Biz Buzz

New in the Neighborhood. It's nice to see native Tulsans moving their businesses or families back to the area. While it might not be the personal family of Renzi Stone, he has decided to expand his professional family, Saxum Public Relations to the Tulsa area. In the second quarter of this year, the company plans to open a Tulsa office with Christopher Payne serving as the office's general manager and Christina Ogden as account supervisor. "As a Tulsa native, I am excited to announce that we will be opening an office in my hometown," said Stone, Saxum President and CEO. "We already have an existing client base in the area, and we see tremendous potential for growth." Saxum offers a variety of public relations services to its clients, including strategic counsel, corporate communications, crisis communications, media relations, social media and training workshops.

Federal Appointment. The city of Muskogee received some good news recently from First Lady Michelle Obama last month. It has been designated as a Preserve America community. This federal program chooses communities that uphold and celebrate their heritage, use historic assets for economic development and community revitalization. Currently, there are 814 communities throughout the entire country and the two territories that have been selected as part of the program. In the letter to Mayor John Tyler Hammons, Mrs. Obama wrote, "Your community holds a treasured place in the American story, and it is through your vision and dedication that our history will be upheld and our future will be renewed."

Climbing the Ladder. There's some big moves happening within our local organizations and businesses. Recently, Blended Love, which focuses on supporting children of divorce with teachers and school staff, announced its new executive director, Sasha Townsend. Townsend was selected the 2010 Mrs. Oklahoma and will provide consistent achievement of its mission and financial objectives

In addition, Selser Schaefer Architects bumped up their ranks with Andrew McCready moving to an associate position. McCready has worked for the company for the past six years and was recently partially responsible for Tulsa Community College's new creative center. He's also a graduate of Oklahoma State University.

Blow Out Your Cookie. After years of cookie sales and sweet demeanors, the Girl Scouts have finally reached the full state of womanhood -- sort of. The Girl Scouts of Eastern Oklahoma will be celebrating its 98th birthday on March 13, not to mention, 93 years of cookie sales. During the day, the girls will be celebrating at Three Rivers Museum in Muskogee, Okla and will honor former Girl Scouts who are over 90-years-old. They will also commemorate that the first Girl Scout cookie sale, which took place in Muskogee.

Reporter

Up for Service

Organizers of 2010 Tulsa International Mayfest, taking place May 13-16 in downtown Tulsa, are seeking volunteers for the festival. Mayfest volunteers are vital to the festival's success. Each year, volunteers log thousands of hours making the festival the nationally renowned event that it has become.

Both individual and corporate team volunteers are needed for the following categories: beverage sales, souvenir sales, Youth Art Gallery host, KidZone activities and artist relations. The festival needs around 800 volunteers during the four-day event. Volunteer shifts are approximately three to four hours each and volunteers are welcome to work one or more shifts throughout the festival.

"We are proud to partner with Volunteer Central of Greater Tulsa to enable our volunteers to sign up for assignments online," said Heather Pingry, Mayfest Executive Director. "Not only will this process through www.1-800-volunteer.org be streamlined, it will also offer those with required service hours an easier way to track their work."

In addition to using www.1-800-volunteer.org, volunteers may also visit www.tulsamayfest.org to download a volunteer application or contact Mayfest Volunteer Coordinator, Barbara Pendleton, at 918-951-1664.

All volunteers will receive a $5 off coupon for official Mayfest merchandise. Volunteers will also receive a limited edition pin, featuring the 2010 poster art, which is not available for purchase.

Over and Out

After two silver medals in international competition this past year, a Tulsa-area Taekwondo master finally brings home the gold. Master Bong Kang fought three bouts in one day with opponents from California, Senegal and Germany to claim the top award in the heavyweight senior division in Las Vegas, including another smashing knockout.

This year's U.S. Open drew competitors from 66 nations including 21 national teams and many martial artists who competed in the Olympics.

"It means a lot for the Kang organization to stay on top of the mountain. It is definitely a big feat. I owe it to God and my friendships and my father and family," Kang said.

Another twist to the story is that Bong's student, won the silver medal in the bantam weight category. Jerry Smith, 42, of Broken Arrow has been training with Bong for 17 years. After years of speed drills, running bleachers and hundreds of thousands of kicks in practice and competition, both men have brought world attention to Tulsa and Broken Arrow.

"We're good brothers," Bong said. "Jerry is my right hand man."

The Kang family is famous in Taekwondo circles in Tulsa, the state of Oklahoma, nationally and internationally. Bong's father, Grand Master Dong Won Kang, was inducted into the Taekwondo International Hall of Fame last year.

The Next Big Thing

The search has begun for an artist to create the poster celebrating the 32nd annual Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest, a festival that celebrates German heritage and culture, takes place at the River West Festival Park on Oct. 21-24, 2010.

Each year an artist is chosen to illustrate a poster, which is used to promote the annual festival. New to the poster element is a theme for this year's depiction.

"The Good, The Brat and The Ugly" will be the central focus for the 2010 Oktoberfest poster, which will be for sale at the festival.

Artists wishing to be considered will need to submit a short bio, samples of artwork style and a description of the selected medium for review by the Oktoberfest Executive committee. All materials must be received at the Oktoberfest office, located at 3 N. Lawton, Tulsa, OK 74127 by 4pm on April 7, 2010. No late entries will be considered.

Artists may choose to do a quick sketch or rendition of an idea, but this is not required. Additional information about the requirements for the poster and artist can be found on the Oktoberfest Web site: www.tulsaoktoberfest.org.

Questions may be directed to Oktobefest personell via email: admin@tulsaoktoberfest.org or by phone at 744-9700.