December 2022/January 2023

The Business of Basketball

The OKC Thunder took Oklahoma City to an international audience, shaped the city’s growth over the last decade and a half and boasts a higher percentage of local corporate sponsorships than any NBA team.

44

Of-the-Court Assists

Five former Thunder players discuss moving from playing on the court to working for the Thunder from the sidelines.

SWEAT EQUITY

DECEMBER/JANUARY 2O23 VOLUME 2 • NUMBER 1

PRESIDENT & CEO Jordan Regas jordan.regas@405magazine.com

PUBLISHER Rod Whitson rod.whitson@405business.com

EDITOR IN CHIEF Kayte Spillman kayte@405business.com

ART DIRECTOR Christopher Lee christopher.lee@405magazine.com

SENIOR WRITER Greg Horton greg.horton@405magazine.com

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Meagan Matthews meagan@hilltopmediagroup.com

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Lillian Meador ads@405magazine.com

CLIENT COORDINATOR Leesa Neidel production@405magazine.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Kristen Grace, Evie Klopp Holzer, Danielle Oberloier, Melanie Wilderman, Lori Williams

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Charlie Neuenschwander, Logan Walcher

CONTRIBUTING ILLUSTRATOR Lillian Meador

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING Cynthia Whitaker-Attalla cynthia.whitakerhill@405magazine.com

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Drew Smith drew.smith@405magazine.com

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Terry Bechtold terry.bechtold@405magazine.com

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Vanda Holland vanda@405business.com

DIGITAL MEDIA COORDINATOR Raylee Lewis raylee.lewis@405magazine.com

EDITORIAL INTERN Snow Forth intern@405magazine.com

Volume 2 / Number 1, 405 Business Magazine (periodicals 21350) is published bi-monthly, six times a year, by Hilltop Media Group, 1613 North Broadway Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73103. Periodicals postage paid at Oklahoma City, OK and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to 405 Magazine, P.O. Box 16765, North Hollywood, CA 91615-6765.

Growing (Thunder) Up

THE THUNDER’S FIRST season in Oklahoma City was the year my son was born. He was born in June, and Oklahoma’s frst professional sports team took the court at what was a hockey-turned-NBA arena that fall.

In all that time, I’ve watched Okla homa City – and my son – grow up. The city is now the country’s 20th largest, and the Thunder have been to the NBA finals after playing some pretty raucous games in that makeshift arena.

Without a doubt, the Thunder plays a major role in injecting passion, economic diversity and vitality into the core of Oklahoma City. They are a unifying force for Oklahoma, creating both an economic push but also a sense of pride, ownership and swagger that only comes from profes sional sports.

Because of their size, scope and sway in this town, we wanted to present a comprehensive look at the Thunder’s impact on the metro and how the nuts and bolts of a business that size works.

For this story, we talked to just about anyone who could provide insight into what it means for a city to have an NBA team. Of course, we talked with a slew of Thunder exec utives but we also got the viewpoint from both current players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey and also legacy-players-turned-Thun der-staf like Nick Collison and Nazr Mohammed. We also leaned on city ofcials, business owners, corporate partners and season ticket holders (One who has missed only six games in 15 years!) to paint a full picture of what the Thunder means to this city.

Plus, we walked through the discussion of if the city needs to build a new arena for our favorite team, and what it would look like if we did. We show you what life is like for those legacy players who have made the

transition to of-the-court work and you’ll hear from those still on the court about what being in OKC means to them.

And, that’s just our cover story. Turn to page 24 to see all the fantastic work Spark! Creative Lab is doing for working artists in Oklahoma City or page 58 to see how artists with the Oklahoma Mural Syndicate are transforming the buildings around the city. Or look inside University of Oklahoma President Joe Haroz’s ofce at OU (pg. 64).

Now, fast forward to 2022, and most of the Thunder’s players are now closer to my son’s age than mine. So, looks like, without even realizing it, I grew up a bit with the Thunder too.

Kayte Spillman EDITOR IN CHIEF

“Knowing that we are the only sports team in town, it calls upon us, and it is our duty to give back and help the community. The role of the Thunder is bigger because we are the only pro team in town. So, I think the role is bigger and we can play more of a part. And the fans are coming to our games and can’t go to other games, and they support us and we should support them on the back end.”

“Being in the NBA alone brings you a global reach, and then you add to it what we’ve been able to do here for 15 years. You can’t put a price tag on the exposure of being on TV screens all over the world with a sports ticker that says Oklahoma City on it. That level of exposure creates economic success based on that. It puts you on a list, and we’re on that list. We’re in an elite club.”

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander Thunder starting point guard

Dan Mahoney Thunder Vice President of Broadcasting and Corporate Communications

While interviewing, we heard:

WHAT WE OFFER

It’s more than capital. We leverage our team’s deep experience as leaders and innovators to position our portfolio companies for accelerated growth. To date, Cortado Ventures has invested in 27 companies amounting to a total enterprise value of nearly $600 million.

INVESTMENT CRITERIA

FOUNDER

START UP

Wish Granted

Biotech manufacturing got a boost when receiving millions in funding, thanks to the U.S. Economic Development Administration grant. p.18

The Entertainment Engine

Economists estimate Oklahoma’s pre-pandemic entertainment industry brought in almost $950 million in economic impact yearly, supporting more than 8,500 jobs and millions in tax revenue.

BY MATT STANSBERRY

GROWING UP in the Oklahoma City area, I often still fnd myself surprised by how far we’ve come. I remember when Bricktown wasn’t even a thing; we didn’t go downtown for entertainment, and we defnitely couldn’t imagine having an NBA franchise in our city.

But look where we are now because of the bold individuals, organizations and industries that led the way through these difcult times. Thanks to these leaders, entertainment has be come a driving force for good in the 405.

Entertainment fulflls a basic human need. It can be viewed as just a means of keeping an audience’s attention, but it’s so much

more than that. Entertainment contributes to our happiness and well-being. It can afect our self-esteem, mental health and, of course, provide jobs and create a substantial economic impact.

Entertainment in the 405

One of the biggest advantages we have as a city is access to entertainment. While cities of all sizes need various forms of entertainment to bring people together, express, celebrate and compete, cities have the unique ability to provide enter tainment options at entirely diferent levels – Thunder bas ketball being a perfect example.

According to the city, each sold out Thunder game provides a $1.6 million economic impact on OKC. Plus, think about all the other concerts and events that take place in the Paycom Arena and what it represents for our city.

An example that may or may not be surprising to you is the State Fair. In just 10 days, the fair creates an enormous impact on our community. The fair generates millions in local econom ic impact each year. Last year, even while COVID concerns still lingered, experts estimated the fair’s impact at $100 million, according to Oklahoma State Fair ofcials.

Entertainment in the state

The entertainment industry generates signifcant economic impacts in Oklahoma with a total economic impact of $948 million in 2019, according to research by Oxford Economics. This economic impact supported 8,521 total jobs and gener ated $40 million in total state and local tax revenues.

While these numbers suddenly dropped in 2020 due to the pandemic, it’s important that the entertainment industry not only return to pre-pandemic numbers, but that it grows past them and thrives. The health of our city relies on entertainment.

The metro’s entertainment industry is bouncing back to its pre-pandemic levels, where it supported more than 8,500 jobs and brought in millions in tax revenue.

Matt Stansberry founder, CEO and partners of Nominee, a brand consultancy

Where do you get your news first? I try not to watch the news at all. But if I need to find something out, I go to Twitter.

What app do you open first in the morning?

Instagram is usually where I have notifications from the most.

What newsletter always gets clicked open?

The Golfers Journal is a great pub lication. Mostly, it’s for the golfing nerds out there who love real golf stories from around the world and not just the professional game and what people see on TV.

My Daily Media Diet

Mike Hearne, host of the This is Oklahoma podcast, boasts more than 40,000 subscribers to his weekly podcast. Here, he tells us what other podcasts we should subscribe to and why we all need to get up and dance a little.

What podcast do we need to be listening to?

On Oklahoma: This is Oklahoma.

On business: How I Built This. How I Built this is fascinating to me, learning how people built their businesses and what they’ve been through to make it successful.

On automotive: Spike’s Car Radio. On golf: No Laying Up.

What music should we add to our playlist right now?

House Music playlists. Music that makes you want to get up and dance a little. Music that makes you feel good.

What social accounts should we be following?

@ThisisOklahoma or @UpWorthy

What books are making you think?

Jim Stovall’s - The Art of Influence.

I had the opportunity to interview Mr. Stovall for my podcast. He is an incredible human being and a recent 2021 Oklahoma Hall of Famer.

What role does media literacy play in business?

It’s everything. It’s how we commu nicate to the world and it’s free.

How do you ensure you remain media literate?

Constantly engaging across multi ple platforms. Learning the difer ences of how to engage on each platform helps me understand how to curate information suitable to the specific platform.

Is there any other media you con sume that we’ve missed? YouTube. I have a few YouTube creators that I follow, mostly automotive, golf and real estate related.

NEW WEST VILLAGE DISTRICT PART OF DOWNTOWN REORGANIZATION

BY GREG HORTON

A slight realignment of two downtown districts includes a new name for the area around 21C Museum Hotel, The Jones Assembly and Film Row

Taking its name from the large apartment cluster adjacent

to 21C and Jones, the West Village District will include Film Row and parts of what used to be the Arts District

“People never really embraced the Arts District as a distinct district, ” said Kristen Vails, the director of place management for the Downtown OKC Partnership “Historic Film Row does have its own identity, and people have embraced the name,

but it didn’t seem right to extend that name to the West Village Apartments and other businesses nearby, given that Film Row has its own distinct character and architecture ” After cycling through several options, the board landed on West Village District Film Row will continue to be known as such, but it is now part of the new, expanded district.

For the Distinguished Connoisseur

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Locking in Your Leverage Point

Companies thrive when focused on leveraging their core product. What is yours? What is OKC’s? Arguably, OKC’s core product is the Thunder, and we need to leverage it all we can to continue to build this city.

BY JEREMIE KUBICEK PHOTO BY CHARLIE NEUENSCHWANDER

EVERY SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS I know understands its core product and leverages it to the Nth degree.

First, let’s talk through some defnitions: Lever age is the exertion of force through an object used to build momentum. In business terms, leverage is an investment strategy using borrowed money to increase the potential return of that investment.

Leveraging something means that you so believe in something that you are willing to bet on it by borrowing against it to then maximize the return on that investment.

Good companies leverage their core products well. So should cities.

Take Oklahoma City. What is our core product? Here is a list to consider:

• Our people?

• Energy?

• Filming movies?

• Distribution?

• OKC Thunder?

In my view, the Oklahoma City Thunder is our core product.

In 2014, my family wanted to move back to America from London for my kids to go through high school. They could choose a city between Atlanta, Nashville, Denver, D.C. or OKC. My youngest chose Atlanta, and my wife and two other kids chose OKC because of people. I was lean ing towards Denver or Nashville, but ultimately, I rationalized that I could lead my content and tech companies best from OKC because of one core reason: the OKC Thunder were here.

I am serious. I decided to move to OKC not because I already had businesses or my extended family or friends were here (though that factored strongly). My main decision point was because of the Thunder and how it put OKC on the map, espe cially during the playof runs we were in at the time.

The OKC Thunder caused me to move here while we kept expanding GiANT globally. More than that, I have since co-launched Billion (a global website builder), Six Summers, Better Sports, a neighborhood (Prairie at Post), and a wedding venue (The Farmstead.)

All of this happened in OKC and not some other U.S. city because I knew that if the Thunder were in OKC, I could be too.

The OKC Thunder is the core product of OKC. We have to leverage it. We have to be willing to bet on it. If that means a new venue other than the 20-plus-year-old stadium, then we do it. Even more than that, I believe we should be thinking even more about the Thunder and what we can do as a city to build of them.

As for the Thunder, are we going to invest in what we have worked hard to obtain? If we lever age it, we all win.

Jeremie Kubicek uses his businesses (GiANT, billion, Six Summers, Culture Wins, etc.) as platforms for good. He is a seasoned author and his ffth book, The Peace Index, launches this fall.

All of this happened in OKC and not some other U.S. city because I knew that if the Thunder were in OKC, I could be too.

Jeremie Kubicek, founder of GiANT and author.

The Future of Biomanufacturing in Oklahoma

The Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Camp received $7.2 million through the Build Back Better Regional Challenge and will provide hands-on training in biomanufacturing workforce development. This, along with the rest of the $35 million grant package allocated to the Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster, will help push Oklahoma’s biomanufacturing sector much further.

BY GREG HORTON

WHAT STARTED AS a series of questions related to bioman ufacturing in Oklahoma and a grant for a biomanufacturing workforce training facility quickly turned into a conversa tion about beer.

Yes, beer.

Dr. Elaine Hamm, CEO of Ascend BioVentures, is used to converting scientifc concepts into more readily accessible meta phors for those who were just happy to escape a high school lab science class with a passing grade.

“Biomanufacturing takes place in large fermenters,” she said.

Fermenters?

“Yes, just like a brewery,” she said. “Large stainless steel tanks full of very specialized cells – they’re actually Chinese hamster ovarian cells to be specifc – and we feed them sugar so they make stuf, so yes, it’s very much like brewing beer, but we’re ‘brewing’ cells that produce antibodies and other biologics.”

These fermenters – also known as bioreactors – look very much like tanks in a brewery, and so when thinking about what a biomanufacturing facility looks like, just imagine looking at the large tanks behind the glass at local breweries

like Stonecloud or Lively while you’re sipping your favorite local brew. The future of bioman ufacturing looks much more like a tank room than a gleaming white science lab full of PhDs in smocks, whipping up concoctions in vials and centrifuges. That’s comforting somehow, and more approachable.

Getting comfortable with the concepts is the most important part, because once the metaphor is in place, the confusion that always emerges when lay people try to grapple with complex scientifc concepts becomes more manageable. The importance is hard to overstate, because the future of biomanufacturing in Oklahoma is an opportunity to distinguish the city and state as a national and international hub for this sort of commerce, Hamm said.

To facilitate that, the state is going to need a large enough workforce with the skills necessary to manufacture to scale, and Oklahoma, like much of the rest of the country, is behind in the area of biomanufacturing workforce development.

“One of President Biden’s executive orders (ed. Executive Order on America’s Supply Chains, Feb. 24, 2021) prioritized reshoring biomanufacturing,” said Katy Boren, Innovation District president and CEO. “As a country, we don’t have the workforce to take that on yet. I believe about 80% of the prod ucts are manufactured outside the U.S.”

As reported previously, the Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster was the recipient of a $35 million grant package as one of 21 winners of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge. The program is funded through ARPA, the Ameri can Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which allocated $1 billion in funding for the regional challenge. Of the eight grants submitted, six were funded, one of which is the Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Camp, which received $7.2 million and falls under the purview of Boren and the Inno vation District.

“The BWTC will be inside Innovation Hall,” Boren said. “We’re still fnalizing the plans, but as of now, it will be at least 7,500 square feet, and possibly as large as 8,500. We will have several million dollars of state-of-the-art equipment –arguably the newest and best in the country – for hands-on training.”

Briefy, biopharmaceutical manufacturing has three tiers: small molecule, large molecule and cell/gene therapy.

“We don’t really have a better breakout of that last tier,” Hamm said. “As an industry, we just lump them together. Small molecule encompasses stuf like aspi rin and antibiotics. Large molecule is biologics, like

Humira, and cell/gene therapy include treatments based on technologies like CRISPR.”

Oklahoma City currently has companies like Cytovance Biologics and Wheeler Bio that are large molecule manufacturers, but it does not have any small molecule or gene therapy manufacturers, the latter of which, along with cell therapy of the sort done by OBI, could be a niche for biomanufacturing expansion in the state.

“Developments with CRISPR are moving so fast that we can’t make it in large enough scale currently,” Hamm said. “It’s a huge problem, creating bottle necks throughout the system, and scaling up the necessary infrastructure costs more than develop ing the products.”

The BWTC is specifcally designed to facilitate training for large molecule manufacturing, and the facility is the last step in what will likely be a certi fcation process that puts qualifed workers on the foor of Wheeler and Cytovance in much less time than it takes to fnish an undergraduate degree. It’s part of a comprehensive plan that scientists like Dr. Stephanie Wickham, Senior Director of Research and Development at Cytovance, hope will make Oklahoma a hub in all three phases of the biologics life cycle: research, manufacturing and clinical trials.

“We won’t get money directly from the grants, but it does support the infrastructure of manufac turing by providing us with a trained workforce who only require a high school diploma and some specialized training,” Wickham said. “To scale up, we need a talent pipeline, or companies would have to consider relocation.”

Boren said the BWTC will fnalize training that can begin as early as high school. In fact, she’s in conversations with high schools, career techs and community colleges about what the curriculum would look like.

“After the classroom training, the students would come to the training camp to get hands-on work with specialized equipment to develop the actual skills and knowledge to be immediately employ able at Cytovance or Wheeler,” Boren said. “The potential is that they could make $50,000 a year without a degree.”

The facility itself is slated for completion in May 2024, but the classes can begin anytime if they are ofered at other educational institutions. The BWTC will have classroom space, but the bulk is designed for hands-on training.

To Hamm’s point, making science work avail able to non-scientists is a bold strategy, one that could diversify the economy, and move Oklahoma closer to being an innovation hub in the area of biomanufacturing.

Dr. Elaine Hamm CEO of Ascend BioVentures

The importance is hard to overstate, because the future of biomanufacturing in Oklahoma is an opportunity to distinguish the city and state as a national and international hub for this sort of commerce.

SWEAT EQUITY

Down-to -Earth Fashion

After 10 years as a geologist, Carly Sowecke started a clothing line during the pandemic focused on ethically produced clothing when she was looking for a career change. Now, her online boutique sells clothing throughout Oklahoma and multiple other states. p.22

FieldGood Fashion

Carly Sowecke, a geologist who turned into a clothing designer during the pandemic, creates eco-friendly Field Study Clothing, which is a nod to her earth-loving, geology roots.

BY EVIE KLOPP HOLZER PHOTOS BY LOGAN WALCHER

CARLY SOWECKE, WHO launched her Field Study Clothing line two years ago, has a fairly down-to-earth sensibility.

“I’m not a big fan of ‘Oh, I can’t do that because of what I’m wearing,’” she said. “I don’t like to be stifed by clothing, so a lot of my clothes are more free-flowing, loose-fitting. When you wear something from Field Study, you could ride a bike or go get a drink with a friend — or hop into a double-dutch competition.”

Bright colors, playful patterns and hand-blocked prints amplify her brand’s happy vibe. The pink-and-red Sack Dress is a popular choice ofered year-round. The oversized style could easily accommodate good times, but a closer look at the design reveals even more feel-good characteristics.

All Field Study products use eco-friendly fabrics, garnered sustain ably, and all employees are paid fair wages. Do you have a special quilt that could be fashioned into a custom jacket? Sowecke ofers such services. She’s quick to recycle found materi als and other companies’ leftovers — what’s called “deadstock fabric” — into new and stylish designs.

Sowecke is a proponent of the “slow fashion” movement, which is an approach to creating clothes that aims to be fair to people, animals and the environment. So, Sowecke thought fully produces small batches of cloth ing, creating quality pieces she wants you to want to keep and wear year after year. It’s the exact opposite of the approach often employed by mega companies that overproduce

clothing and source labor and mate rials in the cheapest way possible, regardless of the negative impacts.

“I am trying to educate people why this [Field Study] shirt isn’t $10,” Sowecke said. “It’s hard. It’s really difficult. Even I get pulled into that I-want-to-buy-some thing-cheap trap.”

The name “Field Study Cloth ing” is a nod to her background;

she previously spent 10 years working as a geologist. She sought a change during the pandemic, as workplace culture and job security shifted, and turned to her lifelong hobby: sewing.

“My mother was a great seam stress,” she said. “She sewed my Halloween costumes and dresses, and I loved it. She had my sister and me take sewing lessons after school.

Carly Sowecke stands in her home studio next to a current piece she is working to complete.

It was so fun. Then, I think it was in middle school, there were these leopard bags that had a silky Asian lining. They were so popular, and I thought, ‘I could make that.’”

And so, sew she did. It was her frst taste of retail. Sowecke contin ued to design and produce clothes and accessories throughout her life, making gifts for family and, upon request, sewing something she was

wearing for a friend. When she needed a life change in 2020, she launched Field Study Clothing and opened a store at the Make Ready shops in Midtown. She also founded a monthly market in the parking lot — the Make Ready Market — with vendors selling other handmade items to bring customers to the area.

And while Field Study is popular among Oklahoma residents, the

ethically produced clothing line has also garnered fans living in Austin, Nashville, Arizona and Califor nia. Though she recently closed her retail location, moving Field Study to online-only sales, the monthly market continues, a legacy of sorts. Sowecke isn’t running it anymore, but she’s been known to do a pop-up shop there and other spots around town occasionally.

Still a geologist at heart, Sowecke says her respect for the Earth contrib utes to her adoption of slow fashion practices, while her down-to-earth styles are extra appealing to customers.

“You say the word ‘fashion’ and people think of Paris Fashion Week,” Sowecke said. “Fashion can be inno vative, cool and fun, but also practical — something you could wear in your everyday life.”

Sowecke is a proponent of the “slow fashion” movement, which is an approach to creating clothes that aims to be fair to people, animals and the environment.

Sowecke often works with brightly colored fabric when creating her clothing.

Sowecke sews an item. Her mother was a seamstress and she enrolled both Sowecke and her sister in afterschool sewing lessons as a child.

Lighting a Spark

SPARK! Creative Lab, an artist-led nonprofit that builds a creative and connected community through contemporary performances, prioritizes paying diverse artists competitive wages to allow them to create original artistic performances in Oklahoma City.

BY MELANIE WILDERMAN

ART IS WORK.

Nicole Poole, a performance artist, live composer and exec utive director of the Oklahoma City-based nonproft organi zation SPARK! Creative Lab, knows this from experience. And she founded the lab in order to pay other artists a living wage to create and put their work into the community.

Those who work with SPARK! – established early in 2021 – have been building toward one of its missions of “making high-profle contemporary performance free to the full spec trum of the Oklahoma City community,” which they do through donor support and collaboration with community partners.

“Paying artists is one of the best feelings ever,” Poole said.

SPARK! artists perform on Skydance Bridge.

The idea of SPARK! first sparked, if you will, during the pandemic. Poole explained that the pandemic eroded the spaces where people were used to connecting. During lockdown, as so many people’s work and creative outlets had come to a halt, she was spending a good deal of time outdoors in Edgemere Park, near her home, and noticed that although she and other patrons were technically in the same place, everyone was disconnected.

“Art helps us process things we don’t have the words for,” said Poole, who was born in Okla

homa City and graduated from OU’s School of Drama but spent much of her adult life working and performing in New York City, Paris, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Belgium, Italy – and the list goes on – before returning to Oklahoma in 2016.

Poole’s own artform, soundpainting, is at the forefront of the creative lab’s public events so far. Soundpainting, perhaps best understood by experiencing it, is defined in various ways across artistic communities, but conventionally described, it’s a contemporary artform with a focus on aural stimulation.

Left: Artist Chelsea Bushong works on her process during a performance.

Below: Nicole Poole, Anna Jans, Zachary Burns, Leslie Hensley/Balthazar, Aaron Michael, Nicholas Klein, Tony Tee, Angel Little, Changing FrEQuencies, Chelsea Bushong, James Metcalfe, Chris Twix Shepard, Hui Cha Poos, J. Cruise Berry, Zach Seat.

“It’s a sign language,” Poole explained. “It’s a way of silently communicating with performing and visual artists to create a piece in real time.”

Imagine Poole as a conductor of sorts, at the center of a group of artists of various talents—musicians, singers, dancers, painters, poets. She communicates with them through sign language she has taught them, and though she is guiding them, the improvisation of each artist plays a role as well, as do all the artists’ connections with each other in the moment.

Angel Little, one of the SPARK! artists and self-described “life-giving artsmith,” compared sound painting to a delicious salad with a lot of ingredients that come together to form something savory and special, an array you may not think would work together, but somehow it does.

“One form of art starts to inspire another form,” Little said. “And you feel the love that we have for each other. It’s healing, relaxing, invigorating and engaging.”

SPARK! has more than 100 individual donors, with more than 20% of those being artists them selves, but Poole said she’s especially grateful to Dick and Glenna Tanenbaum, well-known for their fnan cial support of the arts, as founding sponsors. And while nonprofts need donors to thrive, an artistic organization also needs to consider the diversity of its community and representation, Poole said.

“If you have a problem, you want as many brains and people thinking diferently than you on that problem, otherwise your solutions are narrow. The more voices you have around a table, the more vari ety in those voices, the more vibrant, rich, efective and innovative your solution. Diversity is the essen tial element for innovation.”

With SPARK! Creative Lab being young, the organization continues to seek new opportunities for collaboration with local businesses. And the 2023 calendar of events, as well as new partnerships, is coming together. Poole explained they are still in a strategic planning phase to refne their values, visions and missions.

But a few things they don’t need to refne: The idea that art is work, that art is invaluable to culture, and that artists deserve a living wage.

“I envision a world where diversity is valued,” she said. “Where artists are valued for what they bring to the public culture. I envision a world where there is kindness, respect and equity. Joy and compassion. And I know we are able to create that, even temporarily, in our events.”

Always Pivoting

Saravan Kumar co-founded MaxQ, a company that develops innovative thermal packaging solutions for temperaturesensitive biologics such as blood, medications, vaccines and pharmaceuticals, to protect the efficacy of drug products during shipping and enhance patient safety. Now, he is set to change the trajectory of a biopharma industry that loses $35 billion every year in lost products in the United States.

BY LORI WILLIAMS

ON THE DAY a pint of blood expired, the idea for Dr. Saravan Kumar’s company was born.

“I was studying biomechanical engineering and doing my disser tation on blood fow dynamics,” Kumar said. “So I often bought blood for research purposes. But sometimes it showed up without any ice and outside the required temperature range.

“Having to toss that blood led me to pivot from aerospace appli cations to life science packaging applications and co-found MaxQ.”

From the very beginning, Kumar said he envisioned a company that built products and solutions that actually save lives. He worked to create thermal packaging boxes to eliminate blood or other temperature-sensitive products from expiring while in transport.

“In the early days, we used small pivots to fnd a true market ft,” says the Stillwater-based entrepreneur. “Then we developed new technologies and products.”

But the pivots weren’t always smooth.

“We made so many mistakes and our customers hated our early prototypes,” he said. “It was an educational process.”

By the second year, he and his team had one clear goal: To sell one box.

“When we went from one to 10, it got through to me that we were OK at building boxes,” he said. “Then we sold 100. In 2018, we said, ‘Let’s see if we can get into 100 hospitals.’”

Production Technician Therethraj Tiwari assembles a red cooler.

MaxQ co-founder Saravan Kumar.

Four years later, that number quadrupled.

“Today we’re in 825 hospitals across the United States,” he said.

Now in its tenth year, the company is set to ship 5,000 boxes by the end of the third quar ter of 2022, with projected sales of 7,000 boxes by the end of the fourth quarter. Additionally, MaxQ expects to go from 25 to 35 employees while doubling its production capacity during the next 12 months.

The company co-founder also plans to keep thinking inside – and outside – the box.

MaxQ’s packaging solutions are built with proprietary insulation, coolant and tracking technology, and constructed of reusable and recy clable materials. Many of the packing solutions ofer ergonomic features such as wheels and tele scopic handles.

The really cool coolers ofer standard or optional temperature monitoring systems. For example, the MaxPlus Vaccine Cooler can be equipped with an on-board digital data logger and temperature probe. The system utilizes Bluetooth technology

and the MaxTemp app to ofer seamless package tracking. Kumar and MaxQ’s design team can also customize thermal packaging solutions such as personalized medicines and cell and gene thera pies. These temperature-controlled shippers are pre-qualifed for up to 120 hours.

“We have 25 diferent boxes in our catalog,” Kumar said, “which represents a lot of pivots. But that’s a good thing because pivoting is one of the biggest competitive advantages a small company, such as a start-up, can have.

“Our company still pivots as needed, usually every other month or so. I built a team and culture that emphasizes being agile.”

That mindset is the reason why one of the

country’s largest biopharma companies is vali dating MaxQ’s technology now.

“We’re working on a digital suite of technolo gies that could be applied to large pallets of drugs worth millions of dollars,” Kumar said. “We’ll be able to forecast and predict when those pallets of drugs are going to fail. When we know in advance, we can move mountains to save those medicines.”

Saving those drugs means saving lives and saving money. But Kumar knows that one single solution won’t solve the problem entirely.

“We’re going to keep pivoting,” he says. “We’re going to keep redesigning and reimagining so we can make a meaningful dent in the number of losses experienced by this industry.”

Saving those drugs means saving lives and saving money. But Kumar knows that one single solution won’t solve the problem entirely.

MaxQ Head of Technology Arif Rahman stands by a thermal chamber.

COURTESY OF OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

NLY 27 OUT OF THE roughly 19,500 cities in America can claim an NBA team.

.14% And Oklahoma City lays claim to the Thunder. In October, the Thunder took the court to start its 15th season. Somehow — even after the glorious years making the NBA Finals, fall ing in love with superstars like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, following hopeful new talent in recent years and having the Thunder brand become synonymous with who and what OKC is — it all still feels new.

But it’s not. In all those seasons, the Thun der has helped redefne downtown Oklahoma City, created a new brand the Chamber can sell to outsiders and gave the city a swagger and conf dence that matched the booster shot it gave itself with every MAPS vote.

In a lot of ways, the OKC Thunder and the city itself grew up together. Now, Oklahoma City is the 20th largest city in America and the sixth fast est-growing city in the country, already growing. by 3 percent since the 2020 Census. (OKC tips in at 701,266 people in OKC proper alone, up from just north of 681,000 pre-pandemic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.)

It’s impossible to separate the Thunder’s impact from OKC’s growth, Mayor David Holt said. In fact, he said gaining an NBA team in this market immediately increased the city’s credibility on what this city could offer residents, tourists, companies and employees.

“Professional sports teams define a city’s culture,” he said. “And, to a lesser extent, profes sional sports are your ticket to the top tier. It means you are big enough and have the business and corporate presence and you have the general wherewithal to host one of the world’s greatest brands. Certain-sized cities can’t do that.

“Having an NBA team is an immediate short hand for a lot of other things – it means we also have great restaurants and great other things that go hand in hand with the kind of city that has an NBA team.”

OMEASURING THE IMPACT

Thunder executives and city leaders point to many hard-to-quantify economic impacts of having an NBA team. Having a 18,203-seat are na packed 43 nights a year certainly spills over to area businesses bringing an energy and vitality to OKC that fat didn’t exist before the Thunder came to town.

In fact, the Thunder does not publicly release revenue fgures, and say they do not calculate or estimate the team’s valuation. Outside agencies do calculate such numbers, however. Forbes* puts the Thunder’s valuation at $1.87 billion with total annual revenues around $274 million with oper ating income of $129 million. While Oklahoma City is the third smallest market for the NBA, having this size of an operation in Oklahoma City is transformational.

For Oklahoma City, the impact the Thunder has had on a regional, national and international audience during the last 15 years is “incalculable,” according to Brian Byrnes, Thunder senior vice president of sales and marketing.

“I don’t know how you can put a number on the impact because it’s so far reaching,” he said. “You sell tickets, you sell merchandise, and ancillary things like food and beverage and parking and those kinds of things, then corporate partnerships, television subscriptions, viewership on our app and other streaming devices. There’s so many diferent ways that create some of this economic vitality.”

The Thunder has the highest percentage of local corporate partnerships of any team in the NBA, with 26 percent of sponsors coming from OKC-based companies and 34 percent coming from Oklahoma companies, according to Thun der executives and the Sports Business Journal. That’s signifcantly higher than the league average of 13 percent.

“We have grown our sponsorships every single year,” said Will Syring, Thunder vice president of corporate partnerships. “We’re very proud to have the largest percentage of local sponsorships in the NBA. And we add value to our partners through various ways, whether that’s media advertising, workforce development opportunities or commu nity impact opportunities.

Growing those partnerships is right – the Thun der started in 2008 with a handful of local corpo rate partnerships. They tip the scale this year at 26 and counting.

“But at the end of the day, it’s about a relation ship,” Syring said. “And I think the team from day one, at the highest levels, have done a fantastic job of managing those relationships efectively doing what we say we’re going to be doing and delivering consistent value to key decision makers across the state. We have been consistent, and concise and

we’ve treated people fair. And I think that’s really helped us maintain our local base and actually grow that over time.”

Devon Energy was a founding corporate part ner, and remains a large partner today – through programs like co-branding basketball courts and partnering to bring workforce development programs like Thunder Math Hoops and Devon Thunder Explorers to children.

“The Thunder has a great brand, in and of itself, and the high profle of the Thunder really helps elevate Devon, our brand and the brand of its other partners,” said Christina Rehkop, Devon Energy director of community relations. “The STEM education programs are incredibly important. Through the Thunder, we’ve been able to provide education to more kids and more classrooms than we could ever have done alone.”

WILL

“We’re very proud to have the largest percentage of local sponsorships in the NBA. And we add value to our partners through various ways, whether that’s media advertising, workforce development opportunities or community impact opportunities.”

SYRING Vice President, Corporate Partnerships

Valuations,

Thunder guard Tre Mann drives during a Clippers game at the Paycom Arena. Thunder forward Lu Dort takes a selfie with fans at a Thunder Cares event.

COURTESY OF OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

Thunder center Chet Holmgren talks with a fan at a Thunder Cares community event. Business leaders meet at the Thunder Launchpad, a space created in 2018 to serve as a business incubator helping women and people of color. The Thunder’s partner, StitchCrew, also holds events at the arena.

COURTESY OF OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

GROWING OKLAHOMA CITY

Mayor Holt ties the current success and past growth of Oklahoma City directly to the Thunder.

“Isn’t it kind of a coincidence that all this progress we’ve had coincides with us having professional sports?” he said. “It just amped up everything. It immediately became our calling card. It’s a gateway to everything else that comes with being a big city in America. Look at where we were in 2008 and 2005 and compare to today. Obviously when you look at completely unrelated things like dining and population growth, we have clearly advanced in the exact same time frame.”

Byrnes said the relationship the city and cham ber has developed with the Thunder puts them in many of the discussions when these entities court new businesses, employees or attractions.

“The Thunder is often invited to any of those discussions with our partners at the Oklahoma City Chamber for a lot of these visits from corpo rate relocation advisors,” he said. “And some times it’s the actual brands themselves, looking at the state of Oklahoma, or more specifically, the city of Oklahoma City. And the Thunder is often included in those discussions to talk about quality of life, about living in a marketplace that has professional sports entertainment.”

Roy Williams, outgoing Oklahoma City Cham ber president and CEO, said the Thunder brings in a lot of hard dollars into the OKC community but that its true value is in the prestige it brings to outsiders and the pride it drives for residents.

“When the Thunder first came here, it created community pride around something new in town that was exciting,” Williams said. “And that put us on an international stage. And how do you put a price on that? I don’t even know. I hear countless stories from people that travel all over the world and people comment on their Thunder gear first. The Thunder changed where OKC is in the world and put us in a place we’ve never been before. How can you quantitatively define that? But it has certainly created impact and recognition that we would never, never have gotten otherwise.”

For the Thunder, the executive staff keeps this approach and perspective top of mind.

“That’s what grounds our approach to running the business, we know that it’s bigger than basketball,” Byrnes said. “And it speaks to our perspective on building a brand, and our comportment, our character, our commitment to the community is all connected to having an acute understanding of just how this is bigger than a basketball product.”

To that end, the Thunder partnered with StitchCrew, in 2018 creating the Thunder LaunchPad, which is a space used by the busi

ness incubator focused on helping women and people of color entrepreneurs.

“The Thunder was our frst corporate part ner, and we launched this together,” StichCrew co-founder Erica Lucas said. “This was pre-George Floyd and pre-pandemic. And no one was talking about equity and equality at that time. We launched with the Thunder intentionally because their narra tive has always been to be inclusive.”

The business incubator focuses on 6-to-12 week programming that helps businesses get of the ground. And, in the last fve years, the organization has helped more than 100 businesses, including one business now working million-dollar contracts with federal defense agencies and another business that developed an app to help people grow their own food, then acquired by the largest food-growing app company.

“We pair them with mentors and other funders and investors so they can have resources and a network that frst-time entrepreneurs often lack,” Lucas said. “It’s important that we have the part nership with the Thunder because a lot of people pay attention because of their brand.”

OKLAHOMA’S LARGEST MEGAPHONE

When the May 20, 2013, F5 tornado tore across Moore, killing 24, the Thunder team had only been in Oklahoma for a handful of years. In the days following, the team put forward both its mega following and its money to help the resi dents of Moore. Byrnes said the tragedy helped the team learn lessons that guide their decisions and their need to impact Oklahoma City for the good still today.

“We learned a lot in that tornado in Moore,” he said. “And what we learned more than anything was that we had a voice. That’s what really developed in that moment was that we mobilized our people and our resources. We saw we have the reach. And I don’t know that we fully saw ourselves like that, in that moment. Now we’re 10 years removed, and we’ve learned a lot. And I think a lot of what we’re doing in the present day is informed from those experiences.”

The Thunder is Oklahoma’s largest ampli fer for brand awareness and communication without close competition. As a part of the NBA family, the Thunder provides national and global reach for brands looking for that level of impact through partnerships like branded jersey patches, naming rights and on-court TV-visible branding and more. And then there is social media: The Thunder’s extensive reach tracks 20 million-plus people across all platforms, which is among the highest social media followings in professional sports.

When the Thunder says something, a lot of people hear it.

“That’s up there to playing with me, in my eyes. Because we were all once in these kids shoes, or whoever we’re giving back to, we were once in their shoes, so to have an NBA player or somebody of a higher profession come back and give, it’s huge. It does something to you. I didn’t have that as a kid, so it’s important now. It’s definitely important now.”

KENRICH WILLIAMS

From day one in 2008, we believed having a globally recognized NBA franchise would be an economic catalyst for Oklahoma City, and season after season we’ve witnessed an incredible transformation of the city, and state as a whole as well.

We’ve always had a mindset of being deeply connected with the community, and 15 seasons later, it remains a core value and priority for the organization. It’s inspiring to look at the growth and continued development of downtown particularly and see where the Thunder was able to play a part in it. We’re grateful for the opportunity to be a leader in meaningful community engagement, and for the loyal support from our fans, community partners and corporate partners. It’s truly an exciting time for Oklahoma City, and the Thunder.

“I’VE DONE A FEW APPEARANCES. THEY ARE ALWAYS FUN AND IT’S KIND OF HUMBLING TOO. YOU STEP OUTSIDE OF YOUR LITTLE WORLD AND YOU SEE SOMEONE’S PERSPECTIVE, AND IT’S AN HONOR TO BE THERE AND IT MAKES YOU GRATEFUL FOR YOUR POSITION.

IT MAKES YOU APPRECIATE WHERE YOU ARE MORE AND MAKES YOU WANT TO GIVE BACK MORE.”

CLAYTON I. BENNETT

COURTESY OF OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

A NEW THUN DER-DOME

City officials and Thunder executives recently broached the subject of needing a new arena for the Thunder to call home. With a recently signed three-year extension with Paycom, the city now has begun the initial steps to plan for a broader public discussion.

THE BUSINESS OF basketball has a nexus in each city where an NBA team is located: the sports arena.

And when Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt mentioned the possibility of a new arena in his State of the City address last summer, it initiated a deluge of commen tary all over social and mainstream media.

Predictably, responses ran the spectrum from fully in favor to utterly opposed, with the occasional voice saying that the con versation is starved for facts. Questions

abounded: Why do we need a new arena? Where will the new arena go? How much will it cost? What’s the timeline? Will MAPS funds slated for improvements to the Paycom Center be redirected? How will this impact infrastructure improve ments like drainage, mass transit and street maintenance?

Since the conversation just began, a lack of specificity exists when answering most of these questions, but on two important issues, the Thunder has answers.

“A new arena is absolutely paramount,” said Brian Byrnes, Thunder senior vice president of sales and marketing. “The competitive set for the Thunder today in the modern NBA is that this arena will have to perform at a much higher level to attract the talent, to create the fan expe rience, to create revenue structure, and to create the opportunities that allow this team to be the very best version of itself … That includes everything from security and infrastructure to fan experience and

technology to creature comforts – better seats, better restaurants, bigger score boards, and all the things that make the game experience so vital.”

The Ford Center – as it was known then – opened in 2002, and its primary purpose was a venue for entertainment events like concerts and minor league sports, as it served as a minor league hockey arena. No matter its original use, it certainly wasn’t designed to host an NBA franchise. But the window of imagination opened when the Hornets arrived as Hur ricane Katrina refugees in 2005. The city was supportive, and conversations about Oklahoma City having its team followed soon after.

As to a location for the potential new arena, Byrnes said the Thunder must stay downtown.

“I think we’re very committed to the downtown core area,” Byrnes said. “It’s about being in the heart of the city, centrally lo cated. It’s also about taking full advantage of the resources throughout downtown that come from being at the crossroads of Amer ica. There is a reason why it works in this construct today – the ancillary benefits of being connected to all other infrastructure and influences that downtown provides.”

Mayor David Holt echoes the downtown emphasis, calling it “a line in the sand.” Holt said it’s difficult to discuss specifics with out getting into details, and since those are scant currently, the one he said he’s most willing to discuss is location.

“Beyond the question of downtown, there is more site-specific speculation, but if you play that out, it’s not hard to figure out where the good sites are,” Holt said, “but that’s getting ahead of things. Location is a second-level decision. Before that, we have to formally decide what we’re doing.”

One of those ‘good sites’ mentioned by more than one city official, including Ward 6 Councilwoman JoBeth Hamon, who ref erenced a conversation she had with City Manager Craig Freeman in which he men tioned “the former Cox Center,” now Prai rie Surf Media. Holt called it a “reasonable option,” noting that it’s adjacent to the current facility, and that its current use as a film studio is an interim arrangement.

Matt Payne, co-founder and operating partner of Prairie Surf, said he is aware the retrofitted film studio could become a pos sible preferred site of a new arena.

“We are aware our facility could be considered for the proposed site of a new Paycom Arena for the Thunder,” Payne said. “We know it might become the preferred site. Our arrangement was never for the former convention center to be permanent. In two years, we have established a new business and proved film production can be a robust new industry sector in Oklahoma. We are fans of the Thunder and enjoy an excellent working relationship with them. We also are working with the City. We have a positive outlook, knowing we will have options in the next few years to create a dynamic next chapter for our business.”

With the general preferred location mostly decided, two big questions remain: How much will it cost? And what are the sources of funding?

Depending on the market (size, resourc es, labor costs, local taxes, etc.), new arenas are running just under one billion dollars, with a few small markets making

it work for $500 million to $700 million, Holt said. He addressed the cost issue and funding sources by acknowledging the ap proximate price of new arenas around the country, and then said, “It is not irrational to look at our past and assume similar meth ods would be used again.”

Questions of actual economic impact are hard to quantify according to Thun der executives, even as Forbes puts the team’s valuation at $1.87 billion (see The Business of Basketball, pg. 29) – a number that gives a clue about the team’s overall worth but not its overall impact. Hamon said she is trying to get those numbers be fore deciding on a position.

“My initial reaction is to be opposed to it,” she said, “but I recognize there are things I don’t know. Generally, my feeling is that sports franchises hold cities hostage in the very same way large corporations do. There is a larger question here: Where do we want to spend our public dollars? Is this the best use of a limited pool of revenue? We have

BRIAN BYRNES Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing

“It’s in our mission statement, as an organization, to build, enhance and sustain a professional organization and to provide meaningful community leadership.”

many unmet infrastructure needs as a city, and we can’t keep deferring, especially for an arena designed for entertainment. We need the private sector to invest. Ownership should be investing if they believe in their product. Isn’t that how capitalism works?”

An upcoming bond issue is designed to address the infrastructure issue, Holt said, noting that the city has been in a cycle of voting on bond issues roughly every decade, including 2007 and 2017. The next bond is sue is likely to come up for a vote slightly earlier, Holt said, maybe as early as 2025.

“Can the arena be in a bond issue?” Holt asked. “That’s a little too speculative. Our last bond issue was just under a billion dollars, so given the price of an arena and our infrastructure needs, that’s not a likely source. Some of this comes down to getting too deep in a conversation before the other issues are decided. We just got a three-year extension on the Paycom Cen ter, so the clock isn’t ticking on us having everything worked out quickly. The Thun der and the City would like to have a plan in place well before the end of that threeyear extension though.”

As to private sector funding, Holt said the city’s market size has a huge impact on pri vate sector funding available.

“I’ve heard a lot of talk about Philadel phia building their new arena with private funding,” he said, “but Philadelphia is the sixth largest market in the country. The other five markets above them already have NBA franchises. They can’t move, or they’d have to move down. Oklahoma City does not have that same market size. We are very near the bottom of NBA cities and potential NBA cities, so we’re competing as a small market team. No one is going to give us a pass on that. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn’t get to ask the refs for a 10-point spot because OKC is a smaller market team, nor do we get to ask to not have to compete against larger markets who might want an NBA franchise in their city.”

The timeline of any new arena is rela tively fluid but it’s also fixed within a gen eral set of parameters: Holt said the arena opened nine years after the vote to ap prove its construction, and the convention center was 12 years after the vote. Given the reality that a plan would need to be

in place before the end of the three-year extension, OKC wouldn’t see anything like a ground-breaking for another five to seven years or so after that, assuming voters ap prove the plan.

Arenas for NBA franchises are multipur pose facilities offering concerts, rodeos, collegiate tournaments, graduation cere monies and other large-scale events, serv ing as a community center of sorts. For By rnes, the discussion around a new arena is a pivot point for who and what Oklahoma City wants to be.

“It’s not just about basketball,” Byrnes said. “It’s also about the modern entertain ment industry, the touring artists who are doing things at a high level. We are compet ing against Kansas City, Tulsa, Denver, and other markets who are very competitive. We have to continue to mature and cre ate better resources to attract artists and shows. So, this conversation gives us a great opportunity to think about the question of what OKC’s future looks like … To do this right is to be thoughtful, and be strategic, and to bring in a variety of influencers who can help shape this discussion.”

Fans react during a Thunder game inside the Paycom Arena.

For Byrnes, the discussion around a new arena is a pivot point for who and what Oklahoma City wants to be.

IT’S GREAT TO BE A PART OF AN ORGANIZATION THAT IS SO HEAVILY FOCUSED ON GIVING BACK AND BEING INVOLVED WITH THE COMMUNITY.

THIS TEAM DOESN’T FUNCTION WITHOUT THE FANS, AND THE GREAT FANS THAT WE HAVE. SO ANY CHANCE WE GET TO GO OUT THERE AND INTERACT WITH THE FANS, WE’LL 100 PERCENT TAKE IT.

Guard Jalen Williams and forward Jaylin Williams with a fan at a Thunder Cares event.

Thunder center Mike Muscala shoots a three in a game against the Denver Nuggets in the Paycom Center.

COURTESY OF OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER

“We position ourselves as the state’s megaphone,” Syring said. “And entities lean on us to help them tell their stories. We constantly hear from partners that if an event is ‘Thunder-ized,’ it will get a lot more attention than one that’s not. And so, we tend to lead with the community investment in the community storytelling, because that’s our bread and butter. And it tells stories for our partners, and it helps solve real problems and real issues in the state. And that’s what we’re here to do.”

This responsibility of carrying around Oklahoma’s largest megaphone isn’t taken lightly either, Byrnes said. A commitment to community leadership is baked into every lev el of the organization.

“It’s in our mission statement, as an organi zation, to build, enhance and sustain a profes sional organization and to provide meaningful community leadership,” Byrnes said. “So this is not something that we just, you know, delegate to an internal group. We try to make sure that we’re doing it with authenticity. There’s a pur pose behind it. It drives the brand and drives our organizational culture.”

Oklahoma, Berney said. More than 5,000 youth and adults have participated in Thunder Fit Clin ics since 2009, including active military and veterans through the Hoops for Troops initia tive, and wheelchair clinics to support adaptive youth sports. And since 2009, the Thunder has been fulfilling wishes through Make-A-Wish, has supported the OKCPD FACT Program Hoops fest, and, along with Homeland, has provided grocery shopping sprees to families who are food insecure.

Every Thunder player, all Blue (the G-league affiliate team) and a lot of the roughly 225 employees participate in more than 500 commu nity events, projects, educational programs and camps each year.

“One of the most special things we get to do as professional athletes is giving back to the community and the fans that support us so much,” said Josh Giddey, Thunder guard and first round 2021 NBA draft pick. “It’s great to be a part of an organization that is so heavily focused on giving back and being involved with the community. This team doesn’t function with out the fans, and the great fans that we have. So, any chance we get to go out there and interact with the fans, we’ll 100 percent take it.”

THUNDER CARES

The Moore tornado that helped define the Thunder’s role in the community is also a great one to explain its impact: The Thunder donated more than $1 million to disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of that tornado.

But, that’s just a large example. The Thunder just recently dedicated its 30th refurbished or newly built basketball court throughout the state. Through its Rolling Thunder Book Bus, the organization is nearing 200,000 (182,000 and counting) books distributed to Oklahoma children since 2009. More than 313,000 ele mentary kids in Oklahoma have participated in the Thunder Reading Challenge since 2009.

“We want to use ourselves as a platform to prop up the folks in the organizations that are doing the real work, the hard work in the community,” said Christine Berney, Thunder vice president of community engagement. “We can blow in for an afternoon, and we have a great time, and everybody has a great time. But before we leave, one of our goals is always to make sure that more people know about that community organization, whether it’s Restore OKC, or the Boys and Girls Club, or Big Brothers, Big Sisters, or food bank, or infant crisis services, or you know, any of the 100s of community organiza tions that we’ve worked with. Our goal is to help them tell their story to more people.”

And, the Thunder are long-term partners too, developing deep roots with organizations in

Kenrich Williams, Thunder forward now in his fourth season, said he’s participated for years in Thunder literacy initiatives, reading to kids at schools. COVID forced his reading sessions to Zoom, so he said he’s looking forward to partic ipating in Thunder Cares and reading again in person this year.

“That’s up there with playing, in my eyes,” Williams said. “Because we were all once in these kids’ shoes, or whoever we’re giving back to, we were once in their shoes. So to have an NBA player or somebody of a higher profession come back and give, it’s huge. It does something to you. I didn’t have that as a kid, so it’s important now. It’s definitely important now.”

And, community projects removed, the Thun der organization has coordinated 10,000-plus Thunder player, mascot and entertainer appear ances throughout Oklahoma since 2009.

“(Appearances) are always fun, and it’s kind of humbling too,” said Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder starting point guard, also in his fourth season. “You step outside of your little world, and you see someone’s perspective. It’s an honor to be there, and it makes you grateful for your position. It makes you appreciate where you are more and makes you want to give back more.”

For Gilgeous-Alexander, he said he was partic ularly moved by giving away turkey dinners during the 2021 Thanksgiving season, seeing the impact the Thunder organization directly had on families.

“We gave them turkeys, canned goods, what ever food they needed,” he said. “And to just see the families, some were in cars that were broken down, like four kids ftting in three seats. It was

unfortunate, but it was nice to know we were giving back.

“I think it’s important for people who are on a pedestal to give back and make the world a better place. I feel like it’s a duty because you are blessed and fortunate with things that most people aren’t.”

Thunder forward Luguentz “Lu” Dort, in his third season with the Thunder, recently helped open a new court in Scissortail Park, the most recent court opened and in partnership with Devon. Dort, who also recently started a foun dation of his own in Canada, said he wants to bring his foundation to Oklahoma City as well.

“I want Oklahoma City to see that I want to give back, myself,” he said. “I want to reflect my story growing up in a difficult area and trying to give back to them and giving them some new resources to make life a little easier. So that’s my goal, and hopefully I get to do something here in OKC.”

“We want to use ourselves as a platform to prop up the folks in the organizations that are doing the real work, the hard work in the community.”

CHRISTINE BERNEY Vice President, Community Engagement

OFF-THECOURT ASSISTS

in the NBA is exceedingly rare, but Moham med said the longevity gave him a chance to plan for his future.

“The greats retire; the rest of us get re tired,” said Mohammed, now the general manager of the OKC Blue. “I could see my retirement coming, but I knew early what was next for me, so I’d spent my career planting seeds and building relationships.”

Mohammed recalls a point about four to five years into his NBA career when he knew he wanted to take a shot at putting players together to form a roster of his own. A les son awaited him, though.

“When you’re a player, you have an idea of what roster building looks like, but when you get to the other side of the job, you learn you were wrong,” he said. “I never un derstood the idea of a ‘general’ manager until I became one, and now I know it’s not just putting a roster together.”

THE SEATTLE SUPERSONICS

selected Nick Collison with the 12th pick of the first round in the 2003 NBA draft. The University of Kansas standout played his entire NBA career with the Sonics, later to become the Oklahoma City Thunder. Col lison retired at 37, a feat seldom achieved in a sport that often grinds men down by their early 30s.

“I was fortunate to be able to play that long,” Collison said. “I could see the end of my career approaching, and I was able to prepare for the transition.”

That transition eventually affects all athletes at the end of their college or pro career. As Collison put it, “I played my whole life. It was part of my identity, so that my goal was always to be the best high school, college and eventually pro player I could be. I had a season calendar, profes sional goals, training camp, off season. My life was built around that calendar.”

Pro athletes face multiple transitions at the end of their sports careers: person

al, professional, financial, psychological, familial, etc. Having trained their whole lives to be great at a sport, they suddenly are faced with leaving it entirely or finding ways to stay connected. For Collison, the opportunity to stay with the Thunder orga nization as an Amateur Evaluation Scout was the ideal way to stay connected to the sport he loved, the organization that had become family, and a role that put him back on college campuses.

“I got disconnected from amateur bas ketball because of the demands of the NBA life,” he said, “so it’s been fun to enjoy the game at that level again, to travel to campuses where I never went as a college player and learning about young players that might be headed for an NBA career.”

Nazr Mohammed had a standout career at the University of Kentucky, where he won two national championships, followed by 18 years in the NBA, including a title while with the San Antonio Spurs and two sea sons with the Thunder. An 18-year career

The general manager for the OKC Blue does entail roster building, but also work ing with scouts – Mohammed works as a Pro Evaluation Scout for the organization too – helping develop younger players and end-of-roster players, day-to- day opera tions, meetings with various departments like medical, travel coordinator, coaching staff, etc. It’s very different from what he expected, he said, but it’s a transition that’s kept him close to the game.

“Sometimes as a player, you get retired, and then you chase the game for another year or two,” he said. “If you’re lucky enough to get to play into your 30s, you face start ing a new career, so it’s best to be prepared for a tough transition. You’ve known and prepared for one thing your whole life, and then suddenly, it’s over.”

Mohammed met the great Sam Bowie at Kentucky, and Bowie referred him to a fi nancial planner, a strategy he said the NBA encourages players to embrace. Imagine being 18 with very little, and then a mil lionaire at 21. Mohammed said he wasn’t a

When you’re a player, you have an idea of what roster building looks like, but when you get to the other side of the job, you learn you were wrong. I never understood the idea of a ‘general’ manager until I became one, and now I know it’s not just putting a roster together.

NAZR MOHAMMED Pro Evaluation Scout

Five former Thunder players now work in different capacities within OKC’s NBA organization. Long-time Thunder and NBA players Nick Collison, Nazr Mohammed, D.J. White, Mike Wilks and Eric Maynor discuss how they moved from playing on the court to working for the Thunder from the sidelines.

big spender, and his financial planner was conservative, so he was able to save, invest and even pour resources into his founda tion in his hometown of Chicago.

D.J. White spent a lot of his professional career overseas in places like China and Turkey, and he spent several seasons in the NBA with Charlotte, Boston and three seasons with Oklahoma City. He formally retired in August of this year, but his NBA connection wasn’t ending.

“(Retiring) felt great, honestly,” he said. “I was going to play one more year, but this opportunity with the Thunder arose. I was

reaching out to teams to get back into the NBA in some capacity. Once I got on the phone with Sam, and he was like, ‘We want you back,’ and I said, ‘I’m coming.’”

White is now the video analyst, which means he watches recordings of all the games, looking for information that will help the coaching staff. He said he’s been sur prised how important digital technology is to the game, because it’s a side players don’t often see. White said he loves the new role and being part of the Thunder organization.

“I have friends around the league, and I’ve played on three teams including here,

and Oklahoma City was always my favorite place,” White said. “It’s just the people with the Thunder organization, and those people are still here, just in different capacities. I love the city and I have a family now and it’s a great place to raise a family. I loved how the organization treated me like a player when I was here; it made me want to come back. It’s a very family-oriented organization, and they run it well and very professionally. It was a place I wanted to come and learn how to be on the business side of basketball.”

Being on the other side of the business – coaching, scouting or managing versus playing – provides insights that former players can’t always see until their career is done. Current Thunder assistant coach Mike Wilks, who eventually played in the NBA for 11 seasons and one with the Thun der, was an undrafted player in the 2001 NBA Draft, so he got used to scrapping for a position on a team.

“Every year could have been my last,” he said. “I didn’t come from a big-name school (Rice), and I was a free agent every summer. I worked out hard, and knew that without the guaranteed contract, I’d have to make it for five or six months a year without an NBA paycheck.”

The scrappy approach meant Wilks wanted to play until he knew what was next, so when the Thunder offered him a scouting position, he told himself it was time to transition. The switch from play ing to coaching doesn’t provide much of a schedule change. Wilks talked about sum mer league, getting ready for the draft, trade deadline – all the new calendar items that don’t affect most players but exist as a sort of overlaid calendar to the players’ schedule.

Former Thunder and Sixers player Eric Maynor, now Thunder assistant coach for player development, transitioned to coach ing at the end of his career, a move he’d been planning since early in his career.

“I always wanted to get into coaching, and I was planning on taking some time off after playing,” he said. “Presti told my agent to keep in touch, and when they came back with an offer, I accepted. The new daily routine took some getting used to.”

Maynor said all in all the amount of time that goes to coaching for the Thunder is different than when you’re a player – there is time for family and friends – but it’s still similar to a player’s time commitment. But like the other Thunder staff who have transitioned to other roles, Maynor says it’s worth it.

“I love the game, and I want to give back by teaching all the young players what I’ve learned,” he said.

Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault and Blue assistant coach Eric Maynor.

Thunder special assistant and talent scout Nick Collison talks with Blue General Manager Nazr Mohammed.

THERE ARE SOME FUTURE PLANS, I JUST STARTED MY FOUNDATION AND I WANT OKLAHOMA CITY TO SEE THAT I WANT TO GIVE BACK, MYSELF. I WANT TO REFLECT MY STORY GROWING UP IN A DIFFICULT AREA AND TRYING TO GIVE BACK TO THEM AND GIVING THEM SOME NEW RESOURCES TO MAKE LIFE A LITTLE EASIER. SO THAT’S MY GOAL AND HOPEFULLY I GET TO DO SOMETHING HERE IN OKC.

CREATING THE NBA STANDARD

Pete Winemiller, who was Senior Vice President of Guest Relations until his passing in 2017, was with the team in Seattle and then in Oklahoma City for more than 20 years.

In that time, he brought national attention to his brand of customer service with a program he devel oped called Click! This program is specifcally trade marked to the Thunder, but the NBA challenged all other teams to develop similar programs that match the standards and efectiveness the Thunder has seen with Click!

Now, the NBA gives out the annual Pete Wine miller Guest Experience Innovation Award. In the three years the NBA has now given the award, it’s been awarded to vice presidents at the Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat, and this year the NBA thought enough of the award to honor one person at every team who made a diference during the COVID seasons. And now, every Thunder employee goes through Click! training every year, said Gayle Maxwell, Thunder Director of Communications.

Attention to customer service isn’t just lip service. The 18,000-plus seats at the Paycom Center are flled with about 10,000 season ticket holders, where 85 percent of them come from within 60 miles of down town OKC. This home crowd does extend throughout the state, though. Season and single ticket buyers have come from all 77 counties in Oklahoma through out the Thunder seasons. With 8,000 seats in Love’s Loud City, and the average price of a ticket holding steady at $63 and starting at $16, the Thunder crowd represents the diversity of the city it’s in.

And these fans are loyal. Take Dennis Waller, a retired CPA who has only missed six Thunder games in all 15 seasons. And, three of those were last season where he missed two games because he was in the hospital.

“I told the nurse, ‘If you let me go to the Thunder game’ – and I was dead serious – ‘I promise I’ll come back,’” he said.

Of course, Waller loves the game. But he said it was the excellent customer service and lifelong friends he has made that keep him coming back every year.

“I mean this sincerely, Thunder basketball is fantas tic, but the joy is not the basketball,” he said. “It is the friends I have made over the years and how I’ve been treated when I’m here. From the same lady that greets us at the front door to the older gentleman at the information booth, our longtime usher Kathy and all our friends that sit by us that we haven’t seen all summer – that’s my joy to see all those people that have become such dear friends.”

Susan and Gene Clark have also owned season tickets since the franchise came to Oklahoma City, except she can claim Thunder alum Russell Westbrook as a friend because of her seats.

“I was the ‘Come On Russell’ lady, if you remem

ber that,” Susan said. “I used to stand up and shout ‘Come On Russell,’ before he shot free throws. We used to greet each other before each half. He’d point up to me and I’d point down to him. When I fnally met him, and I asked him if my yelling bothered him, he said, ‘No, no, I wait to hear it!’”

Also from her vantage point, she’s seen the world-wide audience now looking at the Thunder.

“We have met a lot of international fans that have fown in just to see the Thunder,” she said. “France. Japan. England. New Zealand. Becoming an NBA city has meant so much to Oklahoma City.”

Salvador Ontiveros, Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center director of fnance and HR, bought season tickets the frst season when he and his wife were just starting their family. Now the games are a family tradition, with three boys ages 15, 12 and 10. They even take their family holiday photo at the Thunder games each year.

“Listen, these boys like to eat,” he said. “We hit up the Kids Cart, everything there is a dollar, juices, hot dogs, burgers. And I give them each $5, and they splurge. But now I have to give them $10. They don’t know a life of not going to the Thunder.”

Growing up in south Oklahoma City, Ontiveros didn’t think he’d stay in Oklahoma City as an adult. But, now, with the Thunder, he said his opinion of the city has changed – and made him decide to stay.

“I started to notice a renaissance in Oklahoma City, and there was all this investment and economic development,” he said. “There is something special happening here. There is something brewing. I wanted to stay here and I want to ride this wave. The Thunder has added that value. They’ve added that life value to make families want to stay here.”

DAN MAHONEY Vice President, Broadcasting and Corporate Communications

Guard Lindy Waters high fives a young fan.

Forward Aleksej Pokuševski with guard Jalen Williams during a Thunder game in the Paycom Arena.

DAN MAHONEY: CHARLIE NEUENSCHWANDER

Executive industry leaders give readers a glimpse into the past, present and future of their industries that are shaping and changing the Oklahoma City marketplace.

RECRUITING Specialized Recruiting Group

OUR SPECIALIZED RECRUITING Group, a division of Express Employment Professionals, o f ers an individualized ap proach to recruitment at the highest levels of business leadership and C-suite procurement with an expertise in professional consulting that puts us head and shoulders above other sta f ng companies.

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We’re not just consultants – we’re partners. We want to help you fnd, and keep, the best of the best.

So, when it’s time to Hire Higher, contact Bettye Taylor and her team at the Specialized Recruiting Group.

FINANCIAL PLANNING

COMMERCIAL ROOFING Standard Roofing Company

Wealth Management

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PROTECTING WHAT MATTERS. It’s not a slogan, it is a mission. Stan dard Roofng Company is Oklahoma’s oldest roofng and sheet metal contractor – diagnosing, designing and delivering value-based solutions to commercial roofng projects since 1898. Since that time, Standard has been building a reputation of qual ity service to our community. Its people are experienced, well trained, dedicated, and backed up by the most efcient equipment and facilities in the industry. A myriad of successful projects throughout the United States has made Standard one of the nation’s most respected roofng companies.

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“We are in the business of shelter; we are a 125 year-old start up.” Andrew Payne and Jim King joined the team as owners in 2019 and found themselves in a unique opportunity for entrepreneurship through acquisition. While the tradition, expertise, and foundation of integrity was already there, the partners recognized that the com pany still had so much untapped potential. In searching for what makes the company tick, they found that the cornerstone on which its reputation rests is its people. Te duo said they witnessed frst hand the dedication, character, and work ethic of its employees and made the decision to put them frst, even if that means putting profts last. Tat notion is what kept them not only afoat, but fully operational while the rest of the country was experiencing labor and material shortage during the global pandemic. While others were laying of, Standard Roofng Company was growing its workforce – sacrifcing profts for employment. Tey’ve invested in their people, and it’s unquestionably paid of

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“When you really boil it down, everything we do is in service to providing people with shelter,” the pair says. “It’s a tale literally as old as time – we need three things in order to survive: food, water, and a roof over our heads – at Standard we pride ourselves in fulflling that need in a way that is empowering, responsible, and rewarding to all those involved.”

Te new Standard strives each day to make a diference in our community and the roofng industry by treating both customers and employees with fairness, honesty, and respect while providing a safe and rewarding environment.

Standard Roofng Company is building a reputation, not resting on one.

Over a century down, and they’re just getting started.

Donec lacus purus, tempor nec urna vel, feugiat ullamcorper nisi. Nunc vitae dui neque. Phasellus elementum lorem nisl, ut sodales nisl imperdiet ultrices. Sed fnibus leo ut velit varius, id tempus nisl interdum. Donec sed facilisis felis. Pellentesque laoreet, erat sit amet varius placerat, odio justo egestas felis, a pulvinar diam libero vitae lectus. Etiam aliquam risus eget orci laoreet euismod. Aliquam pulvinar quis risus vel consectetur. Proin semper ipsum eu urna lacinia convallis. Sed ac dolor aliquet, ultrices neque varius, tempor massa.

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BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS Standley Systems

FROM THE EARLIEST DAYS, Standley Systems has always provided for the technology needs of Oklahoma businesses. From its humble beginnings in 1934 selling typewriters and adding machines to the full-suite technology company it is today, Standley Systems has always been a family business. Tose values shine through as they treat everyone as family, from their team to their many clients across each of Oklahoma’s 77 counties.

With a dedicated service team, a complete range of ofce technology services, and a people-frst way of doing business, Standley Systems is the number one technology partner for companies anywhere

in Oklahoma. Standley Systems equips Oklahoma businesses with products such as copiers and laser printers, solutions like document scanning, and services such as IT managed services.

“We believe technology should give you an advan tage, not hold you back,” said CEO Tim Elliott. “We understand that technology creates many diferent challenges. Tat’s why hundreds of organizations, including some of the largest government agencies in Oklahoma, trust us to help them keep their opera tions running smoothly.”

Adaptation is essential to Standley Systems’ success. Te company has created an environment of learning so that teams are able to design the best

possible solution for clients. Tat includes a full-time trainer to advance the knowledge and capacity of the technical team. To combat supply chain issues, Standley has drastically increased its stocking levels of parts, toner and equipment to better serve clients.

“Our ‘make it better’ mindset guides our approach to team and community development,” said COO Greg Elliott. “We invest in our staf and communi ties with the intent to create better futures.”

Every phone call to Standley Systems is answered by a local team member. Teir creative problem-solving and white glove service has made Standley Systems a trusted name in Oklahoma for 88 years and counting.

CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH

HEALTH

CardioVascular Health Clinic

CardioVascular Health Clinic

AT CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH CLINIC,

doctors provide personalized leading-edge vas cular and cardiovascular care at a reasonable cost for patients. Drs. Jim Melton and X Schmidt are specialists in leading-edge peripheral arterial disease (PAD) treatment and care services.

AT CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH CLINIC, doctors provide personalized leading-edge vascular and cardiovascular care at a reasonable cost for patients. Te clinic is internationallyknown for its leading edge peripheral artery disease (PAD) treatment and care services.

Tey emphasize and give specifc attention to the most underserved patients in rural Oklaho ma, having opened clinics in more than a dozen small towns across the state to provide a level of care most patients can only fnd in large cities.

Tey emphasize and give specifc attention to the most underserved patients in rural Oklaho ma, having opened clinics in more than a dozen small towns across the state to provide a level of care most patients can only fnd in large cities.

“We grew up in rural Oklahoma and under stand the challenges of rural and urban healthcare,” Dr. Jim Melton said. “We are

“We grew up in rural Oklahoma and understand the challenges of rural and urban healthcare,” Melton said. “We are uniquely

uniquely positioned to ofer patients options that nobody else provides, and that is our passion.”

positioned to ofer patients options that nobody else provides, and that is our passion.”

CardioVascular Health Clinic has an inter national reputation for providing revolutionary vascular and cardiovascular care. Te doctors have perfected an outpatient procedure for PAD, us ing an ultrasound to insert a tiny catheter into an artery near the ankle which restores blood fow.

CardioVascular Health Clinic has an inter national reputation for providing revolutionary vascular and cardiovascular care. Te doctors have perfected an outpatient procedure for PAD, us ing an ultrasound to insert a tiny catheter into an artery near the ankle which restores blood fow.

Te clinic also leads the nation by providing unequaled patient safety and satisfaction for a wide range of services in an ambulatory surgical setting. Tat includes pacemaker and defbrillator implants, coronary stent interventions, heart failure reversal device implants, as well as several other procedures.

Te clinic also leads the nation by providing unequaled patient safety and satisfaction for a wide range of services in an ambulatory surgical setting. Tat includes pacemaker and defbrillator implants, coronary stent interventions, heart failure reversal device implants, as well as several other procedures.

Tis year, clinic added a new service for patients that treats neuropathy with nerve stimulation, and they seeing a 95 percent success rate for patients who previously sufered for years with limited options.

Doctors from around the world fy to Okla homa City to learn about their innovations.

But ultimately, the focus is on helping pa tients in their own backyard.

T is year, the clinic added a new service for patients that treats neuropathy with nerve stimulation and they are seeing a 95 percent success rate for patients who previously suf fered for years with limited options. Doctors from around the world f y to Oklahoma City to learn about their innovations. But, ultimately, the focus is on helping patients in their own backyard.

“More than anything, we have assembled the best physicians who are devoted to this commu nity because we are members of this community,” Dr. Dwayne Schmidt said. “We want our neigh bors to be happy and healthy.”

“More than anything, we have assembled the best physicians who are devoted to this commu nity because we are members of this commu nity,” Melton said. “We want our neighbors to be happy and healthy.”

VENTURE CAPITAL Cortado Ventures

WITH THE CURRENT STATE OF the markets, many Silicon Valley VCs are slow ing down their investment dollars and changing their strategies to be more disciplined. In the Midcontinent — which includes Oklahoma, Missouri, North Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, and Kansas — we’re not seeing the same swings in investment strategies as investors on the coasts. Tis is at least in part because Midcontinent investors have always needed a higher level of discipline than VCs in places like Silicon Valley, where investment dollars are plentiful and entre preneurs and developers abound.

Oklahoma’s entrepreneurial ecosystem continues to emerge, even in a bear market. Historically, scaling startups have needed to look outside the state for capital, talent and resources — we’re a part of a growing charge to change that. While it’s still a work in progress, we believe it’s about building something bigger than ourselves and becoming connectors — connecting the dots between the right people, places, opportunities and organizations to support the growth of an entire entrepreneurial ecosystem.

We have been working with partners across the entrepreneurial ecosystem to support startups and entrepreneurs bringing innovative technologies to market. As our state continues to strive towards economic diversi f cation, it takes investors, universities, research institutions, local, state and federal governments, accelerators and incubators and other entities to collaborate for the good of our entrepreneurs and produce a new generation of economic prosperity for Oklahoma and the Midcontinent region.

NURTURING

INVESTMENT ADVISORS

Full Sail Capital

DREAMS, ONE CLIENT

at a Time. Everyone has a unique story, every one has a unique goal, and everyone will follow a unique path to reach their fnancial future. Tat’s why Full Sail Capital was established with a diverse foundation of professional exper tise and market experience to help clients meet their individual needs and navigate to dreams that take a lifetime to achieve.

There is no such thing as a typical client or a cookie-cutter solution, so we make it our business to connect with people where they are and find financial solutions that

meet their needs today and tomorrow.

In today’s changing economy and volatile fnancial markets, Full Sail Capital is stead fast in its leadership through an outstanding team of men and women with professional backgrounds in fnancial analysis, trusts, real estate, accounting, and law. Trough our range of knowledge, we are broadly connected to the fnancial industry, working with clients to create value in a variety of ways.

Full Sail Capital was established in 2018 with zero dollars under management. Since then, we have become one of Oklahoma’s

fastest growing fnancial advisories, working within markets to generate wealth for thou sands of Oklahomans inside and outside the Sooner state.

As a registered fnancial advisor, Full Sail Capital is a fduciary, which means we are required by law to be candid with clients and to place their interests ahead of our own and that is a responsibility we welcome.

Integrity, competence, transparency, and confdence are at the foundation of our mission, which puts people at the center of what we do, and peace of mind at the heart of who we are.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE Gardner Tanenbaum

WHEN IT COMES TO COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE, the projects spearheaded by Dick Tanenbaum are unprece dented. For more than 50 years, Gardner Tanenbaum Hold ings (GTH) has played a vital role in Oklahoma City’s growth and success with a strong momentum going into 2023.

“We are very excited about Westgate Park near West Reno and Sara Road which has more than 200,000 square feet of ofce and retail space,” said Dick Tanenbaum, founder of GTH. “We will soon start development on Westgate Park Residential, a 444 unit community with stellar amenities, that will complement the business development. It’s perfect for the industries we want to bring to Oklahoma City.”

Tat’s just the tip of the iceberg for GTH.

“We haven’t fnished the 58-acre Britton Commerce Park along I-35 and we’ve already signed tenants including Kroger, Stratus Surfaces, and Go Fresh,” Tanenbaum said. “We also have the Convergence project, a $178 million mixed-use development and MAPS 4 investment in OKC’s Innovation District. We are also developing 577 acres of I-240 and East ern. OKC 577 can accommodate up to 7 million square feet of manufacturing and industrial space.”

GTH recently brought a piece of Oklahoma history back to life with Te Presley Apartments on Lincoln and has another historic remodel of two buildings in downtown OKC in the lineup for Spring 2024; converting empty ofce space into Te Harlow – a 265 unit boutique-style apartment community.

Te Tanenbaum family has a national reputation for excellence and innovation in real estate development, but they say OKC will always be home. Tat is why they developed 9.5 million square feet of commercial, residential, and industrial real estate and invested $350 million in construction through out the metro this past year.

“ Trough 50+ years of relationships, we are uniquely connected with Oklahoma City’s business community, and we see a bright vision for this city,” said Tanenbaum. ‘We have cul tivated these relationships because of our deep commitment to the people of our community and a dedication to continuously reinvest in the city we love.”

Muralist on a mission

The Oklahoma Mural Syndicate, lead by Kris Kanaly, has created dozens of murals on public buildings throughout the city, helping the city’s national recognition of one of the top spots for public art in the country. p.58

Public Art with Heart

Oklahoma Mural Syndicate gathers working artists to paint murals through Oklahoma City, creating dozens of murals and helping USA Today name OKC the No. 1 place for street art two years in a row.

BY KRISTEN GRACE PHOTO BY LOGAN WALCHER

IN OKLAHOMA CITY’S Plaza District, 36 murals adorn the exte rior walls of local businesses. Eight years ago, the district had one mural.

In fact, “USA Today” topped their 2022 10 Best in Street Art list with Oklahoma City, an honor also bestowed on the city in 2021. Over the last few years, Oklahoma City has gained national atten tion as a wonderful place to live for artists and creatives and ranked in the top 10 for public and street art on numerous lists.

“Every community needs public art and art expression,” said Kris Kanaly, speaking about the Oklahoma Mural Syndicate, an increasingly well-known and ever-ex panding nonproft organization that began to fund the murals in Plaza District and now supports public art in six diferent communities in

Oklahoma. “Syndicate sounds like we might be the mafa, but we’re just a group of artists trying to put color in the neighborhood.”

Familiar with the Plaza District from 2010, Kanaly and friends noticed when Mason Realty began buying up properties in the area.

“We approached him in 2014 about the Alley Project,” he said. “We walked through the area frequently and saw its potential. It was already collecting grafti. We told him that our art would be better and we would pick up our trash.”

After contacting the property owner and working with the city to obtain the necessary permits, Kanaly — who owns Kanaly Designs — and friends began a weekly rotating mural project so successful that within months, Mayor Mick Cornett came out for a selfe.

JaBee Williams, Kris Kanaly, Hannah Royce, Jesse Warne, Virginia Sitze and Dylan Bradway.

“Public art, street art, helps build pride in your community. Eight years ago, there was one mural in the Plaza District. Now there are 36. It’s become one of the most popular districts in our state. The art becomes an economic feedback loop: go see the murals, get cofee, visit the shops, enjoy dinner. It benefits everyone.”

— Kris Kanaly

“Quite an endorsement,” Kanaly said with a laugh.

Since 2015, Plaza Walls has become a popular tourist attraction in Oklahoma City.

“Public art, street art, helps build pride in your community,” he said. “Eight years ago, there was one mural in the Plaza District. Now there are 36. It’s become one of the most popular districts in our state. The art becomes an economic feedback loop: go see the murals, get cofee, visit the shops, enjoy dinner. It bene fts everyone.”

In 2016, the artists of Plaza Walls created a non-proft organization to fund and advocate for public art.

“It became the Oklahoma Murals Syndicate,” Kanaly said. “We decided to take on the state.

We quickly had other communi ties contacting us, asking for a Plaza

Walls project in their community or district. I love that we inspired those communities to do it themselves, and we are here for them when they have questions. With six diferent mural projects across Oklahoma annually, we’re at the limit for now with what we can handle. We currently have seven members on our board, and we would love to grow to 12 members.

We believe every community needs public art and expression.”

Kanaly said the syndicate gets new artists through a mix of appli cation and curation. During the last year, more than 280 artists applied from all over the world to put art on Oklahoma walls during the annual Plaza Walls Fest. Donations from a wide number of companies provide

30 artists with a travel and mural stipend. Currently, OMS does not have the funding to fy in interna tional artists but Kanaly is encour aged by the interest.

“If you live here, you know that there is a stigma about Oklahoma,” he said. “To have so many artists seeking to come here is hopefully chiseling away that stigma.”

Tiffany McKnight created the mural titled “Afro Violet,” which is located at the northeast corner of 16th Street and Indiana Avenue in Oklahoma City. TIFFANY

SM SANZ

SM Sanz painted the mural, which is located at the northeast corner of 16th Street and Gatewood Avenue in Oklahoma City, during the Mural Expo 2021.

Should Oklahoma City build a new arena for the Thunder?

“Yes. That’s assuming a new arena would guarantee a new long-term lease with the NBA. I would think we should plan on having a new arena in place by 2027. Our current arena would be 25 years old by that time. It is somewhat similar to the Softball World Series. The NCAA agreed to give us a 25-year commitment so we put in the capital investment to expand that facility. Venues are critical to the success of sports franchises — especially small markets like Oklahoma City. I think we should identify a funding source for a new arena as soon as possible.”

IRISH PUB OWNER, FORMER OKLAHOMA DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIR

“A new arena would be easier to sell to the public if the Thunder were doing better. Here is a radical idea. How about we share half the season with Tulsa? They have a brand-new stadium. The BOK Arena. Would make for a much bigger fan base. We could put some money into the arena we have now. Make it a little bit better. But in all honesty, how much more can we ask of the citizens that can’t even aford to go to a game. The same citizens (who) can’t even watch it on TV because (they) have two or three jobs. Precedent was set with the Kansas City-Omaha Kings. It can be done if it would be the best way to share both the burden and the resources of having an NBA team.”

“I am pro new arena even if that means taxpayers have to foot some of the bill for it. The economic impact of having a new arena far outweighs cons in my opinion. The sporting events and concerts will continue to boost tax dollars and tourism in OKC. But I do believe ownership should meet the city halfway. They need to have some skin in the game as well.”

Sean Cummings

Three Oklahoma City leaders weigh in on the possible benefits and negatives associated with Oklahoma City taxpayers funding the construction of a new arena to replace the nearly 25-year-old Paycom Center.

Mick Cornett FORMER OKLAHOMA CITY MAYOR

Chris Kana

KILLER SQUID HOSPITALITY FOUNDER AND OPERATING PARTNER

Purpose & Impact Awards

405 Business Magazine recently held its Purpose & Impact Awards, highlighting 11 diferent companies, nonprofts and leaders who are working to bring good into their organizations and the community. Gathered at The Jones Assembly, guests enjoyed bouquet-making stations in honor of The Home less Alliance and seed-planting lessons from Restore OKC. Mike Beckham, Simple Modern co-founder and CEO, served as the keynote speaker, and Simple Modern was the presenting sponsor of the event.

Bob and Nancy Anthony. Nancy received the Purpose and Impact Living Legend award for her 38 years of service to the Oklahoma City Community Foundation.

Outstanding Leadership Excellence award winner Scotia Moore with Chonta Veal, Joanne Davis and Ashley Dickson Oso.

Nicolas, Jill and Marcus Castilla. Jill was honored at the event as 405 Business Magazine’s Outstanding Purpose-Led Leader.

Diana Fields, Purpose and Impact Nonprofit Leadership Excellence Honoree Michael Myers, Trent and Blakely Riley.

Hammon and members of the Restore OKC team, all with 405 Business Publisher Jordan Regas.

Oklahoma Aerospace Forum presents current state of Aerospace in Oklahoma

The ffth-annual Oklahoma Aerospace Forum recently brought together leaders in the state’s aerospace indus try that spoke about the future of cybersecurity, work force and the entire industry.

Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Hopper Smith, Makila Fields, Leshia Pearson, Brent Wright and Angela Tymofichuk at the 2022 Oklahoma Aerospace Forum, sponsored by Oklahoma ACES.

Tom O’Keefe speaks during the day-long event.

The “Future of UAS and AAM” panel at the Oklahoma Aerospace Forum included speakers U.S. Army Deputy Director Fires Battle Lab, Woody Gebhart, Vigilant Aerospace CEO Kraettli Epperson, NASA Principal Investigator and FAA Liaison David Zahn, Tulsa

Innovation Labs Advanced Aerial Mobility Associate Daniel Plaisance, Oklahoma State University Director of the Unmanned Systems Research Institute Dr. Jamey Jacob and moderator Delaware Resource Group Director of Business Development Geoff Camp.

Oklahoma Aerospace and Defense State Director Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Hopper Smith, Sen. Paul Rosino

All that Glitters

THIS FALL, UNIVERSITY of Oklahoma President Joe Harroz welcomed the largest freshman class in the school’s 132-year history, more than a quarter who are frst-generation college students. Harroz himself is a second-generation OU grad, following his father who graduated from OU’s medical school and was the frst

in his family to attend college. And now, his son is at OU as well as a student, making the third generation to call OU home. Harroz has plenty of mementos of his family throughout his ofce, historic items dating back to OU’s very frst president and one extremely glitzy present from OU Athletic Director Joe Castiglione.

Above: Harroz’ desk inside his office in Evans Hall, which has burned down three times in its century-plus history but serving as each president’s office. “I am but a temporary occupant of this office,” Harroz said.

Far Right: Castiglione gifted the OU helmet adorned entirely in Swarovski crystals to Harroz shortly after he became president. The helmet sits on top of a 360-degree rotating base with eight lights illuminating the helmet from all angles.

Right: Regents Professor of Economics Alexander Holmes and OU graduate Josh Woodward crafted the grandfather clock’s case out of wood from the Pe-Et Elm tree planted by David Ross Boyd, which stood in front of Evans Hall for a century. The clock is 100 inches tall, one inch for each year the tree stood in front of the building that holds the president’s office.

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Vince

Lombardo | President of Heartland

“If you don’t take seriously the need to define and live and prove the value of culture within your business, you’re missing the most-secret ingredient for success.”