Sep. 23—Governor Kevin Stitt stopped off at the Acme Engineering and Manufacturing in Muskogee during his brief tour of eastern Oklahoma on Thursday.

The governor was escorted by Acme Executive Vice President of Manufacturing Brian Lanham, Muskogee Mayor Marlon Coleman, Jeff Underwood from the Port of Muskogee and Jenny Cothran with the Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance.

Stitt's stop in Muskogee also saw him touring some of the 2019 flood-stricken areas to see how the recovery was progressing.

"I love getting out of Oklahoma City and traveling the state — I do that at least once or twice a week," he said. "So every time I go to a community, I go and visit the businesses that are here just to lay my eyes on it — just to see what they need as far as workforce — and just understanding the needs of the business community...that's what we're all about."

Prior to the tour, Stitt was given a brief history of the company by Acme President Lee Buddrus where he learned how the company began manufacturing residential attic fans and evolved into its current state of commercial ventilation and air circulation production.

"After my grandfather returned to Muskogee in the late '30s, he went to a trade show in Chicago where he saw an attic fan," Buddrus said. "So he started making attic fans, but when people starting getting window air conditioners, the company saw the handwriting on the wall and diversified to commercial ventilation."

Still offered an anecdote to the gathering relating to an attic fan.

"I had an attic fan growing up in my house, but some of the younger guys here might not know what one is," he said. "You raise the windows up, turn the fan on and it sucks the air right into the attic. It basically creates this huge breeze."

Lanham escorted the entourage through the manufacturing and engineering and research areas of the plant. Following the tour, Stitt was asked about Wednesday's ruling by the state supreme court overturning part of the mask mandate law and if he was planning to appeal the overturning.

"No I'm not, but the attorney general might be" he said. "My stance has always been I believe in personal responsibility. I hate mandates, and I'm always going to stand for the schools to be open. It's my opponent that was trying to shut the schools down."

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister, Stitt's Democratic opponent in November's general election, alleges on her campaign website that the governor's administration "approved a contract to funnel up to $3.4 million in taxpayer-funded subsidies into Stitt's business while he's in office." The site also alleges the under Stitt "the state has awarded nearly $20 million in lucrative government contracts to some of Stitt's biggest campaign donors and allies."

"I don't know exactly what they're talking about, but my opponent has been in charge of public education for the last eight years," Stitt said. "The fact of the matter is I'm the education governor. I've put more money in education that any other governor in history, and I'll keep holding government accountable."