FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                          May 10, 2006 

BRANDON COOK COMPLETES OKLAHOMA CITIZENS ACADEMY 

            Brandon Cook, administrative assistant with the Walch Center for Business Development at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, recently completed Class III of the Oklahoma Citizens Academy, a program of the Oklahoma Community Institute. The academy focuses on increasing the number of local leaders focused on community and economic development.

            During the six sessions, participants learned the basics of community and economic development, at the same time developing team building skills that can be replicated in their local communities. The final requirement for graduation was the presentation of regional proposals to recruit new business opportunities to their areas.

            “We created the Citizens Academy to prepare citizens to accept leadership roles in their communities,” said Karen James, chair of the Community Institute. “This training is unique from other programs because it provides hands-on skills and structure for those who specifically want to positively impact the future development of their communities.”

            Dana Shadid, executive director of the Oklahoma Community Institute said the board of directors was extremely pleased with the response from participants in this year’s class.

            “The steering committee devotes many hours to refining and enhancing the curriculum to ensure that each class has the most beneficial experience possible. Its success has been reflected in the projects that have already been implemented by graduates from classes I and II,” he said.

            The Oklahoma Citizens Academy is sponsored by the Oklahoma Community Institute with major contributions from Oklahoma Natural Gas, OG&E and Bank of America.

            The Community Institute is a non-profit organization that offers a range of services and products from leading communities through a planning process for improvement to educating Oklahomans about the role a citizen must take to build and maintain a vibrant community. More information can be found at www.ocionline.org or by calling (405) 815-5191. Program information and applications for Class IV of the Oklahoma Citizens Academy will be available at the web site by mid-summer.

-NW-

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