A General Membership meeting, presented by Gray, Blodgett & Co., PLLC, has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 13, Noon at Sooner Legends Hotel, Bar & Restaurant.

Vince Orza, President/CEO of KSBI will be the guest speaker.

Orza previously served as dean of the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University. He became dean in July 2005 following 22 years as Chairman & CEO of Eateries Inc., a company he founded. Eateries, the parent company for Garfield’s Restaurant, Pepperoni Grill and Garcia’s Mexican Restaurants, grew into a 26 state chain of nationally recognized restaurants reaching from New York to California under Orza’s leadership. During his career at Eateries, Orza was elected an OCU trustee and was subsequently asked to serve as dean of the Meinders School of Business.

The meeting will also report on upcoming 2012 initiatives including the Total Resource Campaign, the 35 South Project and a public welcome to the 2012-13 board of directors.

Sponsorships are available for the meeting:
Presenting Sponsor: $500
Benefits:
*    Welcoming remarks
*    Recognition from the emcee
*    One (1) table of eight
*    Recognition in the eJournal
*    Recognition in signage at the event

Gold Sponsor: $300
*    Recognition from the emcee
*    One (1) table of eight
*    Recognition in the eJournal
*    Recognition in signage at the event

Silver Sponsor: $150
*    Half-table (four tickets)
*    Recognition in the eJournal
*    Recognition in signage at the event

Individual tickets are available for $20. Reservations and sponsorship requests may be made to Angie Drury at 321-7260 or by email at angie@normanchamber.com. RSVP deadline is Friday, March 10.

Green Sticker Program Re-Launch
The Greenovation Committee, in an effort promote “greening” your business, and to educate you on how to green your business, is re-launching the Green Sticker Program.

The concept behind this program is enhancement of your company’s efforts become “Green” and thus protecting our environment and growing your profits.

Being green is good for your bottom line.  Customers reward businesses who are making an effort to establish green practices in their daily operations.  This recognition program will help you market and promote your efforts.  By participating, you should recognize savings on many of your expenses, and grow your revenue.  So it’s good from the top to the bottom (line)!

The Green Sticker is to be placed on any door or window and is designed to complement your Norman Chamber Member sticker.  There are six Greenovation categories: Solid Waste Reduction, Eco-Friendly Products, Eco-Friendly Transportation, Energy Use Reduction, Water Conservation and Recycling & Supply Reuse.

A task force of Committee members will meet periodically to determine which businesses qualify to be awarded a green sticker. The Business Directory on the Chamber website will show the progress of members’ accomplishments in the coming months.

Show the Norman community that you care about the environment by participating in this program!!

An information sheet on the Greenovation Committee page provides you with a few examples of how you can take steps to green your business within each category. For more information, contact Kyla McMoran at 321-7260 or by email at kyla@normanchamber.com.

Annual Greenovation Awards
It’s time once again to submit your application for the Annual Greenovation Awards presented at the Chamber’s Annual Banquet, Thursday, April 26 at Embassy Suites.

Awards are given to a large and small business in the areas of Conservation, Recycling and Transportation. Applications are available on the Greenovation Committee page.

Applications are due on Friday, March 30 by 5 p.m. For more information, contact Kyla McMoran at 321-7260 or by email at kyla@normanchamber.com.

Previous winners include: BancFirst; CART; City of Norman; Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma; Hitachi Computer Products (America), Inc.; Johnson Controls; Liquecolor; Marc Heitz Chevrolet; Native Roots Market; NCED Conference Center; Norman Public Library of the Pioneer Library System; Norman Regional Health System; and Republic Bank & Trust.

Online Green Directory
Do you provide a product or service that is considered “green?” The Greenovation Committee would like to add a benefit to Chamber members and community members alike. By collecting this key group of businesses in one place, members will be able to reference all things “green” in their home or business.

If you provide any service or sell products that you consider “green” simply send an email to Kyla McMoran listing the products or services you feel belong on this list. The Greenovation Committee will review submissions each month.

Green Directory members will be given the classification “Green” via the Chamber database and a special highlighted listing in the online directory.

For more information, contact Kyla McMoran at 321-7260 or by email at kyla@normanchamber.com.

Each year the Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee supports a joint awards program with the Army, Naval, and Air Force ROTC units to show local support and recognize outstanding cadets and midshipmen. This year’s event will be held April 19 at the University of Oklahoma Memorial Union in Meacham Auditorium. The three ROTC departments will be presenting over 60 awards and scholarships at this year’s ceremony which will begin at 4 p.m. with a reception following.

The Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee sincerely believes there is a continuing need to promote community and campus support of the ROTC programs at the University of Oklahoma. These programs have a significant and ongoing social and economic impact on the University and the local economy.

A contribution of $100 would be greatly appreciated to continue this important event. In recognition and appreciation of your financial commitment, your organization will be acknowledged in the “Award Ceremony Program,” the Chamber newsletter and The Norman Transcript.

Contact Angie Drury, 321-7260 or angie@normanchamber.com if you have any questions. Please mail your contribution to the Norman Chamber of Commerce c/o Angie Drury, P.O. Box 982, Norman, OK 73070. If you would like to attend the event, please contact Lindsey Kannady at 325-3012 by March 15.

Discover a great business building and client retention program: SendOutCards!

Harvey Mackay, the author of Swim with the Sharks (Without being Eaten Alive), and the author of four other business Best Sellers, said “This is the only company I have ever endorsed. If you have a customer base, you would be crazy not to use it.” Knowing this why wouldn’t you want to know more about it?  Jack Canfield, the author of Chicken Soup for the Soul agrees.

Here is your chance to see one of the most powerful tools on the market today to not only build your customer base, but more importantly, keep them forever!  See a SendOutCard presentation, 12:00 Noon, Friday, February 10, Norman Chamber of Commerce, 115 East Gray. Food will be provided at no charge.

SENDOUTCARDS, like Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes is the next game changer in how we send cards and gifts and how we communicate with our friends, family, and clients.

It is already making an impact:
•    In just its Seventh Year it is a $225 million privately held company
•    It is the # 1 customer for the US Postal Service for 1st Class with over $30,000 of postage everyday
•    #158 on the INC500 List of fastest growing privately held companies in the USA (2009)
•    Capable of sending out one million cards a day around the World from their state of the art facilities in Salt Lake City and Australia and plans to be in 132 countries in two years.

We are excited to share with you how to easily create and send unique and personal greeting cards and gifts to highlight your business at a fraction of the cost, saving you both TIME and MONEY.

Please RSVP for your FREE lunch.  Email Dawn McNutt at dawn@nobleok.net or Matt Branstetter at mattb@braevest.com.

If you are unable to attend on Friday, you may also call Dawn McNutt for a personal appointment at 414-5921.

Patrick Boylan, owner of PDC Productions, one of the nation’s premier event production companies, is being honored as one of Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEOs. PDC Productions is a leader in innovative and creative audio-visual services and event production.

Patrick founded PDC Productions in 1982 in Norman, Oklahoma, and has been an integral member of the Oklahoma City and Norman communities.  He is also active at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri where he owns the award-winning J. Bruner’s Restaurant.

“Patrick has blended his finance degree with his creative talents to impress and inform audiences from 250 to 16,000 in venues across North America and worldwide,” said Jane Anderson, Vice President of PDC Productions.
Patrick’s talent and passion for his business have been recognized on local, regional, and national levels. He was privileged to be presented with the MPI Global Paragon Award by the event industry’s leading association, Meeting Professionals International.

“We look forward to working with PDC each year and appreciate Patrick’s leadership on our world-class events”, said Kari Watkins, Executive Director of the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.

The 2012 breakfast reception will be held from 8-9:30am in the Rayburn Office Building on Thursday March 8th. Each legislator is given the opportunity to address the crowd.  Last year we also had the pleasure of having Congressman JC Watts attend.  This year’s Fly-In will also include a Wednesday evening nightcap get together for our attendees and special Oklahomans that call DC home.

The Norman Chambers Washington DC Fly-in is funded solely by sponsorships of Chamber members that believe in the importance of maintaining strong relationships with our federal congressional delegation and their staff.

The following sponsorship levels are available.

Platinum  Sponsor: $1,000
Premium logo on invitation and at the breakfast reception and mixer.

Gold Sponsor: $500
Name in print on the invitation and at the breakfast reception and mixer.

Silver Sponsor: $250
Name listed on invitation.

Thank you so much for providing past support and for considering this opportunity.  Please respond to robin@normanchamber.com.

Best wishes,

John Woods
President/CEO
Norman Chamber of Commerce

This year’s program co-chairs are Sydney Shilling and Joann Terrell. Sydney is a 1998 graduate of Leaders Plus, and Joann is a graduate of the 2001 class. Both serve as Ambassadors for the Chamber and have been working diligently to organize and plan an interesting and exciting year for 2012.

Members of the 2012 class include: Cecilia Abrams, Polly Christiansen, George Droescher, Shirley Ellis, Debbie Hoover, George Langley, Barry McCarroll, and Paula Roberts.

Leaders Plus, which began January 17, will include ten sessions and cover such topics as city and state government, education, health, social services, arts and humanities, and the University of Oklahoma. Sessions are usually held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesdays with lunch provided. The program will end with a graduation ceremony held in conjunction with the Chamber’s other two leadership programs, Leadership Norman and Tomorrow’s Leaders on April 22nd.

For more information about Leaders Plus or any of the Chamber’s leadership programs, contact Erica Millar at 321-7260.

NORMAN — Landmark Fine Homes of Norman has been named America’s Best Builder 2012 by “Builder” magazine, the leading media brand for the residential construction industry and serves as the magazine for the National Association of Home Builders.

“The 2012 class of America’s Best Builders encompasses elite companies that represent the best of the industry,” said Boyce Thompson, editorial director of Builder magazine.

“Innovative business strategies, careful attention to customer service and a distinct approach to quality home building have led them all to succeed in today’s new housing environment. There are lessons to be learned from the practices they’ve perfected.”
America’s Best Builders are selected from an open call of entries, reviewed by a panel of industry experts, and evaluated for excellence in finance/operations, design/construction, customer service/quality, community/industry service and marketing.

“I think our success is centered on a pretty simple formula and that is we build great homes for great people,” said Dan Reeves, president of Landmark Fine Homes. “This award is given to homebuilders who have set up and use processes and systems that lead to happy customers, who run a profitable company, and make sound business decisions.”

Landmark was established 11 years ago and has 13 employees. Homes begin at 1,500 square feet and Landmark has four model homes with one each in Norman, Moore and in east and west Edmond. An in-house design center helps customers relieve the stress that often is associated with building a home by assisting in the many decisions that accompany the process.

“We are continually improving and researching the latest trends in design, and in homebuilding, to give our customers options,” Reeves said.

The company also focuses on green building, and in 2009 a Landmark home in Norman’s Carrington Lakes was certified by the National Association Home Builders as a gold-level Green Home, at that time the second home in the state that had met the halmarks for Model Green Building developed by NAHB.

“We employ the best in products and construction science practices,” Reeves said. “I am proud of this award and our company.”

Among Friends is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and a member agency of the Norman United Way. Among Friends is available for adults with physical or mental disabilities, who would like to meet new people, develop social skills, and participate in activities planned especially for them. It is located in the Community Services building at 1183 E Main in Norman.

Recent cuts in federal and state funding for the support of adults with disabilities have left caregivers strapped for how to provide services for their clients. Among Friends, funded solely with local donations, helps fill the gap by providing services . Can we count on your support?

For more information please contact: Bob Winstead 370-1949 or Carl Deaver at 701-0109

Awards were presented to the following community public servants: Officer Robert Moore, Norman Police Department; Aaron Wright, Norman Fire Department; Detective Chris Patison, University of Oklahoma Police Department; Deputy James Boling, Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office; Lieutenant Tony Loftis, EMSSTAT-Norman Regional Health System; and Lori Pucket, Cleveland County District Attorney’s Office. The Mary Abbott Children’s House—Child Abuse Response & Treatment Team presented the Wayne Martin Memorial Award to Kay Christiansen with Bethesda, Inc. The award is named in honor of the late Wayne Martin, a veteran Norman police officer.

Two scholarships were also awarded at the banquet to the dependents of public safety personnel employed in Cleveland County. This year’s recipient of the John Dutch Memorial Scholarship named for the late John Dutch, Norman Fire Chief of 14 years, is Cody Cramer. Melissa Maisano was awarded the Steve Cain Memorial Scholarship, in honor of the late Norman Police Department Captain.

This event is made possible through the support of event and award sponsors. This year’s sponsors included BancFirst; Dr. Patrick Cody; the Cleveland County District Attorney’s Office; Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office; First American Bank; FOP Bratcher-Miner Memorial Lodge 122; First Fidelity Bank, N.A.; L&A Wrecker Service; Mary Abbott Children’s House; Norman Fire Department; Norman Regional Health System-EMSStat; Republic Bank & Trust; and the University of Oklahoma Police Department. Flowers were donated by Betty Lou’s Flowers. All the contributions are truly appreciated and assist in the continued success of this event.

Congratulations to all those honored and a special thank you to the public safety personnel who work throughout the year to help create and maintain a safe Norman community!