Why do you stay in Stillwater ?
To be honest , when I was younger , I had my mind made up that I was going to move to a big city . It ’ s the usual small-town kid story of wanting to see the wide world . What made me want to stay was that , as InterWorks grew , I had more opportunities to travel for work . The more I traveled to amazing places , the more I appreciated and even missed Stillwater . I still love traveling , but Stillwater is a great place to come home to .
The difference in lifestyle between Stillwater and a city like New York is night and day . Part of the reason is because the dollar goes a lot further here . Whenever I ’ m on Zoom calls in my backyard with people from major cities , they ’ re often surprised at how much space and greenery there is here . On their end , the best it gets is a small balcony or the little park a few blocks away . The space and comfortability in Stillwater are things I ’ ve taken for granted over the years . It ’ s not just those advantages that stand out , though . Stillwater ’ s greatest asset is its people . The people here are kind and considerate — people hold the door for one another . Taking it a step further , Stillwater has a strong public-school system that I ’ d put on the same level as those in bigger cities in terms of quality . Stillwater Public Schools served me incredibly well growing up , and it ’ s no different for my two daughters today .
What surprises you about Stillwater ?
This may come off as a little critical , but what surprises me about Stillwater is that there is so much potential in this community , yet we haven ’ t taken full advantage of it . We have an excellent , beautiful and large university . Thousands of students with disposable income walking around — but I think we ’ ve fallen short of really bonding the university and the city together . A city of our size with our assets should have more attractions , more things to do and more places to eat . The consequence of not having these things is that people instead make the hour drive to Tulsa or OKC and spend their dollars there instead of here . This is a solvable problem , but it will require more vision and coordination within our community . I want to help push that forward as much as possible , because I know that potential exists here .
How do you see growth coming to Stillwater ?
I think the community needs to accept what the primary draw to Stillwater really is . Frankly , it ’ s the university . It ’ s our anchor , so we need to find ways to do more things around that anchor to drive the economic engine of Stillwater forward . For example , both of my daughters play sports , so we ’ re always traveling around for tournaments . We ’ ve noticed that other cities , many comparable to Stillwater in size , have these great sports complexes while Stillwater does not . At OSU , we have world-class athletes , great coaches and brand recognition . How have we not connected those unique resources to the community to create something competitive if not special ? That ’ s one nitpicky example , but it ’ s indicative of the fact that we need to identify our strengths , invest in them and consider how we can make Stillwater unique . Again , we absolutely have the potential to make it happen . If we solve those problems , we ’ ll get much better at keeping people and money within our community .
What is your favorite memory or part of Stillwater ?
I grew up in student housing while both of my parents got their PhDs at OSU . I remember riding my bike to get everywhere around town , most often to go play games at Lemans arcade in the Cowboy Mall . I ’ d ride to school , to friends ’ houses and to campus where my parents had their offices in the Classroom Building . I ’ d usually go to the computer lab in the basement where there was a typewriter and an IBM PC Jr . The other PhD students and international students would bring pirated games from overseas , and the challenge was figuring out how to load those onto the computer . Experiences like that are ultimately what drove me to get more involved with technology . I
also remember going to the Colvin Center with friends , and since there was literally zero access control at the time , it was easy for us to go play some basketball on an open court .
Mark Lambert
LAMBERT CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
What made you want to open your business in Stillwater ?
Due to the small town setting and friendly people .
Why do you stay in Stillwater ?
With the presence of OSU and the college kids , there are always youthful types of activities to engage in … helps maintain a youthful mindset .
What surprises you about Stillwater ? How many people commute to Stillwater in lieu of opting to live here .
How do you see growth coming to Stillwater ?
By continuing to enhance ‘ quality of life ’ venues . Additionally , we need more restaurant options and conventional brick & mortar retailers and shopping options .
What is your favorite memory or part of Stillwater ?
It is amazing how downtown Stillwater has developed these last ten years . As a kid , swimming in the water discharge channel from the Boomer Lake Power Station , got caught , chased away many , many times . Boomer Lake can be a much greater jewel to Stillwater than it is currently .
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COMMERCE | 2021 Profile Magazine of the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce