Biz Buzz

Animal Hospital. Finding a place in Midtown to get Fido's shots or Mittens' X-rays just became a bit easier. Dr. Jeff Owens opened his own practice, Elm Creek Animal Hospital, 1219 S. Peoria, on Jan. 20. After practicing in Broken Arrow for some time, Owens decided last summer to bring a practice and service back to the area in which he lives. The full-service animal hospital mostly works with small animals such as dogs and cats. For more information, visit elmcreekanimalhospital.net or call 508-7010.

Camping Out. Parents are finding a new way to plan their kids' birthday parties. Urban Campout, 1209 S. Frankfort Ave., provides a place where kids can hang out and have fun just like a real camping experience--except indoors. The 10,000-square foot space allows for 25 tents, 10-12 tables in picnic areas, 15 campfires (LED-lit, of course) and a big screen DVD projector. Kids and their parents can check in at 6pm on Fridays, have pizza at 7pm and hang out and watch movies the rest of the night. Owner Mike Lassman said that since opening two months ago, he's been busy booking for every weekend this year. He hopes to have it open every day during the summer, though. Parties cost $295 per night to host as many as 40 kids. For more information about Urban Campout, visit urbancampout.com or call 794-8368.

Roll This Way. How Do You Roll? That's the new question around town. Rather, How Do You Roll: A Maki Sushi Bar based out of Texas is coming to town to ask Tulsans how they like their rolls. Whether it's with avocado, cucumber or even eel sauce (that sounds gross), the Maki sushi bar looks to make Tulsans and their bellies happy. It's looking to open this month, so keep your eyes peeled for the rolls and their eel sauce.

Not Too Crusty. If you've been missing your hankering fill of the Crusty Croissant, have no fear. The Crusty Croissant, previously located on Brookside at 3629 S. Peoria, has relocated its services and pastries to downtown, 701 S. Detroit. There's no official word on the reason for the sudden move, but the location is open and serving large croissants, muffins, cookies and more.

Reporter

Profit-filled. The Oklahoma Center for Nonprofits recently announced the finalists for the third annual Oklahoma Nonprofit Excellence (ONE) Awards. The event, which takes place April 24, 2010, at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, honors outstanding nonprofits throughout the state for their work in one of nine categories.

"These nonprofits deserve to be acknowledged and rewarded for the excellence they exhibit in improving the lives of Oklahomans," said J. Jerry Dickman, chairman of the ONE Awards Commission. "Better lives make better communities."

Finalists include local organizations such as Gilcrease Museum, Tulsa Zoo Friends, Inc., RSVP Tulsa, Inc. and Muskogee Little Theatre.

The winners in each category are awarded $7,500, and two finalists in each category receive $5,000. At the conclusion of the program, one of the finalists is selected as the overall winner and receives $10,000 for its organization. A total of $160,000 will be awarded to nonprofits that evening. Out of 70 organizations nominated for this year's awards, only 27 were selected as finalists.

"These nonprofit charities represent some of the best in the state," Dickman said. "They were selected by the ONE Awards Commission, a group of community leaders from all parts of Oklahoma who meet annually in different parts of the state to expand awareness of charitable work in all communities."

The commissioners include Michael Cawley, Ardmore; Nance Diamond, Shawnee; Frederick Drummond, Pawhuska; Ken Fergeson, Altus; R.H. Harbaugh, Tulsa; First Lady Kim Henry, Oklahoma City; Phil Lakin, Tulsa; Frank Merrick, Oklahoma City; Polly Nichols, Oklahoma City; the Rev. George Young, Oklahoma City; and Stanton Young, Oklahoma City.

Tickets for the 2010 ONE Awards are on sale now for $150. The event includes cocktails, a seated dinner, a special awards ceremony and a video presentation highlighting the winning nonprofits. To purchase tickets or for sponsorship information, call 1-800-338-1798.

Thicker than Blood. Fleet Feet Sports, Tulsa, has announced that it will donate a portion of the proceeds from its annual 2010 "Sweetheart Run", Saturday, Feb. 13, at Mohawk Park, to Oklahoma Blood Institute (OBI). Runners are encouraged to register in the 5km and 10km events at fleetfeettulsa.com to enjoy the challenge of competition and the rewards of supporting the life-saving work of Oklahoma Blood Institute.

"As we approach Valentine's Day, what better way to acknowledge those we care about than with the gift of life," said Bret Gunther, Fleet Feet Marketing Director. "Fleet Feet Tulsa is proud to partner with Oklahoma Blood Institute to encourage people to think of giving blood when they think of matters of the heart. As part of our continuing support of the Tulsa community, Fleet Feet is proud to donate a portion of the proceeds from its Sweetheart Run to Oklahoma Blood Institute."

"Oklahoma Blood Institute is honored to be the beneficiary of the 2010 Sweetheart Run sponsored by Fleet Feet Sports, Tulsa," said Gary Lynch, OBI Director of Corporate Development. "This event, on the day before Valentine's Day, is a great way to bring attention to the importance of giving blood, and we are grateful to Fleet Feet Sports, Tulsa, for this opportunity and for the acknowledgement of Oklahoma Blood Institute's unique and indispensible role in Oklahoma health care."

Since its founding in 1977, Oklahoma Blood Institute has grown ten-fold to nearly 700 employees, 800 volunteers and 2,600 blood drive coordinators. It is the eleventh largest, non-profit, independent blood center in the nation. OBI processes some 250,000 blood donations each year and runs about three million screening tests. Oklahoma Blood Institute supplies all blood needed by 150 medical facilities across the state, including Saint Francis Hospital, Saint Francis South, The Children's Hospital at Saint Francis, SouthCrest Hospital, Tulsa Spine and Specialty Hospital and Tulsa Life Flight in Tulsa.

Art Granted. A local higher education group is offering grants to Tulsa-area schools to fund arts and humanities projects.

The Higher Education Cultural Roundtable, a consortium of Tulsa-area colleges and universities, will award "mini-grants" ranging from $50 to $250 to assist with schools' arts and humanities expenses including materials, equipment, supplies, guest lectures, artist fees and travel expenses to art events.

Applications for the 2010 grants will be accepted through March 15. The one-page application can be downloaded at orgs.utulsa.edu/hecr.

Working with the Tulsa City-County Library and the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa, the Roundtable promotes intellectual, artistic and social discourse on member campuses and in the larger community, engages in cooperative programming and shares resources and ideas. The group was founded upon the recommendation of the 1990 Comprehensive Cultural Plan of the City of Tulsa.

For more information, contact HECR representative Ellen Cummings at 596-7945 or ecummin@tulsalibrary.org.