5 Questions: Becky Frank, outgoing chair of Tulsa Regional Chamber
BY JOHN STANCAVAGE World Business Editor
Friday, January 04, 2013
1/04/13 at 4:39 AM
Becky J. Frank joined Schnake Turnbo Frank PR as a partner in 2000. She also has held public relations positions at Tulsa Area United Way and BOK Financial Corp. She was educated at Brown University
1: Your year as Tulsa Regional Chamber chair ends this month. What accomplishments are you proudest of during your term?
It's hard to pick out just a few things. I was honored to be asked to serve.
One thing I was happy with was that we raised $3.6 million for Visit Tulsa to help promote tourism and do research on how the city stacks up against its competition.
Another accomplishment for our organization was solidifying who we are with our name change to the Tulsa Regional Chamber (from the Tulsa Metro Chamber). Our next step is to do more regional branding of our area. That's how I think we're going to best grow jobs here and increase government efficiency.
2: Was the failure of the Vision2 economic development initiative especially disappointing?
Yes, it was, but I think that through that effort we educated the community about the need to do more here to foster job creation.
We need something like the deal-closing fund. That's just the way of the world today.
The sooner we're able to put that together, the better we'll be able to attract, grow and retain good jobs.
We also need to invest in our airport, and river development is something I'd really like to see, too.
3: You're optimistic that these improvements will get done eventually?
Yes. I'm a glass-is-half-full kind of person. For now, the voters have spoken, but I think we can do a lot to make people realize just how important these things are for our future.
4: Do you worry sometimes that Tulsa is falling behind Oklahoma City in terms of infrastructure and visitor appeal?
I'm a small business owner who operates offices in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. I don't look at things as us versus them. What they have is great and I'm inspired by some of the things they've done, but I choose to live in Tulsa. It's so beautiful here.
I think we should focus on what we want to do as a state rather than on competition between our cities.
5: What's next for you?
I'm going to chair the Tulsa Area United Way campaign for 2013. The United Way actually was one of the first jobs I had in Tulsa. I learned so much there. Now I get to give something back.
I love fundraising. I couldn't be more motivated to help the group reach its goal. Even though I'm not done as chamber chair (until mid-January), I have already started visiting United Way agencies. I want to go to all 60 before the campaign kicks off.
Associated Images:
JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World file
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