Tulsa World: Week In Review

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Week In Review

Jeremy Green, founder of Real Time Rehab, accepts the first-place trophy for the third annual Mayor's Entrepreneurial Spirit Award from Mayor Kathy Taylor on Tuesday evening at the Tulsa Community College Center for Creativity downtown. MICHAEL WYKE / Tulsa World

By Staf and NewsOK.com Reports
Published: 11/22/2009 2:23 AM
Last Modified: 11/22/2009 1:04 PM

Real Time Rehab wins entrepreneurial award

And the grand-prize winner of the third annual Mayor's Entrepreneurial Spirit Award is: Real Time Rehab.

On Tuesday evening, contestants along with their families and friends, community leaders, other entrepreneurs and organizers of the competition learned the names of this year's award winners.

The third-annual contest, which kicked off in April, attracted more than 85 entries before being narrowed over several months to the final seven.

Months of waiting and diligence paid off for Jeremy Green of Real Time Rehab, who received a $30,000 check from SpiritBank. Also, as the first-place winner, his company receives a free year of space at the Tulsa Collaboratorium, a downtown resource center for entrepreneurs provided by Kanbar Properties.

The $5,000 second-place award went to Part-Time Pros, founded by Carey Dunkin Baker and her husband, Brett Baker. The startup connects experienced professionals with part-time and contract employment.

The $2,500 third-place award was presented to Cog Togs Inc. and its creators — Shawna Sims, Melinda Ryan and Jeff Johnson, who also are siblings. Their social networking site for children requires kids to exchange bracelet beads with friends before they can connect safely with each other on the Web.

A newly added "Skunk Whisperer" award goes to Elote Café and Catering, owned by Libby and Jeramy Auld. The award provides six months of service by an advisory board, made up of judges and coaches from the competition, and a visually driven game plan process graphically facilitated by Sean Griffin, chairman of the Spirit Award.

- LAURIE WINSLOW, World Staff Writer

Middle America's outlook hopeful, survey notes

Consumer confidence and expectations among people living in Middle America, which includes Oklahoma, are better than they were a year ago, according to a poll conducted recently through the Meinders School of Business at Oklahoma City University.

The consumer sentiment index for Middle America rose to 69.3 in the poll compared with 64.3 the same time last year but lagged the 70.6 index recorded for the nation based on a poll released earlier by Reuters/University of Michigan.

For the Middle America Consumer Confidence Poll, a telephone survey was conducted Oct 29 through Nov. 1 of adults living in 16 states.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percent.

This is the sixth time the poll has been conducted, with the last one being in October 2008.

- LAURIE WINSLOW, World Staff Writer

Cost of Thanksgiving dinner less this year

Here's some good news for recession-weary families: A traditional Thanksgiving dinner will cost less this year, according to the American Farm Bureau's annual survey.

On average, U.S. families will spend $42.91 on a dinner that includes turkey, stuffing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and other trimmings. That's a 4 percent drop from the 2008 cost.

Reasor's, a regional supermarket chain, has lowered prices on many items in response to price drops from suppliers. Dairy products, produce and meats are all less expensive, said Reasor's vice president of grocery operations Doyle Kirk.

Gasoline prices actually had dropped from record highs by Thanksgiving last year, but farmers still were strapped from paying high fuel prices for much of 2008.

The only holiday items showing modest price increases are pumpkin pie mix, pie crust and stuffing.

- WORLD AND OKLAHOMAN STAFF

AEP-PSO's proposed rider gets judge's OK

An administrative law judge Tuesday recommended approval of AEP-PSO's $30 million cost-recovery request, which comes less than a year after the last major bill increase, utility officials said.

The newly conceived "capital reliability rider," filed in August by American Electric Power-Public Service Company of Oklahoma, technically would add less than $1 to the average residential customer's monthly bill over one year to pay for projects done since the last rate increase.

At the same time, the utility would decrease the fuel cost portion on bills by a matching $30 million over the same period and exempt low-income customers.

Administrative Law Judge Jacqueline T. Miller heard testimony in Oklahoma City on the deal reached between AEP-PSO, Oklahoma Corporation Commission staffers, the state Attorney General's Office and business advocacy groups. The three-member Corporation Commission has final say on the rider increase.

AEP-PSO hopes to add the rider and the reduced fuel cost adjustment by January.

- ROD WALTON, World Staff Writer

TEDC honors companies at annual awards show

The spotlight shined Wednesday evening on individuals and corporations that have made extraordinary contributions to Tulsa Economic Development Corp. and the local economy over the past year.

Friends, clients and partners gathered at the Tulsa Country Club to honor TEDC's annual award winners, including Dental Directions Inc., which was named Small Business of the Year.

The company is the parent of Community Care College, Clary Sage College and Oklahoma Technical College, all of which are located not far from each other on campuses situated between 31st and 45th streets on Sheridan Road.

NorthStar Technologies LLC was recognized as Business Achiever of the Year.

TEDC's Partner of the Year award went to Security Bank.

- LAURIE WINSLOW, World Staff Writer

Fewer Americans flying this Thanksgiving holiday

A slow economy and a 10 percent national unemployment rate won't stifle Americans' travel plans for Thanksgiving, although fewer people will be flying this year, travel industry officials say.

AAA, the nation's largest motoring and leisure travel organization, projects 38.4 million U.S. residents will travel 50 miles or more away from home over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, a 1.4 percent increase from last year's Thanksgiving holidays.

In Oklahoma, 475,000 state residents will be driving over Thanksgiving, up 8.1 percent, AAA says.

An estimated 46,500 Oklahomans will be flying to their Thanksgiving destinations, a 2.1 percent decrease from a year ago, the auto club said.

- D.R. STEWART, World Staff Writer

By Staf and NewsOK.com Reports

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