Business, Business, Business

By George Swift


Southwest Louisiana was the target of business development at
two recent events: The Business Expo (sponsored by the City of
Lake Charles and Chamber SWLA) and the Gulf Coast Trade
Alliance 2009 World trade Conference (hosted by the SWLA
Alliance). 

This year’s EXPO started off with a luncheon keynoted by Todd
Graves, founder and CEO of Raising Cane’s. Todd has a great
story of his drive to open a chicken tenders restaurant near
LSU.  It seems like a small dream at first glance, but he
talked about the odds he overcame and the lengths he went to
in order to get seed money to establish a business he was
passionate about. That dream now inspires passion in his
employees and an “I can do it too” mentality in everyone he
meets.

Now, Raising Cane’s has nearly 100 locations and is
spreading across the nation. Raising Cane’s now gives back to
the communities where they are located and it is an impressive
story and a model many other businesses can follow. His dog,
Cane II, was also a huge hit at the EXPO luncheon—which is
evident in this picture of me, Cane, and the 2009 Chair of the
Chamber SWLA Board Ken Broussard.

A few weeks later, the SWLA Alliance hosted the Gulf Coast
World Trade Conference at L’auberge du Lac Casino Resort.

Visitors from four states and five countries convened to
discuss international trade and exchange information and
ideas. They were pleasantly surprised to find a quality resort
here. Our visitors were blown away by the facility and
hospitality at L’auberge. Larry Lepinski, General Manager, and
his staff understand customer service and friendliness.  And
the Louisiana Festival they put on for ours guests was
memorable. Our chamber board member, Mike Heinen, of Jeff
Davis Electric, surprised a lot of folks with his Cajun band,
Lagniappe. Mike is quite an accordion player and I’m sure his

“bookings” will increase now that the secret is out.

In putting together the trade conference, our Regional
Coordinator David Conner brought together a strong line-up of
partners and mentors. But none better than Lafayette
Consolidated Government President Joey Durel, the Lafayette
Economic Development Authority, and Le Centre International of
Lafayette who co-sponsored the event. When Mayor Durel spoke
and welcomed folks to Lake Charles, it opened the door for the
potential of collaboration between Lafayette and Lake Charles.

We are all about bringing folks together at the Alliance and
that includes working across state lines with our friends in
Southeast Texas and to the East also. As Neal Wade, Executive
Director of the Alabama Development Office suggested at the
conference, the four states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi,
and Louisiana would do well to pool their international
efforts and sell the gulf coast together. When former Governor

Buddy Roemer addressed the group, he shared his view that the
gulf coast region was the place for growth and expansion. He
stood behind that view when he opened the most recent branch
of his bank, Business First, in Lake Charles.

At a gathering of site consultants in Dallas last month, LED
Secretary Stephen Moret again touted Southwest Louisiana as an
important part of the state with our announced projects such
as the Shaw project. This region is getting recognition for
our economic development projects, but we can’t let up. We’ve
just scratched the surface on our potential.

A roadblock to development that we are addressing is workforce
development. The number one reason given by companies for not
locating in Louisiana is lack of a qualified workforce. About
55% of all new jobs will require 1-2 years of specialized
education and training. Yet, only about 8% of our high school
graduates go to community and technical colleges to develop
the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for these jobs.

At least half of our Louisiana students should consider
beginning college at a technical or community college. And
there’s a new program, “Day One Guarantee” that guarantees
graduates are ready to work in business or industry or they
will be retrained for free. We urge parents, high school
students, and those who are underemployed to check out the
programs at SOWELA. To fill the jobs we have open now and in
the future, and to keep our young people here, this training
is necessary. So SOWELA Chancellor Dr. Andrea Miller, you can
count on the Alliance to assist in any way we can.

On a side note, we salute Lake Charles Regional Airport for
securing American Eagle service from Lake Charles to Dallas
starting June 11. Airport Director Heath Allen and the Airport
Board, along with former director Alan Kratzer, worked for
years to demonstrate to American that we have the market here
to justify the service. If you want to keep American and
Continental flights here, fly them. To those who have griped
about lack of air service to Dallas locally, including me,
let’

The Fight for Progress

     In recent years, the Chamber of SWLA has taken more and more of an active role in shaping, supporting, and voicing opposition to legislation or policies affecting our region.  Currently, we have several issues on our plate. For example, our Board of Directors is strongly opposed to the so-called Employee Free Choice Act and has urged our congressional delegation in Washington to vote down this bad legislation. This legislation should be called the "Employee Forced Choice Act,” but is referred to by most as the "Card Check" legislation.  If passed, it will forever change some basic rights and principles that have governed the workplace since our inception as a country.
     Under the EFCA, union organizers could walk in any size business and ask employees to sign a card in public rather than make the decision to unionize utilizing a secret ballot. Many fear that this could result in harassment and intimidation. If 51% of the employees sign the card, the company is unionized and the company must come up with a contract within 120 days. If that doesn’t work out, a federal mediator comes in and sets the terms for two years and with no recourse for the company. The bill also substantially increases penalties for violations, but only for the employer, not the union.
     Small and medium companies can not afford the terms of these contracts and could be forced to go out of business. Many companies are now hanging by a thread and any volatile changes to the pay and benefits—with no input from the management and owners—could put thousands out of work. This is the worst time to even consider such a dangerous and far -reaching bill.
     Recently we went to Washington to join with other Chambers around the state and nation to ask Congress to vote no with no compromises. Congressmen Boustany and Fleming from our area are opposed as well as Senator Vitter.
     Senator Mary Landrieu is a very crucial vote in the outcome of this bill. Senator Landrieu supported this bill last year, but she has wisely declined to co-sponsor this bill this year. She is gathering information from both sides. As the new Chair of the Senate Small Business Committee, Senator Landrieu is in a great position to make positive changes to the SBA and other programs to aid small businesses.
     Think of the restaurants, hotels, car dealers, retailers, and others that could be ruined if EFCA passes. We urge you as employees and employers to write Senator Vitter and Congressmen Boustany and Fleming and thank them for their opposition and we ask that you write or call Senator Landrieu and ask her to vote against cloture and against the bill in any form.
     There is a right way to organize businesses and there is a wrong way. This EFCA legislation is bad all-around and it must be defeated. The last thing we need at this pivotal time in our nation's economy is something like this rammed down the throats of our businesses who are struggling to keep open and keep their workers on the payroll.
      As the State Legislature is getting set to begin, we have informed our delegation of our legislative priorities for 2009 including funding for infrastructure projects and the Louisiana Economic Development Department and support for the Blueprint Louisiana and Driving Louisiana Forward initiatives. Louisiana is in a position to compete nationally and our Southwest region is recognized in the state as being among the strongest performing regions. We need the funding to entice new major projects for Louisiana like the Shaw Westinghouse project which is underway. 
     Also underway, is our SEED Center at McNeese. The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury will serve as contractor for the project and an architect has been selected. The center will focus its attention on entrepreneurship and will serve existing and start up businesses in our five parishes. McNeese, the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury, the City of Lake Charles, and the Alliance have formed a local services agreement to work together to make this happen. McNeese will be the focal point for our economic development activities in this new facility.
     As an aside, one of the best parts of my job is visiting with our chamber members.  Recently Paula Ramsey and I met with Elizabeth Payne, the General Manager at Olive Garden. Elizabeth has worked in Beaumont and Lafayette and she loves the Lake Charles area. She is excited to come to work everyday and her enthusiasm shows. Managers like Elizabeth set a positive tone not only in the operation of Olive Garden, but in the attitude of her staff. Why don't you try it?

Think globally, act regionally, and talk up Southwest Louisiana.