Business News

As families struggle to pay their bills, credit card debt reached a record $930.6 billion at the end of 2022, an 18.5% spike from a year earlier. According to Trans Union, the average credit card balance rose to $5,805 over that same period.

If your credit card balance exceeds 30% of your available credit, it negatively impacts your credit score.

One of the unintended consequences of increased credit card usage is the surprising and rapid drop in credit scores. In fact, for the first time in over a decade the average FICO score did not increase from the previous year.

– Brett Carter, Fidelity Direct Mortgage, The Southwest Florida 100

Keen on reducing pricey auto loan payments in these inflationary times? Enter Gaya – designed to put consumers in the driver’s seat when it comes to their finances.

Co-founders Carl Ziade and Jean-Pierre Vertil were pursuing MBAs at Stanford when they encountered a troubling statistic: 50% of all auto loans are overpriced. Still, the average consumer is quick to hit the brakes when it comes to refinancing. 

Created to expand the financial reach of insurance companies like RIGHTSURE, Gaya helps agents to go the extra mile by reducing both interest rates and monthly payments.

Why wait? Refinance the easy way, today.

– Jeff Arnold, The Arizona 100

While the exterior will be in a small-town traditional architectural style, the interior of Fire Station #1 in Newcastle will have top-of-the-line facilities.

Guernsey, a design, architecture and consulting firm in Oklahoma, gathered with the City of Newcastle recently to break ground on the station, which will have all the modern necessities and latest technology.

These include an ICC 500 saferoom and Decontamination Room for proper wash downs, a state-of-the-art kitchen and fitness room, individual sleeping quarters for up to 10 personnel and a training classroom for up to 25 students.

The project is expected to take 12 months to complete.

– Staff Report, The Oklahoma 100

Managing our mental health isn’t a solo job. 988 is a three-digit mental health lifeline that connects Oklahomans with mental health resources. With each call or text, we can start conversations that could save a life.

By downloading one of the free mental health toolkits, you can learn to start the conversation in your community and even better your own mental health. These toolkits give educators, veterans, healthcare professionals and Oklahomans adequate resources to raise awareness of 988 in their communities. Each toolkit includes posters, design resources, data, social assets and coloring pages.

To learn more, visit 988oklahoma.com.

– Jeanine Bertou, Jones PR

Five Native American ballet dancers became internationally known in the mid 20th-century as the Five Moons. Maria Tallchief, a prima ballerina at the New York City Ballet, was the first American to dance in the Paris Opera Ballet.

The other Four Moons are her sister, Marjorie Tallchief, Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower and Moscelyne Larkin. 

There’s a mural of the women, “Flight of Spirit,” at the Oklahoma State Capitol. Bronze sculptures of the dancers in ballet costumes are at the Tulsa Historical Society.

Now the women will be commemorated again, this time in gold, on the 2023 Native American dollar coin.

– Staff report, The Oklahoma 100

We all know our locations are being tracked by apps on our smartphones. But companies can get in big trouble if they do so without users’ permission or after they make a specific request not to do so.

That’s what got Google in trouble, to the tune of $391.5 million it is required to pay to 40 states after it was found the company violated consumer protection laws with its location practices since 2014. It’s a win for consumers and the largest multi-state settlement in U.S. history dealing with privacy.

Oklahoma will receive more than $6.8 million in this settlement.

– Staff report, The Oklahoma 100

Reagan Smith, Inc., a state, federal and Tribal project management consulting firm, added three experts to its team.

Land Administration Assistant Amanda Hole, a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma, works with developers and builders to create plans, obtain entitlements and zoning and execute the development of properties.

Permitting and Wildlife Specialist Caleb Calhoun, a graduate of Oklahoma State University, uses his experience to report on land, threatened and endangered species, migratory bird and archaeology surveys,

As Reporting Specialist, Christy Moore assists with reviewing, proofreading and filing federal and state product and royalty reports, tax reports and related documents.

– Staff report, The Oklahoma 100

A native of New York, Deryn Makowski is passionate about her work in the field of archeological investigation. She moved to Oklahoma recently to work for Reagan Smith, a state, federal and Tribal project management consulting firm, as its archaeologist and principal investigator.

In her new role, Makowski will perform archeological surveys in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas and archeological research for various projects in addition to working with agencies and Tribes to ensure protection of cultural resources.

Makowski has two years of experience with paleoecology lab work and, in May, earned her master’s degree in anthropology at Iowa State University.

– Staff report, The Oklahoma 100

Oklahoma City is poised to become a destination for biomanufacturing talent, thanks to the Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Center (BWTC), a workforce training center program that is coming to the Oklahoma City Innovation District.

BWTC’s initiative addresses the issue of inaccessibility to the industry, as it is one of only a few like it in the country where students don’t need a degree to attend.

The program will help by training and retaining talent in the state, while also attracting new talent – creating hundreds of new jobs and providing researchers with technicians who are already trained in the basic lab skills.

– Staff report, The Oklahoma 100

The Oklahoma State Transportation Innovation Council (STIC) will host part two of the Every Day Counts (EDC) 5 webinar Thursday, Nov. 10, from 1:30-3 p.m. Experts from the transportation industry will give presentations on topics including Crowdsourcing, Unmanned Aerial Systems, Virtual Public Involvement and Workforce Resources.

This free, online event is open to contractors, engineers and anyone interested in learning more about industry trends. The STIC hosted previous webinars covering EDCs 1-4 and EDC 5-Part One, which are available to watch online.

Invite your colleagues and register today. For more information about EDC 5 innovations, visit the FHWA website.

– Staff report, The Oklahoma 100

Red Dirt Energy, LLC (RDE) began offering oil and gas well plugging to support the industry’s focus on long-term sustainability and responsibility within oil and gas production.

“The pandemic left a void in the plugging and remediation industry to accommodate for other, more timely needs,” RDE Chief Operations Officer Scott St. John said. “Red Dirt Energy looks forward to filling this void to mitigate harmful emissions, improve community environments and become a top industry leader.”

Oklahoma has more than 17,000 orphaned and abandoned wells in immediate need of plugging that RDE will support to address environmental, health and safety concerns.

– Carolyn Taylor, Jones PR

The Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST) announced a public-private partnership with gener8tor, the Oklahoma Farm Bureau and a third partner in Tulsa to be announced soon. Each of the three companies will manage the new Oklahoma Business Accelerator Program, designed to help Oklahoma companies grow while creating new jobs.

Oklahoma’s high-growth areas include aerospace and transportation, bioscience, biotechnology and energy diversification. As the state partner, OCAST is responsible for oversight and review of the program in conjunction with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.

For more information on the new business project, visit oklahoma.gov/ocast.

– Brenda Jones Barwick, APR, Jones PR

Reagan Smith Inc., a state, federal and Tribal project management consulting firm, was recently recognized by National Women Business Owners Corporation (NWBOC) as a certified Women Business Enterprise (WBE).

“As a women-owned and operated business, we value diversity to encourage females to join the industry,” Reagan Smith, Inc. CEO Monica Smith Griffin said. “This award empowers Reagan Smith to excel and open-up partner opportunities with government and tribal contracting groups.”

Gaining a WBE certification is a rigorous process, but a truly commendable honor. It was created to encourage women to strive for leadership positions. Learn more about Reagan Smith online.

– Carolyn Taylor, Jones PR

Tinker and the Primes welcomed companies from more than 40 states and five foreign countries to Midwest City this week. The three-day conference connects aerospace and defense technology businesses to the Department of Defense (DoD), Tinker Air Force Base and other contracting agencies.

This year, more than 100 companies attended – each vying to gain access to $3 billion in contracts that are awarded annually at Tinker Air Force Base.

The Midwest City Chamber of Commerce produces Tinker and the Primes in collaboration with Tinker Air Force Base, the City of Midwest City, Rose State College and other industry partners.

– Ashley Glass, Jones PR

Flying in the future could be a real gas. A new chaise lounge-inspired economy seat style was showcased at the 2022 Aircraft Interiors Expo in Germany. It’s basically double decker seating, and if your seat is on the lower level, your face is inches away from someone’s booty.

The idea was a college project by 22-year-old designer Alejandro Nunez Vincente. He felt cramped flying from his homeland, Spain, to Delft University in the Netherlands. He hopes to have the seats on 747’s and says, “We see it as the future of economy class.”

Or should we say, economy gas.

– Vicki Locke, The Southwest Florida 100

Don’t be surprised if you see Wall-E greeting you at your local Walgreens pharmacy very soon. The chain plans to use robots to fill prescriptions in at least 22 stores over the next three years.

By 2025, half of all Walgreens’ prescription volume could be handled by machines. Walgreens CEO Roz Brewer explains the reason behind the move, “So the pharmacist has an easier job … doing the work they love and were trained to do.” 

Brewer says the androids will be able to fill 300 prescriptions per hour, or roughly what it takes typical staff a full day to do.

– Vikki Locke, The Southwest Florida 100

ExxonMobil’s discoveries in Barreleye-1, Patwa-1 and Lukanani-1 potentially increase the estimate of recoverable resource for the Stabroek Block by nearly 11 billion oil-equivalent barrels. This brings the company’s total discoveries offshore of Guyana in 2022 to five, validating its exploration strategy.

ExxonMobil currently has four sanctioned projects offshore Guyana. Liza Phase 1 produces around 130,000 barrels per day. Liza Phase 2, which started production in February, is steadily increasing to 220,000 barrels per day. Both Paraya and Yellowtail will add 220,000 and 250,000 barrels per day, respectively, once they go online. Paraya is targeted by year-end 2023 while Yellowtail is 2025.

– Cyndee Woolley, The Southwest Florida 100

With a mission to lead natural and cultural resource protection and development, Reagan Smith spearheads several projects that include careful consideration and planning to support environmental safety and sustainability.

A few areas of service expertise the company provides include wetland delineation and endangered species surveys, while honoring the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and Bald Eagle Protection Act. The Reagan Smith team acknowledges, understands and values the health and safety of the environment to ensure every project is properly surveyed, planned and executed within each community.

For more information about Reagan Smith and its mission in environmental protection, visit its website.

– Carolyn Taylor, Jones PR

On Tuesday, March 15, the Senate passed a unanimous bill that, if passed by the House of Representatives, will make Daylight Savings Time permanent. Ultimately, this would mean no more changing clocks back and forth twice a year. Currently, only two states don’t change time – Arizona and Hawaii.

Of course, this act wouldn’t bring about more daylight. But would instead make the evenings brighter and the mornings darker by pushing back the time of the sunrise. If passed, and signed by President Joe Biden, the new system would begin in November 2023.

For now, just enjoy the sunshine as you get it.

– MaryGrace Williams, The Atlanta 100

By the end of 2021, there was an estimated 120 million podcast listeners in the United States. This number is expected to surpass 160 million in 2023 (Statista).

And, according the ThePodcastHost.com, more than 57% of people in the US have listened to a podcast at least once. While podcasting is gaining market share among all generations, it is notable that 56% of 12-34 year olds are listening on a monthly basis.

What kind of opportunities can this open up for you? Podcasts may be able a way to attract employees, train workers or attract niche audiences.

Read more.

– Cyndee Woolley, The SWFL 100