ore than 113 years have passed since that day in April, 1889 when nearly 10,000 settlers ran to literally stake their claims in the first Land Run, one of many that established the state of Oklahoma. But today's business climate has corporations lining up to take their best shot too.

        While some might worry that the state labors in a Texas-sized shadow, there is no doubt that the state's geography positions it as a clear gateway to Texas and the rest of the Southwest U.S. economy. The energy sector has gone from 21 percent of the gross state product in 1982 to just 5 percent in 1999, but it's still the dominant image in people's perception of Oklahoma's economy, and eight of the top 10 public companies in the state are energy-related. Yet vibrant corridors of commerce have diverged from that oil and gas heritage, while still building on the paths it has blazed.

        During a busy corporate real estate conference in Salt Lake City in May, a few leaders in that building process took some time out to talk with Site Selection Managing Editor Adam Bruns about where Oklahoma has been, and where it is headed.

        The participants were:

John Reid, Director, Office of Business Location, Oklahoma Dept. of Commerce
Wes Stucky, President and CEO, Ardmore Development Authority
Barry Tapp, President, Tapp Development Corp.
Carole Tapp, Director, Call Center Development, Tapp Development Corp.
Janet Smith, Manager, Economic Development, American Electric Power
Don Berger, Marketing Director, MidAmerica Industrial Park
Kevin Gaskins, Vice President, Technology Business Development,
      Tulsa Metro Chamber of Commerce

Wes Stucky: The Modernization Act will not move forward. But the Small Business Quality Jobs Im-provement Act was headed for conference. It is similar to the Quality Jobs incentives, but for smaller employers.

Reid: The Quality Jobs program has been successful -- we now have about 300 companies signed up. It's still effective, but they've tweaked it, and made some rule changes within it.

        Stucky: The extension on the ad valorem tax exemption for the distribution business has been passed by both the House and Senate and is on the governor's desk.

        Reid: Which is significant. Every project we've been doing lately has been dependent on it. Big Lots, Dollar Tree, Circuit City, Family Dollar. One piece of legislation that is federal has to do with accelerated depreciation on former Indian lands, which has been extended another year. The project has to begin and be close to operation by the end of 2004. That's something nobody else except Alaska and Arizona has. It's two-pronged: accelerated de-preciation and tax credits. If you hire someone in Oklahoma of Native American descent, you get a federal tax credit.

Carole Tapp: The biggest asset the state has is Quality Jobs. Obviously Right To Work too ... that is the biggest development in the past year.

Janet Smith: There was a point made earlier this morning about how training is not viewed by corporate real estate people as a very good incentive, and grants are. But I think that training has been Oklahoma's strength as well. Our training is not cumbersome, and it does pretty much put money into the pockets of the companies.

Barry Tapp: When we first visited with some of our clients who were considering Oklahoma, we told them about the training and what we could do. To make a long story short, they were surprised that we actually do what we say we're going to do, and the quality of the training was such that they were very impressed. That has been our experience across the board, with The Hartford, Williams-Sonoma and Lawton, for example.

Don Berger: I think virtually every company that has come into the park has used the vocational-tech system in one form or fashion, bringing them up from entry-level. Labinal [a Boeing supplier] is one example.
        In 1998 we brought Oklahoma State University-Okmulgee in and built them a facility, and now they're providing college credit courses there, and have developed a two-year program for the industries in the park. It's advanced industry training, principally in the area of maintenance, because that is a common thread that runs throughout our park.

Kevin Gaskins: As I've been going out and talking to all these IT and telecom companies in the Tulsa area, the Career Tech program is spoken of very highly in terms of producing the IT and telecom skills they need. Even with the telecom industry caving in on itself here recently, every one of those students coming out is still being picked up, with nearly a 100 percent hire rate coming out of the career tech program. Given the current situation, that's pretty incredible.

        Smith: Tulsa is completing a comprehensive labor force survey. I was talking with the gentleman who did some of the employer interviews, and he commented on the integration between the education community and the business. It was something he had not seen in other areas where he had done interviews. Local CEOs and plant managers are involved in the coordination of these programs, including the curricula they are developing.

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