Ponca City students see technology in action from industry experts in Oklahoma City

Students in the Business Professionals of America organization at Ponca City High School and East Middle School spent the day in Oklahoma City.

They watched technology in action from industry experts.

The group got to tour the Oklahoma Publishing Company, News Channel 9 and Perimeter Technology.

Diane Bull and Vina Gowdy, Po-Hi BPA sponsors, retired Po-Hi teacher, Carla Young and East teacher Brant Steffey took 31 students on the trip.

Bull said they do this kind of trip every year.

“Each year, Po-Hi Business Professionals of America takes a Technology in Action workshop that allows students to see some of the latest technology,” Bull said. “This year, we invited the new BPA chapter, sponsored by Mr. Steffey at East Middle School to go with us on our trip. This year’s trip was fantastic! Students were amazed at what they saw and learned. I have to say their favorite was visiting News Channel 9. What made it their favorite was the news and weather personalities that spent personal time talking with them after the students had been watching their noon news live in the studio; not to mention they showed the kids on the news broadcast at the end. If you want to see it go to News Channel 9 and search for Ponca City.”

Bulls said News Channel 9 was the students favorite for a lot of reasons.

“The students also really enjoyed News 9 helicopter pilot, Jim Gardner,” Bull said. “The helicopter he flies cost $3.5 million and is the best in Oklahoma. It takes 2,500 hours of training to be able to fly it. One interesting thing about Jim Gardner is that he was the helicopter in the air following the white Bronco that O.J. Simpson was driving. I think we can all remember watching that chase on the television. Jim was living in Los Angeles at the time, but Oklahoma is his home.”

Bull also said these companies are always growing

“It always amazes me what has changed since the last time BPA visited a facility,” Bull said. “For instance, Oklahoma Publishing Company has sold their building and will be moving back downtown in Oklahoma City, but their printing facility will remain at its current location. As our guide told us, it is pretty hard to move a three story printing press to a new location. At TierPoint, a cloud facility, students learned what it took to protect the information stored in the cloud. The demand is high for this service so they are currently planning on expanding their facility to three times its current size.”

Bull went on to explain that the paper storage facility at OPUBCO is all automated.

“It has to be because each roll weighs 1,400 pounds and is seven miles long,” Bull said. “One roll is used up in twenty minutes of printing. They keep a three month supply in storage at all times. They buy from a specific grower who uses five-year-old trees to make the paper. The students were told that the newspaper is no. 3 on the power grid for regaining power after a disaster because getting information out is so important. As a matter of fact, they told them that once the building was hit by a tornado but the paper was still printed.”

We were very pleased with the way our BPA members represented Ponca City High School. They made all of the sponsors on the trip very proud!