Beautification of Will Rogers Airport entryway
Gifts drive airport entry project
By Steve Lackmeyer
Business Writer
Janie Deupree thought the hardest part of beautifying the entryway to Will Rogers World Airport was securing two $80,000 gifts from Express Personnel and the Meinders Foundation. Two years later, the Oklahoma City Beautiful director is finally celebrating the project's completion — and she knows the fundraising was just the start of a difficult job.
With 884 trees and shrubs, 556 ornamental grasses and up to 350 roses, the project represents the largest landscape ever coordinated by Oklahoma City Beautiful.
The job started with a call by former Oklahoma first lady Cathy Keating on behalf of Express Personnel, which was looking to sponsor a beautification project. After discussing budgets, Deupree dared to suggest a dream project — the intersection of Airport Road and Meridian Avenue, which is passed by thousands of visitors arriving at Will Rogers World Airport.
"I told her I had the perfect project, but it was more than what she could do,” Deupree said. "When she was told where it was, she said she thought she could get a partner. And that's how we got Meinders on board.”
Bob Funk, Express Personnel's chief executive officer, said the project was important for his company's own bottom line.
"When we have all these franchisees coming in, we want them to see the best of Oklahoma City,” Funk said. "So appearance is important to us. It's important for guests that they have a good experience from the moment they land at the airport to when they drive into town. This is beautiful, and we're proud to be a part of it.”
The project was backed by Mayor Mick Cornett who, along with his predecessor, Kirk Humphreys, had promoted beautification as one of the city's three priorities. That backing was important, Deupree said, when landscapers discovered the city would need to alter a major waterline connected to Yukon before any plantings could begin.
Verizon, Oklahoma Gas and Electric and Cox Communications also agreed to relocate underground lines at their own expense — in-kind donations that Deupree estimates brought the entire project cost to $300,000.
The city's airport trust sealed the deal by agreeing to long-term maintenance.
"Everyone wants to see something planted, but getting it maintained year after year is the challenge,” Deupree said. "To make it work, you have to have someone who understands the maintenance needed and is willing to take it on long term.”
Cornett said he hopes other companies will follow the example set by Bob Funk.
"This is one of the most important corridors we have,” Cornett said. "But it also underlies that we have a long way to go. There is still a lot more that we need to do.”
Mayor Mick Cornett, left, Express Personnel Services Chief Executive Bob Funk and airport trustee Kirk Humphreys, right, say Oklahoma City needs more landscape projects like the one recently completed near Will Rogers World Airport. by Steve Gooch, The Oklahoman
Originally Posted by MadMonk
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