Promoting McAlester has been job one for Chamber

Local News

October 24, 2009

By Kandra Wells The McAlester News-Capital Sat Oct 24, 2009, 01:30 PM CDT

McAlester’s Chamber of Commerce has been busy, promoting city industries and businesses to the community and the world. That’s the message given to about 100 of the Chamber’s members Friday at a State of the Chamber luncheon at the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant.

“There’s a lot going on,” Executive Director Karen Stephens said.

Stephens stepped into her role at the Chamber in April and since then has supervised a few changes. The group’s annual membership drive was postponed — there are 421 members, representing 35 percent of local businesses — and monthly networking events were re-introduced in September. In addition, the Chamber’s Web site has a new look (visit the site at mcalesterok.usachamber.com), and a Chamber Bucks program encourages local shopping.

Stephens also re-capped events hosted by the Chamber over the past year, from February’s annual banquet to the Prison Rodeo.

“I’m from Michigan,” Stephens said. “We don’t have rodeo up there as much as we do down here.

“It’s a lifestyle down here. I get that now.”

Rodeo ticket sales and revenue increased this year, she said, and the event drew global attention. The Chamber director recounted the phone inquiries about the event fielded from a documentary film producer in Dublin, Ireland, an extreme sports photographer in Oregon, and CMT’s “All Jacked Up” a television show also about extreme sports. She recently delivered video for use in a rodeo-based episode of TNT’s “Saving Grace” police drama, set to air sometime in 2010.

There was another interested party, too: KISS frontman Gene Simmons, whose family is featured on A&E;’s “Family Jewels” reality show.

“Finally, the week of the rodeo, we get a phone call from the producer of ‘Family Jewels,’” Stephens recalled. The caller told her, “Gene Simmons wants to come to the rodeo this year. When is it?” But with the rodeo only four days away and Simmons in Europe for the week, Stephens said the tongue wagging demon of KISS had to delay his plans for a trip to McAlester for a year. If the program is picked up for a fifth season, the producer told Stephens, Simmons will certainly try to work the rodeo into his schedule.

All in a day’s work.

Contact Kandra Wells at kwells@mcalesternews.com.

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