WHO WE ARE
The PAWNEE COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION was incorporated on November 23, 1988 by a group of Pawnee county citizens for the purpose of promoting PAWNEE COUNTY. This was and still is our primary objective and is defined in our BYLAWS as follows:
The purpose of the Pawnee County Economic Development Foundation is to assist and promote the growth and development of Pawnee County, and the economic and social welfare of all citizens of the county. The Foundation is and shall be nonprofit and nonpartisan, qualifying as a tax-exempt organization under section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
Since our beginning in 1988 the Foundation has strived to adhere to this purpose and in doing so have accomplished the below enumerated items.
- Help promote TOURISM by aiding the events in the
cities of Cleveland and Pawnee. In Cleveland these
are the Fifth of July Freedom Celebration and the
Pioneer Day Celebration. In Pawnee these are the Pawnee
Bill Wild West Show and the Oklahoma Steam & Gas
Engine Show.
- Leased and later purchased the former Lakeshore
Ford Building. To maintain the identity of the building
the site was renamed to Lakeshore Professional Building.
- Leased 75% of the building to a small manufacturing
business, Tulsa Valve, which now
employees fifteen people.
- Assisted the HALLET RACEWAY in financing the blacktopping
of their entrance road from Oklahoma highway 99 to
their facilities.
- Assisted an existing manufacturing company, ICES
Manufacturing, to relocate to the Cleveland area by
acting as a "pass-through organization"
for them to acquire a site south of the City of Cleveland.
This company now employees 40 people from the area.
- Sold two of the original lots of the Lakeside Professional Building properties on which a state-of-the-art automatic car wash was built. This new installation, Tiger Pride, greatly enhances the property values of the surrounding area.
The Foundation membership stands at approximately 50 members. The Board of Directors consists of nine persons. They are nominated and elected from the open membership. They are elected for three-year terms from three districts, which corresponds to the same three districts as the County Commissioners.
The Foundation, regularly meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:00p.m. alternating between Pawnee and Cleveland unless a holiday falls on that day. The annual meeting is held on the first Tuesday of June. Notice of meetings will apprear in the Cleveland American and Pawnee Chief each month.
The Foundation continues to be committed to its primary purpose, namely, to PROMOTE PAWNEE COUNTY AND TO MAKE IT A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE.