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Features
A P R / M AY 2 02 2
32
44
All in the Family
The Incubation Period
John and Dave Lopez, along with Ed Sanchez, manage one of the largest Hispanic — and also family-owned — businesses in the country. They, and six other family-owned businesses, tell how they’ve balanced business and family.
OKC-based incubators are providing tangible help to new businesses.
Departments
A P R / M AY 2 02 2
START UP 14 Insight Nominee’s Matt Stansberry on the Oklahoma Standard. 16 My Daily Media Diet with Smirk New Media founder Mike Koehler. 18 Ask the Mentor How slowing down can help build trust. 20 The Future of … OKC’s healthcare industry, with insight from all four of OKC’s chief medical officers.
SW EAT E QU ITY 26 Small Business Making good with Shop Good’s Audrey and Justin Falk.
20 26
28 Giving Back Jeff Ragan’s Kize Concepts. 30 How I Did It Not Your Average Joe spreads radical inclusivity.
E X IT STRATE GY 58 Downtime Hedge fund cofounder Will Cooper finds focus on his motorbike. 60 On Topic What advice do you wish you’d been told when you first started your career? 62 Linked In Networking events across the 405. 64 Out of Office Miller Architects CEO Darrin Miller.
Volume 1 Issue 3 On the Cover Plenty Mercantile owners Traci Walton and Brittney Matlock. Photo by Charlie Neuenschwander.
28
30
Stories Informing Tomorrow
A P R I L /M AY 2O2 2
VOLUME 1 • NUMBER 3
PRESIDENT & CEO
Jordan Regas
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Rod Whitson
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Kayte Spillman
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10
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Momma Knows Best know it, but when she twisted my arm to join the yearbook staff in seventh grade, she set me on my professional course forever. I quickly fell in love with every kind of storytelling and before I knew it, I was following in my dad’s footsteps — he was an editor and editorial cartoonist for the United Auto Workers for a good chunk of his career. Now, my little family is nothing like the ones we feature in this issue. We’re a long cry from a family-owned business. The people featured in our cover story, All in the Family, have built family businesses that span generations and one that pre-dates statehood. The breadth and depth of their endeavors is awe-inspiring. Their stories are filled with love, and a lot of them give out some great advice for business owners about how to manage growth, how to successfully add children to the business or explain the benefits – and sometimes hardships – that come along with working every day with family. I’ve fallen in love just a little bit with the families we feature in this issue. Momma Florence Jones-Kemp rules the roost at Florence’s restaurant, celebrating both its 70th anniversary and Oklahoma’s first James Beard award this year. (pg. 40) Plenty Mercantile’s Traci Walton and Brittney Matlock finish each other’s sentences, and doing life together has pushed them from one to five (by the end of 2022) locations, showing whopping growth even during a pandemic. (pg. 34) And the Lopez brothers fly under the radar with Lopez Foods, which produces millions of pounds of pork, chicken and beef — and billions in revenue — for mega retailers like McDonald’s and Walmart, all while supporting each other and their employees. (pg. 42) And that doesn’t begin to talk about the families we feature behind longtime family businesses in the 405 like BC Clark, Jasco, Home Creations and Standley Systems (pg. 32).
While interviewing, we heard:
MY MOM DIDN’T
Dr. Kersey Winfree SSM Health St. Anthony Chief Medical Officer On the future of healthcare: “We, as a community of health care providers, should continue to position ourselves as doorways to exceptional health care delivery for those in need. Our ministry with the Franciscan Sisters was founded in the midst of the Yellow Fever outbreak of the late nineteenth century, and they opened St. Anthony Hospital in 1898 to be there for Oklahoma. We continue to live out that mission every day.”
Family helps family businesses grow, and so do Oklahoma’s business incubators. We talk with three of them in our story, The Incubation Period, (pg. 44) talking through what all an incubator can do to help a business flourish. And in addition to all of that, I’m so excited for you to read our monthly article talking about the future of a part of Oklahoma City’s economy. This month, we tackle the future of healthcare. We’ve heard from all four chief medical officers of the major health complexes in the metro. (pg. 20) We asked them a slew of questions, and just like they did so often during the pandemic, they offered unified insight on what needs to change, what we learned from COVID and what our health care industry will look like in 20 years. Talking with these families about about their careers got me thinking about my own. I hope you enjoy this issue, but now I’ve got to go thank my momma for knowing me better than I knew myself when I was 13.
Kayte Spillman EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Jason Trice Jasco co-CEO On his familyowned business: “This is God’s business. We are stewards of it for a little while, and our goal is to leave it better than we found it and to help the next generation to do the same.”
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O CA ST.O K.G OV
S TA RT UP Pushing Past COVID Adjusting after the two-year anniversary of the pandemic, the four chief medical officers in charge of Oklahoma City’s healthcare talk about what they’ve learned from COVID and what to expect for the future of OKC’s healthcare industry. p.2O
INSIGHT MY DAILY MEDIA DIET ASK THE MENTOR THE FUTURE OF
14 16 18 20
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INSIGHT
S TA RT U P
Oklahoma: A Place of Purpose The OKC bombing in 1995 let Oklahomans’ nature shine through tragedy. Today, this Oklahoma Standard, as its dubbed, translates into almost 100 million hours of volunteering every year and a nonprofit community with assets of more than $12 billion in Oklahoma County alone. BY MATT STANSBERRY
and businesses have a rich history of giving, serving and stewarding their resources to make the 405 a better place to live, work and belong. Many times, this purpose-led living goes unnoticed, which could be due to the humble nature of Oklahomans, especially when it comes to giving back to their community. But, there was a moment in history when the world got a glimpse of how Oklahomans come together to support their neighbor. A legacy of service In 1995, the Oklahoma City bombing brought OKC and the state to its knees. In the aftermath of this horrific act, Oklahomans came together in an astonishing way to freely give of their time, money and resources to help however they could. So much so, that this response became known as the Oklahoma Standard. Today, the Oklahoma
$12 billion+
$5 billion
total 501(c) (3) revenue in Oklahoma County
total nonprofit assets in Oklahoma County
City National Memorial and Museum preserves this standard and its values – show up to serve, rise up to honor and step up to be kind. These actions describe who we’ve been and who Oklahomans are still to this day. The legacy continues According to the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, Oklahomans provide more than 94.5 million hours of volunteer service worth more than $2.2 billion every year. This is a significant impact that can be felt across the state. Additionally, when it comes to giving, Oklahomans repeatedly step up. In 2021, total 501(c)(3) revenue was more than $5 billion in Oklahoma County alone, with total assets of more than $12 billion. Most recently, Oklahoma has received the third largest group of Afghan refugees coming to the United States, behind California and Texas. Through a state collaboration led by Catholic Charities, the sole refugee resettlement agency in Oklahoma, the state is resettling more than 1,800 refugees. Bottom line, Oklahomans care.
Looking forward The role of businesses in the 405 will continue to evolve as purpose and social good become more of the norm. Currently, 79 percent of all charitable giving comes from individuals and bequests. In the future, we could see this percentage change as corporations begin to give more to make a positive impact in their communities. As the world strives to move past the current COVID crisis, now is the time to inspire the next generation of contributors. One way we can do this is by recognizing the current individuals and organizations that are giving back and making the 405 a place of purpose. By acknowledging some of today’s most giving leaders we are helping create a path for future purpose-led leaders, across all sectors of our community – helping them find their way through giving and service to others.
Matt Stansberry is the founder, CEO and partner at Nominee, a brand consultancy.
PHOTO PROVIDED
C E N T R A L O K L A H O M A N I N D I V I D UA L S
INTRODUCING
Honoring the individuals, not-for-profits and companies who are making significant contributions to the greater social good in our region. 405 Business magazine is presenting the inaugural launch of The Purpose and Impact Awards. The program honors professionals and organizations who are building a better, stronger community for all. 405 Business will reveal the winners at an event on October 4th and in the October/November issue of the magazine.Don’t miss this opportunity to nominate purpose-led individuals in the metro.
NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN UNTIL JULY 1, 2022 > 405BUSINESS.COM
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M Y D A I LY M E D I A D I E T
S TA RT U P
What podcast do we need to be listening to? My time for long-form podcasts has shrunk lately, but I try to get at least three daily ones in my ears — The Writer’s Almanac, The Christian History Almanac and The Daily Stoic. If I have time in the afternoon, it’s the Kottke Ride Home. Deep-thinking celebs: Dear Hank & John and You Made It Weird by Pete Holmes. For my English soccer obsession: Men In Blazers.
My Daily Media Diet Mike Koehler is the founder and chief strategist of Smirk New Media, an OKCbased digital marketing agency that began in 2010. He said he was happy to share his daily media consumption habits — just don’t ask him to share his Screen Time report on his phone.
Where do you get your news first? I’m a little embarrassed to say Twitter, but alas, it’s been my ride-or-die social media home for more than a decade. Lately, I’ve been waking up and asking my Alexa if the world has ended.
What app do you open first in the morning? Email, though Wordle has been giving it a run for its money lately.
What newsletter always gets clicked open? I have become a Substack addict of late. So many good newsletters give me a reason to be equally annoyed and hopeful about the world. My daily mix includes Austin Kleon, Why Is This Interesting, Seth Godin, Culture Wins (by OKC leadership maestro Kevin DeShazo), Fortune’s CEO Daily, trend-follower After School and Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American.
What social accounts should we be following? After years of wanting to burn it to the ground, I have acquiesced to TikTok. Sign up and limit yourself to a niche you love — in my case, comic book and movie factoids — and you’re bound to find some exuberant creators. Reminds me of old YouTube. On Twitter, Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) for great political news and OKC’s own Jenni Carlson (@JenniCarlson_OK) for the local sports scene. On Instagram, it’s all about the OKC food community plus local brands and creatives making great content (@clintonaverytharp on Insta for retro furniture restoration). Sorry, is this too long? I do this for a living.
What music should we add to our playlist right now? My musical tastes range from bad to weird. I subscribe to an email newsletter called Flow State that sends me new artists to listen to while I work. The latest finds include Rhucle, Sven Libaek and Arushi Jain. Go-to music for my nerd brain: They Might Be Giants, Milk Carton Kids, Les Baxter and Weird Al.
What books are making you think? If you want to change how you think about and look at the world, read The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker. Every page gives you exercises about literally changing your perspectives about what’s around you. I recently finished LaserWriter II by Tamara Shopsin, a love letter to the early days of computer culture. Arbitrary Stupid Goal, her book of essays, got me hooked on her world.
Is there any other media you consume that we’ve missed? If you need comfort food on YouTube, I recommend Jelle’s Marble Runs and long video walking tours of cities around the world.
What role does media literacy play in business? I hope and pray that media literacy can help us all with our discernment. In a truth-optional media landscape, we need to cling to those creators who take the world seriously. In my job, I’ve always emphasized to clients that the core of great content comes from sharing with people how they do what they do and how they know what they know. Media literacy is about cutting through different agendas to discover sincere and helpful stories. How do you ensure you remain media literate? Being in journalism for 20 years before entering the world of social media was a great help. I know there are so many people out there whose stories need to be told with depth and understanding. I think we are moving towards that. The more we can see and hear through the senses of others, the better it is going to be. My media literacy also continues to be formed by the idea that the people reporting and writing what we read are just that — real people. Everyone has their point of view, but (with a few notable exceptions) there is no secret agenda. Local media loves its community, wants to share what they learn and is just trying to make a living.
PROMOTION
Growing out of your Comfort Zone By Mike Crandall – Sandler Training – “Professional Growth Solutions”
Everyone has been limited by their Comfort Zone, and most everyone has had someone encourage them to get out of or expand their Comfort Zone, which always seems like a simple thing; however, it is not easy to do. Breaking out of your Comfort Zone, or the invisible bubble, we all live in – is a significant challenge the vast majority of the time. Often, we are very well meaning and think, “I will just do it.” Then as we take the steps to get out of our Comfort Zone, we hesitate, retreat or stop – the closer we get to the edge. Because it is increasingly more uncomfortable the farther we stretch. The thought is typically not that complicated – it is the action and things we have to do outside of our mind. To truly Grow and get out of a Comfort Zone – it is crucial to understand how we Grow as adult humans and the steps that we have to go through. Then, and only then, can we successfully get out of the Comfort Zone and Grow. We Grow in these 5 steps. As you read them, think about times in your own life where you successfully navigated all 5 and the outcomes. Then, think about the times you missed one or more of them and did not Grow the way you wanted.
5 Steps to Grow Out of Your Comfort Zone
MIKE CRANDALL lives in Edmond, OK. He is
1. Awareness – This is the step where we realize to struggle to see it correctly, or accu-
a Consultant, Coach, Trainer, Speaker, and
rately. Think about how many times someone else you know told others they were good at something,
Author focused on the Subconscious Psychology
and everyone besides them could see they were not good at it.
of Human Interaction and Motivation. His
2. Knowledge – Once we have awareness, we can seek out information on ways to get better. Knowledge comes from reading books, listening to podcasts, watching videos, attending training, etc. It is truly the intake of information we can use to Grow, improve and/or get better at something. 3. Application – Once we have the knowledge, we must apply it. We have to implement the ideas, ask the questions, make the changes, etc. This is where most people fail, as our instinct is to often not use the information we gain.
4. Skill – Application starts something new, however in order to make change we have to
apply things many, many times. A Skill is something we know how to do comfortably – however it still
firm specializes in Sales, Management, and Leadership Development for Proactive Business Growth. Mike is based in Oklahoma and serves Visionary Clients across the United States. He can be reached at Mike.Crandall@CGSOK.com or at (405) 844-1700. For more information, go to online to www.customgrowth.sandler.com
requires thoughts. Skills are driven by our conscious mind – where we have to think about doing them.
5. Habit – This is where the conscious skill becomes so comfortable, we do it without thinking. Habits are driven by our subconscious mind, where we do not think about them at all, we just do them.
These 5 Steps in Growth are referred to as A.K.A.S.H. Let’s use a real-world example – answering vs. asking questions. Specifically in leadership, management, sales, business development, and / or fundraising. Most people struggle greatly asking the correct questions in the best order to get the most out of interactions with others. If we use A.K.A.S.H. to look at this, we can see how people could struggle at each of the steps. Some at Awareness, some at Knowledge, some at Application, some at Skill, and others at Habit. When we compare those who are the best at asking questions vs. those who are the worst – the true difference is Habit. We all have a Habit of asking or answering questions in different situations with various types of people, however, we struggle to see this and often think (or are told) “just ask better questions.” This seems simple, however is not easy without understanding where in A.K.A.S.H. you are. So now let me ask, what things have you struggled with in Growing Out of Your Comfort Zone? How much has it cost you to remain in your Comfort Zone? If you don’t know, or are struggling - find a Business Growth Consultant who can help.
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S TA RT U P
ASK THE MENTOR
Slow Down to Speed Up Before you can expect top-level execution from employees, first slowly build foundational trust to make them want to work hard to achieve shared goals.
is one of the hardest things to do in the world. Add in the personal dynamics of working with your family, and it can produce a lot of stress. It can be tough, but running your business (even with family) also can be one of the best things in life. The choice is yours. If you allow the annoying tasks of everyday life to overwhelm you, things will be rough. But if you lean in and work on maximizing your team performance, you can experience fulfillment that you have always wanted, but never known how to obtain. Here’s a good way to start maximizing your team’s performance: Picture a flywheel, which is a device on a machine that produces the momentum for the machine to spin at the highest levels for maximized productivity. If the flywheel doesn’t move, then the machine doesn’t produce. The same is true with your team’s flywheel. To maximize team performance, you must go in this order: RUNNING A BUSINESS
1. Improve
communication. relational trust. 3. Get aligned on your strategy and tactics. 4. Execute the weekly tasks to move the business forward. 5. Monitor the capacity of each team member. 2. Build
Years ago, I worked for a private equity group who was rolling up other companies. We had one leader who would constantly say, “Just get on the same page and make it happen.” He would then yell, “How hard can it be?” This didn’t endear this person to anyone. We all wanted to turn it back around and ask, “How hard can it be to treat us like humans and built trust versus going behind our backs?” Look back at the list. If you push for No. 3 and 4, alignment and execution, then you will get compliance from those in your team. But, you won’t get engagement. The truth is people want to work for people they like and trust. If you don’t focus on knowing your team and how they are wired, and communicate accordingly, then you are not going to get the best out of them. Conversely, try to slow down to speed up. What I mean by that is try to learn to communicate and build strong relational trust. If you first slow down and build that trust, you are going
Get everyone on the same page by building relationships and communicating consistently, and you will watch people do what you could never think was possible.
to have an easier time getting aligned and they will want to execute, not have to. People can handle a lot, especially if they like you and trust you. My GiANT team is constantly working, not because we force it, but because they want to. That took years to build a culture of empowerment, and while it was hard, it is vital if you want to get the flywheel started to maximize team performance. Slow down to speed up. Get everyone on the same page by building relationships and communicating consistently, and you will watch people do what you could never think was possible. Jeremie Kubicek is the author of four books about leadership, and he is the executive chairman of the OKC-based GiANT Worldwide, a leadership company certifying coaches and consultants to train and serve companies and their employees.
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THE FUTURE OF
The Future of Oklahoma City’s Healthcare Industry The four leaders of Oklahoma City’s healthcare industry -- Dr. Cameron Mantor, Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health chief medical officer; Dr. Kersey Winfree, SSM Health St. Anthony chief medical officer; Dr. Chad Smith, Mercy Hospital OKC chief medical officer, and Dr. Julie Watson, Integris Health chief medical officer – recently united (most notably) during the Omicron variant surge through joint messaging, news conferences and social media pushes to speak as one voice to the OKC community about current public health measures. Now, as we pull ourselves past the two-year anniversary of COVID-19, this band of four healthcare experts talk about how OKC’s healthcare industry has changed because of the impact of COVID, what we need to do to bring relief to a strained industry and what OKC healthcare will look like in in the next two decades because of the past two years. BY K AYTE SPILLMAN
S TA RT U P
First of all, how has COVID shifted healthcare in OKC in the last two years?
WATSON COVID has left a permanent mark on healthcare everywhere, and OKC is no exception. It has disrupted and destabilized the healthcare labor market, caused patients to stop seeking care, which led to disease progression, worsened already significant mental health conditions and exhausted caregivers and physicians who reported record burn out before the pandemic. Despite all of the disruption and exhaustion, we experienced how much we could accomplish in short order, out of necessity. I’ve never been more proud of the caregivers and physicians I work with. WINFREE More than a shift, COVID has
knocked our health care delivery system off balance. With that has come a loss of focus on the priorities that we’ve set in the past for advancing the health of Oklahomans. That loss of balance has allowed situations and conditions we already knew could happen from a public health standpoint to worsen. The three top areas we can’t ignore include access to basic health care services, treatment of advanced diseases (such as heart disease and cancer) and health maintenance interventions that we know are opportunities for prevention and education.
SMITH COVID created a shift in the workforce. The concept of traveling nurses is now much more mainstream. Traveling or contract nurses existed prior to COVID, but they made up a small percentage of our workforce. COVID also magnified the need to identify and develop alternatives for the delivery of care, largely advancing telemedicine offerings for patients. MANTOR It has shown us that there are many
jobs that can be performed remotely and has proven that we can provide much more care
via telemedicine than we have done in the past. It has pushed us to become more operational in how we perform patient (care) throughout and has resulted in the creation of multidisciplinary teams to help manage this crisis. What temporary measures put in place as a part of COVID mitigation will remain part of the permanent structure of OKC’s healthcare? In other words, what worked and what’s worth keeping? WINFREE The attention to the basics of
infection prevention – which we’ve always had – will remain more in the forefront. Examples of what I’m talking about include the importance of hand hygiene practices, source control (such as masks), the practice of staying at home and getting tested when sick as well as adherence to CDC-recommended vaccination schedules. If we abandon these, we do so at our own peril. There is no denying all the COVID prevention matters have had collateral benefit with regard to other contagious diseases such as influenza, common cold and resistant staph infections.
WATSON COVID unquestionably catalyzed
virtual and digital health solutions. In July 2020, we implemented remote patient monitoring and a home oxygen program that allowed us to safely discharge patients from the emergency room who were appropriate for the home setting with oxygen if they could be remotely monitored by care managers connected with a physician. This allowed us to keep beds open for more severely ill patients. We are now looking to expand remote patient monitoring for a number of chronic diseases. We had already been working on a strategy for a Hospital at Home program, which provides inpatient-level care to qualifying patients in their homes. The second surge in 2021 prompted us to move more quickly and
Politics crept into healthcare to the detriment of our society. Sadly, politics has created a wedge between patients and healthcare workers. We will have to be very intentional going forward to strengthen the trust of our communities in science and medicine. It’s critical for the health of our patients and our community to trust medical providers.
21
we launched INTEGRIS Health @ Home on Jan. 31, 2022, and it is going very well. This is a game changer for our patients. How can telemedicine work in tandem with traditional care? When is it a fair replacement and when should we see providers in person?
SMITH It is a both/and scenario. Patients should be seen with a combination of traditional medicine and telemedicine. Doing so creates more capacity for more patients to be seen in the ambulatory setting. Through telemedicine, rural healthcare providers can extend their services which can decrease the need to transfer patients and keep patients closer to home. It is a supplement, not a replacement. WINFREE When we hear of
telemedicine, most of us think of a remote alternative to going to your doctor’s office. However, there’s an additional benefit that expands health care access to rural hospitals, for example. Telemedicine also enables hospitalists and specialists to care for inpatients at these sites without distance being a factor.
What infrastructure does Oklahoma City’s healthcare industry need to grow?
SMITH We need people above all else — people to fill all types of roles within healthcare. During COVID, we were most limited by a lack of people to provide care.
Dr. Chad Smith Mercy Hospital OKC Chief Medical Officer
22
S TA RT U P
THE FUTURE OF
WINFREE Our health care industry needs to reestablish
Dr. Kersey Winfree SSM Health St. Anthony Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Cameron Mantor Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU Health Chief Medical Officer
resiliency through redundancy. We should never globalize critical supply chain production again. For example, one of the worst things we could do is continue to outsource production of surgical masks to other countries and, in effect, risk losing access to critical PPE when we need it most. The military has reserve corps models that are designed to remain prepared for some of the predicted challenges we would face in national threat scenarios, and these last two years should serve as a hard-learned lesson for our health systems that we need a similar, more robust medical reserve model for pandemic scenarios.
WATSON Truly, any infrastructure that emphasizes health and wellness. Several examples come to mind including broadband in rural areas, knowing that so many of our OKC healthcare systems serve as the resource for rural health systems and many have regional catchment areas; reliable broadband services throughout Oklahoma will be necessary for successful technologic solutions to access as well as chronic disease management. I would also love to see OKC businesses focusing on wellness and physical activity, incentivizing their workforce to be healthy. For children – we need more services, technology and person-power in schools that address mental and physical health.
Moving forward, how do we relieve our healthcare workers in a way that allows them to regroup after such a hard two years?
WATSON This is a million-dollar question. Few of us alive have ever lived through a pandemic, and there are no easy answers. We are seeing an alarming rise in workplace violence in health care settings and that should receive serious focus and attention. Health care workers are and have been proud to be public servants, and they deserve to come to work without fear they will be harmed by patients or visitors. SMITH We must return to the basics and allow them to experience the joy of providing healthcare. This ultimately takes more people to share the load. Currently, healthcare workers are stretched too thin, and they have been in survival mode for two years. The patient volume doesn’t seem to be letting up. We need to get back to appropriate patient ratios so healthcare workers can do what they love the most, which is caring for patients.
Like all industries, lack of workforce is an issue, but healthcare has to contend with burnout and fatigue from recent struggles. How will you attract and retain new talent?
WATSON Also, a million-dollar question. Actually, a billion-dollar question. There has been unprecedented spend by health care systems during the pandemic for temporary labor as staff left the workforce, sometimes to travel and other times out of exhaustion or inability to work and homeschool children and so on. We are taking a multi-pronged approach to address not just compensation but continuing to enhance the experience of being a caregiver at INTEGRIS Health – being innovative with shifts,
scheduling, care team design, leadership training and appropriate span of control. I’m privileged to work with a fierce Chief Nurse Executive, Kerri Bayer, who eats, breathes and sleeps this and is working tirelessly on this issue. We face similar challenges with our physician workforce. We have established a Physician Leadership Institute that will kick off this summer, so that we can develop our in-place leaders and create a pipeline for new leaders who can help address not only quality and safety, but also lean in to helping recruit and retain top talent, among other myriad challenges in health care. Great leaders create great culture and an environment that others want to be a part of. I’m sure you never foresaw such partisan politics playing such a role in healthcare between a patient and a provider. Do you foresee this going away as we learn to live with COVID? Or are politics and healthcare intertwined now? Either way, how do you combat it?
SMITH Unfortunately, I don’t see politics leaving healthcare easily or soon. Politics crept into healthcare to the detriment of our society. Sadly, politics has created a wedge between patients and healthcare workers. We will have to be very intentional going forward to strengthen the trust of our communities in science and medicine. It’s critical for the health of our patients and our community to trust medical providers. WATSON I wish desperately that I could answer yes to partisan politics around COVID going away. It has been one of the most heart-wrenching parts to watch and experience. Doctors and other clinicians who have dedicated their career, requiring years of training, to advise patients on how to stay healthy or recover from an illness, suddenly were questioned and doubted. It has been a roller coaster and watching how extreme it has become is unnerving; doctors and other health care workers have gotten death threats. My hope is that as COVID becomes just another part of our lives, the vitriol will wane. I think it helps, though, to shine a light on what is going well in health care, and the tremendous, life-changing work that happens every day inside the walls of our hospitals and clinics. We should be talking about the good, more than the divisiveness that has been fueled by misinformation. MANTOR This a very unfortunate consequence
that has occurred. This will continue to be a difficult
I would like to see a stronger public-private partnership. State agencies, organizations and healthcare systems can do great things together to create integrated systems to care for all Oklahomans – we cannot do that alone or in siloes. The pandemic showed us that in spades. Dr. Julie Watson Integris Health Chief Medical Officer
problem as long as healthcare practice decisions are seen to conflict with business opportunities. If you had a crystal ball, what would OKC’s healthcare industry look like in 10 years? In 20?
SMITH Higher emphasis is going to be placed on improving quality of care. I suspect in 10-20 years, most of healthcare will be based off value and fee-for-service will be near non-existent, at least in the acute care setting. MANTOR We will have made an
impact on population and preventative health, continue to utilize telemedicine to its fullest extent and make an impact on healthcare access disparities.
Looking around, is this the new normal? Are we better prepared if another pandemic emerges or if another variant surges? WINFREE It is interesting what
lessons from history and storytelling have already told us about pandemics. This is a story that has been in our history and our literature throughout what would be considered modern times. From lethal contagions like the Bubonic plague, to Yellow Fever, to the Spanish Flu, to Diphtheria, to Polio, public health efforts have played a central role in saving our civilization. From many of these we were rescued by vaccines! It is ironic that stories that are so similar to the present scenario with COVID-19 have been published
over and over. So, why would we not use this very hard-learned lesson to position ourselves to do the best we can in preventing this from happening again? WATSON We are better prepared from the perspective of knowing how and what to do to stay safe, flex and problem-solve. The unknown has much to do with how unstable the workforce is. Despite all of our desire and efforts, if we don’t have healthcare workers to take care of patients, we won’t be able to provide the same level and amount of services we have had in the past. MANTOR This will surely become an endemic
problem and move away from a pandemic, and yes, we will certainly be better prepared for what another pandemic will be like. However, it will be challenging for us to come through it if we are not able to decrease the speed with which healthcare workers have left our professions.
How will OKC healthcare address healthcare disparities based on factors like income, insurance or rural location in the future? WINFREE We, as a community of health care
providers, should continue to position ourselves as doorways to exceptional health care delivery for those in need. Our ministry with the Franciscan Sisters was founded in the midst of the Yellow Fever outbreak of the late nineteenth century, and they opened St. Anthony Hospital in 1898 to be there for Oklahoma. We continue to live out that mission every day.
WATSON This is a huge focus in healthcare now. COVID shined the light on inequities in access to care. At INTEGRIS Health we are committed to identifying and addressing the known and unknown inequities in care that exist in our communities. This work will require health systems, private businesses and non-profits, and both the state and local gov-
ernment working together to address access to care. We are participating in the ACO REACH Model with CMMI (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation), which holds us accountable for the total cost of care and requires a health equity plan. That recent change is welcomed as it is consistent with our mission, vision and values. What is the one thing you’d like to see changed in the future of OKC’s healthcare industry?
SMITH Healthcare workers are called to this profession of serving others and what we do is challenging, at best, and near impossible if the community doesn’t trust us. Healthcare workers took an oath to provide the best care possible. While we are not perfect, we do our best. We are seeing more and more mistrust of healthcare workers because of misinformation and disinformation. We need that trust back. WATSON I would like to see a stronger publicprivate partnership. State agencies, organizations and healthcare systems can do great things together to create integrated systems to care for all Oklahomans – we cannot do that alone or in siloes. The pandemic showed us that in spades. This concept of collaboration is well stated in our mission – Partnering with people to live healthier lives. WINFREE After two years of the COVID-19
pandemic, Oklahoma City doctors, nurses and other caregivers have given their all. They have been stoic in the face of loss, resourceful when confronted with supply chain shortages, worked long hours, picked up shifts for sick coworkers and, most importantly, they have strived to provide compassionate patient care at every turn. Once the dust settles, I hope we can all find ways to honor these individuals who comprise the health care industry, so they may remain strong both in numbers and in spirit.
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Bar None Kize Concepts, the OKC-produced health-food bars, and its founder Jeff Ragan, put purpose behind its product by using the company to also serve OKC’s homeless community. p.3O
SMALL BUSINESS 26 GIVING BACK 28 HOW I DID IT 30
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SMALL BUSINESS
The Shop Good Automobile Alley retail space showcases some of its original designs and outside merchandise.
Owners Audrey and Justin Falk started Shop Good from scratch, planning for a boutique T-shirt business. Twelve years — and calls from NBA agents and Oklahoma State Parks — later, the ‘little shop that could’ boasts revenues surpassing half a million dollars a year. BY GREG HORTON
PHOTOS PROVIDED
Making Good
starting a business using a credit card with a $300 limit, and 12 years later, an NBA agent uses the general contact link on your website when setting up a meeting to design a product for a budding fan favorite. How else do you answer an interview question like, “What are you doing now that you didn’t expect to be doing when you started this business?” Shop Good owners Audrey and Justin Falk really did start their screen-printing business with a single credit card in 2009, so when Aleksej Pokusevski’s (Poku to Thunder fans) agent reached out via email to talk about designing a fanny pack, it was more than a little surreal. “We found out that Poku’s agent had been a long-time customer,” Audrey Falk said. “We got to sit down with them and design the product to Poku’s specs. It was a next-level moment for us.” The Falks have had more than a few of those since moving from pop-up to fixed location in only one year. Justin Falk is a graphic designer, and when the couple began printing his custom designs on T-shirts using a hand-me-down manual printer in a friend’s barn in 2009, Audrey said she just assumed it would be the two of them forever, operating a quaint store with a manual press. O N E DAY YO U ’ R E
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“It’s different when you start that small. There are no investors waiting in the wings to fund your ideas; you have to generate the funding through sales and reinvestment.” — Audrey Falk
Top: The exterior of the Automobile Alley store. Above: Founders Justin and Audrey Falk with their two children, Sawyer and Hadley.
Shop Good topped $500,000 in revenue in 2021 for the first time, so the dreams of a quaint shop are definitely behind them. A partnership with the Oklahoma State Parks created another opportunity that the couple didn’t see coming. “We met camping, and Justin proposed while we were camping,” Audrey said. “We love the state parks, so when they reached out, we were thrilled about the project.” Now you can find Justin’s original designs — an homage of sorts — on T-shirts, sweatshirts and patches in all the Oklahoma State Parks. Other designs are now distributed in stores all over the United States. “Fulfillment has become a huge task for us daily now,” Audrey said. “When you start with $300, you learn to sell fast, reinvest and then build as you can. That also means we’ve always had to learn how to scale a small business. It’s different when you start that small. There are no investors waiting in the wings to fund your ideas; you have to generate the funding through sales and reinvestment.” Shop Good has spent most of its existence going after bigger accounts before the capital or human capital was available. “The Poku Pack wasn’t the first time we were working outside our expertise,” Audrey said. “We’ve expanded our team — currently nine people — carefully. We managed a skeleton crew of two to three from 2010 to 2020, but as demand has increased, especially outside our expertise, we’ve added talented people to meet the demand.” Custom designs for companies are now a huge part of Shop Good’s business, but it’s still a store, too. In fact, the operation inside the Automobile Alley location at 1007 N. Broadway Ave. includes three full-time pressers operating the equipment in full view of customers, making for one of the most transparent operations in Oklahoma City.
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GIVING BACK
Raising the Bar OKC-produced Kize Concepts sells millions of health-food snack bars in Whole Foods, Walmart and other stores across the nation, but that isn’t even close to the goal of the company. Founder Jeff Ragan uses those bars as an outreach to address and affect homelessness in Oklahoma City, feeding and caring for one person at a time. BY EVIE KLOPP HOLZER
Above: A sampling of Kize bars.
to Kize Concepts founder Jeff Ragan about what he does for a living, his famous Kize bars — produced by the millions and sold nationwide — are almost an afterthought. So what does Ragan do for a living? In short, he serves others. Under Ragan’s leadership, Kize Concepts employs those most in need of work. With a strong culture of giving, the company helps clothe the poor and feed the hungry. Oh yes, and it produces Kize snack bars, made with minimal ingredients and maximum nutrition — which Ragan said he is happy to donate to those in need. W H E N YO U TAL K
Left: Founder Jeff Ragan. Below: Every third Saturday, Ragan partners with ComeBack Kid Society and hosts a block party for anyone in need. Right: The block parties are open to anyone in the community and help feed more than 200 people living near Kize’s headquarters every month.
Kize Concepts grew out of a dream. Ragan said he always knew he wanted to do something with passion and purpose. After working a corporate job while dabbling part-time in helping others improve their health and nutrition, he felt compelled to make a change. “I worked on it for about two years on the side, and then I took a leap of faith and quit my job,” Ragan said. “I’ve been going at it ever since.” The Kize bar recipe was perfected in 2013. In 2014, the bars entered the local Whole Foods Market. “The awesome people of Oklahoma City really supported us,” he said. “And we ended up doing well.” Since then, Kize’s production and distribution have soared. Today, you’ll find Kize bars at most OKC grocery stores as well as Whole Foods loca-
PHOTOS PROVIDED
LEAP OF FAITH
S W EAT EQ UITY
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“The mission at Kize always has been and always will be to change lives for the better .” — Jeff Ragan
tions throughout the southwest. In 2020, Walmart added the product to 700 locations nationwide. However, this success provided a mere springboard for Kize Concepts to achieve something bigger. G O O D NEIGHBORS
The company moved into bigger kitchens and production spaces to keep up with the increase in demand. A few years ago, Ragan built a 10,000-square-foot facility at 3rd Street and Virginia Avenue to house operations. The location — across the street from the Homeless Alliance Day Shelter — is no coincidence. “The mission at Kize always has been and always will be to change lives for the better,” Ragan said. “I have really grown to feel like this [area] is our home in the last 10 years.” Kize Concepts partners with Feed the Children and Regional Food Bank to address ongoing hunger issues in the community. In addition, it isn’t uncommon for Ragan to help out strangers he encounters in the parking lot. He’ll give out food and clothing as needed, but he often finds that people yearn for so much more.
“In my experiences interacting with our homeless neighbors, [I’ve found] they can get resources — but who listens to them? Who shows them that they are cared for? Who says, ‘Hey, what’s your name? What’s your story?’ I’ve had people stand out there for hours and tell their story. Then, they cry — just to have somebody who would listen,” Ragan said. “My equation is resources plus relationship equals real-life change,” he said. “We absolutely can help people with resources, but the ability to get up close and personal — to understand what their real needs are and how you can help them — I think that makes the real difference. And that’s been reinforced to me over our entire Kize history.” L IFE -C H A N G I N G C U LT U R E
Many employees come to Kize from Hope is Alive, an addiction recovery home, and many of those Ragan hires were previously incarcerated. If there is an opportunity to integrate helping others into the company culture, Ragan said he embraces it. “We try to have a very people-first focus here, like: ‘Hey, I don’t really care about your past. We all
make mistakes,’” Ragan said. “We are trying to have perfect love toward imperfect people, like we’ve had [given] to ourselves, and we’ve had some really great transformation stories.” Every third Saturday, Ragan opens the company doors and partners with the ComeBack Kid Society to host the ultimate block party. The event provides food and fellowship to more than 200 neighbors every month. Ragan welcomes anyone to take part in Kize’s events. He dreams about someday expanding the love-thy-neighbor notion into a citywide movement. “There are special people in Oklahoma doing special things and really loving people in action, but it takes all of us,” Ragan said. “Why not [OKC] be the city that ends homelessness? It’s a solvable problem. With a committed city of our size, I mean, it could happen.” In the meantime, Ragan is constantly seeking ways to help others. Kize sales help fund the ongoing service projects. Yes, he said, its bars make an excellent on-the-go snack — but to Ragan, the Kize Concepts team and every life they change, these bars fuel so much more.
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HOW I DID IT
Espresso-ly for Everyone Not Your Average Joe, a locally owned string of coffee shops with five locations in Oklahoma, provides community and employment for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in an effort to spread radical inclusivity with every cup of coffee. BY KRISTEN GRACE
ON ELM AVENUE IN NORMAN, nestled between
Danielle Robinson and her mother Jennifer Robinson work at the Beam Signing ceremony at the Homeland on Northeast 36th and Lincoln Boulevard. Not Your Average Joe’s catered the event, where the coffee shop also has a location. Danielle works at both the Midtown location and the new Homeland location.
said. “We were hosting a dinner party for international students. We believe in radical inclusivity.” He then excuses himself to help a new customer — a psychology major who needs a pick-me-up. He suggests they try a power ball made with gluten-free oats. The extensive menu boasts not only coffee drinks but quiche, scones, salads, sandwiches, burritos and ice cream. “We are very proud of our menu,” he said. “We cater and host parties. At our Midtown location, we also offer Micheladas and Black Lava — a mix of espresso and dark beer.” But back to why inclusivity matters so much for Hebel and Not Your Average Joe: When asked what inspired him to open the first location in
Midtown on Jan. 1, 2019, Tim speaks about his deceased nephew, Braxton, who was born with cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus. “One day, his church called a meeting and invited Braxton to stop attending Sunday School,” Hebel said, and pauses, allowing the full weight of that sentence to sink in. “He wasn’t wanted there. These coffee shops — five locations in this state — are about radical hospitality and inclusivity. People with disabilities need community just as much as they need jobs. We want to work with those who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. That means people with Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Cerebral Palsy and those with sight and hearing disabilities, to name a few.”
PHOTOS PROVIDED
the University of Oklahoma dorms and Greek houses, you’ll find a warm, busy coffee shop called Not Your Average Joe. At 4 p.m. on a winter Tuesday, the place bustles with a steady stream of college students getting their caffeine fix. The baristas frequently call out cheerful greetings to regular customers by name. A sign on one wall reads, “Wear your Greek letters on Monday and receive 15% off your order.” Some customers leave as soon as they get a cup in hand, and others set up a place to study. Wearing messy buns or North Face gear, laptops and textbooks spread over the tables, they set up camp with lattes or espressos. Nothing about this humming coffee shop would immediately clue a customer in to the fact that Not Your Average Joe hires workers who have IDDs — intellectual and developmental disabilities. Tim Hebel, executive director of the five Not Your Average Joe coffee houses across Oklahoma, purposely designed the business to provide not only coffee to the masses but also quality, meaningful jobs to those with disabilities. “At this time last week, you would have walked in and heard four different languages,” Hebel
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“These coffee shops — five locations in this state — are about radical hospitality and inclusivity. People with disabilities need community just as much as they need jobs.” — Tim Hebel
While we are talking, a barista has taken a seat at a nearby table and has begun drawing with a Sharpie on coffee sleeves. Hebel nods towards him and then opens up the photographs on his phone. “Many of our employees are artistically gifted and like to draw on the sleeves,” he said. He scrolls through art that has found a home around someone’s cup of coffee, and he mentions that if they could find 1,000 donors a month at $5 each, they could afford to hire a special needs coordinator full-time. As we talk, a barista brings round a sample of a new drink they’re trying called the Honeybee Latte. Notes of lavender and honey gently flavor the coffee. Every customer is offered a small cup. Light from the setting sun filters through the windows, and for a moment, it doesn’t feel like we are a collection of strangers, but a community raising a cup in celebration of a safe place where all are welcome.
Top: Nikki Worthley and Haley Drummond work at an espresso machine inside a Not Your Average Joe location. Middle: Not Your Average Joe also sells a product line featuring four coffee roasts, jams, shirts and sweatshirts. Right: A Not Your Average Joe espresso.
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Florence Jones-Kemp and daughter Victoria Kemp.
ALL IN THE FAM ILY 33
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t’s easy to make the case that family-owned businesses are a pretty large engine for the U.S. economy: They make up 64 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. About 62 percent of us work for one, and they create 78 percent of new job creation, according to a recent university study. And Oklahoma City is chock-full of robust family businesses: Like Victoria Kemp and her mom Florence, who have operated Florence’s Restaurant for 70 years this month and who just earned the state’s first James Beard award. Or the Lopez family, operators of Lopez Foods, which is the nation’s largest Hispanic-owned protein processing company, and who have produced food for McDonald’s for decades in Oklahoma City. Or take the founders of Plenty Mercantile, who started a decade ago and will open their fourth and then their fifth location this year. Or how about Home Creations – started by immigrants from Iran – who are now transitioning the homebuilding company’s leadership to the next generation. We could go on and on. They aren’t just integral to our economic engine either, they’ve also got a lot of institutional knowledge on how a business, family-business or not, should run. Take a look at three more companies – with a combined 265 years of business in Oklahoma – who tell their story and give advice on how they’ve navigated successes and setbacks, transitions and industry changes for generations, all while weathering the ups and downs of growing a business while keeping it all in the family. FAMILY-OWNED SINCE 1892
Benton Clyde Clark – or as he’s better known around here, B.C. Clark – arrived in what was then Indian Territory in 1892 (cue the jingle). That was 15 years before statehood, and the Clark family has been selling jewelry ever since. “My great grandfather grew up on a farm in Mississippi,” said Mitchell Clark, BC Clark Jewelers executive vice president. “He had an older brother who moved to Lubbock, Texas, and he had a jewelry store specializing in watch repair. He joined his brother and learned the trade. He taught him everything he knew about watches. CONT INUE D PG. 3 8
PLENTY ENOUGH Brittney Matlock started Plenty Mercantile with her mom, Traci Walton, a decade ago. This year, they are finding plenty of room to grow – opening two new locations after seeing 26 percent growth in gross revenue last year alone. TEN YEARS AGO, BRITTNEY MATLOCK GRADUATED COLLEGE. Two months later, she signed a lease for a retail space in downtown’s Automobile Alley and became business partners with her mom, Traci Walton, in a new-to-OKC retail concept, Plenty Mercantile, which focused on truly sustainable and green products.
“Overnight, I went from her daughter to her equal business partner,” Matlock said. “When you grow up, you think your parents know everything. And then you grow up, and you realize they actually do.” Still, Matlock had to learn to trust herself as she and her mom grew the business. “I call her the adultier adult,” she said. “But I had to trust myself and my expertise and my education and not be like a defensive teenager but learn to be confident in what I know.” Turns out, what she knows is how to grow a business that is focused on sustainable products – selling everything from pet care and jewelry to kitchen wares and baby toys. During the life of the business, the mother-daughter team has grown Plenty Mercantile from one to currently three locations, with a new store opening in October at Will Rogers World Airport and another gift shop opening in the First National Building downtown later this year.
In fact, Plenty Mercantile’s growth is a bit staggering: Gross revenue for the store has steadily grown for years, but it saw a 13 percent increase in 2020 (when the world stopped) and 26 percent in 2021. In total, gross revenue has increased 65 percent from 2017 to 2021. “Plenty is an extension of our home and what we desire it to be,” Walton said. “Brittney and I grew up in the same home, obviously, and that style stayed with us. We share so many of the same values and styles, and all those little things are so similar along with the unique differences that we bring to the table.” When the pair first opened Plenty, Walton had three kids at home and was spending afternoons in school pick up lines. Matlock was single and fresh out of college. Now, Walton’s littles are grown and gone, and Matlock is married with two babies of her own. “When you become a parent, you know that your children are watching you,” Walton said. “And now, when I get to stand side-by-side – now I’m tearing up – and see my child turn around to her children and see her children are watching her. And she continues to rise to the occasion on every occasion – it is very fulfilling. I get to be part of Brittney ‘s life in a way I wouldn’t get to do otherwise. You can’t separate your parental love for your business relationship, but I get to help —her, her business, our family in every way.” Matlock’s professional career has been entangled with her mother from the start. But any self-doubt that she could not make it on her own has been replaced with gratitude, she said. “The amount of things I’ve learned just from watching her, most people don’t get,” she said. “I’ve never done anything else. Sometimes I wonder, ‘Can I do anything else? Am I capable of doing this? Who would I be if my mom wasn’t around me all the time?’ But then, I remember I do get to do all of this. This is who I am, and I am better because of that. I am the lucky one to have her included in every day. Most humans don’t get that relationship with their parent and that level of respect for each other.” And that’s plenty.
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Daughter Brittney Matlock with mom Traci Walton.
CONSTRUCTING A LEGACY Iranian-born Jalal and Mohammad Farzaneh founded Home Creations 41 years ago. Now, four of their sons are working to grow the home-building business with them, which already constructs more homes in the Oklahoma City metro area than any other builder. 36
For Jalal and Mohammad Farzaneh, getting turned down for a loan actually was the catalyst of a multi-generational family business. In 1981, the brothers were fresh out of college with architecture degrees from the University of Oklahoma. The Iranian-born brothers, who were in Oklahoma on student visas, decided to find work and start their lives here, instead of returning to Iran as they had originally planned out of concern for the ramifications from the Iranian Revolution. However, they also found resistance to
being hired here because of their Iranian heritage, so they decided they’d better go into business for themselves. They found a convenience store for sale and tried to get a loan to buy it. “The banker said, ‘Have you ever worked or owned a convenience store?’ I said no,” Mohammad said. “‘Do you know anyone who has owned a convenience store? Do you know how to run a convenience store? I said no, no.” Mohammad told the banker about his education in architecture and how their dad was a master builder, and the banker
Founders and brothers Jalal and Mohammad Farzaneh with sons and next-generation owners Mohammad, Vahid, Ali and MJ Farzaneh.
said he’d give him a construction loan to build a house instead. “I shook his hand, and I said, ‘I’ll be back next week,’” he said. That handshake started Home Creations in 1981. The first year, they built and sold one house. The next year, they built and sold six. Three years later in 1984, they were up to 50 houses. Some lean years during the ‘80s and ‘90s reflected the struggles in Oklahoma’s economy, but by the mid-’90s, the brothers were building about 150-200 homes every year, with that number jumping to 450-500 a few years ago. Today, the
company reports building between 600700 homes a year, constructing more homes in the Oklahoma City metro every year than any other builder. In total, Home Creations boasts building more than 15,000 homes in the last 41 years. While they grew their business, they also grew their families. By 1994, Mohammad’s son, MJ Farzaneh, joined the company. He started cleaning houses while in high school, and now he’s the Chief Operations Officer. And the company has added three other sons to the management structure in the last several years.
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“All the boys started coming in about 4-5 years ago,” Mohammad said. “We are kind of sitting back and they are growing the company. They want to be in different markets and grow the company in their own way now.” And that own way is to play to each son’s strengths: Vahid Farzaneh is a managing partner and runs the company’s marketing efforts – along with Freestyle Creative, a full-service marketing agency he created in 2008. Hossein Farzaneh left a promising law career to run the legal side of Home Creations, and Ali Farzaneh got his doctorate in architectural design at the Architectural Association in London and spearheaded a new commercial division about a year and a half ago. “I think that we kind of all explored what we really liked,” Ali said. “We realized the value of working together as a family and as partners, and we decided to work together as a second generation. What we have come to find out is that it allows to do what we love, so it has become quite powerful in that sense.” Hossein made the shift when his own son was born, knowing his career would be better with family. He said he traded a corner office where he was on track to be partner and shared an office with his dad, Jalal, for the next five years. “I loved every second of it,” he said. “It’s been five of the greatest years of my life, seeing my dad every day.” The last two years for Home Creations have been some of the strongest, Ali said, and the family says they aim to hit about 5 percent growth each year. Now, the company is partnering with EightTwenty to make solar-powered homes an option, and they are looking to expand to markets outside Oklahoma. The second generation is pushing the company forward, and founders Mohammad and Jalal can watch it grow. “It’s gratifying to see there is going to be a next generation to take over the business,” Jalal said. “We are so happy to be able to work together, and the last five years have been really important to me to see how they respond to each other and work together at the company. They are equal in ownership and see each other as equals in the partnership. They really respond to each other and it’s really important to me to see how they have meshed together.” But, MJ said, the family business works because the brothers and their sons focus on their strengths and the mutual respect they have for each other. “The secret to our success is the trust we have for each other,” MJ said.
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Coleman, Jim and Mitchell Clark, thirdand fourthgenerationowners of BC Clark.
C O N T I NUED FROM P G. 34
“He started hearing about Indian Territory up north and explored that. He took a train and headed to Chickasha because he liked the sound of the name. But he lost his wallet and all his life savings, so he ended up in Purcell, Oklahoma, because it was a train stop. He ran into a guy who he knew from Lubbock who had a five-and-dime and he talked him into allowing him to open a small jewelry store inside.” Train operators were required to have their watches inspected, so the then-just-four-year-old Purcell was a perfect spot for a watch repairer to start a jewelry business. By the time Oklahoma was a state, Clark’s great grandfather had moved out of that five-and-dime and had his own store. Benton Clyde moved his store to Oklahoma City in 1929, same year as the stock market crash, and the Clark family has weathered every financial storm since. Located in downtown Oklahoma City since arriving, B.C.’s corporate office and flagship store is one of three locations in the metro. Clark and his brother, Coleman, are the fourth generation to run the 130-year-old company. Their dad, Jim, serves as chairman, and Coleman serves as president. “We have always lived on the same values that my great grandfather started with,” Mitchell Clark
said. “Quality is very important, but it’s more about people — our customers and our staff. It makes a big difference. We pride ourselves on customer services.” He said many staff members have been around for decades, extending the familial feel beyond the Clark family. “We have salespeople who have sold someone an engagement ring, and they bring their child back to buy their engagement ring and the same salesperson serves them,” Clark said. Clark himself has worked in the business since he was a little boy – first as an elevator operator (“I got a little stool and sat in there and pushed the buttons,” he said) and then moved up to gift wrapping at Christmas and checking the weights of diamonds. But, his father or grandfather never pressured him into joining the family business, advice he said he’d give any family business when thinking through transitions. “They never really talked to me about going into the business,” he said. “It was really nice. At that point, I didn’t necessarily know I wanted to be a part of the business.” Clark said it was important to choose to join the family business and get experience outside of the family first, both traits he said are important
to consider whenever a family member joins an existing family business. “I think it’s a good idea for someone thinking about coming into a family business is to get some experience outside the business to get some foundation and knowledge that you know that this is right for you,” he said. “Make sure that the decision is not taken too lightly. Make sure that’s where you want your career path to go.” He said he’s seen many family businesses in the jewelry industry collapse because of communication issues or differing values. “I think communication is very important,” he said. “You need to get together often to discuss your thoughts and feelings about the business and make sure you are on the same page. And being together at our headquarters every day – we can grab each other all the time to talk about things that come up. It makes it all very simple. “We’ve seen a lot of that conflict with friends of ours that have generational businesses, and we realize we are very lucky because we all get along really well. We all have the same values and the same mindset when it comes to running our business. We have different ideas from time to time, but we listen to one another and try out each other’s ideas. So far, it’s been really smooth. “ Yep, for just the last 130 years.
“We have always lived on the same values that my great grandfather started with,” Mitchell Clark said. “Quality is very important, but its more about people -- our customers and our staff. It makes a big difference. We pride ourselves on customer services.”
THINKING BEYOND THEIR LIFETIME
Jason Trice is co-CEO with his brother, Cameron Trice. Their dad, Steve Trice, started Jasco — a home electronics developer and manufacturer — in 1975 as an offshoot of a company his father started in the ‘50s. They run their family business the way they want to – and that means giving 50 percent of all profits from Jasco-branded products to more than 180 ministries and charities across the globe. Because they are family-owned and controlled, Jason said, they can structure their business to align with their values. “Having a closely held family business gives us a lot more latitude than if we were publicly traded, for sure,” Trice said. “It’s not about me or my family, it’s what God is doing through Jasco to bless people around the world.” He said this business shift allows him to think about business differently: It’s only his for a little while. “This is God’s business,” he said. “We are stewards of it for a little while, and our goal is to leave it better than we found it and to help the next generation to do the same.” Jasco designs, develops, markets and distributes roughly 4,000 products through distribution partners like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target and Amazon.
Jason Trice is Jasco’s co-CEO with his brother Cameron.
He said to remain relevant as a family-owned electronics company – or any family-owned business – change must be embraced. “Technology continues to evolve, which provides great opportunities for innovation,” he said. “Change is hard for the giants, but companies that can be nimble take advantage of those changes. We miss the boat sometimes, but we are right more often than not.” Since 2000, Jasco has shown growth every year but two, Trice said. And with the increase in demand for electronic connectivity at home during the pandemic, the company saw significant growth during the last two years as well. “We saw an unforeseen increase in demand – too much demand and not enough supply,” he said. “But I’ll take those kind of challenges every day.” For the future of a family-owned business, he said family members must work to instill a hard work ethic into the next generation that might – or might not – join the family business. “I spend a fair amount of time praying and thinking about my kids and reflecting on the way that I was raised,” he said. “I learned the value of hard work and discipline.” “People say, ‘the first generation starts it, the second builds it and the third generation destroys
it,’” he said. “We’re trying to be the generation that builds it into something that lasts and becomes a multi-generational blessing. We’re trying to train the next generation up right to understand the value of hard work and the value of earning money and not just giving them everything. “We are doing this for the glory of God and not to be a trust fund for family members.” HIRE HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT
Greg Elliott started cleaning typewriters for his grandfather’s business when he was 12 years old. Now, he’s Chief Operating Officer and his cousin, Tim Elliott, is CEO, of the business that began as Fred Standley Typewriter Company, which sold typewriters and 10-key adding machines and has morphed into Standley Systems, a multi-million-dollar technology company still based in Chickasha. “I would pick up typewriters out of the school classrooms, and I’d take them back to our office,” he said. “I’d clean them all summer and take them back before school started. I did that every summer of my childhood.” Joining the family business – which was started by Elliott’s father’s stepfather, Fred Standley, when Standley’s mother traded C O N T I N U E D P G . 4 3
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FROM FLORENCE’S FOUNDATION Florence’s Restaurant, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this month, is the first restaurant in Oklahoma to win the coveted James Beard award for its excellence in food and culture. Founder and owner Florence Jones-Kemp, 91, still bakes pies and cooks meals every day, and her daughter, Victoria Kemp, came along a decade ago to push the restaurant to the national acclaim it is receiving today.
AFTER 70 YEARS AS AN ENTREPRENEUR, restaurateur and barrier-breaker coming of age during the Civil Rights movement, Florence Jones-Kemp doesn’t know she’s an icon in Oklahoma City. “I didn’t do nothing,” she said. “I just knew I knew how to cook. And I knew we were poor, and I did not intend to be poor all my life. “I feel like I’m still the little country girl from Boley with no shoes.” That country girl was born in 1932 in Boley, the largest and most well-known of the more than 50 all-Black settled towns in Oklahoma and one of 13 that still exist today, and she lived there until she was 12. She said she’d protect her new shoes when walking the 2.5 miles to town by carrying them until reaching town and then washing her feet in a creek, so her shoes remained clean. After moving to Oklahoma City and graduating from historic Douglass High School, she spent a summer in California learning to cook while working with her cousin and husband at a local hot spot the pair owned. “It was a straight shot of a place,” she said. “They had food in the front, a pool hall in the middle, and, in back, my cousin’s husband had a gambling room. They didn’t let me go in the back.” Just a few days after her 20th birthday in 1952, she opened Florence’s Restaurant first at 916 N.E. 4th St., in a small building that doubled as housing. “I bought a second-hand stove and table and opened up in a little place in the front of where I lived,” she said. “It had one room. You could see me cook. I was putting money in a cigar box, cause that’s all I had.” It was immediately popular. So much so that after two years, she said she could afford to help send her sister to college. She moved two additional times around the now-Deep Deuce area in the next decade, always outgrowing the last space. But, in the 1960s, urban renewal projects forced Jones-Kemp, and dozens of other Blackowned businesses, to relocate. She landed on 23rd Street at the location she still runs today. This time, she was determined not to let landlords dictate her growth. She bought her property and opened other businesses like a barber shop and car wash. Today, the Kemp family owns almost the entire block around the Florence’s Restaurant.
“Some people get a car when they graduate high school,” said Victoria Kemp, Florence’s daughter. “I got some land.” Kemp moved back from Dallas in 2008 to help her mother – then in her 70s – with the restaurant. “Every single morning we’d talk on the phone,” Kemp said. “I mean, every single morning, I would roll over and call my momma. And I started noticing there was just something in her voice – something only a daughter could hear in her momma’s voice. And I knew she needed my help.” Now with Kemp’s direction, the restaurant has flourished with mother and daughter working side by side. Kemp has made investments on the property and the interior of the restaurant, like buying new chairs. “We had chairs that she’d had since she started the restaurant,” Kemp said. “I used to come in every day and check the chairs to make sure they were safe for people to sit in.” But new chairs were just where Kemp started. Since her arrival, “Diners, Drive Ins and Dives” named one of Florence’s signature dishes, Yammed Fried Chicken, one of its top three chicken dishes. And Kemp is now working on a retail product line of Florence’s fried chicken seasoning, cornbread mix, pancake and waffle mix as well as bottling their own barbecue sauce. But all of those advancements pale in comparison to becoming a James Beard Award winner for excellence in food and culture, Oklahoma’s first and only restaurant to win and one of only six restaurants in the country to be named this year, this past February. Just like every other glass ceiling Jones-Kemp has crashed through, the national award is just part of the day’s work for her. “I told her (Victoria), I don’t know anything about no Beard,” she said. “Now, go over there and check on that chicken.” Kemp, however, knows the magnitude of the award, and how it is a symbol of how far she’s taken the restaurant and how much her mother has accomplished. “I came in and I dreamed of a bigger dream for this place,” Kemp said. “It’s been a long and hard fight, but I have seen that dream realized.” For the women, this labor of love is a daily endeavor, with no signs of slowing for either of them. “We love this, and we’re going to do this until we can’t do it anymore,” Kemp said. “And then we’re going to go home and sit down.”
“I came in and I dreamed of a bigger dream for this place,” Victoria Kemp said. “It’s been a long and hard fight, but I have seen that dream realized.”
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Ed Sanchez, with brothers John and Dave Lopez.
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THE LOPEZ LEGACY The Lopez family bought a food processing plant in 1992. Today, Lopez Foods is one of the largest Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States, boasting revenues in the billions. JOHN AND DAVE LOPEZ’S PARENTS were franchise owners of four McDonald’s in Los Angeles when the brothers were growing up. Because of that first decision to enter in the world of franchised restaurants, the Lopez family now owns and operates Lopez Foods in Oklahoma City, supplying McDonald’s, Walmart, Starbucks and other retailers with millions of pounds of pork, beef and chicken every year. And, after significant expansion and steady growth for decades, today, Lopez Foods boasts it is one of the top five largest Hispanic-owned companies in the United States, with revenues topping out in the billions – all while being privately owned by family and key employee-shareholders. “My parents were one of the first 10 or 12 Hispanic franchisee owners back in the ‘70s,” said Dave, who is Lopez Foods’ vice president of sales and international business. In the early ‘90s, McDonald’s approached their parents – John C. and Pat Lopez – about buying a food processing plant more than 1,300 miles away in Oklahoma City. And in 1992, John C. Lopez purchased the controlling interest in the plant that produced exclusively beef patties for McDonald’s. John said, for his parents, the purchase, and move to Oklahoma, was a can’t-turn-down-opportunity. “It was capturing lightening in a bottle,” he said. “Something like this doesn’t come around very often. They were wonderful entrepreneurs who got into something special and then grew it.” And grow they have. McDonald’s was their first customer, and they started expanding to Walmart and then Starbucks and Burger King along with an expanding line of products. “Walmart was our second customer,” John said. “Walmart had never sold sausage patties until we brought it to them. Now it is their second highest frozen food item.” In 2011, Lopez Foods bought and retooled a plant in Ponca City and started producing chicken, supplying chicken nuggets to McDonald’s across the nation as well as chicken to Tyson through
a partnership. Today, Lopez also has a plant in Iowa and North Carolina. And, a large percentage of their pork products – which are also shipped in significant amounts across Asia – are also grown in Oklahoma. “We try and buy as much pork from the state of Oklahoma as we can,” John said. “We get lots of pork from Guymon — 40 to 50 million pounds of pork in Oklahoma every year. We know how important that is to the state.” But, a lot of this growth came about with a unique succession plan that actually didn’t involve family. In 2004, their father was ready to retire. And the family business brought in an outsider to join as chairman and CEO. “He wanted to retire,” John said. “But we weren’t ready to step into the CEO role.” Instead, they tapped Ed Sanchez as CEO and chairman, whose first job was as a McDonald’s crew person in high school and who had worked his way up to McDonald’s president of Latin America and Canada when John C. called. “I wanted to continue the culture of family first,” Sanchez said. “I came in with the intent to keep everything intact. The business had a huge opportunity for growth, and we have grown five-fold since 2004, not only through internal growth but also through acquisition.” However, the unique transition of power did not transition ownership. In fact, the company expanded ownership to include 14 shareholders from its 750 employees, including the Lopez family and Sanchez. And Sanchez’s son now works for the company as well. “My dad really set the standard and foundation and we took it over and really multiplied the growth,” John said. “But without his foundation and management that he established, we wouldn’t have had that growth.” For John C. and Pat, who started it all so long ago in L.A., John said they can hardly believe the growth of Lopez Foods. “They are amazed at how far we’ve come with multiple plants and multiple states,” John said. “They are so proud of us.”
CO N T I N U E D FRO M P G. 3 8
Indian-allotted land in Amber, Oklahoma, to help buy a building in downtown Chickasha – always was his goal growing up. His father and uncle, Don and Jim Elliot, ran the business until it transitioned to their sons. “I have known since I was a young child this is what I wanted to do,” he said. “My dad has always been my hero and best friend, and I never imagined anything but working at Standley’s. This is what I’ve always wanted to do.” And, it is what he’s done: The business transitioned about 20 years ago from Jim and Don Elliott’s ownership to their sons. Now, the cousins both have sons involved, and they are learning the management of the business. For the 88-year-old company, Elliott said they’ve had to be intentional about communication, and said hiring consultants that have an outside perspective for the very family-focused-and-run business has been integral to their growth. “Don’t be afraid to hire a coach,” Elliott said. “Tim and I have had the same coach and he will work with him and then work with me. Having that outside coach is critical, and they can act as a trusted advisor that the family can rely on to help navigate those challenging times.” He said for his family business, where the fourth generation is beginning to take on leadership roles, having guidance from experts that have external experiences gives needed perspective. “Outside of working at a summer camp, this is all I’ve ever done,” he said. “This is the only job we’ve ever had. The same is true of our boys. So, it’s important for us to hire executives that have an outside perspective. And it’s important for us to hire coaches that challenge us to think differently. When a business can afford to hire a coach, they should do that. Find one you can trust that can help guide your decision making.” This focus is tied to the company’s success, he said. The company has seen growth around 10 percent each year – outside of two unpredictable years recently with supply issues. Despite recent issues, the company has almost doubled revenue from $18 million a few years ago to $34 million last year. “As a family business, it can be so super challenging, but it is also super rewarding,” he said. “I know my cousin’s heart – my business partner’s heart. We may not always see eye to eye, but we come back to the fact that we love each other. And we have our best interest at heart, and we want to do what’s best for the family. And the business. There is something very rewarding about that.”
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STORY BY GREG HORTON
THE I N C U B AT I O N PERIOD
Incubators, or programs designed to help startups innovate and grow, provide tangible help like lowcost workspaces, mentor possibilities, access to funders and advice that new businesses often struggle to find. And, with a new retail incubator, RISE, combined with Department
ILLUSTRATION BY MICHAEL LEE
of Commerce-certified incubators like AXIS or nonprofit structured Progress OKC, the goal is the same: Come alongside OKC’s entrepreneurs and help PHOTOS BY CHARLIE NEUENSCHWANDER
them grow.
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N G E L A D E A N S TA R T E D D E A R R E V E R I E , A F A S H I O N
Jennifer McGrail, director of AXIS, a state-certified incubator operating out of Francis Tuttle Technology Center.
and jewelry boutique, in 2016 as a pop-up shop and online store. Dean said she was converting her daydreams to tangible pieces of beautiful and affordable fashion and accessories. In early 2021, she noticed an opportunity on social media that seemed to have – as she put it – no downsides. “I saw what RISE was offering, and I realized it would be an opportunity to test whether or not Dear Reverie was ready for a physical space of its own,” Dean said. “A storefront is always the dream in retail, and an opportunity with no real financial commitment – except $50 per month – a temporary space and the potential for networking was a great opportunity to test the waters.” RISE is a cooperative program of Citizens Bank of Edmond and the Independent Shopkeepers Association launched in October 2020. Cleo Rajon, the executive director of the ISA, said CBE reached out to her in summer 2020 about collaborating on a retail incubator. “It seemed like a perfect partnership,” Rajon said. “They were offering spaces to new and existing shops to test the retail market. Retail incubators had always been part of the vision for ISA, so this meshed perfectly with what we wanted to do.” Per the CBE press release in 2020, the program was to “support the independent shop community and connect aspiring entrepreneurs with a low-cost, ready-to-lease retail opportunity. For a low program fee of $50 a month, the selected shopkeepers will operate a temporary retail space on Broadway Street as well as have a dedicated desk at Vault 405, downtown Edmond’s first co-working space.” “The focus is more than just the retail space, though,” Rajon said. “We’re about to roll out the 2.0 version, and there will be more emphasis on one-onone mentoring, practical help, merchandising, education and networking.” RISE is only one of many incubators in the 405, some of which are certified through a Department of Commerce program, and others available through non-profit organizations like Progress OKC, a community development corporation that works with “communities that have experienced significant disinvestment.” Daisy Munoz is the capital access manager for Progress OKC, and she said the goal of their accelerator-incubator program is “to build community wealth through business development.” “The program begins with a 10-week curriculum for entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs,” Munoz said. “Usually for minority-owned businesses, they’re at the start-up phase, but we help people at any stage of the process. The misconception about minority-owned businesses is that they mainly need funding, but the truth is, they need help with structures, strategies and funding.” Progress OKC is working on providing wrap-around support for their clients via the curriculum, mentoring, networking and even microloans and crowdfunding. Munoz has helped two clients get the maximum $15,000 that KIVA offers through their microloan program. “The other key component is helping them develop a solid business plan so that they are able to approach a bank for loans,” Munoz said. “We are attempting to expand our services now and are looking at partnerships with community development financial institutions (a program of the U.S. Treasury Department) and local partners like Tinker Federal Credit Union.” AXIS is a state-certified incubator operating out of Francis Tuttle Technology Center. Jennifer McGrail, AXIS director, said the incubator program begins with important questions. “What does success look like for your business? And what will it take for you to achieve success?” McGrail said. “All incubators are different, so we set what graduation looks like from the beginning, and then we draw up a plan with dates and milestones. We’ve found that entrepreneurs spend a lot of time working in their business but not on their business, so we include weekly, one-on-one coaching, too.”
Whitney Randell, Citizens Bank of Edmond senior vice president, and Lindsey Ogan, Citizens Bank of Edmond chief growth officer, who both work with RiSE incubator clients.
“THE FOCUS IS MORE THAN JUST THE RETAIL SPACE, THOUGH. WE’RE ABOUT TO ROLL OUT THE 2.0 VERSION, AND THERE WILL BE MORE EMPHASIS ON ONE-ON-ONE MENTORING, PRACTICAL HELP, MERCHANDISING, EDUCATION AND NETWORKING.” — CLEO RAJON
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Daisy Munoz, capital access manager for Progress OKC, said the organization’s accelerator-incubator program focuses on minority-owned businesses and works to build community wealth through business development.
RETAIL INCUBATOR FOR THE SHOPKEEPER EXPERIENCE WAS CREATED AS AN INITIATIVE TO SUPPORT ASPIRING OKLAHOMA SHOPKEEPERS AND
The retailer, Out on a Limb, utilizing the RiSE incubator space.
ENTREPRENEURS IN TAKING THE RETAIL EXPERIENCE TO THE NEXT LEVEL. THE MISSION IS TO DELIVER A LOWCOST, HIGH-REWARD INCUBATOR FOR TESTING NEW MARKETS AND DREAMING BIG.
The primary appeal of working with state-certified incubators is the small business incubator tax incentive. Essentially, per McGrail, businesses that graduate or remain in good standing with the program receive a full waiver of state income tax for up to 10 years. “The program through the Department of Commerce is an attempt to encourage new and established businesses to remain and grow in Oklahoma,” McGrail said. AXIS has approximately 10,000 square feet available at the Danforth campus of Francis Tuttle. The space includes eight offices and five shops (not retail shops). “The shops allow us to take businesses that need more space, like manufacturing, or are more process-heavy than retail,” McGrail said. “The program begins with an inquiry form followed by a one-on-one meeting where we evaluate the need, including space and resources. If we lack either, we help them find an incubator or other resource like a small business development center, REI Women’s Business Center, or a coworking space.” To qualify for certification, an incubator must establish criteria for admission, and file that criteria with the Department of Commerce. McGrail said common criteria are questions like: is it a start-up or early state (under 3 years); will it create jobs for the area; will it bring substantial capital back to the area; will it create a significant positive for the community; and, is it innovative or disruptive? “A disruptive business typically offers something that seems basic on the surface, but it revolutionizes how things are done,” McGrail said. “So, if someone comes to us wanting to do a bakery, that’s not right for us, but there are plenty of options out there, and we can help them find the right one.” Incubators can be valuable for helping entrepreneurs answer questions they already have, identify questions they didn’t know existed and learn the ins and outs of doing business, from loan applications to business plans to coaching and networking, Dean said. Working with RISE for 60 days helped her clarify some issues for her business, she said. “I wasn’t ready for a storefront yet,” Dean said. “I needed to know the best path for me – online, popup, storefront – and RISE helped me sort through that.”
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P ROM OTION
Join us as we celebrate the hard-working men and women, who along with their families, have created household names within their relative industries. From generations past to future generations to come, these families are and will continue to be the backbone of our amazing city.
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P ROM OTION L to R: Sam Jurrens, CFA, CFP Chief Investment Officer Rick Jurrens, CFP, CLU, ChFC Chief Executive Officer Chris Jurrens, CFP Chief Operating Officer
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P ROM OTION
F.I.G. Financial 14642 BOGERT PARKWAY OKLAHOMA CITY 405.844.9826 FIGFINANCIAL.COM
FAMILY-OWNED AND FAITH-DRIVEN,
F.I.G. Financial Advisory Services, Inc. was founded to not simply sell a product, but rather deliver quality financial advice and investment services to its clientele and establish lifelong relationships. Rick T. Jurrens and his sons Christopher and Sam are living the American Dream running the business together as a family in the 405 metro. “The DNA of our core beliefs and values are tethered together through our familial connection,” said COO Christopher Jurrens. “We want to establish a firm foundation for growth through future generations.” F.I.G. was launched on the belief that financial planning is an ongoing process, constantly evolving based on each individual client’s current and long-term needs. “There is a dedication to serving our clients’ needs and goals, beyond the typical employer/employee dynamic,” said COO Chris Jurrens. “We have a ‘client-first’ mentality, and we believe there is an undeniable solidarity in our commitment to continuity and succession that only comes through family.” Since its founding in 1983, the firm has maintained its independence, which means no company tells them what to sell to clients. Rather, the firm works with each client personally to discover what’s best for their unique situation. “Because we don’t receive any outside compensation or commissions for our
investment management assets, our interests are even better aligned with those of our clients,” Chris said. “That unbiased and independent perspective really benefits our clientele.” For financial planning, F.I.G. utilizes the MyWealth Platform, which connects every financial account into one location for clients. It serves to keep clients informed on all bank accounts, credit cards, mortgages, 401k, investment accounts, insurance and more. The platform is the backbone of F.I.G.’s financial planning services, helping clients plan for the future. When it comes to investment management, F.I.G. invests client portfolio assets on a discretionary basis, meaning they choose the investments they believe best suit clients’ needs. All investment services are offered on a transparent fee-basis rather than trading commissions, so concerns for conflict of interest can be curtailed. “No matter what we invest in, you pay us the same,” Chris said. “Portfolios are also actively traded, so you have peace of mind that someone is always watching your investments.” F.I.G. is the perfect fit for clients who value family and faith and need to take control of their financial future. You can visit them online at http://FIGFinancial.com for more information regarding their firm and services. Also, they can be reached by phone at (405) 844-9826 to schedule your free initial consultation or plan review. 53
P ROM OTION
L to R: Ian Elliott, Don Elliott, Greg Elliott, Blake Elliott, Tim Elliott, Jim Elliott, Sherri Kell, Ethan Elliott
Standley Systems 26 E. MAIN ST. OKLAHOMA CITY 405.224.0819 STANDLEYS.COM
WHAT BEGAN IN 1934 IN CHICKASHA,
Oklahoma as the Fred Standley Typewriter Company has been blessed through the years with an abundance of opportunity and great people to move the company forward. At Standley Systems, the concept of family is at the heart of every decision, and has been for 88 years. 54
Today, Standley Systems co-owners Tim Elliott (CEO), Greg Elliott (COO) and Blake Elliott (VP/Operations) inherently understand that by fostering and supporting a culture of faith, people and community first, the rest takes care of itself. Their family decision filter has stood strong for almost nine decades of serving Oklahoma business owners. Team as family. Clients as family. It’s all the same in their world. To think about the accelerated pace of change in our technology driven world tells people all they need to know about Standley’s ability to adapt and pivot, in order to meet client needs. Case in point: Tim Elliott has shared a story about the first time someone called and asked about a fax machine. Having never heard of one, it didn’t take him long to source what they needed. And the best part of the story? Tim Elliott always answers his phone. He expects no less of any Standley team member.
Today, Standley Systems can proudly claim to serve businesses in all 77 Oklahoma counties, with offices across the state and a team of service technicians available to respond quickly and efficiently. With a commitment to keep you going, every Standley team member understands down time is lost time, and lost time can result in lost earnings. No client wants that and neither do they. Copiers, printers, document management, IT system support or critical software solutions – it all matters. With technology driving today’s business environment, Standley Systems is committed to providing what their clients need, when and how they need it. Local, family ownership is key to nimble decision making, building relationships to stand the test of time and growing a people-first business in Oklahoma, for Oklahoma.
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ESTABLISHED IN 1976
COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL INTERIORSCAPES, PATIOSCAPE, AND LANDSCAPE DESIGN
5308 N. CLASSEN BLVD • 405.848.6642 • www.CALVERTS.com •
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Design in Mind
CHARLIE NEUENSCHWANDER
Darrin Miller, CEO of Miller Architects, designed his firm’s offices inside the St. Anthony Healthplex he also built. p.64
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Hedge Fund Racer Will Cooper, cofounder and CEO of Caption Partners, a hedge fund Aubrey McClendon convinced him to move from New York City to Oklahoma City, races with the Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association on a Yamaha R6 600cc. He said it’s not thrills he’s seeking; it’s focus. BY KRISTEN GRACE
your mind while you are focused on the race,” said Will Cooper. People have assumed occasionally that the hedge fund cofounder and CEO races motorcycles because it’s a thrill-seeking behavior. But he is quick to say that, for him, the hobby is not about risk. “A lot of people ask about risk-taking and thrill-seeking,” he said. “It’s actually not about that at all. Racing is an activity that takes my entire concentration. It takes all the brain power you can allocate, your extreme focus. It’s almost like meditation — it’s therapeutically consuming. Many parts of my life are stressful and require me to attend to them throughout the day. But when I race, everything else falls away.” In 2014, Will Cooper had a conversation with Aubrey McClendon that convinced him and his business partner to move their hedge fund, Caption Partners, to Oklahoma City. “Aubrey told us that in New York, our business was one among hundreds — we would have a hard time making an impact,” he said. “But Oklahoma was a great place to grow a business and find employees. And we have loved growing with Oklahoma. This is a beautiful community, where we are currently the only hedge fund. As our business has grown, we’ve expanded the team in both New York and Oklahoma City.” “EVERYTHING ELSE LEAVES
Cooper started racing in college, where he got involved with racing cars. He soon discovered it was a much more expensive hobby than racing motorbikes, he said. After college, he began racing on two wheels, since he had been riding motorcycles his entire life. He now races a Yamaha R6 600cc on paved tracks with Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association, who hosts different tracks and events throughout the year. “On the straightaways, I might go as fast as 160 miles an hour,” he said. “On some curves, I slow down to 30 or 40 miles an hour. I’ve had several accidents, but never a serious injury. A crash during a race is much safer than one on a highway — there’s no traffic, no trees or guardrails. There’s also been so much improvement in the technology of the suits and helmets. The suit I wear to race in has air bags. If I am crashing, the suit can sense that, and air bags will deploy.” Besides giving him a place of deep meditative focus, Cooper said racing actually helps him with his profession. “When I’m racing, I focus intently on where I can make small changes each time in order to get a faster time,” he said. “I think that kind of focus and dedication translates to success in my work as well.”
PHOTOS PROVIDED
Below, Will Cooper, and left, Cooper as he races with the Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association.
P R O M OT I O N
Top Attorneys J U N E /J U LY 2 0 2 2 Whether it’s advice on local food or legal fees, our readers look to us to help them make educated decisions in the metro. 405 Magazine readers are the ideal audience for wanting to learn about what to expect from an attorney. Position yourself or practice as a thought leader and expert in your field!
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N Call Vanda Holland 405-308-2733
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What Advice Do You Wish You’d Been Told When You First Started Your Career?
J.D Baker
Kelli Masters
Jake Keyes
CORTA DO V ENTUR ES PLAT FORM MAN AG E R
T HE BRA N C H C OWO RK IN G SPAC E OW N E R, N FL SP O RTS AGE N T
SKY DA N C E B RE W IN G OW NE R
A fortune cookie in my first job read “Your respect for others will be your key to success.” That little piece of paper and advice has followed me in my career. This has taught me to seek the special value that every person brings to this world. I try to be a friend to everyone I meet and collaborate with. There might be an opportunity where we can be an asset to each other professionally, personally, spiritually, etc., you name it. It is better to grow together than grow alone.
The best advice I can give is, “Fight in your own armor.” In the story of David and Goliath, David is taken aside by the king just before the battle. The king gives him his own royal armor to wear, but David walks around in it and decides it doesn’t feel right. He returns the king’s armor and walks into battle in his own armor — carrying only a sling shot and God-given confidence.
The biggest piece of advice I wish I knew when we started Skydance Brewing is to make sure I had a clear picture of what I wanted us to be known for and how we would get there. This requires a deep and narrow approach.
Too many times, I questioned my own abilities. I trusted people I shouldn’t have trusted because I lacked confidence. Over time I realized that I am equipped to fulfill my calling and my assignments. Certainly, it takes time and hard work to grow and develop in our careers. But if we live in a constant state of comparison and wishing we had what others have, we will never have the confidence to reach our full potential. Fight in your own armor!
When we started, we tried to cast a wide net. We attempted to make a beer for everyone by brewing an array of styles, but you can’t be all things to all people. Now we’re going deep and narrow on India Pale Ales and the customers who love them. I have a passion for IPAs. and it shows in our end product. IPA fans are always hungry for something new, and we satisfy that hunger by releasing a new beer each week. Now we are finally known for something: Skydance is the brewery who is always coming out with great new IPAs!
ILLUSTRATIONS BY LILLIAN MEADOR
Business leaders in the 405 give out the advice they wish they’d had all along.
CA L L ING A L L TRAILBLAZERS Honoring the innovators, disruptors and trailblazers driving a new vision for Central Oklahoma 405 Business magazine is presenting the inaugural launch of The Innovation Awards. The program honors companies, CEOs, CIOs, CTOs, entrepreneurs, and other leaders driving innovation in Central Oklahoma. 405 Business will reveal the winners in the August/September issue of the magazine. N O M I N AT I O N S A R E O P E N U N T I L M AY 1 , 2 02 2
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American Cancer Society tops off new Chad Richison Hope Lodge
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Recently, OKC business leaders, cancer survivors and medical professionals gathered to celebrate the topping out of the new American Cancer Society’s Chad Richison Hope Lodge. The new facility will open in 2022 and will be located on Northeast Seventh Street and Philips Avenue in Oklahoma City, providing free lodging for Oklahomans and their family members seeking cancer treatment in the metro area. 1. Cranes top off the new facility, under construction.
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2. Jeff Fehlis, American Cancer Society executive vice president South Region, signs the commemorative beam of the Chad Richison Hope Lodge. 3. Former OU men’s basketball coach Lon Kruger and Jeff York sign the commemorative beam. 4. Charis and Chad Richison attend the topping out ceremony. Richison, founder and CEO of Paycom, gave $5 million to the $16.5 million project. Once completed, it will be the first American Cancer Society Hope Lodge in the state.
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Petroleum Alliance’s DUG Happy Hour RECENTLY, PETROLEUM INDUSTRY leaders gathered at a happy hour event, which was a precursor for the national DUG Midcontinent Conference held in Oklahoma City. The event, at Jones Assembly, was a gathering for leaders and experts in the oil and gas sector who would attend the national conference. The conference, held at the new Oklahoma City Convention Center, took place in the days after this event, and included speakers and guests from across the nation.
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1. Petroleum industry leaders check in to the happy hour, which was a precursor to the national conference. 2. Jerry Alvord talks with Petroleum Alliance president Brook Simmons. 1
New Pikepass Store location opens in Midwest City 2
Authority recently celebrated the grand opening of its newest Pikepass store location in Midwest City at the Tourist Information Center. At the opening, new customers who opened an account received a $40 credit to their account and existing customers received a $5 credit.
PHOTOS PROVIDED
THE OKLAHOMA TURNPIKE
1. Midwest City Assistant City Manager Vaughn Sullivan, Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation Tim Gatz, Pikepass Administrative Assistant Kelly Hendrix, Pikepass Customer Service Manager Daniel Parker, Senior Pikepass Customer Service Manager Nikeeta York, Cabinet-Wide Customer Service Director Marcus Williams, Pikepass Customer Service Supervisor Jimmy Sparks, Senior Pikepass Customer Service Manager Donnell Brown and Assistant Customer Service Director Nandi Woods stand at the Blue Star Memorial, a memorial for U.S. veterans, in Midwest City. 2.Oklahoma State University’s mascot, Pistol Pete, greets customers as they enroll or renew Pikepass accounts.
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Form and Function CEO of Miller Architects, offices with his firm in a building they designed six years ago – the 100,000-square-foot St. Anthony Healthplex on North Western Avenue. That way, he said, if clients need to see what the firm can do, they can just walk around and see for themselves. “We can show them this is the quality and kind of work we do,” he said. “It’s rewarding to build these types of buildings.” Since starting the firm in 1998, he and his team have
completed more than 600 architectural projects, mostly focused on the healthcare industry. However, he said former clients do refer retail and restaurant projects to them, helping make up a portion of the 30-40 projects the firm completes each year. Miller’s brother, Mike Miller, is also an architect with the firm, making the firm a family affair. Below, family mementos are sprinkled in amongst architectural renderings and product samples in Mike’s office.
Embossing stamps Darin and Matt Miller’s mother gave several embossing stamps she found for different holiday gifts through the years.
Black and white photos Photo of Darrin and Mike Miller’s grandfather, Kenneth Kamm, who sent the photo to his parents during pilot training during World War II.
Drawing of Darin and Matt Miller Matt Miller drew a sketch of the two brothers as children.
Brick and flooring samples Architectural renderings Current architectural renderings for ongoing Miller Architects projects.
CHARLIE NEUENSCHWANDER
DA RRIN MILLE R ,