Woodward Mayor Bill Fanning and Woodward City Manager Alan Riffel were recognized by their peers for receiving the top state awards at the Oklahoma Municipal League awards ceremony. This is the first time that the Mayor and City Manager of the same city won top awards in the same year.

Mayor Bill Fanning (photo: komitv)

Read full Woodward News article.

Recently Woodward has been recognized by major media and Capitol Hill as an example of a community that is making bold steps toward economic and environmental innovation.

On National Public Radio's daily Morning Addition program, Judy Woodruff traveled to Woodward to report on one young man who chose a future in wind energy over his previous trade - oil and gas. The report's subject, Quentin Johnson, is studying wind training at the High Plains Technology Center.

Johnson was one of the first students to enroll in the new training program in Woodward, Okla.

But when most people think about energy in Oklahoma, they think of the fuel that comes from the ground. Oil and natural gas helped build this state, and there are oil derricks all around Woodward. There's even one at Johnson's school; in fact, he uses it to practice climbing, because you need to climb 300 feet high to fix a wind turbine.

Listen to the entire NPR report

Read the NPR story

On May 21st, Woodward Industrial Foundation President Lavern Phillips testified in Washington D.C. in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works. The topic hearing titled “Oversight of the Economic Development Administration" was led by Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and James Inhofe (R-OK).

Read full transcripts of Phillips' opening statement (pdf)

Watch video of entire hearing

Via The Oklahoma Department of Commerce:

Via okhorizon.com:

Boone Pickens on Wind Energy: Billionaire Boone Pickens may have made his fortune in the oil patch, but believes our energy future lies with alternative energy and that’s why he wants to invest billions in wind farms.

Wind Tech Program: A recent slow-down in the energy sector has led to some job layoffs for wind turbine manufacturers, yet, industry watchers believe the construction and maintenance of these huge energy generators has nowhere to go but up. That's why High Plains Tech Center in Woodward has created a wind tech program.

Download a new brochure promoting wind energy in NW Oklahoma (PDF):

From a recent Woodward News report "Terra breaks ground on expansion":

City, county and Terra Industries officials broke ground during a ceremony Tuesday, marking the start of a $180 million expansion project to Terra’s facilities west of Woodward.

Before the groundbreaking, Hugh Jones, chairman of the Woodward Industrial Foundation spoke, providing figures that demonstrated the value of the company to Woodward.

“Terra is the fourth largest taxpayer in the county,” Jones said. “As a result of this expansion project, their ad valorem tax will increase by approximately $1.8 million. As you are aware, these taxes go to support county government, EMS, the county health department, High Plains Technology Center and the Woodward public schools.

Read full article here.

photo: Woodward News.

Local community leaders continue to receive rave reviews on the completion of the Woodward Campus of Northwestern Oklahoma State University. The Woodward Industrial Foundation takes pride in the fantastic effort by all parties to make the dream of higher education a reality in Northwestern Oklahoma. 

“The 12-year effort to build the campus has truly been a community and state partnership,”
- NWOSU President Dr. Janet Cunningham
Read full Woodward News article

Recently, the city received a $1 million grant for a conference center planned as part of a Community Campus Project in conjunction with the Northwestern Oklahoma State University-Woodward campus along 34th Street in Woodward.

“These are the things we have to do to become a community that will attract young people and professional people. To have people move into our community for growth and development we’ve got to continue to build facilities like this.”
- Lavern Phillips, Woodward Industrial Foundation President
Read full Woodward News article