This year’s Route 66 Centennial will offer Tulsa a unique opportunity to showcase itself to a global audience, a former Tulsa Regional Chamber chair told a local civic organization Wednesday.

“We could do nothing and no one would know, or we could so something and really try to make something big out of it,” 2025 Chamber Chair Bill Knight said at a Rotary Club of Tulsa meeting. “I’m really excited that we’re doing something and the Chamber’s taken the lead on it.”

Knight participated with 2026 Chamber Chair Dr. Cliff Robertson in a panel discussion moderated by Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Chamber.

A centerpiece of the Mother Road’s 100^th anniversary will be the May 30 Route 66 Capital Cruise, at which Tulsa will try to set the Guinness World Record for number of vehicles in a classic car parade.

“With my background, anything that promotes the car culture, we like,” said Knight, president and owner of Bill Knight Automotive. “There are a lot of generations that don’t understand what Route 66 meant and what Route 66 meant to Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma.

“I couldn’t be prouder that we’re doing what we’re doing. It’s classic Tulsa where we’re going to create something and really have fun with it.”

Robertson, president and CEO of Saint Francis Health System, said tourism spectacles such as the Centennial can sometimes generate a long-term economic benefit.

“We’ve had examples of companies that have decided to relocate or expand in Tulsa after experiencing Tulsa through one of these tourism events,” he said. “As somebody who moved to Tulsa five years ago and loves this community and is so impressed that it is a hidden jewel, part of me always wants to not tell people about Tulsa because we don’t want too folks moving here. But I’m also smart enough to understand that communities that aren’t growing are dying.” 

Before a crowd of roughly 100 Rotarians, the Chamber contingent touched on many other subjects, including the city’s progress on mitigating homelessness and the Tulsa Police Department’s announcement this week that it plans to establish a new patrol division to police the downtown area.

The group also spoke of the importance of public-private partnerships.

“The one thing that is common with cities that have success is alignment, alignment with business, government and philanthropic communities,” Knight said.

He reflected on the Chamber’s 2024 Intercity Visit that he led to Detroit, a municipality that rose from years of financial ruin.

“Detroit had decades of misalignment,” Knight said. “Then they had a crisis and went bankrupt…I said it would be nice if we could get alignment without crisis.

“…Quite honestly, the homelessness issue was our crisis. That really did align all those stakeholders together behind ‘we have to find a better way.’ It is not perfect today, but it is better today. “