Enid Exceptionalism.
What does that mean?
What does it feel like?
I submit that you are seeing it all around town right now. We are finally starting to learn that Enid is a much bigger deal than we have ever thought before.
I believe it started with the opening of a Country Club that is beyond anything we have ever had as a venue in our town before. It was followed with a realization that we can no longer educate our young people in substandard facilities and then passed a $100 million bond issue to fix it. We then opened a Smithsonian quality Regional Heritage Center...and raised the money ourselves to do it. This exceptionalism can now be seen in new sidewalks around the city square and in front of City Hall and beautiful landscaping in our medians. The biggest step in this process is the new additions to downtown Enid through the Renaissance Project. If you are a resident of Enid and have not yet seen what is going on around you, I invite you start paying attention.
Even though Enid is still a work in progress, companies are investing in a big way in our community. Just in the past few weeks you have seen announcements from Steco, AdvancePierre Foods, Koch Industries, and Mid-Continent Packaging. We have identified over 150 jobs that are available right now that we are in desperate need of people to fill. Couple this with a local 3.1% unemployment rate, Workforce Recruitment is now our biggest Economic Development issue by far. We are working with state and national publications to get the word out that "Enid is Hiring," but we also need to do all we can to prepare our community for more citizens. We need to continue to add housing, especially rental housing, and we need to continue to beautify our community. Steps are being taken to prepare our community for a new generation of citizens, and it is very exciting to watch.
Get caught up in the Enid Exceptionalism that is happening around you. We will no longer accept anything that is second class....
Brent Kisling
Executive Director
Enid Regional Development Alliance