Reception welcomes Weathernews families

Ø New to Norman get lessons in Oklahoma dialect

By William W. Savage III

Transcript Staff Writer

“By the way, y’all is singular, all y’all is plural. You’ll learn that here.”

Ted Greb, president of the Norman Chamber of Commerce, introduced recently relocated Weathernews employees and their families to a new dialect during Friday’s welcoming reception at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.

Beyond the y’alls, Greb, Mayor Dr. Harold Haralson and others agreed the new Oklahomans have plenty of adjusting to do. But the Norman community, they assured, is anxious to help.

“Certainly it’s a transition for them,” Haralson said. “Norman citizens are very welcoming. We’d like for (the new citizens) to take the time to join our local business groups, our churches, event come down to the Norman City Council.”

Weathernews Americas Inc. – which provides forecasting communications to, among others, shipping companies and property managers – celebrated the grand opening of its new building on Oct. 20, 2004, on the University of Oklahoma’s Research Campus-South. The building, which went from decision to occupancy in just 13 months, according to T.H. Lee Williams, university vice president of research, is the U.S. operational headquarters of the company.

Australia-born Neville Koop, 40, made the move from Sunnyvale, Calif., to Norman in June and said he has been pleasantly surprised.

“I think what impresses me the most about Oklahoma is the community,” he said. “Everyone is friendly and says ‘hello.’ It reminds me of the area I grew up in as child in Australia.”

Koop, manager of Weathernews’ forecasting group, has lived in Australia, California, Fiji, Samoa and parts of Europe.

“People are outgoing (here),” he said. “People are willing to come up to you and say hi. It’s a very rare day in California when someone comes up to you (in that way).”

Initially, Koop was unsure of what to expect from the Sooner state.

“Talking to people in California, to be perfectly honest, their reaction was, “What the hell are you going to Oklahoma for?” he said.

“I met a gentleman (in California) whose parents were from the eastern part of Oklahoma,” Koop said. “It was really through him, first of all, that I removed the misconception that Oklahoma was a place of tumbleweeds and cacti.”

“I’m a convert now,” he added. “ I tell them now, ‘Hey, if you haven’t been there, you don’t know what you’re missing out on.”

Chris Deaton, director of human resources, joined Weathernews Americas in 2003 when the relocation project was just beginning. He became responsible for developing programs and budgets for moving families.

“At that point in time, I knew zero about Norman,” he said, “so I had to become an ambassador.”

Now that many employees and families have relocated, Deaton has made it his responsibility to be sure people are adjusting well.

“Primarily, it’s been about lifestyle,” he said. “In the areas my employees have been living, these are very fast-paced areas where it’s a challenge. The pace of life in Norman is different. I’ve heard many of my employees describe it as different, and they’re enjoying it.”

Overall, he said, things are less frantic and more relaxed.

“One of my employees lives out on Highway 9,” Deaton said. “He went bike-riding and he saw (only) six cars. He thought that was amazing. It’s a slower pace, a different pace, a good pace of life.”

Kris and Marcie Nelson were married in July. Kris, an order entry specialist, moved to Norman soon thereafter. Marcie arrived last week.

“I like it here,” Mrs. Nelson said, “You have room to breathe. It reminds me of home (in Michigan).”

The couple visited Oklahoma in late May, accompanied by Koop, to scout the prospect of moving. They visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial and were having a wonderful time until the sky grew dark and they heard tornado sirens.

“All we could see were people running and a man pushing some guy fast in a wheelchair,” Mrs. Nelson said. “(Koop) called work and knew we had enough time.”

They headed for the Interstate and drove south before the storms arrived.

“That was our very first experience,” she said. “We knew things would be exciting when we came back.”

The Nelsons did decide to come back, for good, and for a simple reason.

“Our determining factor was buying a house,” she said.

“A price of a house here would be a proper down payment for a crappy house in the bay area,” Mr. Nelson said.

Mrs. Nelson said she and her husband wanted to a start a family, and when they considered the cost of living they decided Norman would be more practical.

Koop agreed. While California is beautiful and full of excitement, “nowadays the reality for most people of a middle class nature is it’s a hard place to live,” he said.

Koop believes his family, which joined him after California school let out in August, is benefiting from a wonderful situation in Norman.

“My children love it. They’re even happier than I am,” he said. Koop has two children at Kennedy Elementary and two at Irving Middle School.

“In my experience, I’d say the quality of the school system here is better than in California,” he said.