Planting a SEED

By George Swift


On April 16th, there was a celebration at the Lake Charles
Civic Center that I wish everyone in our region could have
attended. It was the Entrepreneur’s Showcase highlighting the
5th Anniversary of the Microenterprise Development Program and
Small and Emerging Business Development Programs in our
region. After starting off at the City of Lake Charles, these
programs are currently sponsored by the SWLA Alliance and
Louisiana Department of Economic Development (LED).

Adrian Wallace, a man with the vision and desire to help
others, has been the driving force of these operations. For
the last five years, he has supervised and trained
entrepreneurs and assisted dozens of start-up businesses with
technical assistance. At the Entrepreneur’s Showcase, local
businesses in the program celebrated their accomplishments and
showcased their businesses.

The evening’s events were keynoted by Dr. Randall Pinkett, of
Newark, N.J. Dr. Pinkett is Founder, Chairman, and CEO of BCT
Partners, a multimillion dollar technology consulting firm,
and Season 4 Winner of Donald Trump’s Apprentice TV series.

I’ve never heard a better speaker than Dr. Pinkett on sparking
the desire to succeed and start your own business. He talked
about his youth, raised by his mother after his father’s
untimely death. He overcame many challenges, earned three
college degrees, and is now an ultra-successful entrepreneur.

He gives back to the community and firmly believes that “for
those whom much is given, much is expected.” I saw the lights
go on for several people in the audience as he spoke,
especially some very young folks. They can go into business
for themselves and achieve their dreams.

This brings us to the planting of the SEED. I’m referring to
the Southwest Louisiana Entrepreneurial Economic Development
Center, the SEED Center. Dr. Robert Hebert, President of
McNeese State University, came up with that name and it’s
perfect for what we want to do.

Still in the formative stages, the SEED Center will be a one-
stop entrepreneurial center on the MSU campus which will
provide office space, counseling, and other assistance to help
launch businesses. It will provide a home to the MSU Small
Business Development Center, headed by Donna Little, who does
a magnificent job of counseling businesses.

We’re also planning for the Alliance offices and other economic
development organizations to co-locate there. The SEED Center
will make the statement that Southwest Louisiana is serious
about diversifying our economy through entrepreneurship.

The SEED Center will serve as a home to beginning businesses that
can’t yet afford commercial real estate properties. As they
grow out of the incubator after two or three years, the
incubator becomes a feeder for commercial properties. SEED
will also provide services to clients not physically located
in the facility and will serve all of the five parishes of
Southwest Louisiana.

The Center will assist start-ups as well as existing businesses that want to grow. With over one
thousand successful incubators throughout the nation, this
will be the first full size facility of its type in our
region.

There is still much to do before a formal announcement is
made, but McNeese State University, Calcasieu Parish Police
Jury, City of Lake Charles, and the Alliance have entered into
an agreement to construct and manage the facility. An
architectural firm has been hired and is working on the plans.
Funding from the Parish, City, and the State are lining up.

Federal grants are being sought. Things are coming together.
The Entrepreneurs Showcase brought home what it is all about:
giving folks with ideas and desires a little assistance to
open and operate their own business.

All large businesses start small and who knows, as Adrian Wallace always says, “we
might have the next Bill Gates right here in Southwest
Louisiana.” That’s planting a seed! Think globally, act
regionally, and promote Southwest Louisiana.

From left to right: George Swift, Craig Hartberg of LED, Dr. Pickett, Ruth Admal of LED, and Adrian Wallace.

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.

Think Globally, Act Regionally, and Support Southwest Louisiana!

The Swift Report

By George Swift, President/CEO: SWLA Economic Development Alliance

Economic development incorporates a lot of different things, which have to come together in order for our region to progress.  I have been tapped to share some of our news--as well as an overview of the events, sidebars, and issues concerning the businesses and the economy spanning the five parishes of Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jeff Davis. 

In late January, representatives of Chennault, the Port of Lake Charles, the SWLA Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, The Creole Nature Trail All American Road, and the SWLA Alliance went to Washington, D.C. as part of our annual D.C. Mardi Gras Mission. It’s a working trip providing many opportunities to lobby legislators and key policymakers. 

This year, the SWLA Alliance focused on the extension of Go Zone Tax Incentives and key infrastructure priorities: a new I-10 bridge between Lake Charles and Westlake, a DeRidder bypass, a water tank for the Lacassine Industrial Park in Jeff Davis, an alternative to the ferry across the ship channel in Cameron, and infrastructure improvements at the Allen Industrial Park in Oakdale. 

For the first time ever, chambers from Lake Charles to New Orleans partnered to host a reception at the U.S. Chamber for congressional staffers and policymakers. The event featured music by our Chamber SWLA Board Member Mike Heinen and his band “Lagniappe.” 

We met with new Congressman Dr. John Fleming, who represents some of the Beauregard Parish area and more northern regions, and with other members of our Louisiana Delegation. “Doc” Fleming was just getting settled in his office along with his Chief of Staff Lee Fletcher. By the way, with 7th District Congressman Dr. Boustany and Dr. Bill Cassidy, the new congressman from Baton Rouge, Louisiana has three doctors in the House!

Joining us on our congressional visits were our 2009 Board Chair Ken Broussard and another chamber board member James Ducote, along with fellow representatives from Cheniere Energy.  Lake Charles Mayor Randy Roach also attended the mission, and joined us as we met with key leaders-- giving our region a strong presence.

Help for small businesses may be on its way. Southwest Louisiana is fortunate that Senator Mary Landrieu is the new Chair of the U.S. Senate Small Business Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Small Business Administration (SBA). 

Her chief of staff is former State Senator Don Cravins, Jr.  We now have a direct line to the folks who will formulate small business policy, and the Chamber SWLA will be soliciting ideas from our area businesses to relay to Washington. D.C.  Often neglected, small businesses are the backbone of our nation’s economy. 

While in D.C., I was asked to participate in a U.S. Senate small business roundtable with several senators and officials of U.S. Chamber, NFIB, and other organizations. We’re going to take advantage of Senator Landrieu’s position and try to craft some legislation to truly help small businesses.  It’s important to tell our story in D.C. as we continue to recover and look to the future.  

Speaking of the SBA, the economic stimulus package has very favorable SBA loans for small businesses.

As I previously mentioned, one of the infrastructure projects we are monitoring is a DeRidder bypass. On Feb. 16, an initial project meeting was held on this project at the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) headquarters in Lake Charles. About 60 folks showed up to demonstrate the necessity of this project, including our allies Leon Lagneaux, Tim Merritt and Avon Knowlton from the Beauregard Chamber, Beauregard Police Jury President Gerald McLeod and several jurors, and Mayor Ron Roberts of DeRidder.

In addition to being a vital evacuation route, the newly constructed four-lane Highway 171 would benefit from a bypass.  It would open up Beauregard Parish for residential and economic growth, and facilitate development of the extensive Beauregard Airport Property. 

That same day, elected officials on the SWLA Partnership Board of Directors attended their first meeting of the year.  There for the first time was Mayor Andrew Hayes, the new mayor of Oakdale. Mayor Hayes has many projects in mind to provide recreation for 12 – 25 year-olds in Oakdale, such as a youth community center with recreation, and tutoring programs utilizing retired teachers. 

The Alliance will work with Mayor Hayes to recruit tenants to the Allen Industrial Park, the former Arizona Chemical Facility.  Dr. Jim Sandefur and other volunteers have really put in the effort to secure this facility for the parish. With some clean up and repairs, this facility could host several new industries.

Something else we are working on these days is Southwest Louisiana’s first ever Gulf Coast International Trade Conference. Scheduled for April 1-3 at the L’auberge du Lac, the conference will be attended by companies interested in doing business internationally, along with international trade representatives from four Gulf Coast states.

This is an opportunity to showcase our ports, airparks, petrochemical, aviation, and tourism to many who have not been here before.  For more information, contact David Conner, the Alliance Regional Coordinator, who is heading up this effort. 

Think globally, act regionally, and support Southwest Louisiana!