During these challenging times the story of the twin toddlers in the room full of horse manure comes to mind.  The pessimistic child sits sobbing in a corner for the duration of the scientific experiment while the optimistic young boy is singing and laughing and throwing horse pucky all around. When asked by the researchers, “What are you doing and why so happy?” The boy replied, “With all this horse poop there’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!”

So as we in business close out the 2009 calendar and launch headlong into 2010, I hope we can always be looking for the pony, especially when we see the shenanigans of our Congress and the current Administration in our nation’s Capitol. But I digress.

Recent milestones included:

Oklahoma cities made several “Best in Class” lists by leading authorities assessing best places to open a business, cost of living and business friendly practices.  In this month’s Site Selection magazine, Oklahoma was named in the top 20 best business climates. In all, we posted 57 major announcements on our Web site, www.okprosperity.com, which included the launch of the first Exchange Traded Fund comprised of Oklahoma-based companies on the New York Stock Exchange (OOK).  The OU Health Science Center was ranked fourth in The Scientist magazine for best places to work.  Tulsa’s new WNBA Team was announced, Moreland’s Prather Cue was recognized as the creator of the world’s best pool cue, and Lawton’s Goodyear plant is rolling its 500 millionth tire off the line.  Boeing and Tinker Air Force Base benefit from an $84 million avionics software contract and the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation received $14.7 million more in new research funds.

Capping the list of announcements for The State Chamber were the two national awards for the passage of Civil Justice Reform Legislation. I was proud to have our Chairman Phil Kennedy lead a delegation to the U.S. Chamber where Mike Seney and Ronn Cupp (two of our senior vice presidents) were recognized as leaders in the nation for helping to pass premier lawsuit reform that other states should emulate. The American Tort Reform Association honored us with their prestigious Gold Medal Award, an honor we share with lawmakers and partners who made reform possible.

And just this week The State Chamber’s Military Liaison Committee was launched to support our troops and to let Oklahomans know what incredible benefits we enjoy because of our military facilities. The State Chamber salutes Vance, Altus, and Tinker Air Force bases, Camp Gruber, McAllister’s Army Ammunition Plant and Fort Sill along with the Guard and Reserve units who train and deploy from Oklahoma. Our war fighters keep us all safe and we want all Oklahomans to be mindful of this reality and the economic impact they have on our quality of life. To all veterans on Nov. 11 – Huah!  Welcome home and thanks for your service. Happy November Oklahoma. We have much to be thankful for.

Richard P. Rush is President and CEO of The State Chamber of Oklahoma.