AAA center creating 825 new jobs to serve members

August 22, 2008 -- AAA broke ground Thursday on a new AAA Operations Center designed to provide AAA members in several states with membership, travel, and insurance benefits and services.

Oklahoma City was chosen as the site for this facility in May after a multi-state search. About 825 employees will be hired for the new 147,000 square foot center, which is scheduled for completion in late 2009.

According to Oklahoma Department of Commerce Secretary Natalie Shirley, AAA plans to participate in the state's nationally recognized Quality Jobs program. Also, she says, CareerTech's Francis Tuttle Technology Center, through the state's Training for Industry Program, will provide no-cost, customized training for the AAA workforce.

"By choosing Oklahoma for this next big step in its development, AAA is telling the world what so many other major corporations have discovered: Oklahoma is ready for business," Shirley says.

"When we began our nationwide search, we sought a welcoming community with a skilled workforce and vital economy. We found all that and more in Oklahoma City," says Paula Downey, President of AAA Northern California, Nevada & Utah.

The new three-story AAA Operations Center is part of a collaborative effort involving AAA clubs across the country.

"This is truly a red letter day," says Neal Krueger, president and CEO of AAA Oklahoma, "not only for Oklahoma City and the state, but for our AAA members who will benefit from a more cost-effective, more efficient, and more effective delivery system for AAA services and benefits."

AAA Member Services in Good Company Here
AAA Member Services Co. joins an ever-growing list of major corporations choosing Oklahoma. For example, Tiger Truck recently celebrated the opening of its multi-million-dollar truck assembly operation bringing 300 new jobs to Poteau.  One of the reasons Tiger Truck chose Oklahoma was because of the state's nationally recognized incentive program and warm hospitality.

Hyatt recently announced it would hire 300 people at its new finance and accounting shared service center in Moore. The new jobs will bring a $6 million payroll to central Oklahoma.

Google is investing $600 million in a new data center at the Mid America Industrial Park in Pryor. Once completed, the data center will employ up to 200 people. Full-time Google employees will earn an average salary of about $48,000 per year.

Mexico's Sigma-Alimentos recently opened its first U.S. manufacturing facility in Seminole. The operation at full capacity will employ 400 people. Sigma, which targets the rapidly growing U.S. Hispanic market of 42 million people, serves more than 3,000 stores across the country.

Why Oklahoma? 
So why do these companies choose Oklahoma? Here are just a few reasons:

• One-stop, fast-forward coordination for on-time, on-budget projects;
• Award-winning Quality Jobs cash-back or investment tax credit incentives; 
• Central-access - Oklahoma's same-day highway access to 81 million people and overnight delivery to 94% of the nation makes us a prime spot; 
• Competitive cost of doing business; 
• Skilled, available workforce; 
• No-cost workforce training; 
• Certified, project-ready sites; 
• Oklahoma industrial electric rates averaged 5.39 cents for 2007 - 15% below the national average.

Companies and individuals are realizing that while the rest of the nation may be struggling economically, Oklahoma's economy continues to thrive:

• Oklahoma's unemployment rate typically runs about two to three percentage points below the national average, dipping to 2.9% in April;
• Per capita income typically outpaces the national average; 
• With gasoline prices among the lowest in the nation and an average commute of 20 minutes, Oklahomans spend much less on energy costs.

AAA Constructing Green Facility
The new AAA Members Services facility will be an energy-efficient structure, consistent with the latest green standards and practices. The building has been designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, which promotes buildings that are environmentally responsible and healthful places to work.

AAA Oklahoma is a not-for-profit, fully tax-paying membership organization, providing a wide array of automotive, travel, insurance and financial services to its 326,000 members statewide.

AAA Member Services Company represents several AAA clubs throughout the West and Midwest in exploring innovative ways to better and more efficiently serve AAA members. Since 1902, AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of its members, now 51 million strong nationwide, and the traveling public.

AAA Oklahoma will not begin hiring for the new operations center until summer 2009. In the meantime, if you are interested in other employment with AAA Oklahoma please call 918-748-1065.