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The Southwest Louisiana
Economic Development Alliance Newsletter
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Banquet Highlight: The Best of SWLA & What We Can Become
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Passing of the Gavel |
The 113th Chamber SWLA banquet took place this year in front of over 1000 business and community leaders and featured progressive advice from Mayor Mick Cornett of Oklahoma City. Mayor Cornett is highly acclaimed for his work with the business community of Oklahoma City on setting and following through on a long range plan for their city.
During his time in office, Oklahoma City has invested nearly $2 billion in schools and infrastructure dedicated to improve the city's quality of life. That investment generated nearly $6 billion in private sector investment.
Cornett has been honored by various organizations and publications as one of the top mayors in the United States - and an international panel selected Mayor Cornett as the second-best mayor in the world. Newsweek magazine called him one of the "five most innovative mayors in the United States." Governing magazine named him national "Public Official of the Year." Politico placed him on the publication's Politico 50 list of "thinkers, doers and visionaries transforming American politics in 2015." In June, he became President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
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Civic Service Award |
This year's banquet featured the passing of the gavel from 2016 Chair John Pohorelsky to 2017 Chair Ken Francis. As part of Francis' first speech as Chair, he drove home the need for business leaders to get involved and give back to their communities.
Another highlight during the event was the awarding of the Civic Service Award to Nancy and Randy Roach of Lake Charles for their dedication to Lake Charles, and to the community as a whole as a part of his regional vision and commitment to making Lake Charles a better place to live
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Diversity Award |
and work.
Pam Doucet of The O'Carroll Group was also
recognized as this year's Volunteer of the Ye
ar for her service to the business community through her work with our Small Business Committee. She also has played a major role in the planning and execution of our Annual Golf Tournament.
This year's banquet was sponsored by CITGO Lake Charles (Title
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Volunteer of the Year |
Sponsor), the Golden Nugget (Presenting Sponsor) and Billy Navarre, HGA, Lake Charles Memorial Health System, MidSouth Bank, Sasol Chemicals, and Stockwell Sievert Law Firm. The banquet was held on January 26, at the Golden Nugget Casino Resort in Lake Charles.
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Alliance Co-Sponsors Exporting Webinar
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Golden Nugget donated $42,000 to the Chamber SWLA as part of their 2017 Presenting Sponsorship of the Chamber SWLA Banquet which was held on January 26 at the Golden Nugget.
Pictured from left to right: 2017 Chamber SWLA Board Chair Ken Francis, Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance President/CEO George Swift, Golden Nugget VP/CFO Richard Neal, Golden Nugget Director of Catering & Convention Services Corey Briggs, and Chamber VP Paula Ramsey.
Dr. Neil Aspinwall, Chancellor of SOWELA Technical Community College, and Marianne White, Executive Director of Institutional Advancement, accept a check for $50,000 to the SOWELA Foundation from Tomeu Vadell, Vice President and General Manager of CITGO Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex. The contribution was given to support the creation of a STEM pipeline in Southwest Louisiana.
Brenda Hill, Editor-in-Chief of The Voice of Southwest Louisiana, was recently awarded the 2017 Unsung Hero with the Lake Charles Louisiana 33rd Annual MLK Festival and The Voice of SWLA has been nominated for the 2017 Black Business Award. The Voice is published by Team Publications, a client of the Southwest Louisiana SEED Center Business Incubator. She co-owns Team Publications with Tracy Clark, General Manager. They started their company on March 7, 2013, publishing their monthly multi-cultural magazine that explores local issues with facts, resources and links.
Local sign and visual graphics provider FASTSIGNS® of Lake Charles was named the Co-brand Rookie of the Year at the 2017 FASTSIGNS Convention, which was recently held in Phoenix, Arizona. This award honors the FASTSIGNS co-brand center with the highest sales volume in its first 12 months of operation that opened between October 2014 and September 2015.
As part of their new membership with the Chamber SWLA, Retro West Boutique is offering 20% off her unique jewelry, clothing and accessories for all Chamber members through the Perks program.
Check here for Perks program participants. Retro West is located on the corner of Ryan and College Street.
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Preferred Members
- Breaux Petroleum Products
- Cardiovascular Outpatient Center of SWLA
- Insurance Resource Group of SWLA, LLC
- Western Concrete Pumping
Business Members
- Alliance for Positive Growth
- HNI dba Hardees
- Martin Insulation
- Tripletail Marketing
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In and Out Smart Repair
Thursday, February 2 @ 12:00
630 W. Prien Lake Rd. Suite C,
Lake Charles
Oma's Classic Children's Clothing
Friday, February 10 @ 11 a.m.
3830 Nelson Road, Suite 1
Lake Charles
Alvin Dark Baseball Stadium-
Lake Charles Ward 3 Recreation
Friday, February 10 @ 12 noon
near the intersection of 2nd Avenue and 5th Street, Lake Charles
Christus St Patrick's John and Sylvia Stelly Regional Heart Center
Monday, February 20 @ 2 p.m.
Christus St. Patrick Hospital, 2nd Floor
524 Dr. Michael DeBakey Drive
Lake Charles
Function 4 -Formerly Star Graphics
Wednesday, February 22 @ 11:30 a.m.
803 W Bayou Pines Suite B,
Lake Charles
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Workforce Training Scholarships Available
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The Alliance and the Alcoa Foundation are accepting applications for scholarships to be given to individuals interested in receiving training necessary to apply for jobs in support of the economic expansion in the Southwest Louisiana region.
For more information on this program contact Michelle McInnis,
Regional Business and Workforce Development Director, at mmcinnis@allianceswla.org or (
337) 433-3632 ext. 1206.
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