OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV): Dana Weber, the new chair of The State Chamber of Oklahoma, says that Oklahoma can be one of the nation’s top economic and business leaders but greater workforce development and career-readiness education are needed to realize that potential.
Weber is the CEO of Webco Industries, the nation’s leading manufacturer and distributor of steel tubing.
Her parents founded Webco in 1969. She started working at the company 53 years ago, performing a wide range of tasks.
“I fell in love with it, and I’ve been here now for all these years and still love it,” Weber said.
Weber spoke with Oklahoma Business Voice about The State Chamber’s efforts to grow the state’s economy and business community, as well as what is needed for Oklahoma to reach its massive economic potential.
OBV’s full interview with Weber is featured below:
You’ve been a longtime member of The State Chamber. Why is it so important to you?
Weber: For many years, we were focused internally on what do we need to do to survive and to grow the company. We woke up one day and realized that the outside world impacts us too and if we don’t participate in that process, then we are allowing people that may not have our best interests at heart to make decisions for us.
So we started getting involved and looking outside the company and trying to help organizations like The State Chamber help us make sure that Oklahoma is business-friendly, citizen-friendly and helps us become one of the greatest states in the nation, and I think The State Chamber does exactly that.
What are your goals for being chair of The State Chamber?
Weber: Primarily to support the activities of The State Chamber. They already know what they need to do and they receive a lot of input from the members. And they know what they need to do to help make the state a better state. Continually, beyond that, it’s just to continue to support our workforce development – it’s one of the number one priorities. Also, to make sure that we work together to accomplish things, listen to multiple voices and come together and do so in a constructive way. We can disagree on policy, but let’s treat each other well. We don’t want to be like D.C.
What are some business and economic development areas in Oklahoma that have not been tapped into and have potential for greater growth?
Weber: Probably many of them. Manufacturing, I believe, is a foundational activity for the United States. There are three wealth-generating activities; and that doesn’t criticize any other activities, because they all work together. Those three are the foundational ones that everything else supports, and that’s manufacturing, agriculture and extractive industries. We have all three of those here. We have manufacturing, we have a strong agricultural base, and we have a strong energy/extractive industry base. And we need to continue to support all three of those because those will help develop and drive growth in all other areas. So, anything that supports those three, I think is really good for the state of Oklahoma.
Any initiatives that you would like to see by our state legislature or The State Chamber to facilitate business and economic growth in Oklahoma?
Weber: Obviously workforce is clearly really important. We need to have a strong workforce, make sure we’ve got a workforce that understands what business needs and how to be a partner with business to make our state great.
I think obviously education is important. People think of K-12, people think of universities, but also our career techs are extremely important. There are many, many jobs that need technical skills but don’t necessarily need a full four-year college degree or more. We need those too. We need it all. So, all of that is important.
Another area is making sure that we have a good system to support parents that want to work. We operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There is no daycare that operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And even if there is daycare, there are not enough of them and they’re not widely spread to support all of the parents who want to work. So, that’s another area that I think is very important.
Another one that I think is very important is regulations. We’re not as bad as the federal government in regulations, but we have plenty of regulations that we need to see if they’re really doing their job and not restricting economic development. It’s one thing to make sure we do things well in the right way, it’s another thing to have regulations that restrict good activities.
What are your hopes for the future of The State Chamber as far as economic and business development initiatives? Are there special efforts or causes that you would like to see the Chamber become more involved with?
Weber: I think the Chamber already knows what it needs to do, and they’re working on the things that need to be worked on. I just want to be here to support them and help make sure that they can do that in the most effective way through our support and our belief in what they’re doing for.
