I read a story this week that the City of Weatherford Oklahoma built a giant Spaceman in their Downtown thanks to a million dollar grant from the Route 66 Commission. As the home to astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, it’s easy to see the connection. From what I understand, they wanted something that would make people get off the highway to take a picture. From the comments from the Mayor, he hopes the people that stop will also spend some money in Weatherford while they are there. When I read social media posts on the Weatherford Chamber of Commerce Facebook page, there was a lot of support, but there were also citizens who felt like the new signage and the giant Spaceman were “tacky” or that they should have put something else up instead or even some that said they shouldn’t have done anything. Does any of this sound familiar? City leaders from Weatherford, including their Mayor visited Chickasha months ago. They went down to our Leg Lamp and looked around and then they stopped by my office to ask questions. They already had their idea and a plan of how to get their Spaceman built, but they wanted to know if the Chickasha Leg Lamp had been successful in getting people to stop and take a picture. I think we all know the answer to that question. In my visits to Weatherford the past couple of years, I have been very impressed. They have a vision for their town and a plan to make it all happen. They are not going to sit back and “hope” something good happens in their Community, they are going to move forward and MAKE it happen! Chickasha has received millions of dollars of positive press since the Leg Lamp was put up permanently, but we have also been making headlines recently for other progress. I acknowledge that there will always be those that don’t like it, just like the Spaceman in Weatherford, but I believe our Leg Lamp represents a Community that didn’t want to sit back and “hope” for change, we wanted to go make change happen. If you look at the progress that Chickasha has made the last 5 years, you can NOT argue the significant improvements. Congratulations Weatherford! 2026 will be a huge year for travelers in Oklahoma. We will see our share here in Chickasha too, even though we are not on Route 66. That’s what happens when you do something different. Can a giant Spaceman exist in the same state as a 50 foot tall Leg Lamp? Of course they can, because they both appreciate #TheGoodStuff!

The work plan for the Chickasha Economic Development Council for this new fiscal year includes seven goals and each goal lists a “partner.” I believe that to make the maximum impact on economic development, we need to always be working with a partner. Among the goals, there are two that every economic development organization should start with: Recruit jobs and help local businesses expand and grow. Luckily for our Community, the OK Small Business Development Center recently opened a “business incubator” here in Chickasha to help with those goals. SBDC’s tagline is “helping Oklahoma businesses succeed,” and you know the best part of that? Their services are FREE! Imagine you want to open a business here in the Chickasha area. You have a great idea that you think is exactly what we need. So what do you do? How much money do you need to get started? Where in Chickasha should you open the buiness? How many employees do you need? So many questions…and they can be answered confidently by Angie Lewis, Business Advisor for the Oklahoma SBDC and she offices here localy at the Canadian Valley Technology Center. Angie’s previous experience is as an entreprenuer as well as decades of success at Career Tech. Besides her vast knowledge, she is also connected to other SBDC advisors all over the state of Oklahoma. They are all there to help YOU! In addition to helping start up businesses, they also help our local folks. The ones that have been in business for a while, but they need a little help with cash flow analysis, marketing plans, banking needs, etc. Did I mention that all their services are free and extremely confidential? I talk to a lot of people that read this weekly column, but I also realize that there are many business owners out there that are so busy, they may not have time to read everything. Do me a favor and help spread this throughout our Community. I want all our local businesses to know that there is someone out there that can help them grow their sales, reduce their costs, or help them make a plan for their business for the futrue. That someone is Angie Lewis and her email addres is angie.lewis@oksbdc.org. She wants to help our small business grow and thrive and she is a great example of #TheGoodStuff!