The Education and Workforce Development Committee held their regular monthly meeting on Thursday, April 7 at 4 pm. Arlene Stauffer called the meeting to order, and various updates were given by those in attendance.

Liz Lemming with Ponca City Development Authority (PCDA) shared that Ponca City is at 1.9% unemployment in the area.

PCDA will have a Girl Power STEM camp that will be from July 18 to 22 for 7th and 8th grade girls.

PCDA’s internship program is growing with 87 people to place in positions around Ponca City. PCDA is working on a plug and play internship where businesses can come to a session with templates and handbooks for their industry and PCDA can help to promote them.

Traci Thorpe and Janet Schwabe of Pioneer Technology Center (PTC) provided updates.

PTC is getting closer to finishing their building project, and are hoping to be moved in by the end of the school year. They are also looking to schedule their foundation roast of Senator Bill Coleman sometime in the fall.

Student organizations are in the middle of spring competition season with several competing in state and national competitions.

Summer camps and academies began registration on April 1. Incoming 6th and 7th graders will have camps on June 1, 2, and 3.

During June and July, there will be trade camps for 7th, 8th, and 9th graders.

They will also have their 3rd grade event for them to check out PTC’s programs.

Several training opportunities are coming up including truck driver training, bus driver training, and farm rescue class.

The Healthcare Career Fair is scheduled for April 20, and Barbecue with BIS is back and will be on Tuesday, May 3.

Robyn Armstrong provided an update for the University Center (UC).

Armstrong was officially named CEO of University Center on April 7.

Enrollment started for both colleges on March 22 and they have been busy with appointments. Letters have also been sent out for concurrent enrollment opportunities.

Armstrong is with Soroptimists and they will be awarding two $500 scholarships to senior girls this year.

The summer academies for 5th to 9th graders will be in June, and the second week of July will have an academy for 1st and 2nd graders.

Ashley Villines with the Northern Oklahoma Humane Society (NOKHS) provided an update.

NOKHS will be sharing videos on their Facebook concerning themselves and animal control touching on various animal related topics in the community.

NOKHS will have a poker run on June 25 with Ody’s sponsoring.

Delana Hawkins filled in for Ponca City Public Schools (PCPS) Superintendent Shelley Arrott to provide a report.

All PCPS sites are currently in the middle of state testing in April and May.

Prom will be on April 16 at the Marland Mansion.

Students won’t attend school on April 15 and April 29 as those are scheduled snow days.

Teach PC, a course for juniors and seniors that are interested in a career in education, are taking a field trip to Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva on April 13.

Partnership with PCDA for the career fair was really good with both student and business turnout. The high school has just gone through course selection and internships are up from 40 this year to 87 next year.

A school board election was held earlier in the week and incumbents Nancy Zimmerschied and Anna Roland retained their seats on the board.

Sue Lunsford provided updates on Marland’s Place and the Community Health Foundation.

Marland’s Place held their Cocktails for a Cause at Osage Casino on Friday, April 8.

Community Health Foundation will be holding their Meals to Heal on April 29 at the Wildwood Event Center.

Finally, Chamber President Rich Cantillon provided his update.

The 35th Leadership Ponca City will have their fundraiser dinner to raise money for an “in-kind” gift. This money will help an adult wishing to go back to school. That event will be on Saturday, April 9 at Osage Casino.

A ribbon cutting is scheduled for Spray’s Jewelry and Gifts on April 12 at 2 pm, and another ribbon cutting will be on April 14 for Galaxie Business Equipment at 2 pm.

PCDA will have their Business on the Balcony on Tuesday, April 12 from 7 am to 8:30 am.

The Leadership Ponca City class will have their city government session on April 13.

The Chamber office will be closed for Good Friday on April 15.

The Chamber is hosting an Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce Executive’s Board training at the Chamber Office this month.

The next Kindness Campaign meeting will be on April 19 at 4pm at the Rusty Barrell.

Wednesday, April 20 will be Ponca City Day at the state capitol. The Chamber will display Ponca City’s attractions on the fourth floor rotunda at the capitol.

The Chamber Celebration will be on April 21 with RCB Bank hosting the reception at the Marland Mansion. You must have a ticket to enter the reception. Following the reception, the awards ceremony will be at the Ponca City Concert Hall at 6:30 pm, the awards ceremony is free to enter.

The next Ponca Politics Forum will be on Friday, April 22 with Senator Bill Coleman, and Representatives Ken Luttrell and John Pfeiffer.

Business After Hours will be on April 28 and hosted by Stolhand-Wells Group in the Summit Room at City Central.

Cantillon and Mayor Homer Nicholson will be doing a customer service training on Friday, April 29.

The Leadership Class graduation will be on Thursday, May 5 at the Carolyn Renfro Event Center at 6:30 pm. Tickets are $35.

The next meeting will be on Thursday, May 5 at 4 pm.