Oklahoma
Here’s how to nominate an Oklahoma business for The Oklahoman’s 2024 Top Workplaces award
It’s no secret that a cut-throat work environment hurts people and productivity, and a positive workplace helps both — as well as customer relations and the bottom line.
Are you lucky to work in a good place? Or know of one?
Actually, luck has little to do with it. It takes work, engagement and mutual trust. The Oklahoman wants to honor top workplaces in the state. Help us recognize business leaders and organizations that excel in both work and workforce. Anyone can nominate a company, including business leadership, employees or even customers.
Businesses have to change, and change again, to survive, especially in the age of artificial intelligence and real potential tension among different kinds of people. But not every company has a culture that stands out, let alone one worth bragging about.
Top Workplaces will highlight some of the best things happening in Oklahoma business. This is our 12th year of doing the program here at The Oklahoman.
Which companies stand out? Which companies are the best places to work? Which companies exhibit bold leadership?
If you know of an Oklahoma business that fits these kinds of descriptions, consider nominating it for our annual Top Workplaces award. If you work for a great company, we want to know about it. Tell us why it is so great. Let us help share your story with others.
More: These 5 companies made The Oklahoman’s Top Workplaces for more than a decade
Organizations with 35 or more employees in Oklahoma are eligible to participate. They can be public, private, nonprofit or government organizations. The nomination deadline is July 12. The Oklahoman will feature the winners in December.To nominate an employer or for more information on the awards, go to www.oklahoman.com/nominate or call 405-708-6151. There is no cost to participate.
To qualify as an Oklahoma Top Workplace, employees evaluate their workplace using a short 24-question survey that takes about five minutes to complete.
The Oklahoman is partnering with Philadelphia-based Energage, the employee research and culture technology firm, to determine Oklahoma’s Top Workplaces, based solely on employee survey feedback.
Energage conducts Top Workplaces surveys for media in 65 markets nationwide and surveyed more than 2 million employees at more than 8,000 organizations in the past year.
“Top Workplaces awards are a celebration of good news,” said Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. “They exemplify the significance of a people-first workplace experience, reminding us that employees are the heart of any thriving organization.
Plenty of workplaces do great work even facing great challenges. Tell us about them. Help us show who is worthy of Top Workplaces recognition.
Oklahoma
NBA Draft: Jeremiah Fears, Jalon Moore Boost Draft Value while Lifting Oklahoma to SEC Win
As Oklahoma pulled off a massive win over No. 24 Vanderbilt, the play of their two draft prospects caught attention. Senior forward Jalon Moore and freshman guard Jeremiah Fears both delivered strong performances, lifting the Sooners to a 97-67 win over the Commodores and continuing their climb up the SEC standings.
Let’s take a closer look at these two players’ impressive outings and break down the aspects of their games that will be highly coveted by NBA teams.
Jeremiah Fears bounced back from a scoreless performance in his last game with a strong showing. He finished with 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals in 30 minutes of action. It was an efficient outing, as he shot 8-of-12 from the field, 1-of-3 from three, and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. He continued to navigate screens well and used his shifty handle to create space. While he looked good on catch-and-shoot threes, he primarily shined by attacking the rim and finishing with soft touch.
Fears appears to be a safe bet to be selected in the lottery of the upcoming draft. As a young and productive prospect, his ability to stuff the stat sheet is highly promising. While he is not the most athletic player vertically, his lateral quickness and impressive change of direction should continue to boost his stock as the season progresses.
Jalon Moore has not received nearly as much draft buzz as Fears, but his budding offensive game and defensive versatility hold significant value. This two-way effectiveness was evident in yesterday’s game, as he finished with 19 points, four rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block while shooting 66.7% from the field, 50% from three and 55.6% from the free-throw line. He is an extremely long and explosive athlete who did a great job of getting to the rim and finishing through contact. Moore frequently served as the roll man alongside Fears, creating consistent driving lanes. He also continued to showcase his hot shooting season, connecting on 2-of-4 of his catch-and-shoot threes.
Whether or not he is selected in the upcoming draft, Moore possesses the athletic tools and defensive upside to warrant consideration at the next level. While he is somewhat positionally in-between, his ability to attack the rim and stretch the floor gives him intriguing potential. His defensive value is the most compelling aspect of his game, as his aggression, long arms and nonstop motor allow him to guard multiple positions effectively.
Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma routs No. 24 Vanderbilt 97-67 for 3rd win in 4 games
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Freshman guard Jeremiah Fears scored 21 points to help Oklahoma dominate No. 24 Vanderbilt in a 97-67 win on Saturday.
Oklahoma’s Jalon Moore added 19 points and surpassed 1,000 career points. Dayton Forsythe scored 14 points for the Sooners (16-5, 3-5 Southeastern Conference), who have won three of four after losing their first four league games.
Oklahoma took control with a 23-0 run in the second half. The Sooners shot 63.2% from the field overall, including 72.7% after the break.
Devin McGlockton led Vanderbilt (16-5, 4-4) with 22 points. Jason Edwards scored 21 points for the Commodores, but he needed 20 shots to get them.
Vanderbilt led 38-27 late in the first half before Oklahoma closed on a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to 40-36 at the break.
Oklahoma controlled the second half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Brycen Goodine and Moore put the Sooners up 52-42 with 16:31 remaining, and a timeout by Vanderbilt didn’t help. By the end of Oklahoma’s 23-0 run, the Commodores had missed eight consecutive shots.
Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner sliced through the lane for a one-handed jam that cut Oklahoma’s lead to 60-52 with about 10 minutes to go, but Oklahoma regrouped and expanded its lead.
Takeaways
Vanderbilt: The Commodores shot 30% in the second half and made 1 of 12 3-pointers.
Oklahoma: Coach Porter Moser had made rebounding an emphasis after some rough performances, and the Sooners responded by outrebounding Vanderbilt 39-24.
Key moment
Oklahoma took its first lead, 44-42, on a 3-pointer by Goodine early in the second half. The Sooners never trailed again.
Key stat
Vanderbilt had 10 turnovers and nine made field goals in the second half.
Up next
Vanderbilt visits No. 5 Florida on Tuesday night.
Oklahoma visits No. 1 Auburn on Tuesday night.
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Oklahoma
Oklahoma State wrestling hoping to get ’10K in GIA’ for Missouri dual
Oklahoma State wrestling coach David Taylor recaps Cowboys’ win vs. West Virginia
Oklahoma State wrestling coach David Taylor recaps Cowboys’ win vs. West Virginia
STILLWATER — David Taylor isn’t the type to hide his goals.
One in particular that the first-year Oklahoma State wrestling coach has expressed is attendance — and the pursuit of bringing 10,000 fans to Gallagher-Iba Arena.
The Cowboys have surpassed 8,200 twice this year, and are well ahead of pace to break the program’s single-season average for attendance since the arena was expanded to its current capacity for the 2001 season.
But the third-ranked Cowboys have one last shot to hit Taylor’s 10,000 mark when they host No. 20 Missouri at 2 p.m. Sunday at GIA. They’ve labeled the goal as “10K in GIA” on social media promotions.
OSU’s season high attendance is 8,257, set a couple weeks ago in the 30-12 rout of West Virginia, and that brought the season average to 7,073.
Last year’s Cowboys set the known record for season average at 5,871. This year, the team has been over 6,000 for every dual.
“It’s pretty awesome,” Taylor said after the West Virginia win. “When we sat down with guys, we were like, ‘Hey, these are our goals for the season.’ They said, ‘You guys aren’t gonna be able to do that unless you get Team X, Y and Z to come in here. I was like, why’s that? You don’t know.
“Oklahoma State wrestling, this is an important thing to people. So I think it’s awesome.”
It’s possible that OSU has had a higher average attendance than whatever this year’s number ends up being.
Before the major renovation for 2000-01, which brought the capacity to 13,611, the previous arena had seated 6,381 since 1986. It was in the 6,700 range for a few years before that.
But the exact attendance numbers from anything before 2001 weren’t as closely tracked as they are today.
So maybe there was a season when the historically legendary program brought more fans through the GIA turnstiles.
But this year remains historical regardless, and signals the excitement Taylor brought to OSU both with his reputation and the product he’s putting on the mat — an aggressive, enthralling style of wrestling that draws fans’ attention.
“I love the amount of fans that we have,” OSU 141-pound sophomore Tagen Jamison said. “Other programs, if you look at their videos, they’re not having the support system that we have here. It’s really awesome to see the amount of fans that we get to show up.
“I think it helps drive what we’re doing already.”
At a point in time when revenue is about to become a much more impactful term in college athletics — with the NCAA antitrust settlement expected to open the door for revenue sharing directly with athletes.
“We’re in a time in college athletics where that stuff matters,” Taylor said. “How many people that come to our matches matters.
“I think we’re continuing to push the limits. It means a lot to our guys, our program, our university. It’s really cool to see that and be a part of a program that can show that type of support for wrestling.”
And it’s been particularly inspiring for the newcomers from other programs that don’t draw the way OSU has this year to see the support Cowboy fans have brought.
“I think it’s really exciting,” said OSU heavyweight Wyatt Hendrickson, who wrestled the last four years at Air Force. “Stillwater is a special place. The wrestlers that come here are all special guys. There’s a lot of good stuff going on here and it’s contagious when you’re in that environment and there’s so much passion toward a sport.
“They’re all here to support the Cowboys and see some good wrestling, and we like to deliver that every single time.”
OSU vs. Missouri
2 p.m. Sunday at Gallagher-Iba Arena in Stillwater (ESPN+)
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