Success Stories & News Media

Red Oak's economic footprint is wide and its tool box is extensive—including technical assistance, strategic planning and research and evaluation capacity, thereby allowing the City to offer the most effective investment to help the community succeed in the economic development community. Here are a few success stories from the City of Red Oak that showcases the depth and reach of this community.

Success Stories
Courtesy of the Red Oak Independent School District

Red Oak Success Stories in the News!



"Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation." - Zig Ziglar

World Class Excellence: Olympic Gold Medalists!

Red Oak ISD Distinguished Alumnae:


Louise Ritter,

a 1976 graduate who won the Gold Medal in the high jump competition at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul; and,

Michelle Carter

 who graduated in 2003 and won the Gold Medal in the shot put competition at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Louise

Ritter

 is the daughter of Leo and Dorothy Ritter and has three sisters, Rhonda, Donna and Sharon who all graduated from ROHS. She has a daughter, Carson who is a junior at Woodrow Wilson High School.

She recorded the second highest high jump in the nation as a sophomore in high school and never looked back. Ritter was one of the nation’s best high school jumpers, clearing 5' 11 1/2" in 1976.

While attending Texas Woman’s University, she captured national titles three out of four years, and set her first American record at age 20. She has held the American record on 10 different occasions and qualified for three United States Olympic teams.

During her 1988 Olympic competition, Ritter not only brought home the gold, she also set a new record of 6 feet-8 inches in a dramatic jump-off. She held the American High Jump Record of 2.03 m from July, 8, 1988 until May of 2010, and was inducted into the Texas Women’s University Hall of Fame in 1988.

Michelle Carter is the daughter of Michael and Sondra Carter, and has a sister, D’Andra and a brother, Michael Jr. who both graduated from ROHS. Her Gold Medal winning throw of 68' 8 1/4" also set an American record. This was the first ever gold medal won by an American woman in this event.

Carter won the 2016 gold medal at the Rio Olympics on the last of her six throws, edging two-time defending champion Valerie Adams of New Zealand In doing so, Carter became the first United States women's athlete to win the event since the women's competition began at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London, and only the second American to win any medal in the event (Earlene Brown, bronze, 1960). Carter broke her own American record with an Olympic gold medal-winning toss of 20.63 m (67 ft 8 in).

She finished fifteenth at the 2008 Olympic Games and fourth at the 2012 Olympic Games.

A bronze medalist at the 2015 and 2017 IAAF World Championships, Carter also won the gold medal at the 2016 World Indoor Championships after winning the bronze in 2012.

She won the silver medal at the 2001 World Youth Championships and the gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Championships.

In addition to winning the 2008 United States Olympic Team Trials, she was the 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 national champion. While competing for the University of Texas, she won the NCAA collegiate national championship in 2006. In college, she was a seven time All-American, and also won the Big 12 Conference title five times. In 2006, she won the NCAA indoor title to also help the University of Texas women claim the NCAA team title. With a runner-up finish in the shot put at the 2005 outdoor meet, Carter helped the Longhorns win the NCAA championship.
Carter is a graduate of Red Oak High School in Red Oak, Texas where she was a four-time state champion in the shot put.

THE CARTER FAMILY: A TRADITION OF SUCCESS!

Carter's father, Michael Carter, is also a former Olympian and NFL star — the only athlete to win an Olympic medal and a Super Bowl ring in the same year. Since 1979, her father currently holds the boys' national high school record in the shot put; Michelle held the girls' record from 2003 to 2014. Michael Carter, won the men's shot put silver medal while representing Team USA at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games and also played professional American football for the San Francisco 49ers from 1984-1992, winning three Super Bowls
(Sources and Credits: By Melanie Petersen / Red Oak Record. Wikipedia) 

Red Oak Leadership: Success through Shared Vision!

"Research shows that followers respond to a leader who can articulate a vision that reflects their own aspirations. Being forward-looking — envisioning exciting possibilities and enlisting others in a shared view of the future — is the attribute that most distinguishes leaders from non-leaders." (Source: Harvard Business Review)

By working together to develop a shared vision, the City of Red Oak, the Red Oak ISD, Red Area Oak Chamber of Commerce, TSTC North Texas, Ellis County, and our business partners have created a dynamic environment for opportunity to meet preparation.

News Media!



Red Oak's successes continue to make the news as opportunity meets preparation!

"But with the Dallas skyline in view, Mayor Alan Hugley and others such as City Manager Todd Fuller saw the potential for growth — calculated growth."
(Dallas Morning News, NeighborsGo, Nanette Light, July 9, 2015)

 1. Red Oak Experiencing Boom in Economic Growth - Dallas Morning News (PDF)
"We don’t want to be the same kind of community necessarily,” Hugley said of Collin County. We still really appreciate the rural roots of the area. And the space that’s out here.”
(Dallas Morning News, NeighborsGo, Nanette Light, July 9, 2015)

Texas State Technical College (TSTC) North Texas Campus



2. Texas State Technical College North Texas Expands to Red Oak, Texas (PDF)
"Thanks to the instrumental legislative work of State Representative Jim Pitts and Senator Brian Birdwell, the partnership between TSTC and Red Oak ISD was established... [in 2013]."
(TSTC and Red Oak ISD Bring Technical Education to All Districts, December 31, 2013)

3. TSTC North Texas: Technical Education Skills Come to North Texas (PDF)
"The goal was to bring technical certificate and associate degree programs pertinent to the surrounding industrial and commercial companies to Ellis County."
(North Ellis County NOW Magazine, August 2014)

Aerospace Manufacturing and Global Datacenters - Red Oak, TX



Triumph Aerospace Structures - Vought Aircraft Division - Red Oak, TX (PDF)
"The Red Oak site was selected based on the strong support of the local community, the availability of a skilled work force, close proximity to Triumph engineers located in Arlington, Texas, and space available for future expansion. Triumph Aerospace Structures will supply Boeing Corporation with wing, vertical and horizontal tail structures for the T-X trainer aircraft. Triumph Aerostructures, which inherits its composite and metal airframe heritage from Vought Aircraft, would build the structures at its Red Oak, Texas facility - Triumph's flagship plant. Previously, Triumph has teamed up with Boeing as a supplier for the V-22 Osprey and C-17 Globemaster." 
(Source and Credits: Leigh Giangreco, FLIGHTGLOBAL.COM,; Washington, DC)

According to Triumph and Boeing officials, the T-X project would create opportunities for additional work, generating 950 direct and indirect jobs.

 (Triumph Aerostructures -Vought Aircraft Division - Red Oak, December 12, 2015)

Bombardier US Aerospace - Red Oak, TX 

(PDF)

"RED OAK, Texas, Dec. 03, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bombardier today announced the establishment of a new aviation apprenticeship training program in association with Texas State Technical College (TSTC) in Red Oak, Texas, designed to develop local talent, drive regional aerospace growth and provide support for the manufacture of the Advanced Metallic Wing for the Global 7500 aircraft at its Red Oak facility."
(Bombardier Teams with Texas State Technical College - Red Oak, TX)

Compass Datacenters DFW III, LLC - Red Oak, TX  (PDF)

"red Oak, Texas – (November, 2019) - Compass Datacenters and the City of Red Oak are proud to announce the commencement of construction on the first of a multiple phase datacenter campus to be constructed on 168.6 acres located in Red Oak, Texas. The Red Oak site will be the third Compass Datacenter campus located in the robust Dallas - Ft. Worth Metropolitan Area which ranks among the fastest-growing datacenter markets in the country. Moreover, the business-friendly attitude and proactive leadership for the City of Red Oak makes it the preferred expansion location for high tech, globally competitive corporations such as: Compass Datacenters, Bombardier Aerospace Corporation, Triumph Aerospace Structures/Vought Aircraft Division, and Boeing Corporation."
(From the Core to the Edge, Compass Datacenters)