Leadership Oklahoma 32 class visiting Ponca City this week

This week, 54 members of Leadership Oklahoma 32 will visit Ponca City from all across Oklahoma.

Their visit starts Thursday and will focus on energy and tourism before their Saturday departure.

Terron Liles, Jodi Cline, Adam Leaming, Shasta Scott, Diane Anderson and others have been working hard to make sure this session is amazing.

On Thursday morning they’ll lunch at the Cherokee Strip Company, featuring Stone Bluff Cellars Winery and Snyder’s Catering. During the afternoon the class will tour historic attractions in Ponca City as well as newer tourism locations.

Thursday evening will include optional activities including a murder mystery dinner at the Marland Mansion. There will be a community reception and welcomes from Mayor Homer Nicholson, class coordinator Steve Smith, and Main Street Executive Director Chelsea McConnell, a graduate of Leadership Arts Oklahoma Class IX.

The evening will conclude with a bus tour of the Festival of Angels Christmas light tour.

The visitors’ session goals include an overview of Oklahoma’s energy industry, both its history and future; exploring current issues and the impact they are having on the state, and discussing energy sustainability and alternatives.

When it comes to tourism, there will be an overview of the industry past and future; current issues in the industry and how it impacts the state, and the impact of the arts and culture in tourism.

On Friday, the group will visit The Poncan Theatre and hear from School Superintendent Shelley Arrott; Geophysicist/State Seismologist Jake Walter; and question-and-answer sessions with executives in the energy industry and Corporation Commission Chair Dana Murphy.

They will visit the Conoco Museum as well as the Phillips66 Refinery. There will be a lunch in the original South Cafeteria and a presentation from the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Auditorium.

Afterward this is a mobile lecture on Wind Energy by Mark Yates, Oklahoma director of The Wind Coalition, during a visit to the Enel Green Power wind farm in Osage County.

They will also visit the Pioneer Woman Lodge on the Drummond Ranch, with speaker Joni Nash of the Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce, followed by a visit to the Pioneer Woman Mercantile, where they can visit the Frontier Hotel and P-Town Pizza. They’ll be welcomed by Jodie Cline, Financial Adviser with Edward Jones.

Before dinner, they will hear a presentation by Geoffrey M. Standing Bear on the State of the Osage Nation. He is the Principle Chief of the Osage Nation and will be introduced by NOC President Dr. Cheryl Evans.

During dinner, Lt. Gov.-elect Matt Pinnel will speak on Oklahoma tourism. He will be introduced by Eddie Fields, former State Representative.

The group will spend the night in Pawhuska.

On Saturday, they will return to Ponca City and hear several speakers at City Hall on a rotating basis, and then hear Kelsey Wagner speak on Arts, Tourism and Economic Prosperity, and Todd Stallbaumer with the Oklahoma Department of Tourism on Oklahoma Tourism and the Economy.