During their regular meeting at noon Tuesday, Woods County Economic Development Committee (WCEDC) members discussed plans for a donor dinner to be held next month. Intended to thank those who have made donations to WCEDC in the past, the dinner will also provide an opportunity to describe what the committee has been doing and has accomplished. The reception and dinner will be held Tuesday, Oct. 11, in the Women’s Building at the Woods County Fairgrounds in Alva.

WCEDC Executive Director Jeremy Zeller said Christy Idelman, OG&E economic manager, will be the guest speaker. He discussed arrangements for a cash bar during the reception and a catered meal. While invitations will go out to recent donors, WCEDC members were asked to submit additional names to Zeller. The number of guests will be limited.

Dr. Kay Decker said she has made arrangements with the museums in Alva, Freedom and Waynoka to each arrange a table with items showing some of the history of those locations.

Several comments were made about ways to survey people attending, possibly with a few questions to be filled out during the reception or a link to an online survey to get suggestions.

Dr. Bo Hannaford, chairman, presided over the meeting. All committee members were present including Decker, Susan Bradford, Randy McMurphy, Cale Leeper, Jack Staats, Randy McMurphy and Jeremy Eaton.

Starting the Fiscal Year

Instead of the July through June schedule for the fiscal year common to most organizations, the WCEDC operates on a fiscal year beginning Sept. 1. Zeller said he just got access to financials. The list of pledges for the fiscal year just ended shows several donors have fallen behind on payments. He discussed how to get contact information and asked for input on how to proceed.

With the start of the new fiscal year, invoices for donor pledges will be going out in October, he said.

Website Update

Zeller has been working on getting photographs to add to the website (www.woodscountyok.com). He said he would like to create a library of resources and the strengths of each community in the county.

Other tasks have kept him busy, but Zeller said he’d like to work on the website more this fall. He would also like to get some help to “tap the whole social media piece.”

Zeller suggested the committee have the daily tracker service on the website turned off. The WCEDC is currently paying $3,600 annually for that service which tracks who visited the website each day. Zeller said it’s not producing much right now. Decker made a motion, seconded by Bradford, to turn off the daily tracker at present, and the motion carried unanimously.

Zeller said apparently there is no signed agreement between the WCEDC and the website builder. He said the website company can’t find an agreement either. Hannaford thought he had a signed copy of the agreement and will look for it.

Goals and Objectives

Being new to the job, Zeller does not have a list of goals and objectives for the committee. When sending members the packet for this meeting, Zeller also sent them his written job description for reference.

Hannaford asked that committee members send in any specific goals or objectives they have for the year so they can compile a list.

2023 Meeting Dates

The WCEDC will have one more meeting in December for 2022. Hannaford said it will be time to elect new officers for the committee at that meeting.

A list of 2023 meeting dates was provided, and committee members voted approval. The meetings are scheduled for March 14, June 13, Sept. 12 and Dec. 12. All are at noon at Northwest Technology Center in Alva.

Conferences and Ideas

Zeller said he applied for and received a scholarship from NwOA to attend the IEDC (International Economic Development Conference) being held in Oklahoma City Sept. 18-21. The scholarship will pay the registration fee of about $1300. WCEDC will only need to pay for Zeller’s hotel and travel.

He said right after that conference is the Oklahoma tourism conference including the film friendly community program. Zeller wants to learn more about the program. He believes the diverse landscape of Woods County would provide some desirable locations for films.

Zeller and Decker recently participated on a call with the state Main Street office about getting in on the new county level program. They learned that getting in on the lowest network level does not require that an extra person be hired to oversee the program. Zeller said participating in the network will provide free public relations opportunities, training and useful contacts.