Today, Travel Leaders Group, which represents nearly 30% of the entire North American agency marketplace, strongly rebutted President Barack Obama’s assertion that the travel agency community has been replaced by online players.

Travel Leaders Group CEO Barry Liben pointed to the $16.62 billion in annual sales volume in 2010 – more than Orbitz, Travelocity or Priceline – through its thousands of wholly-owned, franchised and affiliated agencies as proof that a significant percentage of the American traveling public continues to prefer the expertise and knowledge offered by real-live travel agents versus the Internet.

During a town hall meeting in Atkinson, Illinois, President Obama remarked this week that “One of the challenges in terms of rebuilding our economy is – businesses have gotten so efficient, that, when was the last time somebody went to a bank teller instead of using an ATM? Or used a travel agent instead of going online? A lot of jobs that used to require people now have become automated.”

“Not so fast, Mr. President,” chided Liben. “While many components of travel may have become commoditized, there’s no commoditizing the human touch. Our more than 30,000 travel agent experts are proud taxpaying professionals who offer what the Internet can never replicate: providing the human touch to the traveling public through exceptional hands-on care, all while saving them time and, yes, money. It’s no wonder our business is growing and thriving.”

"We strongly recommend that President Obama ask President Bill Clinton why he brought his personal travel agent to the stage of the Global Business Travel Association’s Convention just two years ago," added Travel Leaders Group Founder and Chairman Michael Batt. "He’d learn that President Clinton thanked and praised his talented agent from Tzell Travel, one of well over 100,000 hardworking, taxpaying Americans who proudly serve U.S. travelers.
What might surprise President Obama is that travel agents have evolved with the times and also have their own websites. Thanks to this evolution, American travelers now have the best of the Web along with a live travel agent they can trust."

Liben in turn rhetorically asked the President, “When was the last time somebody went to their online site instead of going to a travel agent when they were stranded in an airport because of a terrible weather or worse?  Mr. President, we’re thankful you don’t have to worry about such issues, but please understand that millions of savvy Americans prefer working with travel agents because they know they can rely on their assistance from the moment they first book their travel to the time they return home safely,” Liben explained.

“Add to that the knowledge and expertise travel agents provide through their counsel, coupled with the automation at travel agents’ fingertips — including websites of their own — and you have one of the most efficient and reliable means of accessing the best experience on earth.

“I am proud to stand before our President and say that more than 100,000 taxpaying travel agents are growing their businesses and delivering exceptional levels of service for the traveling public,” added Liben. “Businesses like ours are the heart and soul of America, and we are alive, well and contributing to the future economic growth of this country.”

For more information on Travel Leaders Group, visit www.travelleadersgroup.com.

Remember in Oklahoma it’s important for you to call to check for buried utility and other lines before you dig. Oklahomans can choose two ways to check by telephone through the Call Okie system: 1-800-522-OKIE, or 8-1-1 or check online.  

Oklahoma has thousands of miles of buried pipeline and utility cable. Whether you’re planning on digging one hole or one hundred, digging without first contacting Call Okie puts you at risk for serious  injury and could result in major damage to critical utility service.

Many people wrongly think that they should only check if they are digging a deep hole. Lines can be accidentally damaged  as a result of digging relatively shallow holes, such as those for planting a small tree or a mailbox post. Erosion, soil shifting, and other factors can change how close a line is to the surface.

One call is all it takes to set the wheels in motion for having all underground utility lines properly marked before all you dig. Again, the number to call is 1-800-522-OKIE or 8-1-1.

For more information, visit www.callokie.com

Two Oklahoma companies, non-profit groups or other institutions will be awarded with a $10,000 cash prize by demonstrating their use of Verizon Wireless mobile technology – operations or service to their customers. Whether companies use the latest mobile smart phone, tablet devices like the Motorola Xoom, or unique applications developed to run on Verizon’s equipment – Verizon is interested in learning how these products are helping businesses improve and deliver for their clients and entries are welcomed by September 16, 2011.

Verizon Wireless will host the Wireless Technology Innovation Awards, sponsored by Motorola, on Nov. 2 to honor Oklahoma businesses and community organizations at the Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City.

Two winners – one for organizations with up to 49 employees, and one for organizations with 50 to 500 employees — will earn a $10,000 cash award from Verizon Wireless and receive recognition at an exclusive awards luncheon attended by local business, associations and civic leaders. These winners will also be featured in a Verizon ‘Put Your Business on the Map” video which will highlight the winner’s business, services and/or products and how they leverage wireless technology.
 
“Oklahoma is a hub of corporate innovation and this event is a great opportunity for key business and political leaders to showcase their ideas and success,” said Steven R. Smith, South Central Region president for Verizon Wireless. “The combination of our leading devices, network strength and the speed of 4G LTE gives organizations in Oklahoma a tremendous advantage in moving their business forward.”
 
Verizon business customers will be required to share their initial workplace challenges and exhibit how Verizon-solutions were implemented to address those hurdles in unique and innovative ways. Participants will also need to explain the benefits of their implementation and how using Verizon solutions has positively affected their business.
 
Entries for the “Wireless Technology Innovation Awards” are due by Sept. 16, and will be evaluated by Verizon Wireless executives and local “celebrity judges.”  Winners will be announced at the awards luncheon on Nov. 2 at the Skirvin Hilton in Oklahoma City. For more information on the contest and to enter, visit the official Wireless Technology Innovation Awards website www.vzwinnovationawards.com.
 
About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless launched 4G LTE in Oklahoma City in the winter of 2010 and 4G LTE in Tulsa in July of this year.  Later this year Verizon will increase its 4G LTE coverage across Oklahoma. Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s fastest and most advanced 4G network and largest and most reliable 3G network, and serves more than 94 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 82,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) and Vodafone (LSE, NASDAQ: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

A bill giving greater authority and control over transportation funding was introduced in Congress yesterday, with U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn of Muskogee and U.S. Rep. James Lankford of Oklahoma City as leading proponents. Governor Mary Fallin and Oklahoma Secretary of Transportation Gary Ridley applauded the proposal, as did a representative of the state’s leading free market “think tank.”

According to a press release from advocates in the nation’s capital, “the State Transportation Flexibility Act would allow state transportation departments to opt out of the Federal-Aid Highway and Mass Transit programs. Instead, these states would be able to manage and spend the gas tax revenue collected within their state on transportation projects without federal mandates or restrictions.”

A total of of 14 members of the Senate and 24 members of the House of Representatives have joined as co-sponsors. Besides the pair of Oklahomans, supporters included Sens. John McCain of Arizona, David Vitter of Louisiana, Orrin Hatch of Utah, John Cornyn of Texas, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Daniel Coats of Indiana, Mike Lee of Utah, and Rob Portman of Ohio. Rep. Jeff Flake of Arizona is advocating for the bill in Congress, alongside Lankford.

In Oklahoma, a vice president at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) immediately applauded the bill’s introduction.

In his statement, sent to CapitolBeatOK, Sen. Coburn said, “Washington’s addiction to spending has bankrupted the Highway Trust Fund. For years, lower-priority projects like earmarks have crowded out important priorities in our states, such as repairing crumbling roads and bridges.

“Instead of burdening states and micromanaging local transportation decisions from Washington, states like Oklahoma should be free to choose how their transportation dollars are spent. I have no doubt that Oklahoma’s Transportation Director Gary Ridley will do a much better job deciding how Oklahoma’s transportation dollars are spent than bureaucrats and politicians in Washington.”

Lankford applauded Coburn’s leadership in the matter, observing, “This has been one of my top priorities since coming to Congress, and I’m happy to join Senator Coburn in this effort. This bill is a giant step for states by increasing transportation flexibility while improving efficiency.

“By allowing states to opt-out of the federal bureaucracy, they will be able to take more control of their own resources. It will free Oklahoma to keep our own federal gas taxes and to fund new projects at our own discretion.”

Joel Kintsel, executive vice president at OCPA, told CapitolBeatOK, "I am so proud of the leadership shown by Senator Coburn and Congressman Lankford. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a broader effort by Congress to return to federalism and withdraw from areas of activity rightfully belonging to the States.”

Sen. McCain, the 2008 Republican nominee for president, said, “As a Federalist, I have long advocated that states should retain the right to keep the revenue from gas taxes paid by drivers in their own state. This bill would allow for this to happen and prevent Arizonans from returning their hard earned money to Washington. Arizonans have always received 95 cents or less for every dollar they pay federal gas taxes. This continues to be unacceptable, and for that reason I am a proud supported of the State Highway Flexibility Act.”

Sen. Vitter asserted, “It’s very apparent how badly Congress can mismanage tax dollars, especially the Highway Trust fund which has needed to be bailed out three times since 2008. The states know their transportation needs better than Congress, so let’s put them in the driver’s seat to manage their own gas tax.”

Hatch contended, “The federal government’s one-size-fits all transportation policies and mandates are wasting billions of taxpayer dollars and causing inexcusable delays in the construction of highways, bridges and roads in Utah and across the nation.

Sen. Cornyn said the Lone Star State can manage public transportation spending just fine, and the bill, “will provide Texas more flexibility to make transportation decisions locally and encourage innovative solutions to addressing our transportation infrastructure needs.

Kintsel, whose areas of focus for OCPA include constitutional and other legal policy issues, said, “Federalism is an indispensable check and balance between the States and the federal government and remains an important feature of our constitutional system. Unless it is a power expressly reserved by the Constitution to the federal government, Congress should not attempt to control the decisions of individual states. The more local decision making is eroded by an overbearing national government, the less freedom and ingenuity survives in states and local communities. In this instance, Oklahoma leaders will know how to use these transportation dollars far more efficiently than anyone outside of Oklahoma.

“The Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs applauds this move towards more federalism and is presently crafting a proposal to pursue federalism on a much larger scale. Under OCPA’s concept, federal dollars used for activities constitutionally reserved to the States will be returned to Oklahoma because the people, through their representatives in the Oklahoma Legislature, will know much better how to allocate resources within the State of Oklahoma.”

One year ago today, President Obama signed into law another 3,000-page bill that was devised behind closed doors. The Dodd-Frank Act quietly came into existence as most people were distracted by the ObamaCare debate. Now, twelve months later, we are learning the harsh truth of exactly what happened last year.

The impetus for the Dodd-Frank financial reform was to ensure the failure of the housing market and the ensuing worldwide financial crisis of 2008 would never happen again, but the legislation ignored the systemic problems of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the two broken entities that leave you and me on the hook for the tab.

Instead, the main focus of the law adds hundreds of new rules to the private sector, including community banks in Oklahoma. Between July 21 and December 31 of this year, community banks will have the unenviable task of implementing an additional 100 new rules and regulations. These new rules deal with everything from lending practices to the quality of assets to documentation, and they will continue to affect the pace of lending and the relationship of local banks to local businesses.

The authors of Dodd-Frank repeatedly made the case that their plan was aimed at the Wall Street titans, but the community banks, real estate agents, mortgage lenders, energy companies and farmers in Central Oklahoma are being roped into these same burdensome requirements. While big banks already have large compliance staffs, community banks must hire additional compliance staff or move staff from customer care or other productive departments to fill out government paperwork.

It is estimated that it will take 10.8 million man hours to implement the first 102 rules devised by the law. The difficult reality of this discussion is the fact that only six percent of the Dodd-Frank regulations have been implemented; we have hundreds of additional rules to come. Customers will also get hit with more paperwork and fine print as a requirement of Dodd-Frank, even as the law sets up a bureau that was specifically designed to eliminate excessive paperwork.

All these new rules are hindering the key function of banking: lending. Every business needs access to capital so they can take risks, develop new plans and expand their work force. The $27 billion required in fees and assessments over the next ten years will drain money from the economy that should go to job creators.

During our tough economic times, this massive expansion of government into the private sector goes against the old adage that government should “do no harm.” Oklahoma did not cause the financial meltdown in 2008, but Dodd-Frank punishes us anyway.

The backbone of our economy is built on small businesses. Every rule that affects Main Street means fewer jobs, lower wages and less productivity for Americans relying on new and innovative ideas to power our economic recovery. So happy first birthday, Dodd-Frank — please excuse us for not throwing a party.