From staff reports OKLAHOMA CITY – Dozens of Oklahomans will gather in Oklahoma City this summer f or the 14th Leadership Exchange Academy.
Thirty-eight members will meet for educational conferences and programs to exchange ideas and learn about government practices, public policy processes and free enterprise.
We're excited for the individuals that are going to participate,” said State Chamber Research Foundation Executive Director Ben Lepak. “We had a great response to our call for ap-group is a very strong class. It's going to contribute to the strength of the program and to Oklahoma in general.”
This program connects civic- minded professionals with state government and business leaders.
“This cohort will join the 400-p lus alumni members of the Leadership Exchange Academy. The real strength of the program is the alumni network and all the things that peo ple do to stay engaged in the program after they've gone through the cohort,” said Lepak.
Conferences will be June 20-21 and July 25-26.
For more details, visit www.statechamberresearch. org.
The Chickasha City Council voted recently to apply for a state grant to replace the pedestrian bridge in Shannon Springs Park – which City Manager Keith Johnson described as “our flagship park…” The bridge is a featured attraction in Chickasha’s Festival of Light during the Christmas holiday; volunteers string 1,094 strands of lights containing 76,580 bulbs, according to former mayor Chris Mosley, who has coordinated that operation for the last eight years. The $1,427,361 state grant would require $285,472 in matching local funds. The bridge that spans the lake in the 43-acre park is 196 feet long and 4½ feet wide, said Spencer Winzenried, Chickasha’s parks and recreation director. The bridge has a wooden deck and wooden handrails but is supported by concrete piers. The bridge is more than 50 years old “and needs to be replaced to be ADA-accessible and to support park visitors for the next generation,” Johnson said. The Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant would be provided through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act enacted in 2021, and would be administered by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.