Commerce highlights sites, Main Street and 'venture forward' recruitment; cites workforce as top barrier

Heather Turner, deputy CEO and executive director of core at the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, told the appropriations subcommittee the agency is focusing on coordinated state‑level support for communities, site readiness and talent recruitment while implementing ARPA‑funded community and nonprofit relief programs.

Turner said Commerce’s mission is to cultivate environments and relationships that foster economic growth, and she described a coordinated approach that links the department’s ‘‘Core’’ units (community development, main street, grants administration) with an ‘‘Edge’’ business recruitment team led by Evan Brown. Turner said Commerce participated in projects that together represented an estimated 10,000 jobs tied to the agency’s engagement; she added that 27,000 new jobs were created in Oklahoma in 2024 overall.

Key accomplishments Commerce cited to the committee included a Main Street program that completed about 380 community projects and a nonprofit relief effort that awarded 289 nonprofits roughly $16.6 million in ARPA funds; Commerce staff said the nonprofit awards were executed without adding staff. Turner described a site‑readiness program that drew 108 community applicants, produced recommendations for 50 communities and provided detailed consultant reviews for 15 top sites. The sites work is intended to make industrial tracts more competitive when companies screen potential locations.

Commerce also described a ‘‘venture forward’’ talent campaign, an in‑house marketing effort to promote Oklahoma as a place to live and to highlight businesses with successful investments in the state. Turner said Commerce continues to run and expand film‑and‑music incentives and to support community‑scale placemaking investments.

Committee members asked about recruitment and marketing resources. A senator referenced a $10,000,000 recruitment and marketing allocation in the materials; Turner said funds are used to raise Oklahoma’s profile (live/work marketing, recruitment materials and targeted outreach) and to support venture forward’s talent work. Commerce CFO Stacy (last name provided in internal materials) reviewed FY‑25 pass‑through requests also included in the agency packet: increases to senior nutrition meal funding ($250,000), modest increases for community action and head‑start administrative support, and a $30,000 increase for councils of government to administer federal block grants.

On workforce, Turner said workforce supply was raised repeatedly during a recent trade mission and meetings with potential investors; Commerce staff said workforce pipeline issues remain the top barrier companies cite when evaluating investments. The department noted statewide assets — career techs, higher education and an expanding talent initiative — but said closer alignment between training offerings and employer needs is still required. Turner said Commerce is coordinating quarterly stakeholder meetings (with Select Oklahoma, the state chamber and regional chambers) and regional partner sessions to improve alignment.

Turner and her leadership team closed by offering to provide more detail on project pipelines and to follow up with items requested by committee members.