The Shawnee Economic Development Foundation elected five new board members and got the ball rolling on some by-law revisions designed to give the organization a longer reach during its regular monthly meeting held Tuesday in downtown Shawnee.
Members of the SEDF board elected Citizen Potawatomi Nation Chairman John “Rocky” Barrett, AT&T’s Jerry Bayliss, News-Star Publisher Brian Blansett, OG&E’s Kenny Howard and Will Rosebure, owner of RBC Insurance in Shawnee. The group will officially become board members in September when SEDF unit holders will act on the recommendations made at Wednesday’s meeting.
SEDF Executive Director Tim Burg said the five new members were handpicked by a nominating committee, which thinned its list of around 15 before deciding on the new additions.
“I’m excited about what’s coming to the table,” Burg said. “The CPN is our area’s largest employer, by far, so it’s huge to have them represented on the board. It’s just a well-rounded group.”
The additions to the SEDF board brings its membership total to 21, two shy of the maximum allowed, Burg said.
The meeting also heard recommendations to revise some of SEDF’s by-laws to allow a representative from the Shawnee Industrial Authority and COEDD (Central Oklahoma Economic Development District) to become ex-officio members on the board.
Burg said these changes — and the selection of the five new board members — are designed to push SEDF toward a more “regional approach” in forming partnerships.
“We’re not just Shawnee,” Burg said. “We’re Pott. County, we’re Tecumseh, we’re Seminole. We’re all that. We’re regional.”
“We’re even part of Oklahoma City,” he added.
Burg said that Shawnee and the surrounding communities, cities and towns won’t reach their full potential until they start “using all the resources from the entire area.”
The elected board members and by-law revisions discussed during Wednesday’s meeting won’t be made official until SEDF’s annual meeting in September, where unit holders will have the final say.
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The Shawnee Economic Development Foundation elected five new board members and got the ball rolling on some by-law revisions designed to give the organization a longer reach during its regular monthly meeting held Tuesday in downtown Shawnee.
Members of the SEDF board elected Citizen Potawatomi Nation Chairman John “Rocky” Barrett, AT&T’s Jerry Bayliss, News-Star Publisher Brian Blansett, OG&E’s Kenny Howard and Will Rosebure, owner of RBC Insurance in Shawnee. The group will officially become board members in September when SEDF unit holders will act on the recommendations made at Wednesday’s meeting.
SEDF Executive Director Tim Burg said the five new members were handpicked by a nominating committee, which thinned its list of around 15 before deciding on the new additions.
“I’m excited about what’s coming to the table,” Burg said. “The CPN is our area’s largest employer, by far, so it’s huge to have them represented on the board. It’s just a well-rounded group.”
The additions to the SEDF board brings its membership total to 21, two shy of the maximum allowed, Burg said.
The meeting also heard recommendations to revise some of SEDF’s by-laws to allow a representative from the Shawnee Industrial Authority and COEDD (Central Oklahoma Economic Development District) to become ex-officio members on the board.
Burg said these changes — and the selection of the five new board members — are designed to push SEDF toward a more “regional approach” in forming partnerships.
“We’re not just Shawnee,” Burg said. “We’re Pott. County, we’re Tecumseh, we’re Seminole. We’re all that. We’re regional.”
“We’re even part of Oklahoma City,” he added.
Burg said that Shawnee and the surrounding communities, cities and towns won’t reach their full potential until they start “using all the resources from the entire area.”
The elected board members and by-law revisions discussed during Wednesday’s meeting won’t be made official until SEDF’s annual meeting in September, where unit holders will have the final say.
