FYI: Business: Business breakfast set Thursday

Nov 30, 2008 (Tulsa World - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- FD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- A Thursday breakfast program at The University of Tulsa will provide details of how companies involved in international business can avoid legal problems with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

The keynote speaker is Iowa attorney Mark Weinhardt, of Belin Lamson McCormick Zumbach Flynn. Weinhardt will talk about the basic principles of the FCPA, where potential trouble spots may lie and how to respond to those issues.

Jim Williams, director of the Tulsa office of the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service, will deliver a second keynote address, "Working with the U.S, Export Regulations." Williams will discuss export guidelines.

And TU College of Law professor Tom Arnold will talk about the history of the international bribery act.

A buffet breakfast begins at 7:15 a.m. with the program from 7:45 to 10 a.m. in the Great Hall of Allen Chapman Activity Center at 440 S. Gary Place.

Pre-registration is $45 per person, $35 per person for groups of three or more from the same company, and $50 at the door.

The program is part of a series of International Business Breakfast Seminars sponsored by The University of Tulsa Collins College of

Business, Tulsa Global Alliance, TU College of Law and the TU Center for Executive and Professional Development.

To register, visit tulsaworld.com/FCPAbreakfast, or call 631-2215.

TFA honors local entrepreneur

The Tulsa Foundation for Architecture has voted to present J. Elliot Nelson with its inaugural honorary membership.

The new program, which grants one-year memberships to the organization, was designed to honor individuals who are demonstrating their commitment to making Tulsa a better place to live.

Elliot's adaptive reuse of existing downtown buildings has helped bring attention to downtown Tulsa. His developments include McNellie's Public House, El Guapo's Cantina and Tiny Lounge.

The Tulsa Foundation for Architecture is the local partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

New beauty and wellness center opens

The Looks Beauty and Wellness Center opened recently at 6616 S. Memorial Drive.

The 9,000-square-foot facility features a full-service beauty salon, a full-service med-spa and a health and wellness center.

The cornerstone of Looks is HCG Medical, a weight loss clinic that uses a medically supervised program.

For more information call 392-9698 or visit tulsaworld.com/lookscompany.

Ballpark design honored

A ballpark designed by Crafton Tull Sparks recently was honored with two awards from Ballpark Digest.

QuikTrip Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, tied for the "Best New Ballpark" in 2008.

The park includes permanent seating for 5,445 fans, a 6,000-square-foot sports bar and restaurant beyond the left-field fence, an adult party deck overlooking the visitors' bullpen, a cigar bar, a swimming pool overlooking the right-field wall, and a 17,000-square-foot "Wide World of Parks' Kids Zone."

The new ballpark also earned "Best Ballpark Innovations" honors for having a swimming pool in a ballpark.

Crafton Tull Sparks has 335 employees with offices in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Kansas.

WhiteWalls opens at Woodland Hills

An art gallery that was first established online has now opened a store at Woodland Hills Malls.

WhiteWalls, owned by Jesse Witham and partner Greg Mace, is located on the lower level of the mall, in the Macy's wing, directly across from the Apple store.

Witham said he and Mace began selling artwork online through a company they established, the International Art Association. The company has a distribution center in Springfield, Mo.

The artwork, which includes prints and hand-painted canvas selections, comes from around the world, he said.

WhiteWalls has recently partnered with the Tulsa Girls Art School Project, which is also affiliated with the Tulsa Community Foundation. Through this partnership, WhiteWalls will allow elementary school-age girls from the inner city of Tulsa to display and sell artwork at its retail location. Sales will go toward funding the Tulsa Girls Art School charity.

For more information, contact the Witham or Mace at 294-9590, or visit tulsaworld.com/whitewalls.

Rick Craig Salon relocates

Rick Craig Salon has opened a new location at 1632 S. Cincinnati Ave.

Craig, a longtime Tulsa stylist and colorist renowned for his cutting-edge looks, previously operated Sibling Rivalry located at 6506 S. Lewis Ave., where he partnered with his sister, a licensed manicurist, for seven years.

The new salon features a full kitchen, shampoo room, massage loft and wraparound wood deck with alfresco seating.

RSU establishes Biofuels Assistance Center

Rogers State University has announced it will provide support for area businesses seeking to develop biofuels from crop residues and various waste products through the establishment of the Biofuels Assistance Center on the Claremore campus.

The new Biofuels Assistance Center will promote economic expansion in rural northeastern Oklahoma by supporting the production of biofuels including biodiesel and ethanol, said Dr. Ray Brown, RSU vice president for economic and community development, in an e-mail.

A grant of $51,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture helped establish the center. The Rural Business Enterprise Grant was funded through the Oklahoma Rural Business Cooperative Service.

The grant will allow RSU Innovation Center to assist in the funding of feasibility studies for businesses that want to explore opportunities in the biofuels industry.

The center can assist agricultural producers and biofuel manufacturers seeking to expand production and find alternative sources of feed stock for the production of biofuels. It also will assist farmers who wish to utilize unused land or start their own biofuels production and distribution businesses.

The RSU Innovation Center provides counseling services to businesses that need assistance with business plans, financial planning, management and marketing for a small fee or no cost. For more information, call 343-7533.

Arkansas Valley State Bank modifies name

After more than a year of research, Arkansas Valley State Bank has shortened its name from AVSB to AVB.

"After extensive research, it was discovered that the combination of 'Arkansas' and 'State' caused people to think our bank was founded in the state of Arkansas. Being proud of our deep Oklahoma roots and foundation in Broken Arrow, we think removing 'State' from our name and going from AVSB to AVB would be a slight change that would make a big difference moving forward," Marketing Director LaTaunya Williams said in an e-mail.

Founded in Broken Arrow in 1905, AVB is a fourth-generation family-owned community bank with locations in Tulsa and Broken Arrow.

Oklahoma chosen for creativity forum

Oklahoma will be on the world stage in fall 2010 when it hosts the annual Creativity World Forum, a global conference focused entirely on creativity and innovation.

Oklahoma City was awarded the 2010 meeting at the recent Creativity World Forum held Nov. 19-20 in Antwerp, Belgium.

The event will bring together entrepreneurs, knowledge workers, educators, cultural leaders and policymakers from across the world. The conference will include a two-day business conference and trade exposition featuring top speakers, seminars and idea exchanges. More than 1,500 delegates attended the conference in Antwerp.

Oklahoma holds the distinction of being the only U.S. state currently recognized as a District of Creativity and is one of only 12 regions designated throughout the world.

Unemployment compensation extended

More than 8,000 Oklahomans could be affected by an extension of an emergency unemployment compensation package.

This extension will add up to seven weeks to previously filed EUC claims, bringing the maximum number of weeks a claimant can draw emergency unemployment compensation -- once regular benefits have expired -- to 20 weeks.

Oklahomans can begin applying for the emergency unemployment compensation extension Monday.

If a claimant has exhausted regular benefits and is now receiving EUC, no action is required. The extension will simply be added on to the current EUC claim.

Those who have exhausted their EUC will be issued a new eligibility determination reflecting the extended benefits. In order to receive the EUC extension, these claimants must first file for a week of unemployment benefits and then call the Unemployment Insurance Service Center to reopen the claim.

Those currently drawing regular unemployment benefits must first exhaust these benefits before filing a preliminary EUC claim.

For more information, claimants can contact the state Unemployment Insurance Service Center at (800) 555-1554. The service center hours will be expanded to 8 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday to handle the increased workload.

No Action Line

The Action Line column, which appears regularly in the Sunday Business section, will return Tuesday.

The Tulsa World welcomes briefs about new businesses, relocations and workshops. Briefs about awards are welcome, but they cannot be awards given within the company or from a business aOliate. Submit briefs to: Business FYI Sunday, TulsaWorld, P.O. Box 1770, Tulsa, Okla. 74102, or by e-mail to business@tulsaworld.com. Photographs will be considered, and should be identified on the back; e-mailed photos should be in the JPEG format, and also should be identified. Photos cannot be returned.

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