Oklahoma’s Lieutenant Governor Todd Lamb led a Small Business & Small Manufacturer Regional Summit in Durant on Wednesday.
The summit was the third of a six-summit campaign that Lamb along with the State Chamber, the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance is hosting.
Owners and management from small businesses and manufacturers gathered to discuss the top five issues impeding their growth in the region.
The purpose of the summits is to identify challenges that are impeding the growth of these companies and find solutions.
The solutions found by these summits will help create a 2013 Small Business & Small Manufacturer Legislative Agenda to be used to lobby the state Legislature next session.
Lamb said to find solutions and incorporate them into policy and legislation, “we have to critically look at ourselves.”
Some issues that came up in Wednesday’s summit were the need for worker’s comp reform, regulatory issues and making sure workers are well prepared for their careers.
One issue discussed in the summit was how to put jobs in the sight of students in the region.
Solution ideas included job shadowing and bring your child to work day. Both ideas were focused on showing students what different jobs consist of.
The main issue for Lamb and other lobbyists to focus on concerning these solutions is that of liability.
Each summit focuses on the issues in the region the summit is being held. In this way the Lamb can know what each region needs and help to incorporate these needs into policy and legislation.
The remaining summit meetings will be in Lawton on Thursday, Oct. 18 at the Fairfield Inn, Bartlesville on Thursday, Oct. 25 at Tri County Technology Center and in Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at the Jim Thorpe Event Center.














