Headlines of the Week

Hotel changes reflecting new business plan
BY STEVE LACKMEYER
Oklahoman
January 18, 2011

When relationships change or end, it's not unusual for casual observers to speculate that something between two parties went sour.

But in the case of changes taking place with the Colcord Hotel, officials with its owner, Devon Energy Corp., are quick to insist that relations remain strong with the people who risked everything to make the hotel a reality four years ago.

It was Paul Coury, who had successfully renovated the Ambassador Hotel in Tulsa, who took the risk and renovated the Colcord from offices to a boutique hotel.

Coury, an unsuccessful bidder to redo the Skirvin Hotel, was persuaded by local civic leaders to redirect his efforts at the Colcord, which a few years ago barely qualified as Class C office space.

Local restaurant legends, brothers Alain and Michel Buthion, agreed to open an upscale restaurant on the Colcord's ground floor before wall studs went up for any of the future hotel rooms.

The first year of operations for the new Colcord Hotel overlapped with the opening of the Skirvin, and combined with miscues at marketing, it was a bit disappointing. But Coury and the Buthions quickly made changes resulting in the Colcord's qualifying as a respectable peer to the Skirvin.

Construction of the neighboring 50-story Devon Energy Center tower could have ruined all Coury and the Buthions had accomplished and jeopardized the hotel's operation.

But Devon Energy CEO Larry Nichols, who prides himself on his company's focus on oil and gas, did something quite un-Devon-like: he purchased the hotel.

In buying the hotel, Devon could assure the hotel's survival, avert hard feelings with Coury by not damaging his financial standing, and invest in improvements Coury was unable to tackle as part of the 2006 renovation. Coury Properties, meanwhile, was retained to operate the hotel with veteran city hotelier Jeff Erwin as general manager.

Fast forward a couple of years, and the arrangement was working well. But with two to three restaurants planned as part of Devon Energy Center, Klay Kimker, vice president of administration, realized a “new business model” was needed to streamline the various operations.

Looking down the street, Kimker observed John Williams, who had guided the Skirvin as general manager since it reopened in 1997. Williams had decades of experience overseeing restaurants and hotels, and Kimker saw in Williams the ideal person to oversee all of the company's needs in terms of its hotel and restaurant operations.

That move ended ties with Coury Properties, though Erwin remains as general manager.

Kimker said changes are in store for the Buthions' La Baguette restaurant as well, but he's quick to note that, as with Coury, he's very satisfied with the Buthions' work at the Colcord. The business model may be changing, he says, but no one is rushing the Buthions out the door.


Corpus Christi leaders see local potential after Oklahoma City visit
Group seeks direction in revitalization of downtown
By Jessica Savage
Corpus Christi Caller Times

CORPUS CHRISTI — Local business leaders recently visited Oklahoma City to learn how the city revitalized its downtown, and they say the same results are possible in Corpus Christi.

The missing links are a developed bayfront at the site of the demolished Memorial Coliseum and better public transportation to connect downtown with attractions on Corpus Christi Beach and around Whataburger Field.

A group of 15 members of the Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce met in October with Oklahoma City officials. The trip was part of the chamber’s annual field trip meant to educate city and business leaders about ideas that worked for other cities and how some of those could work here. On Tuesday, four of those who went on the trip gave a presentation to City Council.

“It showed us what is possible when you have a bold vision and the leadership of the entire community,” said Foster Edwards, chamber president and CEO. “It was so exciting to see what’s possible when that happens.”

In the early 1990s, Oklahoma City leaders were trying to revive an economy devastated by the oil bust of the 1980s. They came up with a public-private partnership that called for nine public development projects paid for with sales tax dollars.

The partnership has exceeded $3 billion in spending, according to the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce. Projects include renovations to the Civic Center Music Hall, building a mile-long Bricktown Canal similar to the San Antonio Riverwalk, a trolley system and opening Ford Center, a 20,000-seat arena home to the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA team.

John Michael, a Naismith Engineering projects manager who visited Oklahoma City, said the trip helped him see Corpus Christi in a similar light. In the past decade, the city has seen the addition of Whataburger Field, the American Bank Center arena and Packery Channel.

“We’ve built a lot of things that they built,” Michael said. “What we haven’t done is packaged it quite like they have.”

Over the next several weeks the chamber will compile a list of local attractions and projects the city has financed to enhance local development.

“We’re going to use that list as a baseline to determine the things we’re doing right,” Edwards said. “Then that helps you decide what is next.”

Edwards pointed to the progress of Destination Bayfront, a grass-roots organization that has proposed a public-private partnership to develop the former site of the coliseum. The group raised $100,000 for a design that includes parks, an extended pier and sites for restaurants and shopping. The group is now estimating the project’s cost and looking at how it should be funded.

Oklahoma's EDGE endowment fund needs to be left whole
Oklahoman Editorial

ANOTHER challenging budget year awaits members of the Oklahoma Legislature, with a deficit as large as $600 million possible. It's no wonder, then, that there have been whispers about draining the $150 million that sits in a fund designated for the state's long-term economic development.

Lawmakers must resist the urge and leave the EDGE fund alone.

Formed in 2004 at the urging of former Gov. Brad Henry, who proposed the Economic Development Generating Excellence fund during the first year of his administration, EDGE is just beginning to make an impact in the research and technology fields — where Oklahoma needs to create more jobs.

“Oklahoma's EDGE ... parts company with the deluge of past studies aimed at economic development,” Henry wrote in The Oklahoman a few days after EDGE was launched. “This is a call to action, not a call for just another study.”

The original goal was to see the EDGE endowment grow to $1 billion, helping to make Oklahoma the “research capital of the Plains.” The Legislature initially seeded it with $90 million in 2005 but didn't protect it, and that money wound up getting used for something else. Legislators came back the following year and made a $150 million deposit, and nothing has been added since.

This is unfortunate but also understandable, as Oklahoma's budget picture has soured in recent years and resulted in large cuts to state agencies. That $150 million has been put to good use, though. Earnings from the endowment have been used to provide a total of $24 million to 13 innovators and startups in the past three years.

The $5.4 million awarded last year went to three technology companies. The first round of awards, in November 2008, went to assist biotechnology, weather science and aerospace interests. The 2009 recipients were involved in such fields as nanotechnology, science and health.

The appeal of the EDGE endowment is clear to those involved in these fields, here in Oklahoma and around the country. Consider that the EDGE policy board, which approves the annual awards, culled the 13 winners from 221 applications.

Pulling all or even part of the money out of the EDGE fund would be a real setback. Senate President Pro Tem Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, said he hopes such ideas would get scuttled, but that there may be a need to educate newer members of the Legislature about EDGE and its benefit to the state. Raiding the endowment, Bingman said, “would be a one-time, stopgap measure, and that's what we need to get away from in Oklahoma.”

It's worth noting that Henry proposed EDGE as the state was pulling itself out from under a large budget deficit. That focus on the future made sense then, and still does.

Four Oklahoma firms make ‘Best Companies to Work For’ list
Chesapeake Energy Corp., QuikTrip, American Fidelity Assurance Co. and Devon Energy Corp. returned to 2011’s list of “Best Companies to Work For” from Fortune magazine.
BY PAULA BURKES
Oklahoman

The 1,495 employees of American Fidelity Assurance Co. were treated to a taco lunch Thursday and were awarded an extra paid day off to use this year.

The bonus perks came in celebration of Thursday’s announcement that AFA had made Fortune magazine’s 14th annual list of “100 Best Companies to Work For” — for the eighth straight year.

The full list is available online at www.fortune.com/bestcompanies.

AFA, which ranked No. 39, was joined by three other Oklahoma companies — Chesapeake Energy Corp. at No. 32, Tulsa-based QuikTrip at No. 34 and Devon Energy Corp. at No. 41.

Fortune’s list carries weight in the marketplace, said Sandy Pratt, deputy commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Commerce.

“It speaks not only to the commitment of our Oklahoma companies to their employees, but also to the quality of the state’s work force,” Pratt said. “By creating this culture of success, it makes Oklahoma a desirable place to live and develop a career.”

American Fidelity
American Fidelity CEO Bill Cameron is anything but passe about his company’s consecutive listings.

“We’re excited,” Cameron said. “The competition gets tougher every year as more and more people want to be on the list.”

His company ranked 35th on last year’s list; its highest rank was 24 in 2008.
Cameron said executives of the 51-year-old family-owned insurance and financial services company run the business conservatively to maintain employee counts and benefits despite the tough economy. He said the company’s spring bonuses — which average about $7,000 per employee — help create a positive work environment.

“With the profit-sharing, everybody realizes they’re on the same team, which has a powerful impact on our culture and company’s performance,” Cameron said.

San Francisco-based Great Place to Work Institute produces the Fortune list each January. Rankings are based on extensive surveys of hundreds of employees, which account for two-thirds of each company’s score. The other third is based on the companies’ responses to detailed questions about pay, benefit programs, hiring practices, recognition programs, diversity efforts and more.

This year, 311 companies were evaluated during the process.

QuikTrip
It’s the ninth year for QuikTrip to make the Fortune list. The company, which employs 10,936 at convenience stores across the Midwest, moved up seven notches from last year. Its highest ranking was 19 in 2005.

Said President and CEO Chet Cadieux: “As our country continues to experience turbulent economic conditions, QuikTrip has stayed true to our culture and core values. The end result,” he said, “has produced tremendous store growth which has allowed us to hire hundreds of new employees as well as give existing employees the opportunity to move up with the company.”

QuikTrip averages about 10 percent turnover, compared with an industry average of 110percent, spokesman Mike Thornbrugh said. “When it’s time for new opportunities and advancements, QuikTrip hires from within.”

Chesapeake
This is the fourth year for Chesapeake and Devon to make the Fortune list. Chesapeake has climbed every year, moving up two notches from 2010.

“We have long recognized that our employees are our most valuable asset, and we continue to look for innovative ways to enhance their professional and personal experience at our company,” said CEO Aubrey K. McClendon. “Chesapeake’s unique corporate culture of achievement and innovation, along with cutting-edge benefits, have enabled us to attract and retain what we believe is the best talent in the industry.”

Chesapeake has three on-site restaurants for employees at its Oklahoma City headquarters, as well as a state-of-the-art fitness center.

The company pays a $1,500 bonus to employees who practice healthy lifestyles.
Chesapeake increased its full-time work force by 10 percent over the past year and continues to hire in every facet of its business.

The company currently has more than 500 open positions.

Devon Energy
Fortune praised Devon, among other things, for its recruiting strategies, compensation practices and low turnover rate. Devon’s voluntary turnover rate was 3 percent, among the lowest of any company on Fortune’s list.

Fortune’s survey found Devon employees take pride in their work and appreciate the corporate culture, which includes an atmosphere of mutual respect and a commitment to community service.

“This tribute recognizes our employees and the positive spirit they bring to their jobs each day. The remarkable corporate culture that has evolved through their work, camaraderie and commitment is at the foundation of our success,” said John Richels, president and chief executive.

Employees at Devon’s three largest U.S. offices will celebrate the company’s place on the list Monday at a quarterly social. Smaller field offices will have a catered breakfast.