oklahoma city tramples out new vintage; flourishes despite recession

I wrote this article for Technorati's Business Channel. It first appeared on Technorati, the popular blog search engine, Sunday, October 18.

And when you're ready to leave it behind you
You'll look back, and all that you'll see
Is the wreckage and rust that you left in the dust
On your way to the jubilee

--From Mary Chapin Carpenter’s Jubilee

Grape Ranch - Okemah, Oklahoma

Photo courtesy Oklahoma Department of Tourism

The road to harvest is long, and often the journey comes with its fair share of dry bones. But, today, Oklahoma City seems especially ripe for the picking. During the last six months of The Great Recession the Sooner State’s capital city has been named to a dizzying number of lists of top cities for affordable housing, economic potential and business, just to name a few.

No longer are Steinbeck’s Okies disenfranchised like wrath on a wicked vine. The 1939 novel contributed to an impermeable cloud of dust that surrounded the state’s image for decades, but a lot can change in 70 years, if not practically everything.

And I can tell by the way you're searching

For something you can't even name

That you haven't been able to come to the table

Simply glad that you came...

In fact, according to an article published in a June issue of The Sacramento Bee, Californians are now flocking to Oklahoma City. The irony is undeniable, underscored by an outcome contrary to expectations: one of the state’s newest industries is winemaking. If it weren’t true, it would be a biting mockery. But, it is true, and as such, the poetry is a perfect table. When Oklahoma City takes its long-awaited seat, the vintage it reaches for is its own.

Greenfield Vineyard and Winery

Photo courtesy Oklahoma Department of Tourism

The Commerce Department reported earlier this year that per capita income in Oklahoma grew by 6.9 percent in 2008, beating out all 49 other states. Moreover, according to a report earlier this month from OKC Biz, Oklahoma City’s unemployment rate for September was 6.1 percent. The national average last month was 9.8 percent.

In addition, Oklahoma ranks fourth among all 50 states for cost of living according to a CNBC report America’s Top States for Business 2008, and according to a report on the annual citizens' survey from The Journal Record, nearly 80 percent of Oklahoma City residents are pleased with quality of life.

Oklahoma City: Making Lists and Headlines
#1 Large Metro to Launch a Small Business
Best Place to Do Business
Top Visitor’s Destination
Defies Recession
2nd out of 100 for performance during recession
Biggest Increase in Personal Income
Low Unemployment Rates
Top 10 Housing Markets in the Nation
Top 20 percent for real GDP growth
Fastest-growing large MSA in the US/per-capita
4th Most Undervalued Place to Live
4th City for Your Career
28 companies on America's Fastest Growing Companies List
4th for Designers and Artists
6th Best Place to Live
7th Best City for Economic Potential
8th Best Place to Find a Job

Stone Bluff Cellars - Haskell, Oklahoma

Photo courtesy Oklahoma Department of Tourism

4 Big Things Happening in OKC Right Now
$777 Million citizen investment in MAPS 3
$750 Million construction of Devon Tower
Oklahoma Fall Foliage
The Oklahoma City Thunder Kick Off Second Season

As with anything there remains room for improvement. Oklahoma ranks 37 out of 50 states for education. MAPS for Kids is $700 million program to address problems in Oklahoma City.
In addition, the state ranks low in a number of areas concerning women including 49th in the nation for number of women serving in the state legislature. At the other end of the spectrum, the state leads the nation in the number of women incarcerated. The newly-established Oklahoma Women's Coalition works daily to advance the potential and equity of Oklahoma women and girls. It also bears mention that two of Oklahoma's gubernatorial front-runners are women Lt. Gov. Jari Askins (D) and Congressman Mary Fallin (R).

At risk of extending the vineyard metaphor beyond its poignancy, Oklahoma, which is one of the youngest states in the nation having just celebrated 100 years of statehood in 2007, is just like wine in that it just gets better with age.