 Project, a faithbased outreach to foster children in DHS custody
SPORTS D.J. Bennett, University of Oklahoma basketball player Joe Castiglione, University of Oklahoma athletic director Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder forward James Fraschilla, University of Oklahoma basketball player Grant Gower, Deer Creek Schools football coach Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder forward Mike Holder, Oklahoma State University athletic director Mike Knopp, executive director of the Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation Desmond Mason, local artist and former Oklahoma State and Thunder player Mike Nunley, Edmond Schools athletic director Sam Presti, Oklahoma City Thunder executive vice president & general manager Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard
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OUTLOOK: THE WAY WE LIVE
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PROGRESS FLOWS ON RIVER BY ED GODFREY Staff Writer egodfrey@oklahoman.com
Above: The exterior of the CHK/Central Boathouse is shown April 6. The boathouse for the University of Central Oklahoma is the newest on the river. PHOTO BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN Top: The Boathouse District is shown April 15 along the Oklahoma River in Oklahoma City. In the foreground are Interstate 40 and Rocktown Climbing Gym. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
The creative spark that led to the development of the Boathouse District began with a dry riverbed and a rowing coach who saw the possibilities. Mike Knopp, now executive director of the Oklahoma City Boathouse Foundation, was a full-time attorney and rowing enthusiast when the first MAPS put water into the Oklahoma River years ago. The banks of the river were bare, but in Knopp’s vision he saw boathouses and rowers, kayakers and cyclists, bringing the river to life. Today, the Boathouse District includes three worldclass boathouses, a state-ofthe-art finish line tower, RIVERSPORT Adventures, and now under construction, the $45 million RIVERSPORT Rapids whitewater rafting and kayaking facility. Thousands of visitors each year enjoy what is arguably the nation’s most exciting urban adventure venue. “The original idea of MAPS was extremely creative in itself,” Knopp said, “ and it’s been an incubator for all sorts of other creativity. Like the best think-tanks, we’ve built off each other’s ideas.” Among the creative ideas, MAPS 3 funding provided permanent stadium lighting along the Oklahoma River making it the only lighted river in the country. “This is changing the sport of rowing,” Knopp pointed out. “Rowing under the lights adds a whole new aspect to the sport with super short sprint racing. Athletes enjoy the new format and it brings a new and larger audience to the sport.” Building the new RIVERSPORT Rapids whitewater rafting and kayaking center, also a MAPS 3 project, is another creative move. “Who could’ve ever imagined whitewater rafting in the center of Oklahoma City?” Knopp asks. Being at the center of the
city adds to a growing movement to create a new lifestyle in Oklahoma City, one that is more active and perhaps most important, more fun. “We are starting a movement to see fitness in a different way. It’s fine to workout in a gym, but the most lasting approach to fitness is to do something fun,” Knopp said. “We want to get people off the sofa and take a much needed break from their digital lives,” Knopp said. “I recently heard that sitting is the new smoking. We have to stop sitting so much and develop more active lifestyles.” RIVERSPORT Adventures offers an alternative with climbing, jumping, bouncing and cycling Adventure activities along with rowing, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding and cycling. “It’s all fun. And it all gets your heart rate up, builds muscle, improves balance – all the components of a traditional fitness program,” Knopp said. “Which is more fun: climbing 12 flights of stairs in a stairwell or climbing to the top of the SandRidge Sky Trail and then zipping across the river?” The Boathouse Foundation has dubbed their new program FitQuest and it will roll out later this spring. A youth version is being developed with funding provided by a grant from the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET). “We know people like to measure things like calories burned or steps walked, so we’re going to give them some of those measurement tools with FitQuest,” Knopp said. Knopp predicts the biggest shift will come with the opening of the whitewater center in spring, 2016. “It just doesn’t get more fun than racing down the rapids in raft,” Knopp said. “We already have families who have traded in their TV remote for a rowing oar or kayak paddle several nights a week. We only see that growing with the opening of whitewater.”
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OUTLOOK: THE WAY WE LIVE
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The OKC Riversport team competes Oct. 5 in the Mens Youth 4+ during the OCU Head of the Oklahoma Regatta on the Oklahoma River. PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
River venue to make waves in OKC BY ED GODFREY Staff Writer egodfrey@oklahoman.com
When the $45 million RIVERSPORT Rapids whitewater rafting and kayaking facility is completed next year, the public will be surprised, predicts David Todd, MAPS 3 program manager. “I think they are going to be surprised by the size of the facility,” he said. “I think a lot of people still don’t exactly understand what it is, but I think two years from now there are going to be a whole of lot of people in town that kayak. ”It’s just not something you do around here. There is no venue. It’s something you do in Colorado on a river some place. But I think that is going to change dramatically.” The whitewater park is more than one-third complete with the goal that will be open by early spring in time for the 2016 Olympic Trials scheduled for the second weekend in May. The Oklahoma River will be the site for the Olympic trials in whitewater slalom and canoe/ kayak flatwater sprints. Oklahoma City will be the only venue in the world where
Construction on the RIVERSPORT Rapids whitewater facility was 35 percent complete March 27. PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
the whitewater facility is immediately adjacent to the flat water rowing course for the athletes who aspire to make the Olympic Games. But the whitewater park is designed not only with the participants in mind, but also the spectators. A pro shop and a
restaurant that overlooks the Oklahoma River will be part of the facility. “The view from the restaurant will be over the river and over the whitewater course,” Todd said. “It should really be a neat place to be.” There will be “benched” areas
adjacent to the competition channel “so it makes like a natural stadium in there,” Todd said. The whitewater facility also will become a training ground for Oklahoma City firefighters and those in the region, Todd said. Firefighters will use the facility to conduct swift water
rescue training, he said. “Because of the way they can control the water with the pumps and the way the obstacles that make the whitewater are configured, you can put a car in there and strap it down and really control the rate of water,” Todd said. “Firemen can practice the rescue of people inside of cars in high water situations. A lot of places try to do it in active rivers, which is difficult because they can control the flow.” The construction of the whitewater park has had few obstacles, Todd said. “Probably the biggest thing we ran into during excavation was in some of that lower channel, we found a lot of old debris from years and years ago of people dumping down by the river,” he said. “We found a lot of tires, some oil field pipe, chunks of concrete, things like that that had to be pulled out.” When the park is complete, Todd predicts it will be a major draw for the city and something people across the country and around the world will be talking about. “I have no doubt,” he said. “I really expect that to be the case. It’s a big deal for the city.”
OUTLOOK: THE WAY WE LIVE
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SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
5S
THUNDER
Westbrook makes waves with fashion PHOTO BY SARAH PHIPPS, THE OKLAHOMAN
FOR SERGE IBAKA, IT ALL BEGAN WITH A DREAM FROM STAFF REPORTS
Russell Westbrook and Vogue’s Anna Wintour talk at a fashion show in New York in 2013. AP PHOTO
BY DARNELL MAYBERRY Staff Writer dmayberry@oklahoman.com
Russell Westbrook has never been bashful when it comes to his inner fashion bug, and the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard has now forced the fashion industry to pay attention to his unique style. Westbrook, perhaps the NBA’s most electric player on a basketball court, has quickly become one of the most flamboyant off it. And people, designers and decision-makers alike, like it. In his seventh season, Westbrook has garnered endorsement deals with Jordan Brand, which honored him as one of the few players to have a signature shoe, True Religion, the clothing company that recently appointed him as a campaign creative director, and King & Jaxs, a designer underwear line. More impressively, Westbrook launched his own clothing line last summer, partnering with Barneys New York to deliver Westbrook XO, a high end line of menswear and accessories. Westbrook also has his own line of eyewear, Westbrook Frames. The key to his success? “Being myself,” Westbrook explained. “I think it’s important if you go out and be yourself regardless of if people may like it or may not. A lot of people around the world like you being unique. If unique can be yourself, then different brands and different companies like people like that. It gives me an opportunity to go express myself and venture off into different things.” And make no mistake. This isn’t just a hobby. Westbrook is serious when it comes to fashion. “It’s been my thing. Not just now,” Westbrook said. “It’s something that I like to do off the
IT’S ... SOMETHING THAT I SEE AS A BUSINESS VENTURE FOR ME. RUSSELL WESTBROOK floor and it’s something that I take personal and something that I see as a business venture for me moving forward.” Westbrook has called his fashion interests refreshing, an escape from the day-to-day routine of basketball. It’s a different world for him, with different players. He’s attended Fashion Week in New York City multiple times now and traveled to Paris last summer for his first experience at Paris Fashion Week. While rubbing elbows with some of the biggest names in fashion, Westbrook is all smiles, jovial even as he meets and greets designers and discusses the business and current fashion trends. It’s a stark difference from the Westbrook fans see in uniform. “It’s totally different,” Westbrook told Bleacher Report. “People that don’t really know me, they only see me on the court and see that I’m angry, I’m emotional. But that’s the type of guy I am when I play basketball. When it comes to business and off the court, that’s just the person I am regularly.” Westbrook said he’s always been into fashion but didn’t always have the means to be as big into it as he is now. “It was basically what I could afford,” Westbrook told the New York Times of his fashion choices growing up in the Los Angeles area. “Trying to find the best bargain, I kind of shopped all over the place.” That all began to change,
Westbrook said, when he was drafted fourth overall in 2008. He kept things simple as a rookie, but he soon saw an opening. “Nobody was doing anything that would attract the fashion crowd,” Westbrook told the New York Times. “People got on the podium (after playoff games) in whatever they were wearing that day.” Even the more impressive threads didn’t impress Westbrook. “It was cliché,” he said. Westbrook has found a way to stand out. His attire after playoff games have become as much of a talking point as his play during them. He’s often daring and, perhaps unlike most, doesn’t care one bit what anyone thinks about him. “He’s not taking direction from someone else,” Matthew Bedard, editorial director for Flaunt, a Los Angeles-based fashion magazine, told the New York Times. That boldness and willingness to be different has turned into a lucrative business venture for Westbrook. “Russell is part of a newer generation, players that take fashion as a real badge of cool,” Jim Moore, creative director for GQ told the New York Times. And he’s just getting started. “I want to create a fashion empire,” Westbrook told Bleacher Report. “I just want to create something that everybody can relate to.”
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU?
“Fashion is a big part of my life. It’s something that I’m interested in and I’ve found a way to kinda get into.”
Russell WESTBROOK “I think it’s very important. I think when you try to find your way in the NBA, especially for myself, I’m trying to find something to do after basketball. I’m not going to be able to play basketball for the rest of my life. Fashion is a big part of my life. It’s something that I'm interested in and I’ve found a way to kinda get into.” Westbrook is an Oklahoma City Thunder point guard.
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka appeared at the Creativity World Forum 2015 in March at the Civic Center. Ibaka, 25, stars in “Son of the Congo,” a documentary about his life from Africa to Oklahoma City. He told a packed audience, along with creativity and innovation expert Sir Ken Robinson, about his dreams and the importance of belief in oneself. An excerpt from Ibaka’s remarks. About his dream: “I think my story can really inspire a lot of young people. Since I was young, I made a promise to God. I told him, if I become the person I want to be, I want to make sure I’m gonna give back. I want to share my blessings with all people. “After all I’ve been through with my life ... one thing I know, is the dream is free. The dream is free. I didn’t have nothing. I didn’t have money, I didn’t have shoes, I didn’t have basketball, but one thing I know is the dream is free. You don’t have to be rich. You don’t have to have everything to dream. “I always believe in myself. Before someone believe in you, you are the first person to believe in yourself. I was the first person to believe in myself before anyone. I did not wait. I didn’t give excuses. I say, I’m going to do whatever it takes to do to chase that dream. And I did.” About his drive: “My dream and ambition was to become a basketball player. I want to leave (the Congo) and play basketball, something I love to do. “I didn’t have no ball or shoes but I decided myself to do whatever it takes. “When I left the Congo, I go to France for three months, after France then I go to Spain for three years. (But) before then, everything starts with small beginnngs, small steps. “I was waking up everyday at 5 a.m. to go run. I didn’t have basketball like most kids. “I was envisioning something ... but I didn’t have (a basket)ball! When I tell someone, I’m gonna be basketball player, people think I’m crazy. But you know what? I didn’t let that affect me because I know what I want, and I believe in myself 100 percent.” About his desire to give back: “I was on the street ... and I know how hard it was. Thank God, the last two years I’ve been working with UNICEF and I’m doing what I was dreaming about. The next dream is a foundation. I have big dreams. It’s not all about basketball. My next big dream is to build a hospital in the Congo for children. I’m sure it’s going to happen because I believe.”
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Q&A
Five questions with H&H’s Miles Hall BY ED GODFREY Staff Writer egodfrey@oklahoman.com
Miles Hall, owner of the H&H Shooting Sports Complex in Oklahoma City, started with a gun range in 1981 and added a retail store in 1996 and later an archery range. The shooting sports is becoming more diverse across the country and the industry has noticed. Q: How do you stay competitive in the shooting sports industry? A: The biggest thing is knowing who the audience is. In the shooting sports, the audience is now younger, in their mid-30s. It does run the gamut from very old to very young, but the predominant players that are making things happen now are in that mid- to late 30s age group because of the sheer numbers of them. They are in the millions around the country and it is virtually a 50-50 split between men and women. Q: Why is this happening, in your opinion? A: They may come into the shooting sports initially for self-defense reasons but most importantly, they want to have a good time. They want to shoot. They want to shoot and have some fun. If they can’t get that, they are going to do something else. It’s about entertaining. In the old days an indoor gun range was an anomaly. Today, they are becoming
PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
much more the norm and they are getting more elaborate. Going and shooting now is a normal thing. Q: How does this age demographic change the way you do business? A: They want things creatively done. They want to be teased visually. The presentation has to be good for them.
Facebook and having a web presence is very important to them. They want information, so they want the ability to scan the QR codes on products today. They will scan those in the store. The second thing about them is they want to be able to interact with people who will treat them respectfully.
Joy Hast gets in practice time Jan. 21 with a Ruger Mark III 22LR pistol on the firing range at H&H in Oklahoma City.
Q: What is the major trend in the industry? A: The big trend is lightweight and comfortableness. Rest assured, there are some things that fall outside that, but overall it’s about comfort and weight. A gun is normally a pretty heavy item to carry with you so they are looking for a gun that is light weight and comfortable in their hands. Even though they may have a gun for self-defense reasons, they are shooters. They are shooting to have a good time whether on their range or out at their farm or whatever. In long guns, they want the guns that have all the cool accessories to go with them. That is why platform guns, or modern sporting rifles, are so popular. Basically you can buy a very practical gun and can add lasers and flashlights and all kinds of cool things to the unit to make it more enjoyable to shoot. Everybody wants the latest and greatest. Performance is still very important to them but looking cool is equally important. And when you get right down to it, we are all that way. Q: What keeps people interested in shooting? A: The shooting sports are so diverse you truly cannot get bored. You start shooting a certain type of gun for a while and then you start reloading ammunition for that. That is a whole separate world within the world. There are black powder guns. Archery is really a very big deal now, much more than it has ever been in its history. The industry has always been innovative. I think we will always be amazed by what is coming new.
PHOTO BY JIM BECKEL, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
MORE WOMEN TAKING AIM BY ED GODFREY Staff Writer egodfrey@oklahoman.com
The gun world is not just a man’s world anymore. Women are buying more guns, hunting and participating in the shooting sports more than ever, according to a study released Wednesday by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. “We’re changing the industry,” said Lucretia Free, publisher of The American Woman Shooter. In 2001, there were 1.8 million female hunters in the country. In 2013, there were 3.3 million female hunters, an 85 percent increase in the dozen years, according to the study released in January at the shooting sports organization’s annual SHOT (Shooting, Hunting and Outdoors Trade) Show in Las Vegas. In 2001, there were 3.3 million female target shooters in the country. In 2013, that number had grown to 5.4
million, or increased by 60 percent. And those numbers don’t include the number of women who own a gun only for protection, which is why most women initially buy a gun. But then many women discover “they actually enjoy shooting it,” said Miles Hall, owner of the H&H Shooting Sports Complex in Oklahoma City. “Plus, there are more places to shoot today and that makes it easier.” Hall said Oklahoma was ahead in the current trend. Five years ago, 15 to 20 percent of his customers at the gun range were women, he said. Today, 43 percent are women, he said. “It’s developing into an inclusive industry,” Hall said. Juliann Crowder, founder of the A Girl and A Gun, a women’s only shooting league with 90 chapters in 34 states, including Oklahoma, said more single moms are buying guns because they feel a responsibility to protect themselves and their families. But then they quickly start shooting recreationally and even compet-
itively and start buying more, she said. Gun stores and gun ranges are taking women more seriously today than a decade ago, she said. “It’s becoming a little more socially acceptable to be a firearms owner as a woman and to walk into training classes and to be taken seriously,” she said.
Changing attitudes
Those changing attitudes about women and guns can be seen in the modern gun ranges which are much more welcoming and accommodating to women. “Men will shoot anywhere. They don’t care,” said Lisa Looper, owner of Flashbang Holsters in Oklahoma City, which makes gun holsters just for women. “Women, we want the parking lot to be well-lit. We want the bathrooms to be clean and nice. We want things to be safe. We are a lot more particular about that. There really weren’t a lot of places like that when I first started shooting (eight years
ago). H&H was one of the first places that I could walk in and feel comfortable being there by myself.” Gun ranges across the country now are being built that offer amenities such as restaurants, bars, Wi-Fi and even exercise rooms. Gun clubs are “not just an exclusive old boys club anymore,” said Russ Thurman, editor of The Shooting Industry Magazine and a NSSF board member. “Those are slowly fading out.” The firearms industry has taken notice of the trend. More guns and shooting accessories are being designed for women who are serious about the sport. “You can’t just make a firearm pink and say you are catering to the women’s market,” said Christopher J. Killoy, president and chief operating officer of Ruger, one of the iconic gun brands in the world. “Women are potentially half of our customer base. We’ve got to be a lot smarter marketers.”
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FOOTBALL
CHA defensive coordinator Troop Bullard uses the replay system on an iPad to show Timmy Fraley, center, and Logan LaNou a play during practice at Christian Heritage Academy's football stadium Oct. 2 in Oklahoma City.
How Christian Heritage developed a game-changing instant replay system BY JACOB UNRUH Staff Writer junruh@oklahoman.com
DEL CITY — Christian Heritage assistant coach Chad Cargill only wanted to improve the Crusaders last season. Cargill, an engineer, then saw the National Federation of State High School Associations adopted Rule 1.6.1.2 to allow the use of video replay on sidelines during athletic events. “I asked the coaches if we came up with a way to get our booth camera down to the sidelines during the game would we use it,” Cargill said. “We developed a very basic thing that we used in our second scrimmage last year. “Really, it was just to make us better. If it was legal, we wanted to make us better so we did whatever we could to give us the tools to make us better.” The tool they developed was the beta test for echo1612, an innovative replay system used on iPads to give instant replay of a play to coaches and players on the sideline to allow for adjustments. It’s a system Cargill developed through his company that’s catching on across the nation and changing football and other sports. A total of 105 schools across 27 states have invested in the system, including nearly 10 schools in Oklahoma that range from Class 3A to Class 6A in size. “It just shows exactly what you don’t see until the next morning when it’s too late,” said Harrah coach Phil Webb, who was one of the first to invest in the system. “Kudos to them. I think it’s well worth the investment. Anything to help us get ahead of any program or opponent, that’s what we want to do.” The NFHS rule was passed before the 2013 season. The only states not allowed to use echo1612 are Massachusetts and Texas. The system is simple and
Christian Heritage assistant coach Chad Cargill talks about the echo1612 sideline replay system. PHOTOS BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
cost-effective. A team buys the software, router, battery and gameplay card to run the program off www.echo1612.com. The router sets up an intranet at the stadium for the coaches to use, much like their own headset system. Each play is recorded and then processed through the software on a computer and sent to iPads on the sidelines. In 5-10 seconds, a coach is
already looking at the replay and planning adjustments, using the various tools offered in the software that include a telestrator, slow motion and more. “It’s something that, when it first came out, I was sort of leery about it, but then when I saw what it did it was a nobrainer for us,” Choctaw coach Todd Dilbeck said. “You just didn’t know if it could work. Anytime you
have technology, things can go wrong. “It’s a great teaching tool, it teaches visual learning and our kids really love it.” Echo1612 also works for other sports. Christian Heritage has been using it in volleyball and plans to use it in basketball and baseball. Schools realize how this can change a game for a team. Harrah coaches have attributed their success running
the ball this season to the ability to make adjustments instantaneously. Other schools have used it in practices to adjust things. And it’s provided a different look for the sidelines. Some schools set up TVs on the sideline to project the iPad for different units to watch. Some schools — like Christian Heritage — have SEE REPLAY, PAGE 9S
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removed coaches from the press box entirely. “That’s been a plus,” said Webb, who said Harrah has moved two coaches to the sideline to leave two in the press box. “I don’t think in the long run it’s going to affect the game other than minor things that’s going to help the game move quicker, maybe be more precise, make teams play better, instead of being not as sound at times. It’s just another tool and, like anything, if a tool is used correctly and used properly then it’s going to be good.” Christian Heritage used the system all of last season while making adjustments along the way. There were speed bumps, but by the end of the season the idea to sell the system across the nation was formed. Since then, Crusaders coaches have traveled to coaching clinics working to sell the product, which costs $1,500 for one system and $2,500 for two systems. Teams can renew the licensing for the software next year for $250 for one system or $350 for two. “We wanted to do it where it was cheap enough that everybody could use it,” Christian Heritage coach Tony Merrell said. “I was just excited it was helping us last year.”
CHA assistant coach Chad Cargill shows how the echo1612 sideline replay system works on an iPad.
“The height of creativity is found in moving beyond the accepted standard and finding new and interesting ways to connect a story to an audience ... ”
Jerome STEVENSON
PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU?
“The height of creativity is found in moving beyond the accepted standard and finding new and interesting ways to connect a story to an audience, presenting stories in such a way that audiences are allowed to see themselves (or those around them) through and in the circumstances of a particular narrative.
“Creativity requires an intimate knowledge of the rules and traditions; it demands our focus and passion, but it allows us to see through the world through a unique lens and connects us to the story and, by extension, one another.” Stevenson is the artistic director of Guthrie’s Pollard Theatre.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL The Cowboys have been on the cutting edge of uniforms the past few seasons.
What might be next?
BY KYLE FREDRICKSON OSU Beat Writer kfredrickson@oklahoman.com
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State continued its eyeopening trend of reinventing its football uniforms in 2014 with the unveiling of two new helmets. The first: a chromedout orange shell and silver facemask, highlighted by an oversized Pistol Pete logo. The second: a throwback white Homecoming helmet, featuring the classic Bucking Bronc logo and Aggies signage. As the OSU equipment staff — director of equipment operations Wes Edwards, director of football equipment operations Matt Davis and football equipment manager Justin Williams — prepares for the 2015 season, one question looms large. What’s next? Edwards won’t reveal exactly what Cowboy fans will see in 2015, but he did take some time to discuss the process of developing and unveiling new looks and what might be ahead. Q: What is the process that goes into taking a uniform idea and turning it into a reality? A: “Matt Davis and Justin Williams are Oklahoma State alums. They take great pride, as we all do, in what we put out on the field. When we start on these uniform combinations, we have to think ahead, we can’t just sit on it. So we’re always trying to think of what’s next. We don’t want to just start something and not keep going forward with it. That’s really been a challenge. Matt and Justin have always been really great at meeting that challenge, coming up with new ideas — embracing the past, but also to keep it modern and make it work with new technology, the uniforms and the helmets. It is a process. I would say a year, if not more.” How involved is the rest of the team and athletic department in creating new looks? “We try to keep it within the equipment room between Matt and Justin. We have to go through our marketing and licensing people as well. We can’t
just throw something out there and not have the permission. There may be some retail stuff they can do if they know ahead of time. We may have a few players involved, but not typically. We like to surprise the players, and I think they’ve come to expect that and kind of like the surprise. Not too many people knew about the chrome helmet, and then Homecoming with the Bucking Bronc, nobody knew about except for our staff. Everything we do, we get approval from the athletic director, too. We don’t want to surprise him. He’s the one who gets all the emails and phone calls. So we’re not going to put anything out there without Coach Holder knowing what’s going on.”
How closely do you work with manufacturers when introducing a new helmet? “As far as helmets, that’s not Nike, that’s all Shutt and Riddell. Matt will work with those guys about a year out coming up with ideas. That’s not necessarily just for production, but also for budget purposes. That way, if we want to do it, we know how much it will cost and put that in the budget and really be fiscally responsible with what we’re doing. That’s really the biggest challenge — trying to keep things new and what’s next. We don’t want to react to what other people have done. We want to try to be the people that other schools react to.”
What goes into the production of the new orange chrome helmets? “It comes to us from the manufacturer that way, with that chrome look. It’s your standard shell, and then they have a process where they put that chrome application on it. And then that oversized Pete head is a decal. Matt, Justin and those football student managers put in countless hours trying to make sure that Pete was just right as far as his hat and bandana go, making sure they all look alike.” The Homecoming helmets show great attention to detail. Who was behind that look? “That’s all Matt and Justin. With them being alumni of Oklahoma State, we don’t want to do anything half way. If we’re going to use that Bronco logo, we’re going to make sure that we’re paying homage to that whole tradition. The Aggies and the O. We really would like to get to the point where we can get far enough out
and have uniforms to go with it, but that’s a whole different procedure and more money.” How much do you think about the affect uniforms have on recruits when developing new ideas? “Really, we worry more about the guys who are here now. Obviously, they’re not that far away from the kids we’re recruiting. So it all kind of goes together in my opinion. We want to keep our guys guessing and keep them looking sharp on the field — and that just helps in recruiting.” How much planning goes into what games you decide to wear which uniform combinations? “There’s a lot of thought that goes into, ‘OK, when are we going to wear this?’ That also helps our manufacturers and ourselves prepare. If there’s something new that we’re not going to put out until November, we need to work on it, but we still have a little time. Because once August hits, it’s really nonstop. That’s just something that we really do inhouse more than anything. If we’ve got a special weekday game, then maybe we’ll throw something out there. We tend to try and do something for Homecoming. But Nike doesn’t tell us what to do
or what to wear, or anything like that.” What do you think about the high volume of fan-created helmets that circulate on the internet? “A lot of people with a lot of time on their hands (laughs). I just hope that it’s not like the NCAA basketball tournament and people aren’t doing what they’re supposed to be doing at work. It is kind of cool to see some ideas and we might take something here or there from it, but it’s not something that we look at and rely on in terms of what we want to do. But there are a lot of creative people out there that put together some pretty interesting things.” Without giving too much away, what’s next for OSU’s helmets and uniforms? “We’re definitely committed to keeping it evolving. That goes into keeping the players here guessing and also keeping them excited about what we’re doing. We haven’t put everything out there. I’ll just leave it at that. There is stuff we’ve worn before that you’ll see again and there is probably some stuff that you haven’t necessarily seen on Photoshop or something, that hasn’t been worn by our guys, which will be out there. Again, that’s something we kind of started and we’re not just going to back and say we’re done. I think we’d be doing ourselves and injustice. So we’re always trying to think of what we can do next, what we can do differently and try to stay on top of this uniform craze. Maybe one day it will go back to where traditional is cool.”
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A view of the helmet of Oklahoma State's Juwan Offray before a football game between OSU and the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. on Sept. 25, 2014. PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
Scan the QR code or go to NewsOK.com to use the OSU Uniform Tracker.
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WORKING FOR THE WEEKEND BY JASON KERSEY Staff Writer jkersey@oklahoman.com
NORMAN — The start of Oklahoma’s fall football season is a hugely important day for Bob Stoops and the rest of the Sooners team. It’s also a big day for Jeff Salmond and his groundskeeping crew, who spend several months getting Owen Field’s grass ready both practically and aesthetically for the season. “You’re on display for national audiences,” said Salmond, OU’s director of athletic fields. “You’re on display for recruits. You’re on display for fans that come and walk through the stadium. The joy is at the end of the game, seeing how the field has performed.” Salmond and his staff manage all of the University of Oklahoma’s athletic fields and much of the grounds surrounding them, but nothing they do is more visible and important than their work inside Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, which houses one of the Big 12 Conference’s three remaining natural grass football fields. Oklahoma switched back from artificial turf in 1994, and while many high school and college football stadiums are going the other direction, OU seems committed to sticking with natural grass. Salmond, who studied agri- Jeff Salmond and his groundskeeping crew spend several months getting the field at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium culture at Missouri for his un- ready for fall football season. PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES dergraduate degree and then Iowa State for his master’s, said natural grass fields can handle lots more action than people field and measuring how fast it — and also farmed. He has year-round on maintaining the 300 gallons of paint on Owen think — as long as they are prop- stops after hitting the surface. A worked on field-management field, but really amps up its ef- Field over three days. They paint the endzones and erly maintained. higher Gmax means the weight teams with the Baltimore Rav- forts after the annual spring logos on Wednesday; paint the “I think grass is always the stopped quickly. ens, the University of New Mex- game in April. “We know that we’re on dis- yard lines, numbers and hash safest,” Stoops said. “We’ve got a The National Football League ico and Northwestern Universiplay 365 days a year, really,” marks on Thursdays; and finally great field. It ranks there with requires all fields be below 100 ty. any field in the country.” Gmax, and although the NCAA Last year was his eighth year Salmond said. “It’s not like we add a second coat over the end can go, ‘It’s just football season.’ zones and logos Friday. Among the most important doesn’t have similar require- in Norman. “We take pride in all of our “They go above and beyond, things Salmond’s crew monitors ments, Salmond said his staff Efforts gear up fields that we manage for the and hours really don’t matter to is the field’s hardness, which is holds itself to that standard. measured in a numerical value Salmond, from Kansas City, Because the football stadium University of Oklahoma and the them,” Stoops said. “I appreciate Jeff Salmond, that whole crew. called “Gmax.” Mo., grew up a big-time sports is probably the biggest visitor at- athletic department.” In a typical game week, Salm- They do an incredible job and A field’s Gmax is determined fan — his favorite football player traction on the OU campus, the by dropping a weight onto the was OU legend Brian Bosworth groundskeeping crew focuses ond said his staff uses roughly take a lot of pride in it.”
Facilitating upgrades CONTINUED ADVANCEMENT OF OSU ATHLETIC FACILITIES SIGN OF WHAT MIGHT BE AHEAD FOR NEW BASEBALL STADIUM BY KYLE FREDRICKSON Staff Writer kfredrickson@oklahoman.com
STILLWATER — Josh Holliday has brought newfound life to Oklahoma State’s baseball program in less than three years leading the Cowboys. His team has climbed the national rankings with top-rated recruiting classes and classic-orange throwback uniforms that have created plenty of buzz. What’s next in the evolution of the program? A new place to call home. “We’ve designed the stadium,” Holliday said in July, “and it’s beautiful.” Allie P. Reynolds Stadium, built in 1981, has long been on the wait list of OSU athletic facilities in need of an upgrade. When OSU hosted an NCAA Regional and Super Regional in 2014, it was forced to also use the Cowgirl softball facility to make up for its lack of baseball amenities. “I do know the final plans are being drawn, so we’ll have an idea of the final cost of the project,” Holliday said. “It’s a pretty substantial facility, so it’s obviously something that’s going to be when it’s all said and done pretty grand in terms of encompassing luxury seating, the seating bowl itself, the design itself. … We think it will put us at the top of college baseball.” Those high expectations aren’t simply a product of Holliday’s ambition. It’s yet another plan that continues OSU’s
advancement of athletic facilities for nearly all its sports teams. The 2009 renovation of Boone Pickens Stadium was the spark. And six years later, the facility still ranks among the best in the nation. Scott Roussel, who runs FootballScoop.com, recently toured BPS and spoke about the experience on his website’s podcast. “The facilities are absolutely amazing,” Roussel said. “They are the best of the best. A couple of new facilities in the SEC probably rival them, but there ain’t much better. Oregon has amazing facilities as well, but I was wowed (at OSU) … The coaches’ offices, literally, are probably the best in college football … You can understand why a player gets here and goes, ‘Yeah, this is way better than a lot of options in the Big 12.’” That momentum carried over the OSU’s newly minted track and tennis facilities. The OSU Track and Field Complex, opened in fall 2013, covers 20 acres on the northeast side of campus and includes a nine-lane 400-meter track. Its multiple buildings house locker rooms, a hydrotherapy pool and a student-athlete lounge. The Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center, a 50,000 square-foot facility, opened in spring 2014. It features six courts, coaches’ offices, locker rooms, a sports medicine hub and seating
for 350 — in addition to 12 lighted outdoor courts. “I think we have a facility that will stack up with any in the United States,” said athletic director Mike Holder at the center’s dedication in November. “Our dream is to host the men’s national championship and the women’s national championship, and hopefully someday win both.” So, what’s holding OSU back from putting shovels in the dirt today for a new baseball stadium? It might be the price tag. The new track facility cost an estimated $9 million. The tennis center, $7.5 million. “Obviously, a stadium design takes time as does the fundraising part,” Holliday said in February. “All of those things are moving in the right direction. Hopefully when the time comes, we’ll have more information about it. But there are a lot of people working hard on it right now.” For many OSU fans, the shortlist of names that could one day appear on the stadium for big donations might be clear. Holliday’s MLB AllStar brother Matt Holliday? Maybe former Cowboy, and current Chicago White Sox manager, Robin Ventura? “No, haven’t asked for any big checks from them,” Holliday said, then smiled. “But when the time comes and it’s time to try and wrap up that project, obviously we’ll reach out to anybody that wants to help us.”
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Tulsan’s interest in bracelets morphs into thriving business for A-listers BY LINDA MILLER For The Oklahoman
TULSA — Jill Donovan never wanted to be an entrepreneur. Or even a boss. But as she’s come to discover, she’s good at both. In summer 2011 in Tulsa, she started Rustic Cuff, a jewelry line that’s sold in more than 250 stores across the country, at select Dillard’s and on Nordstrom.com. The business that started in her guest room has settled into a larger space and showroom with 24 employees. “It feels very surreal, almost like I’m hearing someone else’s story,” Donovan said. Rustic Cuff products have been featured on “Good Morning America’s” Deals and Steals close to 20 times. Celebrities often are photographed wearing the statement-making cuffs and bracelets. Oklahoma native Kristin Chenoweth recently requested cuffs for the cast and crew for opening night of her
Broadway show “On the 20th Century.” All this from an attorney who stepped away from practicing law to teaching it once a week at Tulsa University so she could enjoy more time with her young daughters. Then one night about 2 a.m., while lying in bed, she started thinking about cuffs. She often bought special ones when she traveled but she wasn’t traveling as much. “I got up that night, went to the computer and started researching everything I could find about making bracelets, cuffs to be really specific,” Donovan said. For months, she read, watched videos and tried to learn as much as she could. After the girls went to bed each night, she would slip into the guest bedroom and work for hours. Finally, after several attempts, she finished her first leather cuff and gave it to a friend who worked at Saks Fifth Avenue. SEE JEWERLY, PAGE 15S
Jill Donovan is shown with her daughters, August and Ireland. PHOTO PROVIDED
PUZZLE
Find the answers to the puzzle on Page 22S.
OUTLOOK: THE WAY WE LIVE
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SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
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From left, a metal cuff with the Oklahoma City skyline, a stack of rustic styles, a stack in pink and patent and metal cuffs.
In addition to the women in this photo, Oprah is wearing a rustic cuff on the cover of the March issue of her magazine.
PHOTOS PROVIDED
Jewelry FROM PAGE 14S
A week later, her friend called and said 22 people she knew wanted to purchase custom cuffs. Donovan was in business, though she still didn’t see it that way. Then another friend wanted to host a cuff party. Two hundred cuffs sold that night, meaning even more time in the guest room. After a while she wanted to add exotic skins and metals and came up with a way to get her cuffs in the hands of high profile people. She wrote down the names of a dozen or so people in the spotlight, made several cuffs for each person, and sent them her creations. Then it happened. Miranda Lambert and Kathie Lee Gifford were wearing her cuffs. She did an Internet search and found more. “It’s the craziest feeling … to be on the carpet in the guest bedroom floor making something for someone you admire and then turn the TV on and see them wearing something you made.” A turning point came when she asked to be on a panel about marketing in Tulsa, led by author and “Good Morning America” contributor Tory Johnson. “The next day I got a call from ‘Good Morning America’ asking if I would let
them put my cuffs on TV.” She sold 2,000 the day it aired, and they needed to be shipped in a few weeks. “Talk about a freak-out moment, because I was getting ready to go to Maine for a week’s vacation with my family,” she said. Her friends stepped up, crowded into the guest room and went to work. It was on-the-job training. Not long after she won a QVC product of the week contest, spotlighting one of her bracelets. “It lent to my creditability. No one knew I was still on the floor in the guest bedroom.” More orders came in and “GMA” came calling again. “It got to the point we couldn’t stay in the house,” Donovan said. “It was overtaking my whole life there.” She hired four employees and the five of them moved into the showroom/office two years ago. The company now offers dozens and dozens of cuff and bracelet styles — leather, metal, metal and leather combinations, exotic skins, beads, monogram, etched, inspirational. Prices range from about $30 to $145. Rustic Cuff also has a young girl’s line. A men’s collection launches this summer and handbags are next. “It has become much bigger than cuffs
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “For me, creativity and innovation in a city relies on our ability to be flexible and open-minded.”
“For me, creativity and innovation in a city relies on our ability to be flexible and open-minded. “In addition, we must devote ourselves to equip our youth with the tools needed for creative thinking, allowing them to develop in environments free of judgment, prejudice, and inhibitions, all of which are incredibly counterproductive to new ideas. “One must first let go of archaic no-
Robert MILLS tions of how things are done or how you were ‘taught’ life should be before new pathways can be forged. Some of the best ideas in the
world were brought into light through collaboration.” Robert Mills is the artistic director of Oklahoma City Ballet.
and selling products,” Donovan said. “What’s become my favorite part about this is the culture that’s here. It’s like coming to camp.” Many of her employees are moms. They drop their children off at day care or school in the morning and when it’s time to pick them up, they leave. Her workers receive paid vacations, but if they need or want unpaid time away and can get their work covered, she’s fine with it. Donovan said she gives employees freedom and trust, and in return, she’s rewarded with loyalty, respect and hard work tenfold. “It’s something I couldn’t have even dreamt up,” she said. The work is hard, but never once has she thought she couldn’t or wouldn’t do it. “I will forgo nights of sleep because I’m so loving what I do. I love the Oklahoma community, all the women here …” The creative aspect is fun, along with making and selling, but all the side things that come from that create feelings that are hard to put into words, said Donovan, who is on sabbatical as a law professor. These feelings are the complete opposite of what she felt several years ago when as a practicing attorney she was on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” The show was on
regifters and Donovan was on to share her funny stories. The show took an unexpected turn when experts from Canada called her tacky and rude and suggested she give everything in her gift closet away, which she eventually did. The show aired three times that year and millions saw it. Even the producers were surprised at the experts’ reaction, Donovan said. When she started making cuffs, those are the shelves that held her jewelry. A full circle moment came recently. Oprah’s best friend Gayle King was on Donovan’s list of personalities who received cuffs. King sent Donovan a thankyou email and said she had also given them to friends. On the March cover of Oprah’s magazine, she is wearing one of the cuffs that Donovan sent to King. Seeing Oprah in one of her bracelets is no more thrilling than seeing a woman sporting one in a grocery store. Donovan said she’s humbled on a daily basis and makes it a point to thank anyone she sees wearing one of her bracelets. “It’s still very hard to wrap my brain around it. I take no credit for starting this. I am part of the story of how it all happened. I’m just one of the people, a part of the story.”
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NORMAN
Norman Police Capt. Todd Gibson shows the touch-screen entry pad for an interview room at the police department’s new investigations headquarters. PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN
NORMAN POLICE LAB USES SCIENCE FOR CRIME-SOLVING BY JANE GLENN CANNON Staff Writer jcannon@oklahoman.com
NORMAN — Here’s where the magic happens, Capt. Todd Gibson says as he swings open the door to the Norman Police Department’s forensic lab.
Yet, on the whiteboard inside the laboratory, a quote from scientist Neil deGrass Tyson dominates. It reads: The good thing about science is that it’s true whether or not you believe it. Science, not magic, is what goes on inside the lab, says Sgt. Ray Goins, a forensic investigator. Technological advances have im-
proved forensic analysis of fingerprints and trace evidence to the point that anything from a minute drop of blood to a skin cell to a tiny hair can be processed to reveal clues that help investigators solve crimes or reconstruct accidents, Goins said. The forensic lab is inside the new Police Investigations Building at W
Lindsey Street and Wylie Road, a 33,000-square-foot remodeled building on a 4-acre tract that serves as the police and Norman Fire Department’s investigative center. Investigators moved into it less than a year ago. SEE NORMAN, PAGE 17S
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Norman FROM PAGE 16S
Once the Joe Smalley Army Reserve Center, the building not only houses detectives and forensic experts, it offers interview rooms equipped with the latest digital technology, an expansive evidence and property custody storage area, a multi-bay garage for SWAT team and bomb squad equipment, a forensics lab and parking for mobile forensics units. Gone are the days when everyone was crowded together, with an overflowing property custody room, and space for just bare-bones forensics techniques. A suitcase carrying a Super Glue chamber and fingerprint powder was customary. Nowadays, investigators still sometimes use Super Glue to lift latent fingerprints, but they also employ a whole range of more sophisticated techniques, newly developed chemicals and drying machines to make what is invisible to the naked eye become visible. Goins demonstrates by touching his fingers to a paper towel, then spraying the towel with a chemical before hanging it in a drying machine. A few minutes later, purple fingerprints emerge from the pale brown paper product. He also demonstrates how a high-intensity light with different colored filters can make fingerprints appear where it first appears there are none. He sprays a substance called Blue Star, similar to Luminal used on CSI television shows, to detect hidden blood. It makes bloodstains glow in the dark after someone has tried to clean them up. It also can bring out the stains on clothes or other material, such as paper. You can call this CSI Norman, if you want, but Gibson says it really is more complicated than on television. “It’s never a one-step process,” he said. The lab has a biohazard room where anything with any type of moisture on it can be put through analysis to determine what it is, Goins said. He also can analyze marijuana at the lab, although other types of suspected drugs are forwarded to a state crime lab for analysis. DNA analysis also is done elsewhere. Twenty detectives are housed in the building, each having access to numerous interview rooms. All interview rooms have touch-pad computers on the outside, so data can be entered and made accessible to the interviewer. The latest in digital audio and video equipment are used to record interviews. One interview room stands out from the rest. Called a “soft” interview room, it’s furnished with a comfortable leather couch, cushioned chairs and low lighting. “In our job as police officers, we very often have to be the bearer of bad news,” Gibson said. “We use this room for meeting with families waiting for word of their loved ones or for rape victims or victims of violent crimes. They’ve already been traumatized enough, so we try to make them as comfortable as possible,” he said. In contrast, suspect interview rooms are shorn of niceties, with heavy, weighted chairs that can’t easily be thrown or turned over, and a simple, easy-to-clean table.
Above: Sgt. Ray Goins uses a high-intensity examination light and colored filter to highlight fingerprints that otherwise would be invisible to the naked eye. Right: Goins puts equipment into a mobile forensics lab in Norman. PHOTOS BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN
“There is no harm in trying new methods, especially when they ... produce positive results.”
Carl PENDLETON
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “There is no harm in trying new methods, especially when they are cost-effective and produce positive results.
“We would be remiss if we didn’t access and use social media as a resource since that is exactly what our citizens are using.”
“I’m a think-outside-the-box type of guy. As police officers, we need to adjust our means of communication to meet our citizens where they are.
Pendleton is a master police officer with the Norman Police Department. The former University of Oklahoma football player sings and dances in uniform in a humorous, “Frozen”themed recruitment video for the police department that quickly went viral earlier this year. The video was used to attract recruits who otherwise might not have thought of joining the department.
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EDMOND
Going underground to cut energy costs BY DIANA BALDWIN Staff Writer dbaldwin@oklahoman.com
Black PVC pipes are ran underground, where they will connect to more than 100 geothermal wells in downtown Edmond. The pipes are part of the geothermal heating and cooling system for the new public safety center. PHOTO ARCHIEVES
EDMOND — Many energy consumers have no idea what is hiding underground these days. They would be surprised to learn all that pipe running every which way and hidden by the dirt is saving energy and money. Thanks to geothermal energy, innovators are using the earth’s relatively constant temperature to provide heating and cooling for residential and commercial buildings. Edmond has been using geothermal systems in new public buildings since 2006 when the Cross Timbers Public Service Municipal Complex, 2012 Old Timber Drive, was constructed near Covell Road and Interstate 35. Today, the city has three public buildings using a geothermal system. The latest is the city’s new public safety center, being constructed at the corner of Littler Avenue and First Street. The second building to be built with a geothermal system was the new Mitch Park YMCA and Aquatic Center, in northwest Edmond. The development, a joint project with the city, the YMCA and Edmond Public Schools, was completed a year ago in February. Glenn Fisher, Edmond Electric executive director, said there are other businesses and residences in Edmond with geothermal systems. “The real challenge was the new public safety center,” Fisher said. “We were limited on space. There was plenty of space on the other two.” In downtown Edmond, there are 20 miles of black PVC pipe hidden and winding underground and headed to the public safety center. The PVC pipe is part of a geothermal system where 101 wells will be used to heat and cool the new 70,000-squarefoot public safety center instead of a typical heating and air conditioning system. In a geothermal system, water is circu-
lated through underground plastic pipes. During the winter, the fluid collects heat from the earth and carries it through the system and into the building. During the summer, the system reverses itself to cool the building by pulling heat from the building, carrying it through the system and placing it in the ground. “A lot of people don’t understand geothermal,” Fisher said. “There is nothing magical about it. No abracadabra about it. You are just changing one heating and cooling system for another. It’s not magic by any stretch of the imagination.” The advantage of a geothermal system is it is cost-effective, reliable, sustainable and environmentally friendly, city leaders said. “There is less equipment failure over a long time and it saves on energy costs,” Fisher said.” The public safety center geothermal system will cost $1.25 million. Brian Sauer, director of mechanical engineering for Frankfurt Short Bruza, said the public safety center will recoup the cost two or three times faster than most similar systems because the building will run 24 hours a day. The average building has a payoff in the five- to 10year range. “This building will pay back faster because the building never really sleeps,” Sauer said. “A typical office building runs eight hours and gets a break. This building will get a payback in a couple of years.” The system will save energy and reduce the city of Edmond’s electricity costs. Fisher estimates the geothermal system will save between 25 and 35 percent on electrical costs. “It saves energy and is a simpler system overall,” Fisher said. About 72 percent of Edmond Electric’s budget goes to wholesale energy costs. The goal of Edmond city officials is to use a geothermal system in any new construction of a building where taxpayer’s money is used.
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OUTLOOK: THE WAY WE LIVE
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
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Kaylon Bates, Timberlake Construction project superintendent, left, and Edmond Police Maj. Steve Thompson look at plans for the new Edmond Police Department crime lab. PHOTOS BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN
State-of-the-art police crime lab begins to take shape in Edmond BY DIANA BALDWIN Staff Writer dbaldwin@oklahoman.com
EDMOND — Edmond’s crime lab technicians can’t wait to move into their state-of-theart police crime lab being built near 33rd Street and Broadway. The 15,000-square-foot building, which includes vehicle and evidence storage, is expected to be finished by August. “It will be one of the finest in the central part of the country,” said Rockie Yardley, a crime lab technician. “Agencies twice our size wish they had a lab this size.” Yardley, who has worked with the Edmond Police Department for 35 years, admits he is excited about the new crime lab. “We are going to have a facility designed to be a police station,” Yardley said. “It is exciting to be in a professional building.” The crime lab is cramped quarters at police headquarters on the northwest corner of First Street and Littler Avenue in a building that was never meant to be a police station. The new laboratory, 2816 Technology Drive, is part of a $29 million public safety center complex which includes a 70,000-square-foot building on the southeast corner of First Street and Littler Avenue. The three-story building, with a 14cell holding center in the basement, will be the home of police headquarters, the 911 communications and emergency management operations. The new center is take care of the city’s needs for the next 25 years. The new crime lab will give officers and civilian lab technicians room to work and store evidence. The building will be properly ventilated for the safety of people working inside. “We have a lot of harmful odors — from anything from homicides to burglary to arson,” said Police Chief Bob Ricks on a recent tour of the building with Councilwoman Victoria Caldwell. A special heating and air conditioning system with multiple high exhaust vents has been installed to help protect the environment and safety of the employees. “The hoods pull the air away from the technician,” Thompson said. “There is not a day goes by that the police sta-
Left: The new, 15,000square-foot crime lab and storage facility located at 2816 Technology Drive in Edmond.
Right: Rockie Yardley, Edmond Police crime lab technician, looks at the freezer for storing biological evidence at the new Edmond Police Department state-of-the-art crime lab.
tion ... smells like marijuana.” The latest model walk-in freezer with a built-in insulated floor replace a stand-alone freezer technicians now use at the old police station. Shelves have been installed along both sides and down the middle to store biological evidence. “We will be able to store 25 times more evidence for longterm storage,” Yardley said. If the temperature drops or rises, an alarm will sound at police headquarters in downtown Edmond. The lab includes rooms where technicians will perform specific examinations. There are rooms to decontaminate the officers and a place to keep a police dog. Also included is a room large enough to spread out a bed sheet and look for evidence. There is a two-bay garage area where two vehicles can be examined for evidence. “We can lock the doors and no one will have access to this part of the building,” said Thompson, who has been as-
signed full time to monitor the construction project. The crime lab has a conference room that is also a safe room for the people working in the building. Thought even went into the flooring. Parts of the building have a Mondo cushioned floor, a softer, better product, said Kaylon Bates, project superintendent for the contractor, Timberlake Construction Co., Oklahoma City. Once all is completed, 25 percent of the equipment in the crime lab will be new. “We have so many more opportunities to handle evidence
the way it should be,” said police Maj. Steve Thompson. Plans are already in place to move all the evidence from downtown. “There are boxes and boxes of evidence,” Ricks said. “There are guns, jewelry, and we must maintain the chain of command for the courts.” For instance, evidence in the Jimmie Ray Slaughter murder case from July 2, 1991, takes up a large amount of space in the old evidence storage. Slaughter, who was convicted of killing Melody Wuertz, 29, and Jessica Rae Wuertz, 11 months, was executed in March 2005.
His execution attracted more media attention than most because of the brutality of the murders and his repeated claims that he was not responsible for the deaths of his former girlfriend and their baby. Police officials had to get permission from the district attorney to destroy some of the evidence before they move to the new place. “You have enough room to store especially sensitive stuff like rape kits and any murder type stuff as long as it needs to be under the circumstances,” Caldwell said. “I think it is exactly what we need.”
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New cremation garden finds clients a unique resting place BY HEATHER WARLICK Staff Writer hwarlick@oklahoman.com
(GOD) SAID ‘DUST THOU ART,
Editor’s note: This story originally was published in The Oklahoman. When Eddie and Navada Beard, of Mangum, die, their children will use GPS to locate their parents’ exact final resting place. That’s because the couple, who are in their mid-70s, have chosen to have their ashes inurned among as many as 228,000 others’ at a new cremation garden in Oklahoma City. Drivers-by likely won’t identify Reflection Pointe Cremation Garden as a cemetery. Owner Brad Whinery said if they do, he’s failed at his goal of creating a serene, park-like setting free of headstones or other monuments that are typical of traditional cemeteries. “Because we don’t have any monuments, we’ve had to go to technology,” Whinery said. Instead of stone markers, people will locate the ashes of their loved ones using technology. A cellphone app or a GPS locator will lead them directly to burial points. Every square foot of the cremation garden is associated with a GPS wavepoint for a total of 58,000 locations, all within about an acre and a half. In each square foot, four people’s ashes can be buried, one atop the next, Whinery said. The four must be related. “If you buy one space, you’ve really reserved the four,” Whinery said. Each set of ashes will be buried with a microchip as an additional means of locating graves. The GPS links the location to a website where friends and family of the deceased can post photos, videos and memories of their loved one for posterity. Soon, a camera crew will record a 360-degree view of the gardens which people can view online and zoom directly to the burial site of their loved one’s burial location.
A final resting place
Whinery’s family has been in the funeral business for 60 years. He grew up living above a funeral home in Sayre owned by his parents,
AND TO DUST THOU SHALL RETURN.’ SO WHETHER YOU PUT YOUR BODY IN THE GRAVE IN A CASKET, OR YOU PUT IT THERE IN ASHES, IT’S ALL GOING TO RETURN TO DUST. EDDIE BEARD
respects to their loved ones whose ashes will forever reside there.
Choosing cremation
Brad Whinery’s family has been in the funeral business for 60 years. He grew up living above a funeral home in Sayre owned by his parents, A.L. and Dala Whinery. PHOTO PROVIDED
A.L. and Dala Whinery, 82 and 80, respectively. Dala Whinery was one of the state’s first female licensed funeral directors. The couple built another funeral home in Cheyenne. Brad and Glenda Whinery bought his parents’ funeral homes in Sayre and Cheyenne, then bought funeral homes in Erick, Elk City and Lawton. Last year, they decided to sell, to focus on Reflection Pointe. The evolution of technology tipped the scales for the Whinerys, allowing their dream of a cremation-only cemetery to come to fruition. The cremation garden is set in northwest Oklahoma City, on a forested plot of about eight acres. Whinery has cleared a portion of the land to create several options for inurnment. A stately waterfall wall contains 300 niches behind black slate stones where
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “Creativity and innovation is highly important in the church because it can honor God. The ability to think creatively is something that the Lord has given us to use for His glory and His honor.” Gideon is senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Edmond..
Blake GIDEON
ashes may be placed. The names of the deceased will be engraved on the slate stones. An ossuary, designed and built by Norman artist J.T. Hylton, features a large, sealed vault into which ashes may be poured. A scattering meadow, where people can scatter the ashes of their loved ones, features a red rock stream trickling with water. Whinery plans to build an outdoor area for gatherings in the meadow. The garden even has a special section, “Forever Friends,” where people may be buried with their beloved pets. In spring, when the garden’s trees leaf and hundreds of flowers bloom, the garden will be in all its glory, Whinery said. His vision for Reflection Pointe has always been for it to be a place where people can find comfort and beauty while paying
Cremation is rising quickly in preference, according to the National Funeral Directors Association. In 2012, the association reported 42 percent of those who died were cremated. The association projects that by 2017 the cremation rate will jump to 48.8 percent. People choose cremation for three primary reasons, Whinery said. First, the cost is generally a fraction of a traditional burial. Whinery owns Affordable Cremation Service, where a cremation costs about $785. A squarefoot plot at Reflection Pointe, to accommodate four sets of ashes, costs $1,600, but the range of price points starts at $95 for the Scattering Meadow. Cremation gives people a wide range of options for how to care for the ashes. From ashes, artisans can create diamonds and glass sculptures, and an Internet search will unearth even more unusual items made from ashes, such as playable record albums and fireworks. Ashes can even be blended with art mediums such as tattoo ink. Additionally, cremation offers the luxury of time. In traditional burial, there is a short window of time during which a body must be embalmed and buried. Cremation allows loved ones to take their time in considering how to memorialize their dead.
Planning ahead
Eddie Beard said it was his wife’s idea to choose cremation, and he thought it was a good one. Having been a preacher in the Church of Christ for decades, Beard said he has no theological qualms with cremation. “I guess the only thing in the Bible is what God told Adam. He said ‘Dust thou art, and to dust thou shall return.’ So whether you put your body in the grave in a casket, or you put it there in ashes, it’s all going to return to dust. The Bible, as far as that’s concerned, is neutral,” Beard said. “Now our spirit, that’s a whole different story. That’s what it’s all about. This old body is going to be temporary, and then He’s going to give us an eternal body with the resurrection.” Beard isn’t ready to die yet, he said, but he and his wife purchased a space at Reflection Pointe so they’d be prepared when the time comes. “I’ve preached about death for 50 years, and I’ve tried to encourage people not to look at death as something that is an enemy,” Beard said. He said he doesn’t want to leave his living family, but he looks forward to seeing those loved ones already passed, who will be waiting to welcome him to heaven. “You’ll have to use GPS to find us. That’s neat, it sure is,” Beard said. “I’m not trying to rush getting in there, but when it comes my time, I hope I’m ready.”
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RESEARCH
Researchers study ways to sustain ranching in drought BY SILAS ALLEN Staff Writer sallen@oklahoman.com
Several years of drought have forced many of Oklahoma’s ranchers to sell off cattle to stay in business. Now, a group of animal researchers and climate scientists is looking at ways to make the state’s cattle industry more resistant during periods of drought. Oklahoma State University received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture last year to help beef producers adapt to dry conditions. Researchers there are working with the Oklahoma Mesonet weather network to look at how much water cattle consume and develop tools to help ranchers see how climate conditions are affecting their cattle. Megan Rolf, an OSU animal scientist, said the purpose of the grant is two-fold. Researchers are looking at the amount of feed and water certain breeds of cattle consume, with the long-term goal of developing cattle that are more adaptable to certain climate conditions, including drought. The group also is working to expand the Mesonet’s cattle comfort index, a tool that shows ranchers how climate conditions are affecting their herds, she said. The amount of feed and water cattle consume can vary widely depending on the breed, Rolf said. Brahman and other cattle that were bred for tropical climates tend to do well on less water, she said. But those breeds haven’t gained favor among ranchers in the United States. “We don’t really use those breeds very much here in the U.S., for a variety of reasons,” Rolf said. Eventually, researchers hope to develop cattle that consume less water, while keeping the meat quality and other characteristics that have made breeds like Angus and Hereford popular in the United States, Rolf said. Climate scientists say adaptability will be key for farmers and ranchers as drought becomes more common due to climate change. In a national climate assessment released earlier this year, scientists warned new agriculture and livestock practices would be needed to cope with drier, hotter conditions in the Great Plains. Cattle represent the largest agricultural commodity in Oklahoma, with cash receipts totaling nearly $3 billion per year, according to the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry. But the industry has felt the impact of drought for the past four years. Cattle ponds in western Oklahoma have dried up, and ranchers have been forced to reduce their herds to stay in business. Albert Sutherland, the OSU Mesonet agricultural coordinator, said the group also hopes to expand the tools the weather network offers to farmers. The network’s cattle comfort index shows ranchers how temperatures are affecting their herds. The group plans to expand the index to include other factors like relative humidity and wind speed, he said. Those tools are expected to go online in late 2016, he said. The group also plans to expand the cattle comfort index to cover the entire United States, Sutherland said. As it exists now, the index covers only Oklahoma. That expansion could take place this year, he said.
Researchers at OSU’s Willard Sparks Beef Research Center in Stillwater are studying how to make cattle more resistant to drought. PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
Bob Palmer, vice president of research and professor of meteorology, watches the floor-to-ceiling tornado simulator in the lobby of the new Radar Innovations Laboratory. PHOTOS BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
RADAR INNOVATIONS LAB AT OU SPURS COLLABORATION BY SILAS ALLEN Staff Writer sallen@opubco.com
NORMAN — After years of planning and construction, the University of Oklahoma’s Radar Innovations Lab is open and buzzing with activity. Located on OU’s Research Campus, the building was completed and dedicated in October. Now, the building is filled with students, faculty and engineers doing research and developing radar technology. “It’s busy every day,” said Bob Palmer, OU’s associate vice president for research. “Things are really reaching a steady state now.” The $15 million lab is at the center of the university’s efforts to expand its radar program. The building is designed to house 60 students and 20 faculty from the university’s Advanced Radar Research Center, giving them access to a full suite of advanced testing equipment. The building includes a high-bay garage designed to accommodate taller radar trucks that are fitted for storm chasing and classified research space designed for U.S. Defense Department programs. Other features include a machine shop and a so-called ideas room designed to foster collaboration. The building also features two precision anechoic chambers, which produce few or no echoes. Large foam cones line the chambers’ floors and walls, while a narrow metal bridge allows workers to walk inside the chambers. The cones are blue and white, with the
The microwave lab at the University of Oklahoma’s new Radar Innovations Laboratory, with seating for up to 20 faculty and 70 students, is designed with a “wave” theme.
exception of one corner of the largest chamber, where red and white cones are used to form the OU logo. During the dedication in October, OU President David Boren called the building “an achievement in teamwork.” “It shows what happens when people dream together and work hard together to carry out their vision, when they share the best possible ideas and act on them,” he said. Before the building opened, radar researchers were spread out in several buildings on campus, hindering collaboration, Palmer said. Researchers could communicate by phone or email, he said, but casual
conversations about projects were nearly impossible. Since the building has opened, the university has moved researchers from the National Weather Center, Devon Energy Hall and elsewhere into the new lab. Now, researchers are able to discuss their work, often leading to greater collaboration and better ideas, Palmer said. The building brings together students, faculty and engineers from several disciplines, placing weather radar researchers under the same roof as others who specialize in areas like defense and security. “It really does spur new and exciting projects,” he said.
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RELIGION BY CARLA HINTON Religion Editor chinton@oklahoman.com
A Lenten series focusing on understanding other religions. An Ash Wednesday outreach in the church parking lot. An app connecting people to Scripture with a simple touch of a smart phone or tablet screen. Vacation Bible school at community and neighborhood parks instead of the church. These are just some of the ways Oklahoma City metro-area churches are expressing their creativity in an age where they have to compete with numerous things for people’s time and attention. The Christian message doesn’t have to be changed or compromised to show innovation in a sacred space — or in many cases — outside it, several clergy leaders said.
Clergy leaders get creative to share the gospel The Rev. Joseph Alsay, St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church
“What we are trying to do is be ‘ancient modern’ and that is taking something that has stood the test of time and repackaging it,” the Rev. Joseph Alsay, rector of St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church, said recently. Alsay, 41, said creativity and innovation in the church doesn’t have to be a production or something that is driven by culture. He said his church, at 14700 N May, intentionally ensures worship services and outreach activities are authentic expressions of Christ’s love and the Word of God and nothing like a production. “Many times, we take the gems out of the treasure chest of the church and blow the dust off them and maybe put them in a different setting,” Alsay said. Such was the case with St. Augustine’s Ash and Dash, outreach Ash Wednesday. The church, led by Alsay, offered the outreach in the morning and the afternoon of Ash Wednesday, with motorists stopping in the parking lot to allow Alsay to administer the imposition of ashes. He said the church also held its traditional Ash Wednesday services, but the creative spin on the Ash Wednesday observance added an element of inclusiveness, drawing people who were disabled, time-challenged and those who don’t attend church regularly. Alsay said the church also broke with tradition on Christmas Eve by offering a service at noon. He said some church members expected about 15 people to show up. Instead more than 60 came to the service that Alsay said will likely become part of the St. Augustine tradition.
Bobby Gruenewald, Edmond-based LifeChurch.tv
Meanwhile, a long-lived and notable creative venture continuing to gain innovative ground is LifeChurch.tv’s YouVersion Bible app, which connects people around the globe to Scripture. Bobby Gruenewald, pastor-innovation leader at Edmond-based LifeChurch.tv, has said the app evolved from a web site and church leaders had no idea it would become hugely popular since its debut in 2008. Gruenewald said the church likes to “leverage” or use today’s technology to tell God’s story and the Lord has used him and others at the church to do that. “I think that’s what God likes to do. He specializes in using ordinary people to do extraordinary things, Gruenewald said in a 2014 story in The Oklahoman. The Bible app continues to emerge as a way to connect people not only to Scripture but other movements related to God’s word. One of those connections is the partnership between LifeChurch.tv and the producers of “A.D. The Bible Continues,” a television series that debuted on Easter Sunday on NBC. Trailers, reminders and Bible studies related to the series have been highlighted on the app. Multi-site LifeChurch.tv also partnered locally with Oklahoma Christian University several times to share specific content through the app. The church collaborated with OC to make the university’s “WORD: OC’s 60Day New Testament Plan,” a Bible reading plan, available on the app in 2014. In March, the YouVersion Bible app debuted a seven-day reading plan featuring devotional thoughts taken from the books of Christian evangelist and apologist Ravi Zachararis, in conjunction with Zachararis’ visit to the school.
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU?
“The Church is called to be creative in our church and our society. It’s taking something that’s really quite ancient and trying to make it relevant for today.” Alsay is rector of St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church.
Rev. Joseph ALSAY
The Rev. Blake Gideon, First Baptist Church of Edmond
At First Baptist Church of Edmond, the Rev. Blake Gideon said he believes creativity and innovation is very important in the church because it can be used to honor God. He said among its efforts to plant churches in different areas of Edmond and in other states, plus come to the aid of people living in an Edmond mobile home park, First Baptist-Edmond’s congregation found away to put a creative spin on a traditional summer time outreach. For the past two years, the church at 1300 SE 33 has taken its vacation Bible school outside the four walls of the church and into several neighborhood and community parks across Edmond. Church volunteers offer games and Bible lessons to children in these parks close to the youths homes. Later, the young people are invited to neighborhood Bible clubs hosted by church members. “Anything we can do to take the church to the community, we do that,” Gideon said.
Answers for puzzle on Page 14S
Sharing information Two Oklahoma City churches recently took an innovative approach to their Lenten series. First Christian Church of Oklahoma City (Disciples of Christ), 3700 N Walker, and Trinity Lutheran Church, 5701 S May, both sought to raise awareness about other faith traditions during their lecture or sermon series held during the Lenten season. Trinity Lutheran Church’s series, called “Our Neighbors’ Faith,” featured guest speakers presenting information about the Hindu, Islamic, Judaic and Buddhist faith traditions as well as nontheism. First Christian Church-Oklahoma City’s series entitled “Cooperative Spirituality,” highlighted the Christian, Jewish and Buddhist faith traditions. First Christian leaders said the purpose of the series was to help people learn that deep spirituality is a touchstone for all religions. “Cooperation and not competition is the core value of serious spirituality,” they said.
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Participants at a Drink & Draw session. PHOTO BY NATHAN POPPE, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
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Below: A Walt Disney Company employee writes quotes about creativity and inspiration at the event.
Above: Mike Mugisha, a student at Oklahoma Christian University, volunteers at the idea station, where participants filled notes with ideas.
A place for ideas COVER ART BY TODD PENDLETON
The Creativity World Forum was held March 31 at the Civic Center Music Hall. Its goal, organizers say, was to “define Oklahoma as a ‘smart’ region with people who value others and their ideas — a perception of the state that is crucial to attracting and retaining talent and business.” Local, national and international speakers appeared, as well as people guiding idea generation in workshops. Outside the meeting rooms were people who had fun with creativity, shown here.
Pictured on the cover: Allison Barta Bailey, independent business consultant for shops, districts & urban developers; Chaya Fletcher, owner of Urban Roots restaurant, art gallery and performance space; Doug Sorocco, attorney and partner with Dunlap Codding
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GE, Devon partner to test technology BY ADAM WILMOTH Business writer awilmoth@oklahoman.com
As construction continues on GE Corp.’s new global technology center in Oklahoma City, the company already is working with oil and natural gas companies throughout the region to help develop new technology and improve on what the industry already is using. Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corp. was one of the first companies to take advantage of GE’s new research home. The two companies are working together to develop products and technologies to make unconventional oil and natural gas projects more economical. “The business we’re in is getting much more complex than it was in the past,” said Tony Vaughn, Devon’s executive vice president of exploration and production. “GE brings a great research history to bear. This is about trying to take an innovative approach knowing these are much more technically challenging and complex reservoirs than we’ve dealt with in the past.” The companies said they will work together on artificial lift systems, advanced drilling technologies and water treatment and recycling efforts. The partnership with Devon is an example of what GE hopes to accomplish with its new research center, said Lorenzo Simonelli, president and CEO of GE Oil & Gas.
“THE BUSINESS WE’RE IN IS GETTING MUCH MORE COMPLEX THAN IT WAS IN THE PAST.” TONY VAUGHN The agreement with Devon “builds on years of collaboration with the goal of helping unconventional projects reach new levels of efficiency and production capacity,” Simonelli said. “We will collaborate with Devon using the GE Oil & Gas Technology Center to develop ideas that can be quickly tested in the field. We aim to quickly deploy technologies that can improve the economics and operational performance of unconventional oil and gas projects throughout the United States and around the world as more countries seek to develop their oil and natural gas resources.” GE previously has announced collaboration agreements with Chevron and Mexico’s Pemex. While many of the partnerships will be with oil and natural gas companies that do not have well locations nearby, the proximity to Devon’s operations will be an advantage, said Mark Little, GE’s chief technology officer. “They have a lot of sites active in the area. We want to work some ideas with them, demonstrate them in the lab and get them out to the sites to test them in the real world,” Little said. Besides the partnership with Devon, GE executives said they also have discussed possible deals with other companies in the area. Such collaboration could have strong benefits to the companies and the entire industry, said Michael Teague, Oklahoma’s secretary of energy and environment. “Devon is a good example both of innovation and how that innovation spreads throughout the industry,” Teague said. “The technologies they developed with horizontal drilling have spread to all the other companies in the area, big and small.”
A drawing shows what GE’s $125 million research center near downtown Oklahoma City is expected to look like when it is finished this year. PROVIDED
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DEVELOPMENT
23RD STREET ‘TIME WARP’ DEVELOPERS WORK TO MAKE UPTOWN’S TOWER THEATER SEQUEL LIVE UP TO ORIGINAL BY STEVE LACKMEYER Business Writer slackmeyer@oklahoman.com
A
FTER sitting dormant for about 20 years, the Tower Theater is rapidly coming back to life following its purchase in October by developers David Wanzer, Ben Sellers and Jonathan Dodson. Interior demolition began in January. Passersby, meanwhile, have enjoyed the rotating movie quotes on the theater’s restored marquee. During demolition, the developers were treated with an array of artifacts found throughout the theater. “We found a floor safe,” Dodson said. “We found old 1960s calculators that sell for $3,500 that are the size of a computer. We found old building plans for downtown theaters planned but never completed. We’ve had a blast — it’s like a time warp going back and seeing all this.” Facade restoration is underway, and interior work is being coordinated with leases being signed with tenants. “It’s going to be fast,” Dodson said. “We’re having to push it. We’re working with tenants to line up space. ... We think we can get it done within the 10 months, but complications can occur.” Wanzer, Sellers and Dodson are rising stars in urban core development. Wanzer, whose projects include the SLIVR building in Film Row and the former Haggard’s building in the 16th Street Plaza District, and Sellers, who renovated the Mesta Office Building on NW 23 into retail and offices, and Dodson, lead banker for several prominent urban core redevelopments, teamed up to buy the Uptown landmark from Marty and Mike Dillon, who acquired it in 2006 with grand ambitions to turn it into an event center. “It wasn’t for sale,” Dillon said. “I could have sold it before. People wanted to get rid of the theater and add a second floor for offices. I’ve known David Wanzer for 14 years. He is the only one who will finish it right. I’ve already gone through a mix of emotions. This was a lot of SEE TOWER THEATER, PAGE 5T
Above: The marquee of the Tower Theater has featured playful quotes from classic movies as its new owners have begun redevelopment of the 84-year-old landmark. Top: Ben Sellers, with Wayne Properties, looks over a set of building plans for downtown theaters that never were built. The plans were found after interior demolition began. OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE PHOTOS
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Tower Theater
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “By bringing together individuals with different thoughts, ideas, experiences, and levels of education, we tend to advance the economic prosperity of a city by the creative interaction of its diverse population.”
Steven C. AGEE “Urbanization lends itself to creativity and innovation. By bringing together individuals with different thoughts, ideas, experiences and levels of education, we tend to advance the economic prosperity of a city by the creative interaction of its diverse population.
From left, developers Jonathan Dodson, Ben Sellers and David Wanzer stand inside Tower Theater last year. They are renovating the decades-old theater between Hudson and Walker on NW 23 in Oklahoma City. PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE
FROM PAGE 4T
blood, sweat and tears. This was a lot of work for me and Mike. But it’s time to move on.”
Fading fortunes
Wanzer praised the Dillons for protecting the theater, adding that they did far more to get the renovation started than realized by the public, which only saw a restored neon sign light up for the promotion of the district. The Tower Theater, 425 NW 23, is one of Oklahoma City’s last grand movie houses with an intact auditorium and neon marquee. The theater was built in 1931 and remained a popular venue through the late 1960s, even boasting an Oklahoma City debut for “Cleopatra” with a successful 26-week run, and then an amazing 82-week run for “The Sound of Music.” The theater’s fortunes faded in the 1970s, with bookings reduced to adult movies before it closed in 1989. The theater reopened briefly in the 1990s as a live music event venue. “Mike and Marty purchased the property in 2006 with the vision and dream to keep it intact, not do something half-hearted,” Wanzer said. “They put a roof on which protected the building from the elements, they fixed the sign, they removed the asbestos, and they did the work they did on the historic tax credits to allow us to move quicker.”
Opening soon
The new owners started out ready to move quickly and armed with construction financing. “The neon Tower Theater sign is really the beacon that anchors Uptown 23rd,” Wanzer said. “This building is very important to the area’s revitalization.” Wanzer promised to keep the theater intact, with ideal tenants involving university-related uses. The team also is looking at renovating existing second-floor office space and ground-floor retail storefronts. Sellers, who in 2012 redeveloped a half-empty, aging Mesta Office Building into a leased-out mix of offices with Pizza 23 and Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt on the ground floor, said the continued revival of NW 23 between Classen Boulevard and Broadway helped makes the numbers work for redevelopment of the Tower Theater. “A few years ago, $12 to $14 (per square foot) for retail space on 23rd was laughed at,” Sellers said. “We expect rents higher than that at the Tower Theater. This is a lot of space, a lot of unique space. But we’re at a time when the rents justify the risks with this project.” Dodson, Wanzer and Sellers also credited Wes
Anderson with the Bank of Oklahoma for coming through on financing when other banks had struggled with navigating the complexity of the deal. “Wes Anderson has done this before,” Dodson said. “We could speak in the dialogue about tax credits and tenants that might be suitable.”
Return attraction
Dodson added that Oklahoma City is ready for long-dormant landmarks to come back to life. “Oklahoma City is entering a new phase where
all the easy projects to be redeveloped have been done,” Dodson said. “So that leaves a real opportunity to do some complex projects. When I was in banking, I worked with Ben and David doing new market tax credits, and the more I got accustomed to that, I realized there was opportunity for people of their skill level.” Dodson, who lives in nearby Gatewood, believes the surrounding neighborhoods will celebrate the theater’s revival. “It means a lot of things to different people,” Dod-
son said. “Each person has a unique experience. I drive down 23rd every day when I drive my son to school and he asks every day, ‘When is that going to get renovated? When will it show movies?’ Some people were around when it showed ‘The Sound of Music’ and would love to see it restored as a movie theater. “This is a missing piece to 23rd — if we can fix this, Uptown will be a great place to live and work, people will be able to walk, and there won’t be the dead spots.”
“Oklahoma City has seen this type of economic prosperity since the passage of MAPS 1. By attracting companies like Boeing to Oklahoma City from Long Beach (Calif.) and Wichita (Kan.); Continental Resources from Enid; Devon’s construction of their magnificent tower and Garden Wing; and GE’s decision to locate their new Global Research Center here, we are witnessing a vibrant, dynamic, creative effort to leverage the human capital in Oklahoma City to generate more innovative ideas. Part of the mission of the Meinders School of Business is to ENGAGE with the business community, with government and regulatory agencies, to create INNOVATIVE programs in business, management, and law to stimulate the minds of future leaders in Oklahoma City. Growth, education, and interaction of an urban community lead to creativity and innovation, and credit should be given to our visionary leaders from the city council, the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, and our educational institutions who have worked together to create this environment.” Agee is dean and professor of economics at Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University.
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OUTLOOK: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
Tower Theater
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “By bringing together individuals with different thoughts, ideas, experiences, and levels of education, we tend to advance the economic prosperity of a city by the creative interaction of its diverse population.”
Steven C. AGEE “Urbanization lends itself to creativity and innovation. By bringing together individuals with different thoughts, ideas, experiences and levels of education, we tend to advance the economic prosperity of a city by the creative interaction of its diverse population.
From left, developers Jonathan Dodson, Ben Sellers and David Wanzer stand inside Tower Theater last year. They are renovating the decades-old theater between Hudson and Walker on NW 23 in Oklahoma City. PHOTO BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE
FROM PAGE 4T
blood, sweat and tears. This was a lot of work for me and Mike. But it’s time to move on.”
Fading fortunes
Wanzer praised the Dillons for protecting the theater, adding that they did far more to get the renovation started than realized by the public, which only saw a restored neon sign light up for the promotion of the district. The Tower Theater, 425 NW 23, is one of Oklahoma City’s last grand movie houses with an intact auditorium and neon marquee. The theater was built in 1931 and remained a popular venue through the late 1960s, even boasting an Oklahoma City debut for “Cleopatra” with a successful 26-week run, and then an amazing 82-week run for “The Sound of Music.” The theater’s fortunes faded in the 1970s, with bookings reduced to adult movies before it closed in 1989. The theater reopened briefly in the 1990s as a live music event venue. “Mike and Marty purchased the property in 2006 with the vision and dream to keep it intact, not do something half-hearted,” Wanzer said. “They put a roof on which protected the building from the elements, they fixed the sign, they removed the asbestos, and they did the work they did on the historic tax credits to allow us to move quicker.”
Opening soon
The new owners started out ready to move quickly and armed with construction financing. “The neon Tower Theater sign is really the beacon that anchors Uptown 23rd,” Wanzer said. “This building is very important to the area’s revitalization.” Wanzer promised to keep the theater intact, with ideal tenants involving university-related uses. The team also is looking at renovating existing second-floor office space and ground-floor retail storefronts. Sellers, who in 2012 redeveloped a half-empty, aging Mesta Office Building into a leased-out mix of offices with Pizza 23 and Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt on the ground floor, said the continued revival of NW 23 between Classen Boulevard and Broadway helped makes the numbers work for redevelopment of the Tower Theater. “A few years ago, $12 to $14 (per square foot) for retail space on 23rd was laughed at,” Sellers said. “We expect rents higher than that at the Tower Theater. This is a lot of space, a lot of unique space. But we’re at a time when the rents justify the risks with this project.” Dodson, Wanzer and Sellers also credited Wes
Anderson with the Bank of Oklahoma for coming through on financing when other banks had struggled with navigating the complexity of the deal. “Wes Anderson has done this before,” Dodson said. “We could speak in the dialogue about tax credits and tenants that might be suitable.”
Return attraction
Dodson added that Oklahoma City is ready for long-dormant landmarks to come back to life. “Oklahoma City is entering a new phase where
all the easy projects to be redeveloped have been done,” Dodson said. “So that leaves a real opportunity to do some complex projects. When I was in banking, I worked with Ben and David doing new market tax credits, and the more I got accustomed to that, I realized there was opportunity for people of their skill level.” Dodson, who lives in nearby Gatewood, believes the surrounding neighborhoods will celebrate the theater’s revival. “It means a lot of things to different people,” Dod-
son said. “Each person has a unique experience. I drive down 23rd every day when I drive my son to school and he asks every day, ‘When is that going to get renovated? When will it show movies?’ Some people were around when it showed ‘The Sound of Music’ and would love to see it restored as a movie theater. “This is a missing piece to 23rd — if we can fix this, Uptown will be a great place to live and work, people will be able to walk, and there won’t be the dead spots.”
“Oklahoma City has seen this type of economic prosperity since the passage of MAPS 1. By attracting companies like Boeing to Oklahoma City from Long Beach (Calif.) and Wichita (Kan.); Continental Resources from Enid; Devon’s construction of their magnificent tower and Garden Wing; and GE’s decision to locate their new Global Research Center here, we are witnessing a vibrant, dynamic, creative effort to leverage the human capital in Oklahoma City to generate more innovative ideas. Part of the mission of the Meinders School of Business is to ENGAGE with the business community, with government and regulatory agencies, to create INNOVATIVE programs in business, management, and law to stimulate the minds of future leaders in Oklahoma City. Growth, education, and interaction of an urban community lead to creativity and innovation, and credit should be given to our visionary leaders from the city council, the Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, and our educational institutions who have worked together to create this environment.” Agee is dean and professor of economics at Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University.
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E L Y L T I I V C S I A U M O O L H M A L O K R F OO T
The entrance to what was once the car showroom at the Fred Jones Assembly Plant will serve as the entry for the restaurant and bar at the 21C Museum Hotel. DRAWING PROVIDED
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Checking into the original 21C Museum Hotel, one is immediately struck by how quirky it is. The hotel has a limo that’s covered front to back with pink glass beads. And when hotel management puts a guest up in one of their most popular rooms, the window view includes a generous display of the giant, golden posterior of the museum’s replica statue of Michaelangelo’s David.
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“I thought SIN they were crazy,” , BU R E Y Smith said. “But he E KM (Wilson) had the vision. And it AC L VE turned out, the supply created the STE Y B demand.” The Smith now grabs breakfast daily employees wear at the hotel’s Proof on Main, and at no uniforms, and they night Smith and his wife, Barbara seem quite comfortable with Sexton Smith, often end their evenunusual hair styles. And, as promings with friends at the restaurant ised, artwork of many different and bar. It’s not a long walk for the media is on display everywhere. couple, who preceded Brown and Only four cities are home to a 21C Wilson in buying into the neighborMuseum Hotel, and Oklahoma hood’s future by moving into the City’s historic Fred Jones Assembly Harbison Condominiums in one of Plant is set to become the next comWhiskey Row’s renovated, historic bined hotel, art museum, restaurant cast-iron buildings. and lounge thanks to $5.3 million in “We moved in 12 years ago,” Bartax increment financing provided by bara Sexton Smith said. “It was a Oklahoma City toward a $51.5 milblighted neighborhood, and the 21C lion conversion of the 1916 assembly Museum Hotel changed the landplant at 900 W Main. scape of downtown Louisville. We Construction began in October only have 3,000 people living and, when the Oklahoma City 21C downtown, and a few of those are Museum Hotel opens in 2016, it will our inmates. The other 70,000 who feature rotating contemporary art work downtown migrate — they get exhibits that have won 21C Museum in their cars at the end of the day and Hotels accolades with each uniquely go home.” designed property. More residents, however, are The west fringe of downtown staying downtown and fueling a reOklahoma City might seem like an vival of the cast-iron buildings once odd choice for an upscale full-serpresumed destined for the wrecking vice hotel with a contemporary art ball. gallery that is open all hours. Lacey The Smiths saw the area transSmith had similar doubts when the form quickly after the hotel’s 2006 former Kentucky senator’s friends opening. Restaurants and art gallerLaura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson ies opened in formerly dormant first shared their plans for openbuildings. Interest in downtown living a hotel along Louising began to percolate — enough so ville’s then blightthat Lacey Smith himself has sought ed Whiskey to develop a $100 million housing Row. and retail complex. Barbara Sexton Smith believes the art and passion emphasized by Wilson and Brown infuse the hotels with a magical draw
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for visitors and locals. When one stays at the original 21C Museum Hotel, it doesn’t take much of a wait before seeing local schoolkids and college students touring its art galleries. The collection and displays in Louisville can best be described as a hybrid between the fun exhibits at Oklahoma City’s Science Museum Oklahoma and Oklahoma City Museum of Art, and the sometimes risque displays and shows at IAO Gallery. The art is no token effort. The hotel has dedicated art galleries. Quirky art is to be discovered in odd, unexpected places. Even a trip up the elevator is an interactive experience thanks to a wall projector and lighting schemes in the elevator cab that turn the average visitor into the subject of a temporary work of art. Unusual spaces are celebrated. A 500-square-foot basement space with no windows is now the most popular room in the hotel thanks to a treatment by New York artists Jonah Freeman and Justin Lowe. Known as Asleep in the Cyclone, the pair’s sculptural installation turned the room into a tribute to the mid-1960s counter-culture artists’ commune known as Drop City, featuring a multicolored, dome-shaped ceiling, a vintage record player and stereo, and a case of odd 1960s and 1970s era books and oddities. The room, the golden statue of David, the large, colored plastic penguins found throughout the hotel and some other displays are permanent. But far more of the art collections rotate every year. Alice Gray Stites, museum director of 21C Museum Hotels, is assisted by a staff of 10 art professionals in overseeing the displays spread over 30,000 square feet of galleries in the company’s four museum hotels. Stites said the art displays are greatly influenced by the buildings’ architecture — and such will be the case in Oklahoma City. The museums have access to work by 800 artists. The work generally SEE MUSEUM, PAGE 7T
The former Fred Jones Assembly Plant in the 900 block of W Main Street was originally built as a Ford Model T assembly plant. It is being developed into a hotel and museum.
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IF THERE IS A THEME, IT’S HUMANIST. IT’S ABOUT THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE OF LIVING AND DREAMING IN THE 21ST CENTURY. A L I C E G R AY S T I T E S Above: A guest views artwork at Cincinnati’s recently opened 21C Museum Hotel. PHOTO PROVIDED Top: The most popular room at the flagship 21C Museum Hotel in Louisville, Ky., is the Asleep in the Cyclone room, which is designed as a tribute to the 1960s counter-culture commune era. PHOTO PROVIDED BY RYAN KURTZ
Museum FROM PAGE 6T
represents contemporary art and live performances. “If there is a theme, it’s humanist,” Stites said. “It’s about the human experience of living and dreaming in the 21st century.”
Louisville love affair
Walking through the Louisville hotel and the surrounding neighborhood, it’s obvious the town has long celebrated the arts. It’s a love affair that includes funding from a foundation led by Barbara Sexton Smith for ensuring art is a major experience for all of the city’s students throughout their educations. The Louisville Fund for the Arts is the country’s oldest united arts fund and supports 119 different arts and cultural organizations ranging from theaters to museums to the symphony. “Art drives commerce,” Barbara Sexton Smith said. “Art is economic development, art is workforce development, art is education, art is quality of life. The organization I work with embodies that, and we have 23,000 contributors through payroll deduction each year.” Months before officials with 21C Museum Hotels began talks with the Hall family, which owns the historic assembly plant, Barbara Sexton
Smith visited downtown Oklahoma City as part of group of Louisville citizens seeking to learn about Oklahoma City’s own revival. She thought Oklahoma City was a great spot for the next 21C Museum Hotel. She saw a community that has a similar vibe to Louisville, one that is itself expanding its interest in the arts. She promises Wilson and Brown are the perfect emissaries in spreading that passion. “They have one of the world’s largest, most impressive contemporary art collections, and they’re very interested in sharing it,” Barbara Sexton Smith said. “I think every community in America should have a 21C Museum Hotel — it’s the only place you can go see art 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.” She also advises Oklahoma City to trust the couple in how they transplant their vision to the Fred Jones Assembly Plant. “They’ve studied this vision, they’ve done it right in Louisville, they’ve done it right in Cincinnati, and they’ll do it better in Oklahoma City,” Barbara Sexton Smith said. “They’ve knocked it out of the park in Bentonville, Ark. You’ve got to roll with the flow, let them produce it, put the art in it, and the people will come.”
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “Creativity in the city is to build diverse leadership teams; innovation is finding solutions to everyday problems and trusting your instincts.” Jackson is president of the Northwest Oklahoma City Chamber.
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THEATER
Kathryn McGill, director of Shakespeare in the Park, is shown above and below in July in the new offices for her organization at 2920 Paseo St. in Oklahoma City. PHOTOS BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
Shakespeare in the Park relocation sets stage for dramatic innovation BY STEVE LACKMEYER Business Writer slackmeyer@oklahoman.com
ULIET may soon appear on the “Juliet balcony” at the former Paseo Plunge building as Shakespeare in the Park seeks to make the Paseo Arts District its permanent home. And in the meantime, the performing arts group has felt the embrace of the Paseo community as it has settled in at its “temporary” home at 2920 Paseo Drive. Kathryn McGill, executive and artistic director of Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park, was looking for a new home for the group after it lost its previous location at the Fred Jones Assembly Plant, which is being redeveloped into a 21C Museum Hotel. “We’ve been homeless, really, since our stage in Edmond burned down twice,” McGill said. “We eventually moved to the Myriad Gardens, where we put on our productions at the water stage and moved our offices into Stage Center. “And we all know what happened to that,” she said of Stage Center, which flooded in 2010 and was demolished to make way for a new OGE Energy Corp. headquarters. “We’ve since been doing some indoor productions at OCU and some at the Freede Little Theater at the Civic Center.” Tired of the constant displacements, McGill sought advice from Robbie Kienzle, a veteran assistant city planner assigned last year to a new position of coordinating efforts involving the city’s arts community. Kienzle introduced McGill to Joy Reed Belt, who took over efforts to develop the former Paseo Plunge building, 3010 Paseo, following the death last year of her husband, John Belt — the area’s pioneering developer and promoter. The 30,000-square-foot building is the largest on the block, yet it remained an empty eyesore for decades until John Belt, an attorney who also loved the arts, bought it for $230,000 in 2010. The building started out as a popular swimming hole in the 1930s and was turned into a frozen pizza production kitchen and Italian restaurant The Spaghetti Factory before going empty in the ’80s. John Belt created an entirely new facade for the building that fit in with the surrounding mix of bright colored stucco and red tile roofs. He was dreaming up a list of possible tenants when he was diagnosed with cancer and died one week later.
(MCGILL) TURNED AROUND, LOOKED AT THE FRONT OF THE SPACE AND SQUEALED, ‘IT’S THE GLOBE THEATER!’ I LOOKED AT IT — AND YES, JOHN HAD FRAMED OUT THESE TWO SPACES WITH STAIRWAYS. I HAD NEVER CONSIDERED IT MIGHT LOOK LIKE SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE THEATER. J O Y R E E D B E LT
As McGill and Joy Belt toured the building, they agreed the basement would be ideal for the group’s offices. Belt suggested the group make the Paseo home to its winter theater and children’s productions, and took McGill up to the third floor. The ceilings were high. And John Belt had built wooden stairways and platforms that extended to exterior Juliet balconies he had added to the building. Joy Belt was surprised by McGill’s sudden excitement. “She turned around, looked at the front of the space and squealed, ‘It’s the Globe Theater!’ ” Joy Belt said. “I looked at it – and yes, John had framed out these two spaces with stairways. I had never considered it might look like Shakespeare’s Globe Theater.” At that point, Joy Belt grew excited, as well, knowing her husband was a “song and dance” man who often par-
ticipated in community theater. The couple were both undergrad drama majors. “There was some sort of intervention working here,” Joy Belt said. “John was doing this.” McGill went back to her board and was advised by longtime arts patron Jim Tolbert to talk to Hans Butzer about designing the theater. Butzer toured the space and agreed it was an ideal spot for Shakespeare productions. The group will maintain its outdoor productions at the Myriad Gardens. “This would give us the 350- to 400-seat theater space that we lost with Stage Center,” McGill said. “Everyone was very excited. Everyone was asking what they could do. This was happening in the space of a couple of weeks. Not only have we found office space, but a permanent theater space. We can be a year-around
theater where we can do educational and winter programs at the Plunge.” Such a renovation, however, will cost money.
Another surprise
Fate intervened again when longtime gallery Paseo Originals moved out of the area’s third-largest building at 2920 Paseo. Joy Belt contacted McGill and told her the space was available and — because it was at street level — it would give the organization a great start at getting wired into the community. Belt also had another surprise for McGill: The former gallery also included a theatrical-style space that could seat 50 to 75 people. “This is hugely important for all the arts,” Joy Belt said. “This is just serendipitous. I think John would be deliriously happy.”
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Juliet Hutton, who owns space brokerage company Oh Space, stands inside Nault Fine Art, one of the spaces she has booked for events.
PHOTO BY BRYAN TERRY, THE OKLAHOMAN
OH-KLAHOMA: A SPACE ODYSSEY BY MELISSA HOWELL Staff Writer mhowell@oklahoman.com
Juliet Hutton is proof positive that creative thinking is the stuff that success is made of. Hutton, a Shawnee native who most recently has made her home in London, Miami, Fla., and other far-flung places, has brought her focus and business acumen back to Oklahoma — specifically, its spaces. Hutton, 38, is Oklahoma City’s one and only space broker. Through her company, Oh Space, Hutton and her employees find unique and interesting places for events, including board meetings, weddings, intimate dinners, whatever her clientele dreams up. But she is quick to say she is not an event planner. Her services are trained on brokering the perfect location, a hidden gem tucked away in some obscure spot, often completely unknown to the general public. “I started (the company) way before anybody had considered ... using their plan A space for other options,” Hutton said. “So I kind of went around to friends who owned great houses, or photographers who had great studios, or dance studios, and said, ‘Give me your spaces.’ ” For the first 18 months, Hutton brokered one space. Then came a couple of warehouses, PhotoArt photo studio, and the business began to boom. Now in the company’s fifth year, she is looking at expansion markets. “It created a huge buzz,” she said. “Year two, I had three spaces. In year three, we jumped to 35 spaces, and I didn’t look for any of them. Now I don’t know how many we have, but we’re branching out in Denver and Dallas this year.” Austin, Texas, also may be on the horizon. Hutton has been approached by Chase Bank to open an office there driven by the market created by South By Southwest Music, Film and Interactive Festival, she said.
A promise to return
For Hutton, the journey from Oklahoma to Europe and back has proven valuable in terms of experience and insight. After working in the fashion industry in Wichita, Kan., for a number of years, Hutton moved to Miami, Fla., in 1994. There she studied, law, business and fashion. From Miami, she moved to Lon-
don in 1997, where she attended the London College of Fashion at the University of the Arts London. Happy as an expatriot working as a fashion shoot producer, Hutton operated a business in London and enjoyed a large network of friends and colleagues that reached throughout Europe. But in the end, it was her family that brought her back to Oklahoma. “I promised my little brother,” she said. Feeling twinges of guilt over her selfimposed absence, Hutton promised her brother that when he decided to get married, she would return for a year. Five years later, her brother called her on her promise. “Of course, I had changed my mind,” she said. Things were going great, and her business needed her full attention. A lengthy leave of absence was out of the question, but Hutton’s mother wouldn’t take no for an answer. “My mom said, ‘You promised your little brother that you would come back and help us.’ ” After a few apologies, Hutton hung up the phone. Twenty-four hours later, she received a one-way ticket from her family. It was leaving England in 48 hours. “They’re not wealthy, so ... I knew how serious it was,” Hutton said. “So I came back, and the engagement broke up. Her brother found another marriage prospect, and Hutton’s hiatus turned from one year into two. “... My company in England, I couldn’t keep it going from here, and by that time, I had launched another company here so it just kind of happened. I just decided to stay.”
Looking for ‘authenticity’
Oklahoma City may seem obscure in terms of location scouting, but Hutton says her properties attract companies and individuals from the world over. “Oddly enough, we get a lot of commercials that come in and a lot of private dinner parties that people fly in from all over the country to attend,” she said. “It’s really neat to see that international and national clients come into Oklahoma City. I’ve had Playboy shoots here in Oklahoma City. We’ve had international magazines come in. We had the International Model magazine come in and shoot.” Why Oklahoma? “I think we have things here in Oklahoma that people are not used to seeing in
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “It manifests itself in every aspect of why we love walking into a perfect little shop.”
Allison BARTA BAILEY
“It’s the window displays on Automobile Alley ... or a bucket of beautiful flowers at the Industry Flea. It’s the way that leather accessories are merchandised on a table or the vision that a startup retailer dreams for their new space. It manifests itself in every aspect of why we love walking into a perfect little shop.” Bailey is a retail consultant and organizer of Holiday Pop-up Shops and Industry Flea.
other cities. Here is much more accidental, which is the appeal,” she said. “The coasts are very polished, but here there’s an accidental style. It’s authenticity. That’s what makes me so attached to the spaces and the people. It’s also what makes me so protective.” And protective she is. Hutton safeguards her locations with a passion. “We don’t advertise or go to any trade shows. It’s just word-of-mouth. If you get my number, you get it from somebody who has already worked with me,” she said. “I like my clientele to be private. ... I’m here for the space owner. If I don’t think that you are going to respect my space ... call someone else.”
Wearing a new hat
With new locations, Hutton says she is looking into partnering with a real estate agent to allow properties on the market to double as event spaces, as well. “We’re working on a new concept where I teamed up with a commercial and residential real estate broker. We’re going to take only listings for high-end residential or unique properties and (host) events while they’re on the market. We can bring triple the exposure,” she said. But she adds, her headquarters will continue to be based in Oklahoma City. “I love what’s happening here. It’s fascinating. I love it,” she said.
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Q&A
Five questions with Dunlap Codding’s Doug Sorocco Doug Sorocco
Heather Parsons, owner of Cargo Room, a mobile clothing boutique, stands near the rolling store in July 2014. OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES PHOTO
MOBILE FASHION BOUTIQUE KEEPS STYLE TRUCKING BY BRIANNA BAILEY Business Writer bbailey@oklahoman.com
Cargo Room is a fashion boutique on wheels — like a food truck, only with trendy clothing and accessories instead of tacos. Inside the air-conditioned concessions trailer, owner Heather Parsons has squeezed racks of brightly colored dresses and rows of straw fedoras and handbags into every last inch of the 84 square feet of space. There’s even a changing room. “I know I can’t buy clothes unless I try them on first,” Parsons said. Parsons got the idea for the mobile boutique during a summer trip to South Africa through Oklahoma State University’s Entrepreneurship and Empowerment in South Africa program while studying for her master’s degree in entrepreneurship. “Out of necessity there, people create their own businesses, and there are a lot of shops there that are based out of shipping containers and other spaces,” she said. She moves the boutique around
to several locations in the city. Mobile retailers, based in everything from vintage Airstream trailers to converted school buses are popping up in the Northeast and West Coast — there’s even an American Mobile Retail Association. The trade group has members ranging from a mobile dog treat and pet boutique in Hoboken, N.J., to a bridal boutique on wheels in Colorado Springs, Colo., according to its website, but most of the businesses are based on the East or West coasts. “It’s kind of a new thing in this part of the country,” Parsons said. “I don’t want to say I’m the first one in Oklahoma, but I haven’t heard of any others.” Parsons spent six months transforming the trailer into a clothing boutique with the help of her mother and stepfather. “She’s just a very creative person, to be able to take something like a trailer and turn it into a clothing boutique; she’s always been able to do things like that,” said Parsons’ mother, Michelle Fields.
IT’S KIND OF A NEW THING IN THIS PART OF THE COUNTRY. H E AT H E R PA R S O N S
Plaza District shop owner gives new life to old clothing BY BRIANNA BAILEY Business Writer bbailey@oklahoman.com
Cassie Neahring aims to transform dated-looking clothing from flea markets to fashionable finds with her recently opened Plaza District boutique Out on a Limb. Using clothing she finds at thrift stores and estate sales across the state, Neahring takes 1980s-era dresses with linebackersize shoulder pads and transforms them into trendy sundresses. Blouses and dresses in interesting prints but with out-ofstyle cuts and hemlines are transformed into modern pieces using only her sewing machine. “It may be a beautiful dress, but it has giant, weird, puffy sleeves,” Neahring said. “I look for pieces with interesting details that just need a little tweaking.” Finding a cache of vintage lace or fabric is the ultimate score for Neahring. “I just try and keep an eye out for sales wherever I go,” she says. Everything gets reused — the fabric scraps are repurposed for headbands and button earrings. Situated at 1710 NW 16, the store also features hand-made jewelry and other items from about 20 vendors, most of them
Out on a Limb owner Cassie Neahring at the Plaza District boutique.
local. Neahring is big on the concept of up-cycling, or repurposing and imparting greater value on items that are typically discarded as trash. Out on a Limb’s 1,500square-foot showroom stays true to that mantra. Neahring and her friends used tree branches taken from people’s discarded lawn waste to make all of the hangers and clothing racks for the shop. Neahring learned to sew about six years ago — she
keeps her grandmother’s sewing machine at her home “for inspiration,” she said. “I was looking for a new creative outlet, and it was just exactly the right thing for me,” Neahring said. Within a few years, she was hosting trunk shows and selling items on consignment at local stores. “I’ve been looking for a brick-and-mortar location for a while but was waiting for exactly the right space to come along,” Neahring said.
Drive along Sheridan Avenue west from the Central Business District and one of the first hints that one has arrived in Film Row is the neon sign at 609 W Sheridan Ave. — the home of the Dunlap Codding law firm. Since moving into a renovated warehouse, the firm has hosted dozens, if not hundreds of civic groups, artists, singers and performers in its courtyard, kitchen and lounge. Creativity is a part of everyday operations at Dunlap Codding, which on one day may be hosting an artist’s exhibit and speaking series, and another day might host a concert by an Elvis impersonator. Doug Sorocco, attorney and partner with Dunlap Codding, recently visited with The Oklahoman about his firm’s decision to become a hub of the creative community in Oklahoma City.
Q: YOUR FIRM HAS CREATED A PRETTY UNIQUE OFFICE HOME AT 609 W SHERIDAN. A: We’ve been there for about two years. Our goal when
we converted a 100-year-old warehouse was to provide office space for our operations and also to create a community space. It’s where anyone can come in, use the kitchen, lounge area, and it’s connected to an outdoor patio where it can be used by speakers, musicians, a place for performances. We’re talking to dance troupes right now as well as more traditional theatrical performances.
Q: DUNLOP CODDING IS A LAW FIRM. WHY DO YOU NEED TO BE INVOLVED WITH ALL THESE CREATIVE EFFORTS? A: We’re an intellectual property law firm. We’re dealing
with people’s ideas and passions and artistic endeavors. The people we work with are the craziest, most innovative people. To showcase the people we work with, to celebrate that, and to bring more creative people into our office, this allows us to bring in a different vibe and as well as give back to the community.
Q: WHERE WAS THE FIRM LOCATED BEFORE IT MOVED TO FILM ROW? A: We were located on the 10th floor of the Valiance
Bank building. We had a wonderful view of every storm that came in from the west, but we weren’t connected to the community in any way. We were up in the air, we didn’t see anything, we didn’t hear anything. Now, being street level we feel the daily changes, whether it’s traffic changes or anything else happening with people.
Q: HOW OFTEN ARE YOU HIT WITH REQUESTS TO USE YOUR COMMUNITY SPACE? A: People are shameless. On average, we’re getting 30 to
40 a month. Right now we’re booked every weekend through August. Most weekends we have two events booked both days.
Q: HOW DOES THIS AFFECT THE CULTURE OF YOUR FIRM? A: It’s completely changed our culture. We always had
that ethos of giving back. But it’s put front and center that doing is more important than talking. People can see every day with the space how things work together, like how art and law work together … It’s an opportunity for people to take a moment out of their day and to engage the other half of their brain. STEVE LACKMEYER, STAFF WRITER
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “Being able to adjust and adapt to what your users or customers want is the key to making it in business and businesses who are able to adapt quickly often time end up being the most successful.”
Kevin MOORE
“Creativity in business is the ability to adapt and adjust quickly to changing market environments. “This reminds me of a picture I saw recently of a sidewalk winding through a small city park in a downtown area. The sidewalk was carefully designed to wind through the park before reaching the other side of the next city block. What was interesting about the picture was at the halfway point along the sidewalk there was a dirt-trodden trail through the grass that gave pedestrians a direct path through the park. At the bottom of the picture there was a caption that read: “Design vs. User Experience.” “Basically, the windy sidewalk design looked great, but people preferred to use the dirttrodden path. Creativity in business is no different. “Being able to adjust and adapt to what your users or customers want is the key to making it in business and businesses who are able to adapt quickly often time end up being the most successful.” Moore is venture adviser for i2E and manager of SeedStep Angels.
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SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
NORMAN STORE PUTS CONVENIENCE BACK INTO PLAY BY BRIANNA BAILEY Business Writer bbailey@oklahoman.com
NORMAN — A new drive-thru retail concept called the Cube aims to reinvent the concept of the convenience store, only don’t call it that, said company co-founder Jake Sharp. “Convenience store seems like such a dirty word these day,” Sharp said. “Neighborhood concierge is the best thing we could come up with.” The store offers customers lattes and cappuccinos, as well as fresh food items like pastries, sandwiches and wraps. Freshly
A multi-purpose convenience store called Cube opened in December 2014 in Norman. PHOTO BY STEVE SISNEY, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
baked pizza also is on the menu, as well as health and beauty and grocery items. The first Cube store opened in December in Norman on the former site of a long-closed tobacco shop near W Main Street and N Berry Road. Sharp, who owns two drivethru tobacco shops in Lawton, said he saw demand for a store that was targeted at customers who don’t want to get out of their cars to grab a gallon of milk or diapers. He has partnered with Joe Lawrence, a recently retired
Navy pharmacist who now serves as Cube CEO, and contractor Steve Rich to develop the Cube concept. “The idea behind the Cube is that we are going to put up nice, new, good-looking structures that are drive-thru only and carry items catering to the communities they are in,” Lawrence said. “We started talking about what is really convenient about a convenience store, and there are a lot of things that aren’t very convenient.”
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AUTOMOBILES
HIGH-TECH VEHICLES:
Not quite the Jetsons, but close BY VALLERY BROWN For The Oklahoman
Above: Hyundai’s Blue Link technology connects a vehicle with the driver’s smartphone or its new Smartwatch app. PHOTOS PROVIDED BY HYUNDAI
Top: Many of today’s Hondas, including the CR-V, have the ability to “sense” when a driver veers from a lane and the steering wheel can adjust to correct the lane departure. Adaptive cruise control helps maintain a safe distance from nearby cars so drivers don’t have to manually adjust their speed. Cars can even brake on their own if another vehicle gets too close. PHOTO PROVIDED BY HONDA
WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY WHERE I COULD SIT IN A CAR, TELL IT MY DESTINATION AND I’D ESSENTIALLY BE THE CO-PILOT THERE IN CASE ANYTHING WENT WRONG. BOB NOURI
Popular culture has long envisioned cars of the future to be equal parts science and fantasy — selfdriving, flying, non-gas guzzling, intelligent. An automobile from “The Jetsons” meets the DeLorean from “Back to the Future” with all the smart features of the cell phone age. While prototypes of self-flying cars pique the wildest fantasies of technology geeks, the automotive industry writ large has been churning out an abundance of futuristic features for their newest models, most of them to enhance driver safety. “Sure, there are cars today that can parallel park themselves,” said Phillip Bostick, general sales manager for Fowler Honda in Norman. “But most of the features we’re seeing are meant to keep people safe.” Bostick said automobiles today are much safer than they were 30 years ago when he first started selling cars. Many of today’s Hondas, including the CR-V, have the ability to “sense” when a driver veers from a lane and the steering wheel can adjust to correct the lane departure. Adaptive cruise control helps maintain a safe distance from nearby cars so drivers don’t have to manually adjust their speed. Cars can even brake on their own if another vehicle gets too close. Many Hondas are equipped with backup and side-view cameras to help eliminate blind spots, Bostick said. “Cars now have eight airbags so it’s like you’re covered in bubble wrap when you’re driving around,” he said.
Convenience
David Patel, general manager at Edmond Hyundai, said the technology features in cars have impressed him during his past 18 years in the business. And while many of them are safety-related, some just make life as a car owner more convenient. “Sometimes the technology that’s in these cars surprises me,” he said. “They are so user-friendly and practical. You don’t have to have someone
show you and train you how to use them.” For example, Hyundai’s Blue Link technology connects the vehicle with the driver’s smartphone or its new Smartwatch app, he said. “Imagine you’re at the mall, and you’re carrying a
lot of bags,” said Patel. “You want to start your car without digging for your keys. Blue Link lets you unlock and start your car with your phone. It will turn off after 10 minutes if you don’t get in. You can even have the radio station you want playing when
you get in the car.” Blue Link technology comes with other features, including navigation aids to find the quickest route to work, an automatic monitor for gas consumption and the ability to call SEE VEHICLES, PAGE 13T
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emergency assistance in the event of an accident. It also notifies drivers, through the phone app, when their car is due for service updates. Bob Nouri, a 34-year automobile industry veteran and owner of several dealerships inside and out of Oklahoma, said technology features like Blue Link were the stuff of dreams decades ago. Today, all of the big auto companies have digital systems with infotainment and navigation technology to make car ownership more convenient and safe. “If something goes wrong with your car, so many of the luxury models on the market have the ability to send a message via satellite to the dealership,” Nouri said. “They can diagnose your car while you’re driving and send you a message via the radio to let you know what’s going on and if you need to have it repaired right away.” The technology can even schedule an appointment at the dealership, he said. At the same time, many of the “game changer” technologies have only been rolled out on a limited basis, Nouri said. “We have the technology to completely autopilot cars,” Nouri said. “We have the technology where I could sit in a car, tell it my destination and I’d essentially be the co-pilot there in case anything went wrong.” While the technology has been around for as long as a decade, it’s only
shown up so far in limited ways — braking, lane-assist technology, self parking — because society doesn’t have the laws in place yet for driverless cars, he said. Another game changer could be an increase in the number of electric cars on U.S. roads and the ability to rent or pay a fee to use them. Much like the bike sharing programs seen in Europe and even in downtown Oklahoma City, Nouri sees a time when some people choose to share rather than own cars. “This doesn’t mean that car dealers will sell (fewer) cars, but there will be a portion of the population who won’t own vehicles anymore,” Nouri said.
A screen inside a 2015 Honda CR-V shows part of the vehicle’s system that allows it to be used for infotainment and navigation.
IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG WITH YOUR CAR, SO MANY OF THE LUXURY MODELS ... CAN DIAGNOSE YOUR CAR WHILE YOU’RE DRIVING AND SEND YOU A MESSAGE VIA THE RADIO TO LET YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON. BOB NOURI
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “Creativity is life’s purest form of self expression, and Urban Roots uses food as a medium to bring the arts together.”
Chaya FLETCHER Fletcher is owner of Urban Roots restaurant, art gallery and performance space.
Hyundai’s Blue Link technology connects the vehicle with the driver’s smartphone or its new Smartwatch app. PHOTO PROVIDED BY HYUNDAI
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DENTIST HOPES TO
TAKE A BITE
OUT OF 3D INDUSTRY Editor’s note: Excerpted from an Nov. 2, 2014, article in The Oklahoman. BY PAULA BURKES Business Writer pburkes@oklahoman.com
ARDMORE — Imagine a day when people could be fitted for orthodontics at a mall kiosk. They’d bite into putty, then molds would be scanned to create computerized models and — at a fraction of today’s costs — customers would be mailed incremental transparent aligners, much like today’s Invisalign braces, which they or their kids could wear to straighten their teeth. It’s not such far-fetched thinking for Ron Bulard, chief executive of Ardmore-based Park Dental Research Corp. He recently introduced a 3D printer designed for use by orthodontists and dentists who do dental implants. Six years ago, he sold IMTEC, his 18-year-old implant and dental specialty business, to 3M for nine figures, he said. After Bulard was free to compete, he bought Park Dental a few years ago, which mirrors the beginning of IMTEC, specializing in mini-dental implants and related products and instruments, including implantation screws with special nonbackup threading. The company has annual sales of just under $2 million and employs some 22 in Ardmore, he said. But a year from now, Bulard said he plans on relocating his Dallasbased implant manufacturing oper-
ations and California-based 3D printing manufacturing operations to Ardmore, and filling the facilities and hundreds of jobs ultimately vacated by 3M. Bulard decided his career path in the seventh grade. It was in the ’70s and his uncle, who was a dentist in Altus, was experimenting with implantation devices. It wasn’t until the mid ’80s, after Bulard graduated dental school, before implants became a valid treatment and the only lasting metal to use. During his summers in college at Oklahoma State University, he was fortunate to work with Dr. Bud Patterson, who was researching a cure for cancer at the Noble Foundation in Ardmore. There, he said he learned he could do anything I put my mind to. “We had a big stack of plastic tissue vessels that I wondered why we couldn’t microwave to sterilize and reuse,” Bulard said. “Later, in an OSU biochemistry class, we studied different ways of sterilization and I spoke with the professor after class about using a microwave oven,“ he said. Bulard became the first undergraduate to publish a research paper with the Noble Foundation. In dental school at the University of Oklahoma, he patented a way to sterilize dentures and contact lenses with microwaves, without getting the hot and cold spots. Bausch & Lomb bought the license. Dr. Ron Bulard displays dental implants he designed at his office in Ardmore. The dentist recently introduced a 3D printer designed for use by orthodontists and dentists who do dental implants. PHOTO BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
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BULARD SAID HE PLANS TO RELOCATE HIS TEXAS- AND CALIFORNIA-BASED OPERATIONS TO ARDMORE.
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OUTLOOK: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
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HOMES
The great room at 17320 White Hawk Drive, by Jeff Click in the Silverhawk adddition.
PHOTO BY NATE BILLINGS, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
Innovation in home design is a Click away BY RICHARD MIZE Real Estate Editor richardmize@oklahoman.com
Jeff Click, homebuilder, is all about a level — and not a carpenter’s. It’s the next level he’s about, and cliched or not, if anyone can scale the next one, it’s Click and his few fellow travelers. It’s a little troupe dancing and playing and building to the sound of a drum that is still an outlier in suburban home design in Oklahoma City. Call it modern, or contemporary, or “new urban” — it’s edgy. And that’s another cliche that Click, 39, and company will happily demolish. Design is one thing. Floorplans are a dime a dozen. Mod is in the eye of the beholder. Click’s designs are rooted in lifestyle, starting with the custom computer interface systems he designed, developed and sold as a college student, then the “smart homes” he was building 15 years ago before anyone else here. Lifestyle informs the home floorplans and designs that have always set Jeff Click Homes apart, and the retro/new urban office park he and partner Craig Ferguson developed, Main Street Business District, on Pennsylvania Avenue a mile or so north of Memorial Road. More recently, lifestyle underlies the neighborhood within a neighborhood, an enclave of homes called SH/FT, that he’s been working on lately in the Silverhawk addition at NW 178 and Pennsylvania. SH/FT is meant to suggest a shift from the ordinary. “From its entrance, you’ll be welcomed by a stylish desert-modern landscape and a tree-lined, pedestrian-focused street,” he explains on a website. “Just past the bend is a modern community garden space where friends and neighbors gather to socialize and each homeowner has a dedicated garden plot to tend and produce fresh herbs and vegetables. Two ponds create scenic views across the common area separating SH/FT from the rest of Silverhawk. “SH/FT (represents) a complete re-thinking of modern home design for Oklahoma City. ... We're guessing you won’t worry too much that SH/FT won’t exactly feel like OKC. That’s because it feels like the new OKC.” Click caught us up on his innovations in a recent interview. Below are excerpts.
A Jeff Click Home in the Silverhawk addition at NW 178 and Pennsylvania Avenue.
Can you update us on SH/FT at Silverhawk?
SH/FT has been a really fun learning experience. While we didn’t develop it from raw land, Michael Love of (developer) CCDC really allowed us to take that corner of Silverhawk and put our fingerprints all over it. Not everyone wants to live in or next door to a modern home, which has made it a real challenge in pushing the envelope of elevation and roof design for our homes. Our collaboration with Michael in developing SH/FT enabled us to create an entire section of all modern and contemporary, unencumbered by the typical boilerplate development design restrictions, and we’re really proud of the outcome. We’ve intentionally worked on a controlled release of our floorplans for SH/FT, all of which are totally original designs. This has helped us in being methodical about getting a good distribution of the plans and exterior facade materials. We have 10 of our 25 lots left, and have just released our fourth and final design, The Ethos Plan. Our second furnished model home is wrapping up, which has a modern farmhouse look. We’ve been really pleased with the comments on it so far, and can’t wait to have it open for showings. We also are looking forward to opening the SH/FT Community Garden for its first spring planting.
Who is traveling with you on this edgy path?
Our base of trades and suppliers is a really unique mix that I’m very proud of, as we’ve worked very hard to foster a forward-thinking, technically capable culture, which isn’t easy to create in this business. Nearly all of our trades and suppliers interface with us through our Clickbuild system, which is a collaborative project management system we’ve designed inhouse from the ground up. It facilitates everything from order placing, task tracking and scheduling, to logging all our progress and communication, as well as hosting all of our project assets like plans and
design notes. We’ve seen guys who didn’t even use email before this system fully immerse themselves into technology because of Clickbuild, radically enhancing how they do business even with other builders. The system has helped us develop new efficiencies and synergies with many of our trades like One Electric. These guys, led by owner Steve Davis, run a really tight ship and we’ve watched them grow thoughtfully, leveraging technology to help facilitate that growth. It’s really cool to be able to communicate with them effectively via Clickbuild, and to show up to a job site to find their foreman toting an iPad with all of our plans and design notes literally at his fingertips to refer to. We also have a wonderful, long-term relationship with Suburban Contemporary Furniture. We’ve collaborated with their in-house designer, Duff Jack, as well as the owner, Jeff Burt, on our last five show homes, an office building, and my personal office. It’s a perfect relationship because we build homes ready-made for the furniture they sell, and our show homes present an opportunity to showcase their products within the context of an actual home. It’s always fun to see how many Jeff Click Homes have Suburban Contemporary Furniture trucks show up at their curb on move-in day.
How have you managed to balance on the edge so long?
A. That goes back to our company’s core values, two of which are “progress” and “innovation.” We define progress as: “To always seek to improve and better all aspects of our organization before seeking growth.” While many builders set out to grow and grow, and build as many homes as possible, I prefer to just get better and better at what we do. It’s proven to be just as profitable as growth. We define innovation as: “To be among the leaders in defining trends, styles, technology, and latest best-practices.” I think it’s both in my nature and in my upbringing that if I’m going to do something, do it well, and then do it better. One
THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
of the fun challenges in this business is that it almost forces you to be thinking six months, a year, two years out. My daughter, Alessondra, and I have a little term we toss out to each other in conversation sometimes to describe this. We call it “Road Runner Mode.” It’s having your head way out in front of you looking towards what’s ahead while your feet are still behind you doing the necessary work of today.
Why do you think other builders aren’t following your lead? Or are they? Who else do you consider edgy?
I think one thing that sets contemporary and modern design apart is that it’s more than just a taste or style. It goes deeper than that, and well into lifestyle. It’s not something everyone “gets,” so it’s not something that can just be mimicked and still come off as genuine. In the context of designing, building, and selling homes, I think why it’s worked for us is because it’s who we are ourselves. It’s my personal lifestyle, so everything about the company embodies it — from our offices and marketing right down to our homes and developments.
What’s next?
One area of focus I’m ramping up on is development. With our experience in SH/ FT, it’s evident that we need to control more than just the look and feel of what we do on the lot we’re building on. We need to mold not only what we can do with our exterior design, but also the macro-experience of the entire development. We have acquired land and are in the process of developing a very unique concept to the area that I’m really excited about. My development partner, Craig Ferguson, and I are also about to break ground on our next commercial development, Port164, off of NW 164 and Portland. You won’t find any shortage of innovation there, as we’ve spent the last year with our head way out in front. Now it’s time for the feet to do their thing. Road
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OUTLOOK: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
REAL
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
ESTATE
A NEW POINT OF VIEW
Ryan Wells, owner of OK Real Estate Photography, surveys a property using one of his camera-mounted quadcopters.
PHOTOS PROVIDED
Aerial photos, video offer way to make home sales take off Ryan Wells, owner of OK Real Estate Photography, surveys a high-acreage property using one of his camera-mounted toy quadcopters.
Ryan Wells, owner of OK Real Estate Photography, flies his remote-controlled quadcopter, a helicopter propelled by four rotors.
BY KYLE HINCHEY Staff Writer khinchey@oklahoman.com
An Oklahoma City-based photographer specializing in real estate is taking advantage of cameramounted toy helicopters to offer aerial views of properties and stay ahead of competitors. A little more than a year ago, Ryan Wells, owner of OK Real Estate Photography, bought two small remotecontrolled quadcopters — helicopters propelled by four rotors — after seeing their potential for aerial photos on the Internet. He attached a GoPro camera to the pint-size choppers, allowing him to take pictures and video from the sky. He also installed camera stabilizers and live video feeds so he could see where he’s flying. Each setup cost him about $3,500. Because of the Federal Aviation Administration’s strict regulations against the commercial use of aerial vehicles, Wells cannot accept payment from real estate agents using pictures and video taken from his quadcopters. Instead, he charges for
IT JUST GIVES YOU A PERSPECTIVE THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO GET FROM THE GROUND. R YA N W E L L S
photos taken from his regular cameras and throws in the aerial images for free. “We’ll make the photos available SEE AERIAL, PAGE 17T
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OUTLOOK: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
Ryan Wells, owner of OK Real Estate Photography, surveys a high-acreage property using one of his camera-mounted toy quadcopters. PHOTOS PROVIDED
Aerial FROM PAGE 16T
for public use, and then what (real estate agents) decide to do with them is up to them,” Wells said. Wells said he is careful of privacy issues and does not like to fly over neighborhoods where his copter can see into someone’s backyard or anything else that might make people uncomfortable. He mostly uses it to fly around high-acreage properties distant from residential areas. Heidi Rose, an Edmond real estate agent who works closely with Wells, sells property across the metro area, some of which are isolated, surrounded by open land. She said Wells’ quadcopters help capture the topography in ways regular camera equipment can’t. If a sprawling estate encompasses several ponds or streams, for example, a quick flyover with a GoPro camera can effectively show what all the property has to offer, Rose said. “It just gives you a perspective that’s impossible to get from the ground,” Wells said.
A game-changer?
Wells said the use of cameraequipped quadcopters or similar devices doesn’t seem to be a common trend among photographers in the Oklahoma City area. It’s difficult to say for certain, however. Many may be keeping quiet because of the strict and somewhat confounding regulations surrounding the use of aerial vehicles, commercial or otherwise. If the FAA decides to rescind some of these restrictions, aerial vehicles would be a game-changer in real estate, Wells said. “To hire a helicopter pilot, it’s upward of around $500 an hour, and we’ve worked with clients before that have done that in the past to really show off a large estate, and it’s cool to be hopefully able to offer something at a lower cost to them,” he said.
A photo by Ryan Wells is taken as he surveys a property using a camera-mounted toy quadcopter.
Above: Ryan Wells, owner of OK Real Estate Photography, controls one of his toy quadcopters mounted with a GoPro camera. Left: A photo from one of Ryan Well’s cameramounted toy quadcopters shows the Gold Dome building at 1112 NW 23.
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OUTLOOK: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
Keller Williams Realty agents Troy and Denise Schroder have become known for their quirky marketing.
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
PHOTO PROVIDED
Oklahoma City real estate sales team uses humor to sell homes BY RICHARD MIZE Real Estate Editor richardmize@oklahoman.com
T
OUR MARKETING MAY SEEM OUT OF THE BOX,
HERE Troy and Denise Schroder are, QUIRKY, FUN-SPIRITED, BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE, stuffed into a shirt as big as a tent and one THIS TEAM GETS RESULTS AND PERFORMS AT A huge pair of pants. The photo is a marketing HIGH LEVEL AND WILL CONTINUE TO DOMINATE ploy: Their sales team at Keller Williams Realty is “getting THE MARKET. too big for our britches!” (Insert groan here). DENISE SCHRODER There they are again — he with a certain superhero’s familiar “S” busting out of his button-down business shirt and tie, and her in a full Supergirl costume. Why? Because this “looks like a They will be on a return episode truck, to get to appointments right job for ... the Schroder Group: Ag— as soon as they find the right after work. gressive, Passionate, Relentless.” “camera-ready” buyer. A year of that was enough. (Oh, boy.) Who’s groaning, oh-boying and verything changed in 2010, There they are yet again — Troy, eye-rolling now? Probably the same when Troy and Denise got 47, with magician’s wand, topcoat people who are attaboying the coumarried and “blended five and stovepipe hat, Denise, 42, ple as they stake out the contours of teenagers.” That Decemdressed to the nines as a magician’s a midlife dream. ber, with money saved, they quit assistant holding a “SOLD” sign. “I was 39 and Troy was 44 years their jobs and took the plunge into (Eye rolling is occurring). old before we found our ‘calling,’ ” owning their own business as real So is chortling, snickering and Denise Schroder said. estate agents. giggling — but the Schroders, who She said she’d wanted to become “We had many naysayers, but lead the Schroder Team at Keller a Realtor 22 years ago when she failure was not an option. We have Williams Elite, 5629 N Classen worked in property management as never looked back! ... We jumped in Blvd., are the ones laughing all the a successful leasing agent. Then she with both feet and we decided to be way to success. became a stay-at-home mom betruly ‘authentic,’ ” Denise Schroder Because there Denise Schroder fore going back to work. said. “By using my gift and extreme was on a marketing panel at Keller Troy Schroder was a Realtor for passion in marketing and creativity, Williams Realty’s annual “Family “one short year” while working a we could be top of mind when you Reunion,” where some 10,000 real full-time job. He sold seven houses think of a ... Realtor. We are so pasestate agents gathered in Phoenix in that year, balancing home sales with sionate, relentless, driven, loyal, ex2014, not much more than a year afa job as a FedEx driver — sometimes peditious, ter she got her real estate license. changing dedicated, And there the Schroders were late from his and get relast year on HGTV’s hit series FedEx unisults.” “House Hunters” for the show’s form into a In the first stop in Oklahoma City. “House suit and first year, Hunters” takes viewers behind the tie, in the scenes as home shoppers make emotional decisions that go with finding and buying a home.
E
she said, they reached their goal of being in the Top 10 in their Keller Williams operation and in the top 3 percent in production among the 3,800 Realtors in the Oklahoma City metro area. They have maintained that level, she said. All while being quirky. Goofy, even. “Our marketing may seem out of the box, quirky, funspirited, but make no mistake, this team gets results and performs at a high level and will continue to dominate the market,” she said. Growth by word of mouth is the aim — or, “referral based,” as it’s put in business speak. “We can hoot and holler all day about our accomplishments and how fast our business has catapulted and the level it has been blessed by God. What truly matters is what our clients take from the job we have done and the relationship we have built that will sustain the test of time,” Denise Schroder said. About all the laughs? “Real estate transactions can be stressful. They are major life changes. When we can capture pockets of laughter and happiness, we do it. We don’t take ourselves too seriously in that respect,” she said. “We also find great joy in helping others build their businesses. For example, our lender, inspectors, handymen, appliance repair, CPA, etc. are our business partners, and we believe in a high level of reciprocation and ‘paying it forward.’ We want our clients to get superb customer service (from) anyone we refer — to in essence be an extension of our business.” So, the Schroders are after more than just laughs at their hijinks. They’re after genuine smiles, too.
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OUTLOOK: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
Keller Williams Realty agents Troy and Denise Schroder have become known for their quirky marketing.
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
PHOTO PROVIDED
Oklahoma City real estate sales team uses humor to sell homes BY RICHARD MIZE Real Estate Editor richardmize@oklahoman.com
T
OUR MARKETING MAY SEEM OUT OF THE BOX,
HERE Troy and Denise Schroder are, QUIRKY, FUN-SPIRITED, BUT MAKE NO MISTAKE, stuffed into a shirt as big as a tent and one THIS TEAM GETS RESULTS AND PERFORMS AT A huge pair of pants. The photo is a marketing HIGH LEVEL AND WILL CONTINUE TO DOMINATE ploy: Their sales team at Keller Williams Realty is “getting THE MARKET. too big for our britches!” (Insert groan here). DENISE SCHRODER There they are again — he with a certain superhero’s familiar “S” busting out of his button-down business shirt and tie, and her in a full Supergirl costume. Why? Because this “looks like a They will be on a return episode truck, to get to appointments right job for ... the Schroder Group: Ag— as soon as they find the right after work. gressive, Passionate, Relentless.” “camera-ready” buyer. A year of that was enough. (Oh, boy.) Who’s groaning, oh-boying and verything changed in 2010, There they are yet again — Troy, eye-rolling now? Probably the same when Troy and Denise got 47, with magician’s wand, topcoat people who are attaboying the coumarried and “blended five and stovepipe hat, Denise, 42, ple as they stake out the contours of teenagers.” That Decemdressed to the nines as a magician’s a midlife dream. ber, with money saved, they quit assistant holding a “SOLD” sign. “I was 39 and Troy was 44 years their jobs and took the plunge into (Eye rolling is occurring). old before we found our ‘calling,’ ” owning their own business as real So is chortling, snickering and Denise Schroder said. estate agents. giggling — but the Schroders, who She said she’d wanted to become “We had many naysayers, but lead the Schroder Team at Keller a Realtor 22 years ago when she failure was not an option. We have Williams Elite, 5629 N Classen worked in property management as never looked back! ... We jumped in Blvd., are the ones laughing all the a successful leasing agent. Then she with both feet and we decided to be way to success. became a stay-at-home mom betruly ‘authentic,’ ” Denise Schroder Because there Denise Schroder fore going back to work. said. “By using my gift and extreme was on a marketing panel at Keller Troy Schroder was a Realtor for passion in marketing and creativity, Williams Realty’s annual “Family “one short year” while working a we could be top of mind when you Reunion,” where some 10,000 real full-time job. He sold seven houses think of a ... Realtor. We are so pasestate agents gathered in Phoenix in that year, balancing home sales with sionate, relentless, driven, loyal, ex2014, not much more than a year afa job as a FedEx driver — sometimes peditious, ter she got her real estate license. changing dedicated, And there the Schroders were late from his and get relast year on HGTV’s hit series FedEx unisults.” “House Hunters” for the show’s form into a In the first stop in Oklahoma City. “House suit and first year, Hunters” takes viewers behind the tie, in the scenes as home shoppers make emotional decisions that go with finding and buying a home.
E
she said, they reached their goal of being in the Top 10 in their Keller Williams operation and in the top 3 percent in production among the 3,800 Realtors in the Oklahoma City metro area. They have maintained that level, she said. All while being quirky. Goofy, even. “Our marketing may seem out of the box, quirky, funspirited, but make no mistake, this team gets results and performs at a high level and will continue to dominate the market,” she said. Growth by word of mouth is the aim — or, “referral based,” as it’s put in business speak. “We can hoot and holler all day about our accomplishments and how fast our business has catapulted and the level it has been blessed by God. What truly matters is what our clients take from the job we have done and the relationship we have built that will sustain the test of time,” Denise Schroder said. About all the laughs? “Real estate transactions can be stressful. They are major life changes. When we can capture pockets of laughter and happiness, we do it. We don’t take ourselves too seriously in that respect,” she said. “We also find great joy in helping others build their businesses. For example, our lender, inspectors, handymen, appliance repair, CPA, etc. are our business partners, and we believe in a high level of reciprocation and ‘paying it forward.’ We want our clients to get superb customer service (from) anyone we refer — to in essence be an extension of our business.” So, the Schroders are after more than just laughs at their hijinks. They’re after genuine smiles, too.
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
OUTLOOK: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
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RESEARCH
Demand for energy technology pushes research collaboration BY ADAM WILMOTH Energy Editor awilmoth@oklahoman.cmo
A rapidly changing world with high demands for energy and technology has made research and innovation essential, industry leaders say. “I liken energy development to hard disk drives in the ’80s and ’90s,” said Mike Ming, general manager of General Electric’s Oklahoma City Global Research Center. “If companies didn’t double their hard drive capacity every year, they were out of business. The oil and gas business is like that today.” GE has annual revenues of about $150 billion. About 30 percent of its products are obsolete every decade, Ming said. “The world is changing,” Ming said. “The middle class is growing, especially in the developing world. They want the standard of living we have here in the United States. They want transportation. They want to cook their food. They want cooling in the summer and heat in the winter. They want to pump their water. “From a global perspective, these
Stephen McKeever State secretary of Science and Technology and director of the National Energy Solutions Institute at Oklahoma State University.
are the challenges we have to meet for the rest of the world to have the standard of living we have come to expect in the United States,” he said. Historically, universities have focused on base research funded by federal and state governments while companies focused on applied research designed to boost profits. The two rarely mixed. Reality has changed, said Stephen McKeever, Oklahoma secretary of Science and Technology and director of the National Energy Solutions Institute at Oklahoma State University. Today, research budgets have been slashed both for governments and companies, and an increased level of partnership between universities and companies has become essential, he said. “I think the current environment of funding will not go back to the old model, so collaboration is indeed going to be more important,” McKeever said. “We are going to be interfacing a lot more with industry in the future.” With its nine global research centers, GE is one of the few companies that has expanded its research bud-
get in recent years. Most companies instead have chosen to partner with GE or universities for applied, or practical, research. The trend has been especially beneficial to smaller companies, said David Swank, CEO of the NESISmart Energy Source Association. “By being part of this collaboration, smaller companies can take advantage of the research and even drive the research,” he said. “This collaboration allows there to be a greater connection to applied research. We’re making greater use of tax, connecting small businesses and all sizes of businesses to the research and finding ways to make the outcomes better for customers.” The relationship also benefits universities by providing research that can be published and by creating opportunities for students to gain skills, practical experience, internships and jobs with partnering companies, McKeever said. “If you do it correctly, you can open up a whole new world to faculty members and students, and can do really high level academic research at the same time as serving the needs of industry,” he said.
BY BEING PART OF THIS COLLABORATION, SMALLER COMPANIES CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE RESEARCH AND EVEN DRIVE THE RESEARCH. THIS COLLABORATION ALLOWS THERE TO BE A GREATER CONNECTION TO APPLIED RESEARCH. WE’RE MAKING GREATER USE OF TAX, CONNECTING SMALL BUSINESSES AND ALL SIZES OF BUSINESSES TO THE RESEARCH AND FINDING WAYS TO MAKE THE OUTCOMES BETTER FOR CUSTOMERS. D AV I D S WA N K ,
RIGHT
Industry forms around reducing methane leaks BY ADAM WILMOTH Energy Editor awilmoth@opubco.com
An increased focus on reducing oil-field methane emissions has helped the environment, saved oil and natural gas producers money and created a new, thriving industry, according to a report from the Environmental Defense Fund and Data Research. In the paper “The Emerging U.S. Methane Mitigation Industry,” researchers reported that at least 76 companies now either make equipment designed to reduce methane emissions or provide emission reduction services. “To help the oil and gas industry meet these challenges, dozens of companies from different backgrounds have
developed technologies and services to reduce methane emissions,” the report stated. “The result is a new and rapidly emerging methane mitigation industry.” Methane is the primary ingredient in natural gas. The report states that methane is a greenhouse gas 84 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide. By venting methane into the atmosphere, the country’s oil and natural gas industry has lost about $1.8 billion worth of natural gas that otherwise could have been captured and sold, according to the report. Oklahoma City-based Flogistix LP is one of the 47 such companies operating in Oklahoma. “For years in our business, we have either vented or
flared a valuable resource,” said Drake Andarakes, vice president of sales and marketing at Flogistix. “Operators today are realizing they can actually make money on this. Our company philosophy is not to see through the regulations angle, which is certainly a tailwind for what we’re doing. But we want to show operators they can make money doing this, address regulations and it’s the right thing to do.” Flogistix’s vapor recovery equipment captures methane released from oil as it waits in storage tanks being transported to a refinery. Without the equipment, methane typically is vented out of the storage tanks to avoid pressure buildup.
How the process works
Instead, the vapor recovery equipment attaches to the tanks, where it collects the associated methane and pumps it into a pipeline for processing and delivery. Oil and natural gas producers and operators gradually are recognizing the benefits of using methane reduction technology, both for their own financial savings and because of increasing regulation, Andarakes said. “We’re still in the first inning. We’re just getting started,” he said. “We all are aware of the EPA and the environmental groups. But the operators themselves also are already developing sustainability directives of their own. The operators are saying this is a win-win.”
BY THE NUMBERS According to the Environmental Defense Fund and Data Research report ...
84
Methane leaks are 84 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide
$1.8 BILLION
Worth of lost natural gas that otherwise could have been captured and sold in the U.S.
76+
Number of companies in the U.S. that make equipment designed to reduce methane emissions or provide emission reduction services
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OUTLOOK: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
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ENERGY
Oklahoma City-based HYPRES Equipment redesigned its compressed natural gas home fill units in an effort to reduce costs and make the equipment affordable to more customers. The compressor, which is about the size of an air conditioner, connects to a hose that fills a vehicle at a rate of about two equivalent gallons per hour. PHOTO PROVIDED
Oklahoma innovators help lower cost of home-based CNG fueling stations BY ADAM WILMOTH Energy Editor awilmoth@oklahoman.com
As technology advances, price often drops while quality improves. Oklahoma City entrepreneur Ron Peeler hopes that trend will continue in the market for compressed natural gas vehicles and the equipment that fills them with fuel. Peeler’s HYPRES Equipment adapted its high-pressure breathing air compressors and in 2012 began selling Smart Fill CNG, a natural gas compressor system that can be installed at a home and used to fill a CNG vehicle overnight. The first design was based on the industrial compressors HYPRES has sold for decades. The company then brought on engineer Nick Chalifoux to help redesign the product and lower its price. The new model, known as the H3, is designed for retail customers. The improvements dropped the price to about $8,500, down from more than $13,000, Chalifoux said. CNG home-fill purchasers also are eligible for a $2,500 state tax credit and a $1,000 rebate from Oklahoma Natural Gas. Peeler said he expects the industry to continue to evolve. “There’s a lot of good technology down the road,” Peeler said. “This will be a different industry four or five years from now.” Home fueling costs about 70 cents per gasoline gallon equivalent, including both the cost of the natural gas and the electrical cost to run the
THE CNG VEHICLE INDUSTRY IS GROWING FASTER IN OKLAHOMA THAN IN MOST OF THE COUNTRY, IN PART BECAUSE OF THE LARGE NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION IN THE STATE AND BECAUSE OF THE EFFORTS OF POLITICAL AND BUSINESS LEADERS WHO HAVE WORKED AGGRESSIVELY TO HELP THE INDUSTRY GROW.
compressor, said Chalifoux, who has since started HYPRES distributor Residential CNG. HYPRES is working with CNG of OKC to market and sell its home fuel units. In Okarche, OEM Systems LLC has been working with Oklahoma-based Masterpiece CNG on a similar effort for the past five years. “Right now, most of our conversion vehicles are for small and large fleets,” OEM contract administrator Taren Robinson said. “The retail customers are the ones interested in home fuel-
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “It means ... futuristic thought leaders providing opportunities to show off the city to national and international leaders from all over the world.”
Terry NEESE
“It means pride in my home city, and futuristic thought leaders providing opportunities to show off the city to national and international leaders from all over the world. Business leaders and especially entrepreneurs desire to live in a creative world allowing innovative ideas to flourish.” Neese is founder of the Institute for Economic Empowerment of Women.
ing stations. There has been an increase in those. More and more people are interested.” While home filling appliances have improved in quality and decreased in price in recent years, more improvements are needed before demand will grow significantly, said Norman Her-
rera, CEO of Oklahoma City-based Spark CNG. “The $1,500-to-$2,000 range is probably the sweet spot,” Herrera said. “That’s what’s needed for mass adoption. At that point, people can buy a vehicle and home fueling and achieve payback in a good time. Until then, it will be a luxury item. There is still demand for it, but it’s more than just an economic decision at this point.” The CNG vehicle industry is growing faster in Oklahoma than in most of the country, in part because of the large natural gas production in the state and because of the efforts of political and business leaders who have worked aggressively to help the industry grow. The effort has quickly led Oklahoma to become one of the leading states for public CNG fueling stations. While home fueling manufacturers and public fill stations both are working to attract customers, Herrera said the relationship is more complementary than competitive. “Both add to the pool of new CNG vehicles in the market,” he said. “If automakers see home fueling taking off, it will incentivize them to build new vehicles for individuals and not just fleets. Having more CNG vehicles on the road will benefit public retail stations as well.”
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CHANGE IN THE WIND Technology, tax credits drive down wind energy costs BY ADAM WILMOTH Energy Editor awilmoth@oklahoman.com
Improved technology and a federal tax credit have combined to drive the average price of new wind-generated electricity to record low levels, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The average price for new wind power projects dipped to 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2013, making it competitive with coal and natural gasfired electricity, according to the 2013 Wind Technologies Market Report, the most recent report available. An updated report is expected in August. Wind power purchase agreement prices were most competitive in the interior region, which includes Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas. “The average price stream of wind PPAs (power purchase agreements) executed in 2013 also compared favorably to a range of projections of the fuel costs of gas-fired generation extending out through 2040,” the report stated.
Projects delayed
One caveat is that the 2013 sample size was unusually small. Many projects were put on hold while Congress debated whether to renew the federal production tax credit. Only 1,087 megawatts of new capacity was added in 2013, just 8 percent of the 2012 record of nearly 13,600 megawatts. The tax credit eventually was renewed, but only for projects where construction began before the end of 2013. As a result, a large increase in projects is expected online late this year and into next year. The power cost is expected to rise next year, but remain lower than 2012
levels, according to the report. For comparison, Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co.’s weighted average cost of energy per kilowatt-hour in the second quarter of 2014 was 4.69 cents for natural gas and 2.14 cents for coal, according to the utility’s most recent quarterly report. Overall, the utility’s total fuel and purchased power cost was 3.44 cents per kilowatt-hour. With wind energy, utilities don’t have to pay for the fuel inputs like they do for coal or natural gas. The cost per kilowatt-hour represents the costs for the turbines along with construction and operating costs. The production tax credit provides a rebate of 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour for the first 10 years of production. Besides the tax credit, projects under construction are expected to benefit from “recent improvement in the cost and performance of wind power technologies,” the wind energy report stated. The average newly installed turbine in 2013 had a capacity of 1.87 megawatts, up 162 percent since 1998. The average diameter is 97 meters, up 103 percent over the same time period. As the price of wind generation has dropped, Oklahoma utilities have increased their use of the technology. Wind energy in 2013 represented 14.8 percent of the state’s total power, according to the American Wind Energy Association. One challenge utilities face with wind is that it is not always windy. Oklahoma wind speeds tend to be lowest on hot summer afternoons when power is needed the most. Utilities have addressed the issue by pairing wind projects with natural gas power plants, which can be ramped up quickly when needed and produce less power when it is unnecessary.
WITH WIND ENERGY, UTILITIES DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR THE FUEL INPUTS LIKE THEY DO FOR COAL OR NATURAL GAS. THE COST PER KILOWATT-HOUR REPRESENTS THE COSTS FOR THE TURBINES ALONG WITH CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATING COSTS.
Turbines cover a limestone ridge as part of the Blue Canyon wind farm in southwest Oklahoma. OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE PHOTO
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ENERGY INDUSTRY SEEKS TO PUT CAP ON WATER LOSS BY ADAM WILMOTH Energy Editor awilmoth@oklahoman.com
As energy companies continue to drill for oil and natural gas during the state’s ongoing drought, companies have increased their efforts to reduce water demand and protect the water they use. Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corp. in 2013 began experimenting in west Texas with covering the large pits it uses to collect water for use in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The process typically uses about 4 million gallons of water per well. The pit covers are designed to reduce evaporation, saving the company millions in both dollars and gallons of water. The covers cost $150,000 to $350,000, depending on their size, but pay for themselves in just two to four months, said Tim Raley, senior superintendent for Devon’s operations in its east Permian Basin area. “Evaporation rates are really significant, especially in July and August,” Raley said. Evaporation is fueled both by heat and wind, which creates waves on the water, increasing surface area. In one area of the east Permian basin, Devon has covered 24 of its 39 water pits. The company is considering implementing the technology in western Oklahoma as it expands operations in the area. “We were struggling to come up with the water to meet our fracking demand,” Raley said. “We didn’t want to lose any of it to Mother Nature.” The pits hold 12 million to 30 million gallons of water. By reducing evaporation, each cover can save 4 million to 10 million gallons of water per quarter, Raley said. “It saves a lot on our water demand. If we could save that from evaporation, it’s money in our pocket,” Raley said. Oklahoma State University researcher Saleh Taghvaeian is working with farmers and cities to reduce evaporation in ponds and reservoirs. “It’s a major issue, a main source of water loss,” he said. “Minimizing evap-
PHOTO PROVIDED
ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE EVAPORATION, ESPECIALLY THE FURTHER WEST YOU GO, WOULD BE AN EXTREMELY VALUABLE ASSET. J.D. STRONG
oration could have significant potential. We consider the water that is evaporated to be totally lost to the system.” Excess water that is absorbed by the ground eventually flows downhill to the next farm or into an aquifer. “But evaporation of water from open water bodies is a loss to the system. There is no way for that area to recover it,” Taghvaeian said. “It will go into the water cycle and precipitate somewhere else.” Managing evaporation is especially important during the ongoing drought, Taghvaeian said.
“We are still in a drought. Even though we had a pretty wet spring and summer, the soil is generally dry and lakes are at very low levels,” he said last year. “We are at a critical condition in terms of our water resource. We have a rapidly growing population with rapidly growing water demand. It’s extremely important to find ways to save water. If we can put it to beneficial use, we have to consider that so we don’t end up in a situation like California is now.” J.D. Strong, executive director of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, said the pit covers and other technological
advancements will be necessary to help the state meet its Water for 2060 goal of using no more water in 2060 as was used in 2012. “All the things the industry can do to use every drop of water as wisely as possible will certainly help the state further that goal,” Strong said. “Anything that can be done to reduce or eliminate evaporation, especially the further west you go, would be an extremely valuable asset.” In some parts of western Oklahoma, Texas and the desert Southwest, more water is lost to evaporation each year than can be replenished with rain, Strong said. The oil and natural gas industry represented about 3 percent of the state’s total water consumption in 2012. The industry typically operates on 90-day revokable permits that allow them to use water only if it is available. If there is a water shortage in that particular area, new permits are not issued and existing 90-day revokable permits can be canceled. State Energy and Environment Secretary Michael Teague is encouraging the industry to set the example in water conservation. “You are not the biggest user of water, but you are the most innovative industry in the state,” Teague said during the TriState Oil and Gas Convention in Woodward.
OUTLOOK: BUSINESS & TECHNOLOGY
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CLEAN START FOR OLD WELLS BY ADAM WILMOTH Energy Editor awilmoth@oklahoman.com
University of Oklahoma professor Jeff Harwell has found a way to boost production from some older oil wells by flooding them with soap. The research is based on the same principle as your home washing machine, which uses detergent to pull grease from your clothes. In a similar way, Harwell is using a soapy solution to separate oil from rocks deep below the Oklahoma soil. “With laundry or the kitchen sink or the shower, you want to lower the energy of the oil-water interface,” said Harwell, Asahi Glass chair and George Lynn Cross Research professor for OU’s School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering. “If we can lower the oil-water interface underground, we can move the oil out of the rock.” But his method isn’t precisely the same as the process used to clean dishes or clothes. “We’re using molecules similar to dishwater detergent or laundry detergent or shampoo, but it has to have molecules designed for temperature conditions and brine conditions as well,” Harwell said. “But it’s the same basic idea.”
Traditional oil wells
Harwell’s technology focuses on the traditional, vertical wells that have dotted the Oklahoma landscape since before statehood. “These are existing reservoirs that have been producing the oil that has built the state’s economy,” he said. Those wells are drilled like straws into sandstone or some other soft rock that acts as a sponge, holding in the oil and natural gas. Primary production typically sucks out about 10 percent of the oil in place.
Waterflooding
Companies often turn next to secondary production through a process called waterflooding. The technique involves using some wells to pump water back into the rock, increasing pres-
Professor develops soapy mix to boost production
draulic fracturing are now known technologies, and companies can calculate a return on investment. There’s less risk associated with that,” Harwell said. “We have a new technology that is potentially less expensive per barrel. But right now it is not proven and has a higher risk.” Harwell said typical waterflood wells cost about $20 a barrel to produce. Adding his surfactant could nearly double the cost. “If oil prices stay below $70 a barrel for an extended period of time, we might have more people look at this who would have otherwise gone with horizontal drilling,” Harwell said. “If it stays in the $60s for an extended period of time, there will be people looking at our technology as a less-expensive alternative. Right now, it would have to drop into the $40s and stay there for several years before this technology would be dead in the water.”
Commercial usage
A University of Oklahoma researcher tests a detergent mix designed to help boost oil production from some of the state’s oldest oil wells. PHOTO PROVIDED
sure and pushing the oil towards other wells, which produce the oil and water mix. Even with waterflooding, the average throughout Oklahoma is that companies have produced about 18 percent of the oil that has been discovered, Harwell said. Harwell’s process is designed to piggyback on the waterflooding effort. “Our goal is to be able to go into a reservoir where there’s a successful waterflood and there’s been a good oil production response to the waterflood,” he said. “Then we’ll add a small amount of chemicals to the waterflood and get another 10 or 15 percent out of the reservoir. If we could move the average recovery in Oklahoma from 20 percent to
30 or 40 percent, we would feel like it was a home run.”
Decades of research
Harwell began working on the advanced oil recovery technology in 1979. But by the mid-1980s, the price of oil fell to less than $10 a barrel and there was little interest in experimental production techniques. Instead, Harwell applied his soap technology to oil cleanups and other environmental applications. While he said he is pleased with how his techniques have been used over the past three decades, he is excited to see it finally reach the intended oil wells. “This opportunity to see this technology implemented and
have the impact on the wealth of the state before I retire would be a perfect way to wrap up my career,” said Harwell, 62. “This would be the capstone of everything I’ve done.” It’s more than a little ironic that oil prices have collapsed as Harwell’s technology again is close to commercial application. This time, however, Harwell said the price fall could be helpful. While tumbling oil prices have made some oil and natural gas activity uneconomical, Harwell said the price could make his technology more desirable.
Technology unproven
“One of the problems in getting people to try this technology is that horizontal drilling and hy-
Howell has partnered with Tulsa-based MidCon Energy to develop a company called Chemical Flooding Technologies, which is hoping to supply the surfactants and monitor the process. The group has had two successful pilot projects and is looking for a larger-scale commercial application. CFT President Chad Roller said the technology will be huge for the state and for its smalland midsize producers. “It means they can keep those fields going longer without having to cap them out,” he said. “A significant part of the state’s production comes from marginal wells, and the ability to extend those wells is pretty key for the entire state. A lot of those fields are getting to a very mature stage.” The process also can be beneficial to the environment and local landowners, Roller said. “Anytime you can use an existing well bore as opposed to drilling a new well bore means there is a smaller footprint and less impact,” he said.
Oil industry’s rough patch brings opportunity
A natural gas processing facility run by by Tulsa-based Linde Process Plants Inc. in North Dakota helps companies collect and sell produced natural gas. BY ADAM WILMOTH Energy Editor awilmoth@oklahoman.com
Despite low oil and natural gas prices, companies throughout the oil patch are planning for the future and hoping prices rebound soon. Tulsa-based Linde Process Plants Inc. is trying to make the most of the industry downturn as companies have slowed drilling plans and mothballed rigs and other equipment. “Many companies have existing contracts for several years,” said Jason Stevens, Linde’s manager of proposal development. The industry slowdown also creates opportunities, Stevens said. “This is a time for some companies to do work. We’re seeing capacity increase,” he said. “The fact that this is happening is also freeing up capacity from our construction partners. They’re getting hungry and want to work with us more.” The slower industry activity also allows companies to focus on improving their
THIS SLOWDOWN IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO LOOK AT NEW TECHNOLOGY AND PREDICT WHERE THE MARKET IS GOING. IT’S GIVEN US AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO A LITTLE DEVELOPMENT WORK. JEHNA FERSTER
operations. “We’re always looking for new technology,” said Jehna Ferster, Linde’s manager of systems engineering. “This slowdown is an opportunity to look at new technology and predict where the market is go-
ing. It’s given us an opportunity to do a little development work.” Linde provides consulting and a variety of plant designs, including both new facilities and add-ons designed to make existing plants more efficient.
PHOTO PROVIDED
The company’s engineering office is in Tulsa, and its fabrication facility is at the Port of Catoosa. With uncertainty throughout the industry, many potential customers are choosing to enhance their existing facilities, Ferster said. “For some customers, instead of building a new plant, they’re going to look at the facility they currently have,” she said. “That’s something we can help with.” The company’s products are designed to help companies process natural gas and natural gas liquids more efficiently. One product is designed to strap onto an existing facility and capture and sell natural gas that otherwise would be burned off at the plant. “We move the gas and instead of flaring, we help them get value for it,” Ferster said. The company also sells a liquified natural gas facility that can be added to an existing natural gas liquids plant. “It can give them another product stream and de-bottleneck the original play with increased capacity,” Stevens said.
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OUTLOOK: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
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ACTIVITY
UPTOWN OKC EVENT PUSHES GETTING UP AND GOING OUTSIDE BY GRAHAM LEE BREWER Staff Writer gbrewer@oklahoman.com
Kendal Goss, 6, bounces on a mini trampoline at Open Streets OKC along NW 23 Street between Robinson and Western avenues on March 22. The second-annual event was put together by the Oklahoma City-County Health Department and several local partners. PHOTO BY DOUG HOKE, THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
Bicyclists and long-boarders carefully navigated a crowded NW 23 Street as pedestrians and dogs weaved down nearly a mile of the busy Uptown street full of activities and information booths at the second annual Open Streets OKC in March. The event, put together by the Oklahoma City-County Health Department Wellness Now Coalition in conjunction with local partners, closed NW 23 Street between Western and Robinson avenues, inviting residents to participate in a variety of outdoor activities. “The main idea is to promote active transportation,” said Jackie
Shawnee, director of communications with the health board. Shawnee said the health and wellness project pulled in 25,000 to 30,000 people, and they are hoping to make it a bi-annual event by creating a fall event in south Oklahoma City. Several booths that lined the edges of the street were aimed at teaching children about bicycle safety and maintenance, as well as offering physical activities. Children raced bicycles in an obstacle course, jumped on inflatable bounces, and had their faces painted. Others tumbled on gymnastics mats or danced with outdoor Zumba classes. “I have a giant check,” Alex Cowan, 7, told his father Klint as
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “For me, creativity is analyzing and examining human care systems, identifying ways they are functionally and financially ineffective, while reinventing these systems to be more effective with better outcomes at lower cost. “Then, to take these creative approaches into the open market of ideas convincing others in power to consider the risk of making the needed changes versus the option of doing nothing.” Brose is executive director of the Mental Health Association Oklahoma.
Read how other creative thought leaders answered throughout this section and other sections of Outlook 2015: The Creativity Issue. COVER ART BY STEVE BOALDIN
they played a game of chess at one of several tables set up with chessboards near the Tower Theater. Cowan, who lives nearby, said he liked having a fun, outdoor entertainment option so close to home for his son, who had spent much of the afternoon kicking a soccer ball at a booth staffed by the Oklahoma City Energy soccer team. Kasey Greenhaw, who also lives nearby the event, agreed as her daughter, Charlotte, 5, finished a display of endurance on a rowing machine, her freckled cheeks beaming red. Health participants included YMCA of Greater OKC, the American Lung Association, Integris, Oklahoma Health Care Authority and the Oklahoma Nutrition Information and Education Project.
“ ... Analyzing and examining human care systems, identifying ways they are functionally and financially ineffective, while reinventing these systems to be more effective with better outcomes at lower cost.”
Mike BROSE
Pictured on the cover: Mark Galliart, CEO of McBride Orthopedic Hospital; Mike Brose, executive director of Mental Health Association Oklahoma; Terry Cline, state health commissioner; Avilla Williams, president, Integris Health Edmond
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WELLNESS
Tomaiko Mays
Stephanie Hinton
Shawnda Black
Jeanna Gunter
Ann Booze
PROGRAM HELPS WOMEN FIND MEANINGFUL BEAUTY
F
riends and business partners Valerie Rollins Vaughn and Sheila Mitchell have seen first-hand how inner beauty can be coaxed
outward. They are teaching women that beauty reaches far beyond body composition and bone structure through a series of workshops called the Trubeauty Experience. The idea developed after Vaughn, a photographer, convinced Mitchell to let her shoot her portrait. “I was always the one hiding behind someone else in a (group photo),” Mitchell said. “But Valerie convinced me.” At first, Mitchell barred Vaughn from showing the photos to anyone. But as Vaughn edited the photos and began to show them to Mitchell, something happened, Mitchell said. She began to see herself as others do. Instead of seeing her flaws, she saw the inner beauty that Vaughn had captured, she said. Now, Vaughn and Mitchell have taken the notion of meaningful beauty and launched the Trubeauty Experience. Through the series of half-day workshops, their aim is to show participants that true beauty is unique to each woman — her courage, strength, passion, capacity for love and compassion that blend together to create loveliness. “(The program) promotes and empowers self-love,” Vaughn said. “Women don’t take care of themselves. We don’t see how beautiful we are.” “When you can see it yourself, it changes everything,” Mitchell said.
(THE PROGRAM) PROMOTES AND EMPOWERS SELF-LOVE. WOMEN DON’T TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES. WE DON’T SEE HOW BEAUTIFUL WE ARE. VA L E R I E R O L L I N S VA U G H N
Shawnda Black
Seeing themselves
On a recent Saturday morning, five women, all educators, nestled into a circle of comfy chairs. They began a roundtable discussion on their physical looks, and how negativity toward themselves affects others. “I was raised to be critical,” said Ann Booze, a teacher at Capitol Hill Elementary. “You nitpick everything. But I’ve learned to be an encourager. It’s lighter to live that way.” Kelly Ramsey, an alumna of the Trubeauty program who sat in on the session, agrees. “You immediately look for the flaws,” she said. “I used to have so much negativity for myself that I couldn’t give anything to anyone
else.” By the end of the session, the Trubeauty Experience goal is for each woman, through discussion and self-discovery, to see herself differently than she had before and feel comfortable in front of a camera. That’s when Vaughn steps in to capture how the day has changed each member of the group through the lens of her camera.
A lifechanging experience
The Trubeauty Experience is now in its fifth year and continues to gain momentum. “It helped me see that there were some things that I was missing,” said participant Jeanna Gunter, a teacher at Dove Science Academy. “After a while, I did become very comfortable. Many of the (good) things I see in others, I now see in myself. Things I hadn’t really noticed before. I am just me. I am enough.” For Kelly Ramsey, who was one of the early participants, the experience has become a much larger part of her life than she expected.
“For me it’s changed the way I see myself and value myself because we always think of beauty as the outward appearance. It helped me to see what I was showing people and that I had beauty in various ways,” Ramsey said. “I was really surprised at how life-changing it was. I thought of it as one day, one event, and then it would be over. Now I see myself as an ambassador for the work,” she said. I encourage people in my circles; I encourage them in little ways and point out the positives. I’m sharing that experience. I’m using the same language with other people and other settings. I see the same patterns in other people that I had. It has helped me develop an eye for what beauty really is. Every day I capture some piece of beauty to me. I pull out beauty in everyday experiences.” The Trubeauty Experience includes materials and photo portrait. For more information, visit www.trubeautyexperience.com. MELISSA HOWELL, STAFF WRITER
Tomaiko Mays, Ann Booze, Jeanna Gunter, Stephanie Hinton and Shawnda Black are among the Trubeauty Experience workshop alumnae. PHOTOS PROVIDED BY VALERIE ROLLINS VAUGHN
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OUTLOOK: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
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Above and bottom of page: About 10,000 zebrafish that occupy the hundreds of tanks in the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation’s Oklahoma City campus are not pets. The creatures, which grow no more than a few inches in length and are named for the black stripes that run the length of their bodies, play a key role in OMRF scientists’ search for new treatments for cancer. Below: When cancer researcher David Jones arrived at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation last year to lead the organization’s Immunobiology and Cancer Research Program, along with his laboratory equipment, he brought zebrafish. The creatures serve as sorts of living test tubes, allowing scientists to study biological processes in ways that are impossible in humans. PHOTOS PROVIDED
Tiny fish help unlock secrets of cancer FROM THE OKLAHOMA MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION
If you didn’t know better, you might confuse the fish-tankfilled room on the fourth floor of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation for an aquarium. Or a pet store. But the 10,000 or so zebrafish that occupy the hundreds of tanks in OMRF’s Oklahoma City campus are not pets. The creatures, which grow no more than a few inches in length and are named for the black stripes that run the length of their bodies, play a key role in OMRF scientists’ search for new treatments for cancer. When cancer researcher David Jones arrived at OMRF last year to lead its Immunobiology
and Cancer Research Program, along with his laboratory equipment, he brought zebrafish. The creatures serve as sorts of living test tubes, allowing scientists to study biological processes in ways that are impossible in humans. “They reproduce frequently, and they develop into adults in a matter of days,” Jones said. “And their bodies are transparent, allowing scientists to observe their developing cells.” Sharing 70 percent of humans’ genetic code, the fish have become increasingly popular experimental models for scientists, particularly cancer biologists like Jones. At OMRF, Jones uses the fish to study the more fundamental elements of
what’s happening inside cancer cells and how molecules work at their most basic level. Jones’ work with the fish has helped him identify four different compounds that appeared promising for the treatment of colon cancer. Those findings ultimately led to clinical trials of experimental drugs to treat human colon cancer patients. “All thanks to a fish,” said Jones. Going forward, Jones, who also serves as deputy director for translational research at the University of Oklahoma’s Stephenson Cancer Center, plans to use the fish to answer biological questions that reach beyond the field of cancer. “We think there are as many as 30,000 human genes, and 30
percent of those we know nothing about,” Jones said. “With zebrafish, we have a powerful tool for trying to figure out what, exactly, those genes do.” OMRF spent nearly $1million to create a facility to allow Jones and other researchers to breed and study zebrafish and their genes. “This is the first functional genomics fish core facility in this region of the country,” said Sai Tummala, OMRF’s director of comparative medicine and attending veterinarian. Tummala oversees operation of the facility, which uses a wide variety of filters, dosing tanks, pumps and temperature regulation technology to ensure an optimal environment for the fish to reproduce and develop.
OMRF uses only about 200 gallons of water per day to operate the entire facility. “The technology also allows for peak water usage efficiency, keeping waste to a minimum,” Tummala said. The equipment can service at least another 60,000 fish without adding any additional pumps or filters. Jones said he hopes that interest among other OMRF scientists will help the facility reach capacity. “I’m trying to help other scientists understand just how valuable zebrafish can be,” Jones said. “I’ve seen for myself that there is truly no limit to the impact this little fish can have on research and unraveling the mysteries of human disease.”
THEY REPRODUCE FREQUENTLY, AND THEY DEVELOP INTO ADULTS IN A MATTER OF DAYS. AND THEIR BODIES ARE TRANSPARENT, ALLOWING SCIENTISTS TO OBSERVE THEIR DEVELOPING CELLS. D AV I D J O N E S
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CARE
Dr. Fred Loper, medical director of Good Shepherd Ministries in Oklahoma City, talks with a patient at the clinic. Good Shepherd recently received grant money to become a medical home for hundreds of Oklahomans, providing consistent primary care and other types of medical services. FILE PHOTO FROM THE OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVES
Charitable clinics help close gaps in care for residents BY JACLYN COSGROVE Staff Writer jcosgrove@oklahoman.com
WE DON’T HAVE TO WORRY
Without treatment, Beverly Mayabb could have gone blind. The Oklahoma City resident has diabetes, and without consistent access to medicines, she developed retinopathy, an eye condition that can result in blindness. Mayabb, 61, is uninsured, on a fixed income and wasn’t sure how she was going to find help for her blurry vision. But thanks to a local charitable clinic, Mayabb was connected with an eye doctor who provided the laser treatment at no cost. Mayabb had cried for days, fearing that her vision would soon be gone. “I am overwhelmingly thankful and grateful to the people there and all that they assist me with,” Mayabb said. “ ... On the way to get my eyes examined by the specialist, I was, like, thinking, ‘Thank you, God, for providing for me because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to take care of this.’ ” For the first time in 10 years, Mayabb has a medical home, a place she receives consistent primary and dental care from the same
ABOUT SEEING A CERTAIN NUMBER OF PATIENTS EVERY SINGLE DAY, AND THAT’S ONE OF THE BIG CHALLENGES. ... DR. FRED LOPER
doctors, week by week: Good Shepherd Ministries in Oklahoma City. The Oklahoma City free clinic is part of a growing movement in the OKC metro area to provide care at charitable clinics, commonly referred to as “free clinics,” by having paid staff and longer hours. Oklahoma County is thought to have more community-based and faith-based health care safety net providers per square mile than any other major metropolitan county or region in the U.S. However, despite progress and accomplishments, the health care safety net in Oklahoma County is,
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “We in the health care industry have a long history of embracing new and creative ideas, hence the medical advances we now enjoy. Today we must combine creativity with focus. Innovation provides the focus needed by establishing outcome measures that produce consumer confidence in the care we render. Creativity focused on improving our quality of health must be fostered to propel healthcare forward.” Williams is president of Integris Health Edmond.
Avilla WILLIAMS
at times, fragmented, disorganized and ill-equipped to address systemic issues or deliver meaningful improvements, according to the Commission to Transform the Health Care Safety Net in Oklahoma County, a group of local health leaders in the Oklahoma City metro area. “There are all these amazing, lovely mission-driven compassionate people that work in these amazing small clinics that are struggling and reaching out to the poor, and among them we have 60 exam tables that were only available two hours a week each,” said Beth Brown, vice president of the
Butterfield Memorial Foundation. “So we had to rethink that.” About three years ago, Brown and other local leaders traveled to 11 clinics in eight cities in 75 days, studying those clinic models, trying to determine what would best serve the growing number of residents in need. They determined that Oklahoma City needed free clinics open at least 35 hours a week, and those clinics needed to have paid staff. Oftentimes, free clinics have a fluctuating staff of doctors, nurses and other residents who volunteer their time, and these clinics are often only open for a few hours each week. With a goal of creating a few larger-scale clinics in mind, the Butterfield Foundation, a Christian charitable organization focused on the health needs of the community, awarded Good Shepherd with $7.7 million, paid out over a four-year period, and Crossings Community Church’s clinic with $6 million paid out over a four-year period, as well. “That’s not to say the small, one-night-a-week clinics are not doing good work,” Brown said. SEE CLINICS, PAGE 7U
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BY JACLYN COSGROVE Staff Writer jcosgrove@oklahoman.com
Greg and Jennifer Seal remember being told they were going to fail. A smoke-free bar in Oklahoma City? “Yeah, right,” people said. But a little more than two years later, Grandad’s is thriving as one of the only smoke-free bars in Oklahoma City.
OKC-AREA RESIDENTS WANT THEIR BARS SMOKE-FREE — AND THEY HAVE BAR OWNERS’ ATTENTION
A recent public health effort hopes to increase the number of smoke-free bars and clubs in Oklahoma, an effort that the Seals support. “The health of Oklahoma’s citizens is important, it really is — and we want them to be able to have plenty of places where they can have fun without being subjected to the toxic fumes that come out of cigarettes,” said Jennifer Seal, coowner of Grandad’s, who also works at the American Heart Association. Free the Night, an Oklahoma campaign encouraging bars and clubs to voluntarily adopt smoke-free policies, announced in late 2014 its survey results, documenting almost 2,000 Oklahomans who answered questions about their bar, club and smoking habits. Of the 1,937 Oklahomans surveyed: About 72 percent of people said that bars and nightclubs should not allow smoking. Notably, 51 percent of smokers surveyed said that bars and nightclubs should not allow smoking. Almost 80 percent of people said they preferred to go to smoke-free bars and nightclubs. About 55 percent of smokers surveyed said they preferred to go to smoke-free venues.
About the survey
Free the Night staff members conducted the surveys at 22 community events between April and September, including at the Norman Music Festival, the Boots & BBQ Festival in Claremore, OKC Pride and Lights on Stillwater. None of the surveys were conducted at anti-smoking related events. At the events, Free The Night had a booth and would ask passers-by to take a survey. Survey-takers were not given any information before taking the survey in order to avoid influencing their opinion, according to the organization. About 66 percent of people surveyed were between the
ages of 18 and 35. About twothirds of the people surveyed were nonsmokers, and about two-thirds of the survey’s respondents were women. Almost everyone surveyed went to bars, with almost 70 percent going one or more times per month. Free the Night’s staff stresses that they aren’t trying to get laws passed but rather get bars and clubs to go smoke-free voluntarily. Megan Flynn, Free the Night campaign manager, said the group wants bar and club owners to lead the movement to more smoke-free establishments. “In the end, we don’t want anyone to do anything they don’t feel is right for their business, but ... this is what Oklahomans want, which makes it a good business decision,” she said. “We don’t want to force anyone to do anything. This is voluntary, so that they can make the choice that’s best for them, and then implement it in a way and in a timeline that works for their venue.”
No need to wait
Over the past few years, state health leaders have struggled to get anti-smoking legislation passed at the Capitol. More than 32 states have “comprehensive smoke-free” laws that include smoke-free bars, restaurants and nonhospitality workplaces, said Tracey Strader, executive director of Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust. Strader said although the Free the Night effort, which the trust helps finance, focuses on getting bars and nightclubs to go smoke-free voluntarily, there will likely be a push for legislation at the Capitol someday. “This effort is just to help bar owners and celebrate bar and nightclub owners that are doing the right thing right now,” Strader said. “Certainly, a law may be welcome in the future, but there’s no need to wait for it.”
THINKSTOCK PHOTO
Clinics FROM PAGE 6U
“They absolutely love their patients, and their patient bases are very, very loyal to them — but their patients are still going to the emergency room when they’re not open, and in the emergency room, they’re getting extremely episodical care.” Using the grant, Good Shepherd increased clinic hours from six hours a week of free medical care to about 40 hours — with a full-time paid staff of more than 20 people. Before the grant, everyone at Good Shepherd was
number of Oklahomans. Good Shepherd anticipates increasing the number of patients that the clinic staff sees from less than 1,000 to at least 5,300. Additionally, using the grant dollars, they increased the number of dental visits from 175 per year to more than 2,500. Dr. Fred Loper, Good Shepherd medical director, said one of the blessings of working in a free clinic is that he and other staff members can help patients not only with their physical health but also with finding out how to
is different from the 15-minute visits that doctors in private practice have with patients, Loper said. At the same time, once the grant money is gone, Loper and other leaders at the nonprofit organization must figure out how to make the current model sustainable. “We don’t have to worry about seeing a certain number of patients every single day, and that’s one of the big challenges — what are we going to do long-term to pay for all this?” Loper said. “Because we’ve gone from a little
time operation, and we’re open every day — that’s costing $1.5 million a year, so that is a huge challenge.” For Mayabb, being a patient at Good Shepherd has meant having a clinical team helping her control her diabetes for the first time in years. Before Good Shepherd, she was going to a clinic open for a few hours a week. She sat in the waiting room with three other women, and after four hours, the doctor came out and said he couldn’t see them. Mayabb had been there six weeks before and
Mayabb soon was referred to Good Shepherd, where she has been a patient for the past two years. Since then, she has since received not only diabetes care, but also care for a persistent urinary tract infection, along with a well-woman visit and treatment for her asthma. Mayabb is healthier than she has been in years and is optimistic about what the future holds. Her first great-grandchild was born, and she’s happy that she can see her clearly. “I get to see her and what she turns out to be as she grows ol-
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OUTLOOK: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
TECHNOLOGY
Analyzing medical data and breaking smartphones BY BRANDON BAILEY Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Your smartphone could be a valuable tool for medical research — and for treating a variety of ailments. IBM wants to use the power of its Watson computing system — which famously won TV's “Jeopardy” a few years back — to analyze mountains of data collected from individuals who use health-related smartphone apps, fitness bands and other gadgets. A new IBM business will provide Internet computing services for healthcare companies and researchers to collect and analyze that data, along with information from patient treatment records and research trials. By combining all that data, and then searching for trends and patterns, IBM believes researchers could gain new insights into treatment and prevention. The company promises the information will be “anonymized” to protect individuals' privacy and used only with their consent. IBM is also working with other companies to use Watson’s analytical prowess in new health services. Johnson & Johnson
is developing “intelligent coaching” apps for patients recovering from surgery. Medtronic is creating programs to help diabetics monitor glucose and adjust their insulin treatment. Apple will let researchers use IBM's platform to analyze data from health apps on iPhones. Apple already has software tools called HealthKit to help individuals track fitness and health data on their iPhones. This week, Apple launched ResearchKit for scientists to create more specialized apps for medical studies. ResearchKit had been limited to five pilot groups until now. Some of those apps gather data from iPhone sensors like the microphone, which can measure voice tremors caused by Parkinson’s Disease, and the accelerometer, which can measure changes in a walker’s gait. Apple says 60,000 iPhone owners have already downloaded those apps and enrolled in medical studies. Apple also announced that its annual developers conference will be held June 8-12 in San Francisco. That’s when Apple typically previews the next versions of its Mac and iOS mobile systems.
Apple Vice President of Operations discusses ResearchKit during an Apple event in San Francisco. Apple launched ResearchKit for scientists to create more specialized apps for medical studies. It had been limited until five pilot groups until now. AP PHOTO
SOME OF THOSE APPS GATHER DATA ... WHICH CAN MEASURE VOICE TREMORS CAUSED BY PARKINSON’S DISEASE, AND THE ACCELEROMETER, WHICH CAN MEASURE CHANGES IN A WALKER’S GAIT.
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OUTLOOK: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
FITNESS
Before and after photos of Rick Wyckoff. He started his weight-loss journey in 2012, and he has lost about 150 pounds since then. At one point, he had lost 200 pounds, but he has recently gained some of the weight back. He continues to focus on his goal of being in a bodybuilding competition. PHOTO PROVIDED
REALIZING CHILDHOOD DREAMS Once 450 pounds, man helps himself and others get healthy BY JACLYN COSGROVE Staff Writer jcosgrove@oklahoman.com
Rick Wyckoff felt sick. A large supreme pizza, 2 liters of root beer and some bread sticks sat in his stomach. He had a bad day at work, and dinner was his comfort. Food was his drug. “I don’t like where my life is going,” the now 36-year-old Oklahoma City architect thought as he lie in bed alone. Wyckoff weighed about more than 450 pounds. He had persistent anxiety, thinking that he could have a heart attack at any moment. He had broken several restaurant chairs and couldn’t fit into restaurant booths. It was getting to the point where the “Big and Tall” stores’ clothing wasn’t fitting. And in his parents’ car, he had to sit in the back seat because the front seat belt wouldn’t fit around him. “All that happened, and none of it really urged me to (change),” Wyckoff said. “It was just one night where I just got to that point where I’m like — ‘I‘m disgusted with my life. I’ve got to change. I can do it. I just have got to do it.’ I woke up the next morning still with that determination and have been working every day since.” Wyckoff had a challenge in front of him, and his challenge to himself wasn’t just to lose weight. When Wyckoff was a little boy, he watched a show on ESPN
about bodybuilding. Ever since that moment, he had wanted to be a bodybuilder. But it felt unattainable. “What kind of fat kid wants to be a bodybuilder?” he would think to himself. Wyckoff’s doubt in himself was taught to him, thanks to a host of grade-school bullies.
Painful words
Wyckoff started gaining weight when he was about 8. He was bigger than a lot of the other kids, and some of the girls in his class began to notice. They were relentless, mean girls. And even though he went to different elementary schools across northwest Oklahoma, there always seemed to be at least one girl there who bullied him. In seventh grade, his firsthour class was band. One girl in the class always had an awful thing to say. “I don’t remember a lot of the specifics,” Wyckoff said. “I just remember the feeling of wanting to go home and cry.” The children never physically attacked him, but their words left their scars. “I think it all accumulated into this 450-pound miserable man, so I had to look back and figure out, these things have happened, and (eating) is how I’ve dealt with it, and this is what I need to change my life,” Wyckoff said. Wyckoff started his weightloss journey Feb. 14, 2012. He did SEE WEIGHT, PAGE 11U
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “ ‘Creativity’ is not the first word that comes to mind when you think about health care. However, it describes the physician hospital ownership model. I am surrounded by people who embrace an entrepreneurial spirit and work hard to create an environment different from what is found in corporate culture. Every day I see our model work in spite of constant hurdles and targeted legislative controls. People seek us out for what we do and what we do daily defines creativity.” Galliart is CEO of McBride Orthopedic Hospital.
Mark GALLIART
I THINK IT ALL ACCUMULATED INTO THIS 450-POUND MISERABLE MAN, SO I HAD TO LOOK BACK AND FIGURE OUT, THESE THINGS HAVE HAPPENED, AND ... THIS IS WHAT I NEED TO CHANGE MY LIFE. RICK WYCKOFF
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OUTLOOK: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
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11U
Weight FROM PAGE 10U
not throw everything in his cabinets away and buy a bunch of health food. Rather, he gave up fast food and walked 15 minutes each day. That first week, he lost 10 pounds. The next week, he gave up soda and added five minutes to his walk. He lost eight more pounds that week. And then, he gave up candy and added fruit to his diet. And he added five more minutes to his walk. A friend challenged him to complete a 5k, which is about 3.2 miles, and he told himself he was going to run the entire race. No walking allowed. These small goals were working, but eventually, his dream of becoming a bodybuilder was too strong to ignore. He wanted to be on that stage. He wanted to be one of those guys he had seen on the TV so long ago.
‘Positive attitude’
After more than nine months, Wyckoff joined a gym, picked up some weights for the first time in his life, and he got to work. While at the gym, Wyckoff met Brian Hughes, and the two started working out together. Hughes was instantly inspired by Wyckoff. Here was this guy, doing everything that so many people are scared of or not motivated to do. Hughes, a chiropractor and former bodybuilder, wanted to make sure Wyckoff had someone in his life giving him advice that got him to his goal. During one of their workouts together, Wyckoff was pushing himself hard, working out his legs doing lunges. Wyckoff paused, ran to the bathroom and threw up. He walked back into the gym and looked to Hughes. “All right,” Wyckoff said. “What’s next?” “Are you OK?” Hughes asked. “Yeah — we’ve got stuff to do,” Wyckoff said. Wyckoff’s positive attitude and honesty hardly wavers, Hughes said. “He’s just such a genuine good person,” Hughes said. “He’s every other person, and there’s no difference between him and everyone out there. The only thing that Rick decided to do that other people didn’t is identify the problems in their lives and go after them ... (It’s inspiring) to see some of the emotional and physical struggles that he’s went through, and I don’t mean through the past three years — I mean his whole life — and how it takes you 30 years to grab a hold of something and say ‘It’s never too late.’ ” At this point, Wyckoff has lost about 150 pounds. He had lost 200 pounds, but he has recently gained some of the weight back. Wyckoff does not sugarcoat his story. There have been struggles. In his apartment building, there’s a
After losing weight, Rick Wyckoff said he is concerned about his loose skin: “Sometimes, especially with the skin, I see all the same rolls — everything is in the same place, it’s just drooping now. It’s so easy to see that old me in the mirror.” . PHOTO PROVIDED
small convenience store, and he finds himself in there, buying a candy bar. But the store has a $5 card limit, so he ends up buying a few candy bars. He’s moving, in part, to get away from that store. “I don’t like to watch those shows, like ‘My 600-Pound Life,’ because it scares me, that I might have to go back through that again, and it also scares me that I was heading in that direction, too,” Wyckoff said. One of his biggest obstacles is the loose skin that’s left from his weight loss. Removing that skin will cost thousands. So far, his insurance company has said they will not cover the surgery, saying that it’s cosmetic. Tell that to Wyckoff, who struggles when he’s shirtless, standing in front of the mirror. “Sometimes, especially with the skin, I see all the same rolls — everything is in the same place, it’s just drooping now,” Wyckoff said. “It’s so easy to see that old me in the mirror.” Wyckoff is relearning how to see and think of himself. For most of his life, Wyckoff has considered himself to be shy. That might be surprising to the 33,000-plus Facebook fans he has. When he started losing weight, he cre-
ated “Constructing a New Rick” to keep his friends and family posted about his progress. But over time, the page grew to a network of people around the world who follow his story. Wyckoff regularly shares progress photos and gives fans advice on what has helped him achieve his success so far. The thing that he used to hate — diet and exercise — are now the things he loves to help people with. On a Friday, three years and one week after starting his journey, Wyckoff trained his first client. He wants to get his personal training certification and begin offering online and in-person training. He wants to help other people like him see past the mountain they feel lies in front of them. “When I was young, I used to cry myself to sleep at night asking God why I was going through all this. It didn’t seem fair at all,” Wyckoff said. “I wanted a reason. And now that I’ve gone through what I have, I’m able to help others reach their goals. And it’s so awesome to be able to use my own experience to not only inspire but to help others and train others. Health and fitness have had such a profoundly positive impact on my life, and now I’m able to share that with other people.”
FOLLOW RICK’S STORY To follow Rick Wyckoff’s story, visit his Facebook page “Constructing a New Rick” at www. facebook.com/ ConstructingANewRick.
SHARE YOURS Also, if you’re interested in sharing your story, email health reporter Jaclyn Cosgrove at jcosgrove@ oklahoman.com.
Rick Wyckoff, 36, has seen his body transform over time. His biggest insecurity right now in the loose skin that comes with weight loss. His insurance company will not cover the surgery at this point. PHOTO PROVIDED
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU?
“... Where we need creativity is in engaging others to embrace a culture of health.”
Terry CLINE “In public health we are heavy on science and evidence-based interventions. Creativity is needed to engage individuals, families and communities to 1) desire a state of health, 2) create and promote a culture of health, and 3) to sustain and nurture that culture of health. We know what needs to be done; where we need creativity is in engaging others to embrace a culture of health.” Cline is state health commissioner.
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SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
LIVING
Occupational therapist Kendra Orcutt demonstrates a ceiling lift in Angie Traxler’s home in Tuttle.
PHOTO BY STEVE GOOCH, THE OKLAHOMAN
For therapist, aging-in-place is a cause BY RICHARD MIZE Real Estate Editor richardmize@opubco.com
The crossroads of aging and place can be a dangerous four-way roadblock if paid no mind — or a safe, controlled intersection, if creativity is applied. After watching and dodging traffic for several years, in and out of nursing homes as an occupational therapist, Kendra Orcutt decided to apply it. “My passion is creative problemsolving. I love it,” she said. “When I was able to adapt things for Angie (Traxler), and they worked, it was life changing — for me and her.” Orcutt, a licensed occupational therapist, helped Traxler’s family remodel a home in Tuttle to accommodate her physical limitations and keep Traxler out of a nursing home. The disabled or elderly living in a traditional house filled with obstacles must find ways to remove, modify or otherwise overcome them — or move, said Orcutt, founder of Rely on Rehab, who then was working in home health. For the Traxler home, among other innovations, Orcutt found a lift system manufactured by SureHands Lift & Care Systems, of Pine Island, N.Y. Padded bars that lift Traxler by the arms from her bed move her to her desk or the open bathroom along a ceiling-mounted track. Using a remote control, she can maneuver to the shower, toilet or sink. The track required reinforcing the ceiling and other structural modifications, which is why Orcutt calls
herself “half occupational therapist, half contractor.” Traxler’s project gave her the confidence to start a business, Home Mods by Therapists, with Jeri McKenzie a physical therapist with an MBA, in 2012. Orcutt said she and Traxler “designed solutions together, so that she and her family felt empowered. We even invented a new moving grab bar to allow her to manage her clothing for toileting. I had never been able to have this great of an impact as a therapist, so this was a turning point for me in my career.”
A different path It’s far from the path she started in 1985 with a painting degree, a bachelor of fine arts, from the University of Oklahoma. The creative arts clearly gave her breadth of vision for how to respond to people’s needs after she earned a master of occupational therapy degree in 1992 from Texas Woman’s University. Now, in addition to being a licensed occupational therapist, Orcutt holds the Certified Aging in Place Specialist designation from the National Association of Home Builders, and is a CAPS instructor, and she has applied for Specialty Certification in Environmental Modifications from the American Occupational Therapy Association. Orcutt, 54, has worked as a nursing home and home health therapist and in management in nursing home and hospital systems. The growing aging-in-place market for home remodeling where it meets home
health — with baby boomers just starting to flock to retirement — has positioned Orcutt, McKenzie and Home Mods by Therapists for the long term. It was taking Certified Aging in Place Specialist classes last year from instructor Jack Werner of A to Z Inspections & Training that “launched our commitment to the cause.” “And I feel like it is a cause. I want to age in my home, I believe in the golden rule, and I want to help others — and now I can do that with even more impact than before,” she said. “I feel that as a society, we are not doing our best for our elderly. I worked in nursing homes for 10 years, I tried to create meaning and purpose for those that I treated, but it is very difficult and tenuous at best. “People need to have ‘home.’ It gives them a sense of self, it gives them a reason to get up and do something. It is invaluable when trying to correct immobility. If people do not move, they die.” The way Orcutt sees it, keeping people at home prolongs life by prolonging living. “It is so hard to create a consistent reason for someone who doesn’t feel good to get up and move. But they do at home: They have to go to the bathroom, get a drink of water, see if the mail came, see who’s outside, let the cat or dog out, go to the bathroom again, get something to eat. I could go on and on.” And so do those who are able to age in place: go on.
PEOPLE NEED TO HAVE “HOME.” IT GIVES THEM A SENSE OF SELF, IT GIVES THEM A REASON TO GET UP AND DO SOMETHING. IT IS INVALUABLE WHEN TRYING TO CORRECT IMMOBILITY. IF PEOPLE DO NOT MOVE, THEY DIE. KENDRA ORCUTT
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OUTLOOK: ADVANCEMENTS IN HEALTH
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What inspires you? CO M M U N I T Y
C R E AT I VI T Y
EDITOR’S NOTE: WE REACHED OUT TO OUR READERS TO ASK “WHAT INSPIRES YOU?” AND RECEIVED A RESPONSE OF ARTWORK, PAINTINGS AND PHOTOGRAPHY. HERE IS A SAMPLING OF YOUR CREATIVITY:
“I have been drawing, painting and sewing for many years. I love to create works that are original, beautiful, artistic and unique. I try to delight the public’s senses in an artistic and creative way. My goal is to enrich the lives of others in a way that stimulates their senses and emotions. I arrange forms and colors in a way that I hope touches one’s sense of beauty. I paint in a variety of media including paintings in oil, acrylic, and watercolor. My quilts and hooked rugs are fashioned by hand from cotton or wool fabrics. I have always been impressed by the way women in the 19th and early 20th century were able to produce many beautiful pieces with nothing to work with except little scraps of fabric and their own sense of beauty and creativity. I hope that my work is a continuation and evolution of their endeavors.”
This scenic photo inspires me to keep going to Lake Hefner every chance I get with the hopes of taking an even more captivating photo of my favorite lake and it’s creatures. And, hopefully that photo may one day prove that my 10-yearlong photography “hobby” is truly more than just that! Ruthann Lach, Edmond
Kay Boswell, Norman
“To me, playfulness, lightheartedness, and joy are the core from which all my creativity flourish from. Generally, my inspiration came from nature’s simple things which often get overlooked, such as the bright colors of the flowers, their shapes, and even a great sunrise or colorful Oklahoma fall sunset; every single season has its splendor. Each of them is charged with particular colors, sensations which arouse my senses. And over all, how they are hidden in our urban surroundings.” Beatriz Mayorca Oklahoma City
“I did a series of paintings in 1999 - 2000 to represent the mental and physical toll of drug abuse because of my best friends’ spiral down those stairs. However it wasn’t until 2013, that after my mother died I began to really paint. Most of my work has been labeled “Dystopian Impressionism,” portraying the negative effects that society has on humanity with regard to religious extremism, security and enforcement, and technology. My collection consists of abstracts to realism that captures the struggles we face. I have painted pictures that depict the intrusion of surveillance, ISIS, technology, ‘Hands Up,’ the disparity of war and even hope that we may somehow mature out of what I see as a social /technological adolescence. I have
even had some of my work censured because of what it represents. I am also a native American and because I don’t paint in the traditional imagery that a native American is suppose to paint I have also experienced some backlash for that. I paint what I feel and see in the world. Thomas Couture, Monet’s teacher, told him to paint the world around him, not to paint someone else’s history. That’s my inspiration. Monet’s paintings during that time was completely rebellious, against a system that insisted upon the style of the classical if they were to be respectable artists. He broke out of that mold and became his own painter. That’s what I’ve done.” Charles Clark: Kiktode Shawnee
“The quilts my customers make generally are nothing like the ones Grandma made. That’s partly due to the fabric palette available and also due to modern trends. The shop features approximately 6,000 fabric bolts in 7,000 square feet of sewing decadence featuring bright, modern colors and prints suitable for the bold, modern projects of today. “Some people think that quilting and sewing is just for little gray-haired ladies and that it is passé. Not true. Quilting and sewing are becoming, not a necessity to make a warm blanket for your home, but a high-end artistic endeavor where people can express themselves with needles and thread. It’s a great hobby and artistic medium for people of all ages. Sewing is no longer pursued because one cannot afford a new jacket or blanket for a bed; it is explored as a creative and artistic outlet. My goal is to help people express themselves artistically and to have a good time.” Randa Parrish, Prarie Quilt Hennessey, Okla.
“The interplay of different colors and textures telling a story, is what mainly inspires me in my jewelry designs and wardrobe styling.” Andi Johnson, Oklahoma City
“I was inspired to paint ‘Desert Storm’ because it is native to America and roams in Oklahoma. It is a powerful beast that prefers to graze in peace, but can become a fierce and dangerous opponent if threatened. The stormy desert background makes a symbolic reference to the war in Iraq. Gene Stewart, Oklahoma City
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THE OKLAHOMAN
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A SUPPLEMENT TO THE OKLAHOMAN
Sunday, April 26, 2015
Jarred Geller
James Cooper
Liz Roth
James Cooper
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OUTLOOK: EDUCATION & CAREERS
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
COLLEGE
THE OKLAHOMAN | NEWSOK.COM
PREPARATION
Right: Jefferson Middle School student Idalia Gonzalez participates in the Advancement Via Individual Determination or AVID program. The program teaches college-readiness courses to students who are underrepresented or are likely to be the first in their families to attend college. Below: Instructor Richard Cavett leads students in the middle school class. PHOTOS BY PAUL HELLSTERN, THE OKLAHOMAN
College prep class helps students rise above ‘academic middle’ BY TIM WILLERT Staff Writer twillert@oklahoman.com
Heaven Cargile wants to be the first member of her family to attend college. She’s not wasting any time pursuing her dream. The Jefferson Middle School eighth-grader is planning ahead with the help of a program for underachieving students who have the desire and potential to succeed in rigorous courses. “I was struggling a little bit, so I knew this would help,” said Heaven, 13, one of 50 seventhand eight-graders at Jefferson participating in the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program. “I want to
be a pediatrician.” AVID is a yearlong elective course that provides academic and personal support while promoting critical thinking through inquiry and collaboration. “At its heart it’s a college prep program designed for students who are in the academic middle,” said Jefferson Principal Greg Frederick. “It takes students who are not necessarily collegebound students ... and gives them the opportunity to not only get to college but complete college.” In addition to tutorial support for the student’s subject-area needs, AVID provides direct instruction in and practice with study skills and strategies, including goal-setting, time man-
agement, assignment and grade recording, tutorials, and binder organization. The AVID curriculum also provides college and career awareness, college entry skills, and test-taking strategies for college entrance exams. “I think they’re going to learn that they can do it, that college isn’t a mystery,” said Cathy Seward, the district’s advanced academics coordinator and director of the AVID program. “They might not have known that.”
State grants
Schools in the Norman, Oklahoma City and Putnam City districts are offering AVID courses through grants from the state
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “What we need to do is give students the space to take risks and fail in small quick ways. They need to be able to explore their interests and solve problems in unique ways, thus fostering individual creativity.”
Rob NEU
“Creativity should be as important in American public education as literacy and numeracy. America continues to drive the world’s economic engine because of our creativity, our innovation and our entrepreneurial spirit. Although American schools have not been as effective and successful in transmitting knowledge as standardized test scores indicate, we have somehow produced more creative entrepreneurs, who have kept the country’s economy going.
“What we need to do is give students the space to take risks and fail in small quick ways. They need to be able to explore their interests and solve problems in unique ways, thus fostering individual creativity. Creativity in schools means connecting the curriculum to student interests where they are passionate and can capitalize on their strengths. Driven by their passion and given the freedom, they can construct their resources to enhance what they are good at instead of trying to be like others.” Neu is superintendent of Oklahoma City Public Schools.
INSIDE: Read how other creative thought leaders answered the question throughout Outlook 2015: The Creativity Issue.
COVER ART BY EBONY IMAN DALLAS Pictured on the cover: James Cooper teaches Film Studies and English at OCU and English at UCO; Jarred Geller, Pre-K teacher at Eugene Field Elementary in OKC; Liz Roth, associate professor, Department of Art, Graphic Design and Art History, Oklahoma State University; Conductor Richard Zielinski, director of choral activities on the music faculty of the University of Oklahoma and music and artistic director of the
Education Department. Ten schools in the Oklahoma City School District — nine of them high schools — implemented the AVID program this year. Jefferson is the only middle school offering the program and recently received a $35,000 grant to help prepare students for the demands of college and the workplace. “These are the students that are on the edge,” said Richard Cavett, a Jefferson social studies teacher who also teaches the AVID class. “They could be honor students with a little help.” Most AVID students lack organizational skills or an academic support system, Cavett said. “The honor students have figured out how to succeed,” he said.
“These guys have the brains to succeed but haven’t figured our mechanically how to do it. And that’s what this class is for, is to teach them those mechanics.” By learning how to study and budget their time, two skills considered essential for success in any classroom, students are becoming more self-sufficient. “They’re teaching me how to be prepared and how to stay dedicated and never give up on myself,” said Jefferson eighthgrader and AVID participant Eduar Carreon, 14. “It’s helped me a lot.” Like Heaven, Eduar would be the first in his family to attend college. “I can help my family do what they couldn’t do,” he said.
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EDUCATION
PUNK ROCK PRESCHOOL IS HIT FOR OKC STUDENTS BY TIM WILLERT, STAFF WRITER
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twillert@oklahoman.com
arred Geller rocks traditional teaching at Eugene Field Elementary School in Oklahoma City. Geller is the architect of Punk Rock Preschool, a prekindergarten class project that uses music to teach kids about environmentalism, capitalism, art and science.
“That’s what really works for the kids,” he said. “If you’re excited about the material, they’ll get excited about the material.” Excited would be an understatement. Geller, who plays the guitar, collaborates with 4- and 5-year-olds on catchy songs about geography, pollution and shapes that make learning fun and exciting. Recently, they belted out the lyrics to a song about world geography that had the kids jumping up and down and grinning from ear to ear. “Geography, you and me,” they sang at the top of their lungs. “There’s four oceans and seven continents ... North America we call our home ... South America is right below ... .” Normally soft-spoken children come out of their shells when Geller begins strumming his guitar. “I like the music,” said Allan Magana, 5. “The songs help us learn.” Alexa Perez, 4, wore her favorite teal sunglasses during a recent in-class performance. “I like the songs and the music,” she said. “I like the song about the shapes.” Together, Geller and his students have produced one music video, which is featured on the Punk Rock Preschool website (www.punkrockpreschool.com) and are working on additional videos that will be promoted through social media platforms
such as Facebook and YouTube. “I think teachers should be encouraged to to develop their own curriculum,” he said. “I would love to see other teachers be inspired by what we’re doing.” Geller, 24, who went to business school before becoming a teacher, has already covered the finer points of business and entrepreneurship in the digital age. “The way I see it, entrepreneurship teaches personal responsibility, initiative, problem solving, ambition, creativity, leadership and fulfillment,” he said. “These are the values we need to foster to help strengthen and build our communities.” While a class fundraiser fell short of its intended goal, Geller said he was proud of his students for putting forth the effort to raise money for a trip to California. “We got tons of publicity,” he said. “Our number one goal was to help a lot of people learn with our music.” Geller has turned his attention to art and science and plans to teach his kids about physics and chemistry before the end of the school year. To that end, he will use “creative things and inventions,” including experiments to engage his kids. And most likely a catchy song or two. “What I’m trying to do is expose them to lots of ideas and lots of words,” he said. “They have so many opportunities in front of them.”
Top: Jarred Geller plays the guitar as he sings with his pre-K class at Eugene Field Elementary School in Oklahoma City. The Punk Rock Preschool program taught by Geller uses songs created in class to help the students learn about entrepreneurship. Below: Geller created the prekindergarten program at the Oklahoma City elementary school to teach 4- and 5-year-olds with music.
PHOTOS BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN
IF YOU’RE EXCITED ABOUT THE MATERIAL, THEY’LL GET EXCITED ... JARRED GELLER
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ARTS
A learning experience BY BRANDY MCDONNELL, STAFF WRITER
Editor’s note: This story is reprinted from The Oklahoman.
Using brushes loaded with paint almost as bright as the March sunshine, artist Rick Sinnett and a group of gradeschoolers daubed more neon hues onto their colorful canvas, half of what would become an 8-footby-8-foot mural. “We’re kind of teaching them the fundamentals of how you hold a brush, how you keep your brushes clean,” Sinnett said during the first spring break camp at SixTwelve, a new nonprofit community education center in the Paseo Arts District. “You’re basically teaching us art,” said Maxine Hall, an 8-yearold student in the camp. “Yeah, well, you’re teaching us art also,” Sinnett replied.
The sentiments are precisely what Amy Young had in mind when she cofounded SixTwelve with James Varnum. Five years after they started the arduous process of restoring a ramshackle former apartment building, the pair’s dream of creating a space where people can come together to learn about the arts, sustainability and healthy living is beginning to flourish in the historic arts district. “It’s an events center and it’s a place where people can come and have fun together but also to learn from each other. ... It’s a little bit of everything. It’s hopefully a school of progressive thought,” said Young, the center’s programming director. “We’re still not completely finished, but we’re getting to do a lot of things that we’ve dreamed about doing.”
“For me, what’s creative is looking at the same thing that everyone has looked at for years, and revealing something new.”
Liz ROTH
Five-year process
Young said the stately white-painted brick building at 612 NW 29 was developed by G.A. Nichols, who also developed the Paseo, Crown Heights and Nichols Hills. It was built in 1929, but by the time Varnum got the chance to buy it into 2010, it was a mess. “It was a week from being torn down. The city had a dilapidation notice on it and actually had a contract on it to come and tear it down,” Varnum said. “I’d had enough contact with the previous owner that she decided at that point that she’d rather not tear it down and thought maybe we were capable of doing something ... so she actually sold it to me for the cost of the lot.” Then came the long process of stopping the city from demolishing
the building, getting the property rezoned and coming up with funds to restore it using recycled, sustainable and energy-efficient materials. “If it was here and salvageable, then we used it, and if it wasn’t, then it was using something renewable and/or also fitting in with the historic fabric, but not necessarily trying to replicate it. It’s kind of a mixture of old and new in there, all of which is somehow renewable,” Varnum said. Early in the long process, Young and Varnum got involved in the Paseo Arts District, invited people to help out with the building rehabilitation and opened up the grounds for PicnicLand, a space for musical performances and children’s art activities during the annual Paseo Arts Festival.
Above: Max Griffin works on the mural project at SixTwelve during the spring break mural camp. Top: Students work on art during March at the new SixTwelve nonprofit education center in the Paseo Arts District. PHOTOS BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN
SEE SIXTWELVE, PAGE 6V
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “In my field (visual art), people confuse selfexpression with creativity. Merely expressing yourself, even if you’re using paint on canvas, is not necessarily a creative act.
vealing something new. The painting can be beautiful or ugly, but if it reveals something new, or expresses an unexpected truth, that’s creative.”
“I’m a representational oil painter. For me, what’s creative is looking at the same thing that everyone has looked at for years, and re-
Roth is associate professor in the Department of Art, Graphic Design and Art History at Oklahoma State University.
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SixTwelve FROM PAGE 5V
“The mission is sharing tools to build a better community,” said Varnum, who thinks of himself as SixTwelve’s “director of vision.” “The more open you are and inviting you are to people, that in and of itself creates community. … I think it’s people’s natural inclination to work together and find common ground.”
Healthy, sustainable living
Since opening in February, SixTwelve has offered afterschool children’s classes in art, literacy and sustainability, a composting workshop, poetry and musical performances, its inaugural Mardi Gras Ball fundraiser and the spring break mural camp. Paul Mays, who directs the center’s permaculture program, oversees the tending of the community gardens on Saturday mornings. “It’s really just about knowing where your food comes from, not having the chemicals and pesticides in them … and raising your own food. And helping each other,” Young said. “We just believe that these communal experiences where people learn and grow without fear is key to happiness.” She said she hopes to offer healthy cooking classes, yoga for children, summer art camps and more. SixTwelve boasts apartment spaces to house artists and teachers, and next month, Young plans to send a local artist to the center’s satellite site in Savannah, Ga. “By the time this summer’s over, we will have done all of the things that we have dreaming about for the past five years, and then we can start to build on those things and learn how to do them better,” she said. “We have a lot of plans for the place, but really, it’s going to be dictated by who walks in the door and decides, ‘Hey, I’d really like to learn this’ … or sometimes a teacher saying, ‘I’d really like to teach this.’ ”
A student works on art during March at the new SixTwelve nonprofit education center in the Paseo Arts District. PHOTO BY CHRIS LANDSBERGER, THE OKLAHOMAN
THE MISSION IS SHARING TOOLS TO BUILD A BETTER COMMUNITY. THE MORE OPEN YOU ARE AND INVITING YOU ARE TO PEOPLE, THAT IN AND OF ITSELF CREATES COMMUNITY. … I THINK IT’S PEOPLE’S NATURAL INCLINATION TO WORK TOGETHER AND FIND COMMON GROUND. J A M E S VA R N U M
Artful expression
During the spring break mural camp, Maxine, who attends John Rex Elementary, admired the kaleidoscope of colors as Sinnett and fellow artist-teacher Jason Pawley united the two halves of the large-scale painting. The mural will be auctioned off during the First Friday Gallery Walk in the Paseo, with proceeds going to SixTwelve’s programs. “I really like it here,” Maxine said. “I like that you can create anything you’d like and that you have all the colors in the world, like turquoise, black, pink, purple. I really like the colors in the world.” Fellow campers Aubrey Fudge, 10, and Skylar Wright, 8, said they enjoyed the freedom to express themselves that the sessions offered. “They’re not like, ‘Oh, you
can’t do that.’ It’s all, ‘Do what you want to do. It’s your work of art,’ ” Aubrey said. “I like how everybody here is so nice and just welcoming to you,” Skylar added. “The place alone is a piece of art.” For Sinnett, SixTwelve is a pioneering addition to Oklahoma City’s artistic and cultural renaissance. “I think it’s an amazing opportunity for Oklahoma to have something like this here and what they’re doing for the community,” he said. “To watch the progress of bringing this together, to know and observe how they’ve persevered and been determined to finish, it makes it that much more special. Because it’s obvious they’ve put their heart and their soul in to it.”
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WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU?
“It is how we envision a city where ALL our neighborhoods have good schools, sidewalks, streetlights, bike lanes, roads and parks.”
James COOPER “Creativity is how we continue OKC’s renaissance story and continue to rebuild our city — one neighborhood at a time. Creative thinking is how we move beyond conventional wisdom. It is how we envision a city where ALL our neighborhoods have good schools, sidewalks, streetlights, bike lanes, roads and parks. “It is how we imagine our neighborhoods, suburbs and downtown connected with a comprehensive public transportation system — buses, streetcar and commuter rail. To move beyond imagination and turn our ideas into reality, we must first meet our neighbors. “We should know our city councilperson, and talk with her or him about concerns facing our neighborhoods and communities. And, working together, I believe we can find creative ways to improve the quality of life for all of us who call Oklahoma City ‘home.’ ” Cooper teaches Film Studies and English at Oklahoma City University and English at University of Central Oklahoma.
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CSCHOOL SEEKS TO TEACH CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION cSCHOOL put on a variety of workshops, but most focus on trying to help people learn about the creative process. Rolfe gave an example of a class in which participants take an assessment that groups them with other people who have similar cre-
activity,” Rolfe said. Rolfe said this is used as a teaching moment to show that there are different types of skills in the creCynthia Rolfe believes creativity ative process, and people often can be taught. have a preference for a certain part A skill usually associated with of that process. artists and “idea people,” Rolfe and Participants learn about the difher colleagues at ferent types of Creative Oklahoma creative preferbelieve creativity is ences, such as largely misunderwhat qualities stood. they often possess WE BELIEVE EVERYONE HAS THE “We believe evand how those eryone has the abilqualities can ABILITY TO BE CREATIVE AND CAN ity to be creative sometimes clash and can add value with other peoADD VALUE TO THEIR BUSINESS to their business ple’s preferences. through creativity,” By being able to THROUGH CREATIVITY. said Rolfe, the vice identify these aspresident for inforpects of the creCYNTHIA ROLFE mation technology ative process, and chief informaRolfe said, busition officer at the ness leaders can University of Cenhelp their employtral Oklahoma. ative skills. ees develop better Working with Creative OklahoThe people are grouped as clarskills and put together ma, Rolfe and others have designed ifiers, ideators, developers and immore effective teams. a program that challenges the conplementers. Rolfe said clarifiers These sessions also teach ventional ideas of creativity and like to clarify, ideators like to genparticipants techniques for attempts to teach people how to erate ideas, developers are skilled productive meetings and gives work with others in a work space to at developing solutions and implethem problem solving tools to imcome up with creative and innovamenters are good at coming up plement in the work place. tive ideas. with plans and putting them into Rolfe said there are about 20 cSCHOOL, an initiative of Creaction. volunteer faculty with cSCHOOL ative Oklahoma, has been putting Once grouped, the teacher gives and several different types of on workshops for businesses and the groups a certain set of materiworkshops. business leaders the past three als and asks them to come up with Anyone looking to attend a years to help people develop a beta product. cSCHOOL workshop can contact ter creative process. “It’s very distinctive how differCreative Oklahoma at (405) 232Teachers associated with ent profiles approach this kind of 5575 or go to stateofcreativity.com. BY JONATHAN SUTTON Staff Writer jsutton@opubco.com
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RESEARCH
AIRFLOW THE KEY TO COST-EFFECTIVE ENERGY BY ADAM WILMOTH Energy Editor awilmoth@oklahoman.com
U
NIVERSITY of Oklahoma researcher Li Song has developed a low-cost method to help companies go green while saving money. By using sensors and modifying airflow volumes, Song is able to make heating and air conditioning systems more efficient, reducing electricity usage and costs. “Saving energy is important,” Song said. “Not only are the DOE (Department of Energy) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) initiatives gaining momentum, but also we work with manufacturing building owners who can increase their profit margin by reducing their heating and cooling bill.” The system can be used on any large building, including warehouses, schools and hospitals. On average, buildings using Song’s system have seen a 20 percent annual energy savings. On older, inefficient buildings, the benefit can be as much as 50 percent, she said. Improving a system’s efficiency also can have longer-term effects. “If we run the system right, we expand its lifespan,” Song said. “We make the system more reliable and reduce the maintenance.” Not all of the benefits of improved air systems are financial. “More efficient HVAC systems provide a more comfortable environment,” said Temur Akhmedov, director of energy solutions at Oklahoma Citybased ES2 Inc. “It also contributes to a healthier air quality in the building. Those benefits are harder to quantify, but they are there.” Song first developed her process in 2000 while she was working on her Ph.D. at the University of Nebraska. After graduation, she spent five years implementing the process at hundreds of buildings. “The system was tedious, timeconsuming and expensive,” Song said. The process also relied heavily on the quality of the engineers who made the upgrades.
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VEN with the manual system, the investment usually paid for itself in less than three years, said Eileen Kersul, a building automation account executive at Siemens who previously worked with Song. “Then they could use those dollars positively affecting their bottom line,” Kersul said. “That’s more money for shareholders or for other capital improvements.” Now an assistant professor at OU, Song is using a team of graduate assistants and grant funding to improve her process, this time by adding automation that cuts out the need for manual seasonal adjustments.
OU researcher Ikseong Joo checks sensor connections in an air-handling unit that is part of a system designed to help heating and air conditioning systems run more efficiently. PHOTOS PROVIDED
The automated system is expected to reduce costs and help the investment pay for itself more quickly. “With this automated, you could have someone remotely monitoring several buildings,” Kersul said. “Then the cost would go down from there.”
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ONG recently received a $1 million Energy Department grant to see whether her process can help even already-efficient buildings. Under the grant, Song will install her system on a two-yearold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified building at Tinker Air Force Base. “We will try to prove the technology by improving a building that’s already very efficient,” Song said. “We did some preliminary work at the building and found there is more we can do with our system. We’re going to be putting in a lot of sensors to measure airflow.”
... WE WORK WITH MANUFACTURING BUILDING OWNERS WHO CAN INCREASE THEIR PROFIT MARGIN BY REDUCING THEIR HEATING AND COOLING BILL. LI SONG
University of Oklahoma assistant professor Li Song has developed a system designed to make heating and air conditioners more efficient in large buildings.
WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “Creativity is ... an organizational commitment to embrace today’s success as just another step to tomorrow’s breakthrough.”
Scott WILSON
“Creativity is a culture. It is an organizational commitment to embrace today’s success as just another step to tomorrow’s breakthrough. “Creativity is realized through the recruitment of a group of professionals who are dedicated to the collection and synthesis of information and demonstrate a willingness to engage in social interactions to collectively identify existing problems, future opportunities and potential constraints.
“... Creativity is sustained by adoption of business processes that rapidly generates testable prototypes that generate vital stakeholder feedback that is quickly synthesized to determine if the current development efforts are on track or need to be adjusted.” Wilson is director of Innovative Technologies at the K20 Center at the University of Oklahoma.
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INNOVATIVE
TECHNOLOGY
IT’S BASICALLY A 21ST CENTURY VERSION OF SHOP CLASS. WE CAN COMPRESS THE TIME FROM IDEA TO PROTOTYPE, AND THEREFORE PROTOTYPE TO THE MARKETPLACE, USING TECHNOLOGY IN WAYS WE HAVEN’T BEEN ABLE TO DO BEFORE. DANIEL PULLIN
OU PLANS HUB FOR INNOVATION BY KYLE HINCHEY Staff Writer khinchey@oklahoman.com
NORMAN — Innovation is coming to the University of Oklahoma. The Price College of Business is collaborating with OU Libraries and the Office of the Vice President for Research to create the Innovation Hub, a focal point for innovative technology on campus. The hub will be on the first floor of Three Partners Place, one of the university’s research buildings. Although the project still is in its planning phase, Price College of Business Dean Daniel Pullin said there is about 20,000 square feet of usable space. Pullin said it’s too early to speculate on the hub’s cost, but the majority of the expense will be privately funded through external donations. Construction is hoped to be completed early 2016. The center will feature a variety of components, such as the digital fabrication laboratory, Pullin said. The laboratory will allow students, faculty and members of the community to work together to build prototypes of products or parts. Pullin said the laboratory is expected to be equipped with 3-D printers and band saws to help with the creation of the prototypes. “It’s basically a 21st century version of shop class,” he said. “We can compress the time from idea to prototype, and therefore prototype to the marketplace, using technology in ways we haven’t been able to do before.” There also will be plenty of space inside the hub for local entrepreneurs and freelancers to sit down and work on their business activities, Pullin said. “The university is opening our corridors and doors to the community and other creative types to work arm-in-arm with our students and faculty to create new business ventures and drive knowledge-based economic development for Oklahoma,” he said. Another asset will be the business accelerator, which will provide funding for student-driven startup ideas, Pullin said. Faculty and staff from throughout the university will be able to work with and help mentor students. OU’s student internship program, the Center for the Creation of Economic Wealth, will be coordinated from the hub. The program is designed to pair
students with technology typically generated through research performed by the university’s faculty, Pullin said. Pullin said the university intends to implement a cafe and coffee shop as well as a fitness center so people can continue to work without having to leave the Innovation Hub. “We’re trying to create an innovative environment that goes beyond just feeding the mind but also
the body and spirit,” he said. “We hope to include additional amenities that will attract individuals to the environment to stay and have intellectual collisions with other folks that have similar interests.”
Daniel Pullin
Pullin is dean of the Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma.
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WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “It is important that our students embrace curiosity and discover what is possible when they remove uncertainty.”
Eric HILEMAN “Creativity in education allows students and teachers to suspend all judgment and allow the mind to truly explore all possibilities. It is important that our students embrace curiosity and discover what is possible when they remove uncertainty; this process is how technology innovators, artists and leaders are born.” Hileman is executive director of Information Technology for Oklahoma City schools.
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ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Student makes business out of flipping sneakers BY KYLE HINCHEY Staff Writer khinchey@Oklahoman.com
Above: Oklahoma State University senior Louis Lacarbonara sells shoes at an October event in Wichita, Kan. Right: Lacarbonara buys, restores and resells older models of athletic shoes for a profit. PHOTOS PROVIDED
STILLWATER — Louis Lacarbonara spends upward of 15 hours a day in his office scrubbing and painting sneakers. The entrepreneurship senior at Oklahoma State University doesn’t give himself a lot of time to hang out with friends or study. Lacarbonara would rather make money, and flipping shoes is the best way he knows how. From his office inside OSU’s Spears School of Business, Lacarbonara runs his company Direct Kicks. He buys, restores and resells older models of athletic shoes for a profit. Growing up in White Plains, N.Y., Lacarbonara didn’t know the first thing about shoe culture. Pizza culture was more his specialty. Lacarbonara’s family owns a popular pizza joint, and he hoped to start his own pizzeria on the Strip, a collection of bars and restaurants in Stillwater. During the summer of 2013, Lacarbonara decided he was going to drive his car from New York to OSU. It costs a lot of money to take a car 1,450 miles. Money he didn’t have. So, like any student trying to make it as an entrepreneur, he got creative. Lacarbonara came across a YouTube video of a 10-year-old kid who bought beater boxes — a random assortment of old beaten-down shoes. They came in all brands and sizes. “It’s like a potluck,” Lacarbonara said. “You never know what you’re going to get. The more money you pay for a box, the better shoes you get and the more profit you can possibly make.”
The kid in the video would fix the shoes up, make them look new again and sell them below market value. He made it look easy, and brought in a lot of money doing it. Lacarbonara had never cared for shoes, but he saw a potential here. A small beater box costs only a couple hundred bucks, and if he played his cards right, he could double what he spent. “I was convinced that I could actually sell sneakers,” he said. He put down $1,000 toward beater boxes. They were ugly shoes. Worn down and stained. Lacarbonara spent hours cleaning and painting them until he was sure they were restored. He made an Instagram account called “Direct Kicks” to sell them. It was an immediate success. He sold nearly a dozen pairs per week. As his followers increased, so did his workload. The Spears School of Business took notice of Lacarbonara’s booming business and eventually offered him an office, where he spends nearly every waking moment. “I live out of my office,” he said. “If there was a bed here, I’d sleep here sometimes.” Now, he sells about 30 pairs per week with about a 30 percent profit. After graduating in May, Lacarbonara said he’s considering opening a sneaker shop in White Plains. The majority of his orders are on the East Coast, and shipping from Oklahoma to New York costs about $13, he said. “There’s more of a sneaker community on the east and west coasts than in the middle of the country,” he said. “I mean, it’s rising here, but right now the money is in the East Coast, so I have to take advantage of that.”
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ENERGY RESEARCH
From left, Josh Musto, an Oklahoma State University mechanical engineering senior, Efren Luevano, an OSU student working on a master’s degree in material science, and mechanical engineering senior Brittany Bell study the way high-pressure fluids shatter rocks during hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. OKLAHOMAN ARCHIVE PHOTOS BY ADAM WILMOTH, THE OKLAHOMAN
OSU RESEARCHERS WORK TO OPTIMIZE OIL PRODUCTION BY ADAM WILMOTH Energy Editor awilmoth@oklahoman.com
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ESSONS learned more than a century ago from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake are helping a team of researchers at Oklahoma State University make oil and natural gas drilling in Oklahoma more efficient. Earthquake research has shown that seismic activity temporarily turns the consistency of rocks around a fault into something like plastic, reducing the ability to experience additional seismic activity for some time. After the San Francisco earthquake, the affected rock did not experience another earthquake for three decades. OSU researchers have found that hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, can cause a similar effect, though on a much smaller scale. When companies shatter rock deep below ground to boost oil production, the nearby rock can become resistant to fracking for some time. In some cases, the plastic-like rock can open just enough to let water through to the well bore, but not enough for larger oil molecules, said Priyank Jaiswal, assistant professor of seismology at OSU’s Boone Pickens School of Geology. Jaiswal and his research team hope to help companies produce more oil and less water from their drilling and production operations. “The most important thing we’ve learned so far is that fractured spacing cannot be uniform, as is the normal practice of industry,” Jaiswal said. “It may be that the first and second fracture need only be spaced 30 feet apart and the next two might need 90 feet. But it is definitely not uniform.”
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HILE oil and natural gas companies have used hydraulic fracturing in varying applications for more than half a century, the process combined with horizontal drilling has become the dominant drilling technique throughout the country only over the past decade. Fracking is completed by pumping large amounts of mostly water and sand at high pressure into shale or other dense rock. Companies continue to experiment with how many fractures to make on each well and how closely those fractures should be placed. If the fractures are too close together, Jaiswal said, they could counteract each other and reduce the efficiency. Spaced too far apart, companies could miss out on nearby oil and natural gas that never makes it to the surface. “Our frack spacing is not opti-
Priyank Jaiswal, assistant professor of seismology at Oklahoma State University’s Boone Pickens School of Geology, and his research team are trying to improve oil production techniques.
THE TECHNOLOGY OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING IS AMAZING, BUT THERE IS STILL A WHOLE LOT TO LEARN ABOUT WHETHER WE ARE WASTING OUR RESOURCES OR UTILIZING THEM IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY. P R I YA N K J A I S W A L
mized,” Jaiswal said. “We should optimize it based on the expected composition of the rock and the expected fabric of the rock.”
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AISWAL also is looking at the effort to refrack a well. With traditional vertical wells, companies recomplete wells from time to time by redrilling the hole or adding pumps and other mechanisms. The modern use of hydraulic fracturing is new enough that there is no consensus about whether refracking a well would be useful.
Jaiswal’s research indicates it depends on whether the rock around the first set of frackings has turned to a plastic-like consistency and whether it has become brittle again. “The technology of hydraulic fracturing is amazing, but there is still a whole lot to learn about whether we are wasting our resources or utilizing them in the best possible way,” Jaiswal said. The first phase of the research was funded with a grant from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology. Jaiswal is applying for funding for
the second phase of his research and is hoping to partner with an oil company for the work.
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HE team is made up of three undergraduates and one graduate student. The students are mechanical engineers and material scientists — not geologists — because the researchers are not studying rock as much as they are how fluids move through and around the rock. “Before I started this project, I didn’t know how fracking was done,” said Josh Musto, a mechanical engineering senior. “We learned about utilizing pressure vessels and pressure specimens and the material science behind concrete and other samples. It was a design process for us as undergrads: How are we going to fracture the concrete in the simplest, most effective and safest manner?” Besides working to improve one of the largest industries in Oklahoma, the research team members said they also hope for other, more immediate benefits. “It’s all over my resume,” Musto said of the project. “It definitely seems applicable to the things I could be doing in my career. I don’t see how it wouldn’t help me going forward.”
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UCO program emphasizes success, transformation with students The Central Six
BY JONATHAN SUTTON Staff Writer jsutton@oklahoman.com
EDMOND — A new program at the University of Central Oklahoma is grading students on creative and unique criteria. In 2014, UCO received a $7.7 million grant to start a program that tracks students’ development of “soft skills,” such as problem solving skills and ability to work on a team. The first-of-its-kind program, called the Student Transformative Learning Record, is built upon the university’s tenets of transformative learning, called the Central Six. The tenets are: discipline knowledge; leadership; research, scholarly and creative activities; service learning and civic engagement; global and cultural competencies; and health and wellness. “These six tenets give experience outside and inside the classroom to students in a way that enhances their success,” Provost John Barthell said. “When students participate in these activities there is a measurable outcome of their learning that results in them staying in school longer and maybe having a career option that they wouldn’t otherwise.” In the program, each class is supposed to emphasize one of the Central Six through an assignment. Whether students master the soft skills won’t affect the academic grade in the class. The program has been in full swing for less than a year, but Mass Communication professor Christy Vincent said she is already seeing benefits for students. Vincent said she emphasized the “service learning and civic engagement” tenet in one of her classes this year with much success. “What we’re doing is marrying (the tenets with the class) so a student is able to earn credit by completing assignments in the classrooms as well as achieving something outside the classroom,” Vincent said. Students in her class were given an assignment to develop a two-hour training course from scratch. But later on in the semester, those students were able to team up with a nonprofit organization focused on helping people transition after being incarcerated.
DISCIPLINE KNOWLEDGE LEADERSHIP RESEARCH, SCHOLARLY AND CREATIVE ACTIVITIES SERVICE LEARNING AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT GLOBAL AND CULTURAL COMPETENCIES HEALTH AND WELLNESS WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU?
“Creativity in education is all about imagining the possibilities and the opportunities for the students. ... and making the curriculum your own.”
Jared GELLER
“Creativity in education is all about imagining the possibilities and the opportunities for the students. It’s about being ambitious and making the curriculum your own. ... “If you never imagine pre-K can learn to read and become entrepreneurs then they never will. ... That’s the biggest jump most teachers don’t make — implementing is obviously the next step but that can be different for anyone. “The thing I’d say that is applicable to all teachers is to be creative in terms of what a typical kid in your grade is capable of, see the standards and figure out a way to up it.” Geller is a pre-K teacher and architect of Punk Rock Preschool at Eugene Field Elementary.
IT WAS AN UNBELIEVABLY PERFECT MATCH BETWEEN WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO TEACH STUDENTS AND PROVIDING A SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY. IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST FULFILLING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS I’VE HAD. CHRISTY VINCENT
Working with the organization, the students applied what they learned in class in a real-world situation. “It was an unbelievably perfect match between what we are trying to teach students and providing a service to the community,” Vincent said. “It was one of the most fulfilling academic achievements I’ve had.” Vincent said the program encourages professors to challenge students in ways that they aren’t challenged in traditional classrooms. In the process, students are able to have what the university calls a “transformative” experience while also gaining experience that can be quantified on a transcript or resume. Administrators hope this will help prepare graduates to contribute to the workplace and to their communities and also will give the students a record to show what they accomplished outside the classroom. “This record will be a much fuller understanding of what students learned,” UCO President Don Betz said. “It will tell employers this is a great employee who will make a difference.”
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SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
Q&A
Five questions with Langston President Kent J. Smith Jr. Langston University President Kent J. Smith, Jr. recently discussed the idea of creativity with The Oklahoman. Q: In terms of higher education, what does “creativity” mean to you? A: Creativity is an integral part
of any institution of higher education and it certainly is present at Langston University. Our students display creativity in academics as well as co-curricular activities, through their work in student organizations and coordinating events for students. We find creativity in the innovative research conducted by our faculty and students every day. The university also demonstrates creativity in administrative functions such as the services we provide to our students, faculty, and staff as well the implementation of cost-saving measures that impact the institutional budget. An example of this at Langston University is our adoption of a 4-day work week during the summer months to conserve energy and lower the cost of utilities.
Q: What is Langston’s mission, and how does creativity and innovation fit into this? A: Langston University’s mis-
sion, as a historically Black university and a land-grant institution, is to offer a quality postsecondary education to diverse populations through academics, research, community engagement, extension, and co-curricular experiences that lead to professional competence and degree completion. Additionally, Langston University has both a rural and urban mission, which is unique. We find creative and innovative ways to instruct our students and prepare them for degree completion and ultimately for a career. We do this in the classroom through creative instruction methods from our faculty, the establishment of specialized learning experiences such as the outdoor classroom for our Agriculture students, and we also work to ensure that our co-curricular activities are connected to enhancing academic excellence.
Q: What kinds of creative and innovative programs are you most proud of? A: I am proud of all our pro-
grams at Langston University, but I will highlight a few. Most people are familiar with the E (Kika) de la Garza American Institute for Goat Research in which our faculty and students conduct innovative research and share best practices in meat and dairy goat production with institutions and communities around the world. I am very proud
of this program and the creative initiatives which have grown out of our research, such as the use of our Langston goats at the Hefner Canal in Oklahoma City to clear weeds and brush. Certainly, our program in Entrepreneurial Studies is an example of innovation at work. Our students learn to channel their creativity through a business model which will help them achieve success. I am also very proud of the advances we make in the field of healthcare through our School of Nursing and Health Professions and School of Physical Therapy. Our faculty members are leaders in their field and provide exceptional instruction to our students to prepare them for careers in healthcare.
Q: What kinds of creative methods are needed to engage today’s college student? A: We have to meet students
where they are. For us, that means we leverage our social media presence to connect with students and engage with them online. We also must be aware of our audience when interacting with students and their families. Many of the students we serve at Langston University are first-generation college students and their families may face financial challenges. We have eliminated our application fee to make it easier for these students to come to college. We want to ensure that we do as much as we can to prevent any hindrance to students who wish to attend Langston University.
Q: How do you tap into and encourage student creativity on campus? A: We tap into the creativity on
our campus by engaging with them on an individual level and encouraging expression and thought. Our faculty and staff spend time with our students both in and out of the classroom by attending events, supporting student-led initiatives, and engaging with them in the community. We believe that building these strong relationships allows creativity to grow within our students and also serves as a means of enhancing retention.
WE TAP INTO THE CREATIVITY ON OUR CAMPUS BY ENGAGING WITH THEM ON AN INDIVIDUAL LEVEL AND ENCOURAGING EXPRESSION AND THOUGHT. KENT J. SMITH JR.
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OUTLOOK: EDUCATION & CAREERS
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“My gestures, my facial expressions and energy all go toward trying to bring out the creativity of the musicians while reaching the listener through an emotional experience. ...”
Richard ZIELINSKI
SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2015
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WE ASKED: WHAT DOES CREATIVITY MEAN TO YOU? “As a conductor, I try to use my creativity to interpret what the composer intended and then encourage creativity in others. The creative process is a collaboration with the conductor, performing musicians and listener.
“My gestures, my facial expressions and energy all go toward trying to bring out the creativity of the musicians while reaching the listener through an emotional experience that I hope will touch them in some meaningful way.
“My hope is that our community will continue to encourage creativity, among all age groups, young and old. It makes a community grow.”
Zielinski is director of choral activities on the music faculty of the University of Oklahoma and is music and artistic director of the Norman Philharmonic, as well as director of music ministries at McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church in Norman.
Mortgage Loan Originator (MLO) 8-5 M/F Associates or Bachelor’s degree in business or finance preferred but not required. High school diploma/ but degree preferred and at least 2-5 years’ experience in mortgage loan origination. This position requires a strong attention to detail and accuracy. Must be familiar with standard concepts, rules, regulations, practices and procedures as well as basic mortgage lending requirements. Contact Kasey Gorrell 405-748-9100 or fax resume to 405-748-9141 Attn: Mortgage loans.
Full Time Tellers
M-F Some Saturdays 8-5 Cash Handling experience required, bank teller experience preferred but not required. Job duties: take deposits, cash checks, great customer service skills. NBC Oklahoma offers a great benefit package. Contact Leigh-Anne Taylor 405-748-9100 or fax resume to 405-748-9191.
FIREFIGHTER
No exp needed. Training, travel, great pay/benefits/ vacation & regular raises. HS seniors & grads ages 17-34. Call Mon-Fri 800-492-4841.
Sherwood Companies
The Sherwood Companies is now accepting applications for the following positions in multiple locations: •Pipe/Bridge Foremen •Concrete Finisher •Equipment Operator •Construction Laborer •CDL A Tanker/Hazmat Driver •CDL B Mixer Truck Driver •Carpenter Pre-employment physical/UA required. Medical, Dental, Life, 401(k), travel per diem + more. Equal Opportunity Employer of minorities, women, protected veterans, individuals with disabilities. www.sherwoodcompanies.com fax: 918-574-2530, email: jobs@sherwood.net
Help Wanted Carpet Cleaning or
Appointment Setting
» No Experience » Full Time/Part Time » Off on Holidays » College Students Welcome eoe
» Management Needed»
GREAT PAY/WEEKLY Call Buddy 405-759-7738
NURSES
Rolling Hills Hospital
is seeking Full Time Registered Nurses to work adult, geriatric, & adolescent patients (various shifts).
We offer a
$2,500 sign-on bonus to full-time RNs
¡¡¡ Also seeking ¡¡¡ LPNs and per-diem (prn) RNs. Apply at: Rolling Hills Hospital, 1000 Rolling Hills Lane, Ada, OK 74820, or email resume to: duane.harris@acadiahealthcare.com
ROUTE SERVICE
National Company since 1939 has immediate opening to load and service vending machines. Salary plus commission. Benefits included. M-F. Good driving record. Drug test. Apply Monday-Friday, 9AM-11AM, 6101 NW 2nd, call 495-8667, or email resume to: office@hayescanteen.com
$500 BONUS FOR TRAINED HTS Independent Opportunities provides services to people with disabilities. Excellent FT benefits, paid training, opportunities for advancement. PT/FT HTS positions in OKC. Bonuses: 90 day bonus of $500 for trained HTS! Apply at 3000 United Founders Blvd, #221, (405) 879-9720. EOE.
Senior Quality Engineer (Terex USA, LLC, Oklahoma City, OK). Req. a bach. or foreign equiv. deg. in mech. eng. or a rel. field & 7 yrs. of progressive, post-bach. exp. in the job offered or 7 yrs. of progressive, post-bach. QA or Operational Excellence exp., incl. exp. leading & developing QA or Operational Excellence teams, & Quality Mgmt. exp. in a metal fabrication environment that incl. welding & assembly. Also req. is 5 yrs. of exp.: working w/continuous improvement initiatives, with a focus on manufacturing/quality; establishing process mgmt. to improve stability & performance & maintain quality; & applying Quality Inspection & Audit processes w/defined reqs. & remediation in order to drive performance optimization. Must also possess exp.: performing advanced quality inspection, failure analysis, & statistical data analysis; & reading, analyzing, & interpreting complex engineering drawings, change orders, & production build instructions & documents; & utilizing PowerPoint, Access, Minitab, & Excel (incl. pivot tables, data analysis, & statistical techniques). Apply w/resume at www.terex.com/careers. No relo. available. No 3rd party responses. EOE.
The City of Edmond is taking applications for SUMMER JOBS AT PARKS, GOLF & LAKE. For details & other positions go to www.edmondok.com/jobs or call 405-359-4648. Apply at 7 North Broadway
Aluminum Trailer Mfg. Hiring Aluminum Welders
Business is growing. Platinum Mfg. is looking for good aluminum Welders with trailer mfg. experience. Welding test will be required. Apply MondayThursday from 9:00 AM-3:30 PM, 400 S. Sara Road, OKC, OK 73099.
ELECTRICAL JOURNEYMAN & APPRENTICES: 2 years min comm'l exp. Contact Brandon Bradley, 405-943-2442, ext. 17, or email bbradley@klbradley.com
Fuel/Lube Technician
Sherwood Construction Co., Inc. is seeking a Fuel/Lube Technician for the OKC area. Must possess Class A CDL with hazmat/tanker endorsement, be 21 years of age and have a clean driving record. Pre-employment drug/physical required. Medical, dental, life, 401(k) + more. Equal Opportunity Employer of minorities, women, individuals with disabilities and protected veterans. www.sherwoodcompanies.com Send resume to jobs@sherwood.net or apply in person @ 1120 E. Reno, OKC, OK 73117.
HVAC INSTALLER/SERVICE TECH. OKC $18-$21hr DOE.
Co. benefits. Req. Journeyman license. Call 405-751-7977
Dailey Heat & Air Conditioning
CDL-A Drivers PLUMBERS
Buffalo Wild Wings
We are hiring New Management Members who are looking to be part of a Great Team and a fast growing company. Earn up to $40,000 as an Assistant and get bonused in AGM and GM positions with higher salaries. We always try to promote from within for AGM and GM positions, and are currently looking for team players wanting a better balanced lifestyle while we update our schedules to be more family friendly.
AMERICAN CLEANERS
$40,000 okbwwresumes@aol.com
Hiring Full Time
Customer Service Reps
$9.85/Hour. Apply at 13901 N May, OKC, OK 73134.
Traditions Spirits
CARNIVAL HELP
A few positions open in all departments: 1-Food, 4-Rides, 1-Ticket Sales, 2-Games, 2-CDL DRIVERS (retired drivers welcome) eoe. Requires traveling with Carnival through Mid-November in AR, OK, KS, MO & TX MUST BE DRUG-FREE & THIS INCLUDES MARIJUANA. Bunkrooms provided. Call between 9am-9pm only, please. James 417-529-3811 Betty 417-529-3810 OR: apply in person at carnival: Guthrie, OK - April 14-18 Cushing, OK - April 21-25 Prague, OK - April 27-May 2
is accepting applications for
The City of Edmond is taking applications for TRAFFIC ENGINEER (or INTERN). For details & other positions go to www.edmondok.com/jobs or call 405-359-4648. Apply at 7 North Broadway
CERTIFIED HOME HEALTH AIDES AND
Beverage Servers at Riverwind Casino.
NEED EXTRA INCOME? RETIRED? Hiring Short-Haul Drivers for part-time (2-3 days a week- usually Saturday eve thru Monday)- February until mid-November. Moving Carnival equipment in AR, OK, KS, MO & (some of TX- in Spring & Fall). MUST BE DRUG-FREE with good driving history. Full time available (if willing to travel with carnival) drive & work in other positions for remainder of the week. Bunkrooms provided. Call between 9am-9pm only, please. James 417-529-3811 Ronnie 512-216-4468 OR: apply in person at carnival: Guthrie, OK - April 14-18 Cushing, OK - April 21-25 Prague, OK - April 27-May 2
2815 SE 44th St, Norman 405-392-4550 The City of Edmond is taking applications for WATER PLANT OPERATOR, TRAFFIC APPRENTICE, PARK MAINTENANCE WORKER, FIELD SERVICES WORKER, CUSTODIAN & LEAD CUSTODIAN. For details & other positions go to www.edmondok.com/jobs or call 405-359-4648. Apply at 7 North Broadway
Caring for Seniors IMMEDIATE OPENINGS
PT/FT FLEXIBLE SHIFTS, BENEFITS,
To Apply Call 577-1910 Visiting Angels
$300.00 sign on bonus for current CLEET certified*
Covenant Security Services,
Medical Pre-Certification Specialist
Southside GI physician group is seeking a Pre-Certification Specialist. Responsible for obtaining pre-certs from various insurance companies and accurately interpreting member benefits. PreCert exp required. Demonstrated knowledge of medical insurance. M-F. Fax resume to 753-6598. EOE
Concrete Mixer Truck Drivers
Greenhill Concrete is now hiring Concrete Mixer Truck Drivers in the Norman area. Must possess Class B CDL, clean driving record, be 21 years of age, and submit to DOT drug screen and physical. Med, Dental, Life, 401(k), 7 paid holidays, PTO, + more. Equal Opportunity Employer of minorities, women, protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. www.sherwoodcompanies.com Send resume to jobs@sherwood.net or apply in person, 1120 E. Reno, OKC, OK.
Please apply online at www.traditionsspirits.com or in person at
24 HOUR LIVE-IN CAREGIVERS
CDL DRIVERS
Immediate openings. Repair experience. Good benefits. 627-6072 or 619-7900.
Pneumatic hauls. Both local and regional. Plant hauls and oilfield. Benefits and assigned Trucks. McCorkle Truck Line, Inc., 2132 SE 18th, OKC, 800-727-2855.
a provider of quality security officers, is hiring full & part-time Security Officers in El Reno, OK. The ideal candidate will have a High School Diploma/GED, valid driver’s license and be at least 18 years of age and CLEET certified. Must be willing to submit to and pass a drug screen and background check. Must be neat, wellgroomed and present a professional appearance. Please apply online at www.covenantsecurity. com/careers. EEO *Bonus paid after 90 days of employment.
OTR CDL Drivers
»» Sign On Bonus »» Pay for load/unload + miles. 125K-150K miles/year avail. Performance pay, $.38 to $.41/mile in 3 months. Home weekends, often 1-2 weeknights. Small fleet, late model, low mileage, well maintained trucks, step deck trailers hauling empty propane tanks, no tankers. Be a name, not a number, paper logs. HM/3years OTR required. Drug screen, physical, background/CSA checks. 405-375-4189. BLTTanks.com
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