SWLA Alliance 3rd quarter newsletter

www.allianceswla.org 337-433-3632

SWLA Business Report September 2015 Chamber Mission Statement The Chamber SWLA is the voice of the Southwest Louisiana business community and promotes ongoing regional development to cultivate a higher quality of life for all citizens of Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron and Jefferson Davis Parishes.

Alliance Mission Statement The SWLA Economic Development Alliance is the regional leader for business and workforce development resulting in improved quality of life for all residents in the five parishes of Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis Parishes.

The SEED Center hosted the 3rd Annual Business Pitch Competition which awarded four winners (three of which are in the front row). See Page 7 for the story.

Final Housing Report Available: Valuable Tool For Development David Conner, VP, Economic Development The Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance has undertaken a significant project to guide housing strategies and decisions for Southwest Louisiana for years to come. The project consists of a Housing Study (completed in 2012 and updated in 2014), a Housing Strategic Plan and Implementation Strategy, at the heart of the work, The Demand Model and the GIS based Housing and Community Development Web Portal.

The Demand Model and the Web Portal are unique in that they are dynamic tools that will allow the Alliance to keep information, data, modeling, projections, etc. updated as market dynamics change. The significance and focus of this work has changed dramatically in the last few years because of the unprecedented economic growth coming to Southwest Louisiana.

With over five thousand hours dedicated by the Alliance staff, another two thousand hours invested by local stakeholders and leadership, and the partnership with one of the best professional contractors in the Country, CSRS, the Alliance has unwavering confidence that this document will be the standard for housing decisions for our region for years to come. Participants included local, state and federal government representatives; home builders, developers, realtors, apartment owners, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the banking industry, nonprofit housing agencies, law enforcement, industry and many other stakeholders along the way.

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From Disaster to Strength George Swift, President/CEO

4310 Ryan Street , Lake Charles, LA 70605

P.O. Box 3110 Lake Charles, LA 70602 337-433-3632 www.allianceswla.org

Chamber SWLA Officers Celia Broussard Chair

John Pohorelsky Chair-Elect

Bill Monk Legal Counsel

Jim Giffin Treasurer

Tobie Hodgkins Vice Chair Governmental Affairs

Dick Myers Vice Chair Workforce Dev.

Greg Guilbeau Vice Chair Economic Dev.

Matt Young Vice Chair Quality of Life

Glen Bertrand Immediate Past Chair

George Swift President/CEO

SWLA Partnership Officers Hal McMillin Chair CPPJ

Mayor Ron Roberts Vice-Chair City of DeRidder

Michael Holmes Secretary Town of Kinder

Mayor Gene Paul Treasurer City of Oakdale

Chamber SWLA Staff George Swift, President/CEO, gswift@allianceswla.org David Conner, VP, Economic Development, dconner@allianceswla.org Eric Cormier, Special Projects Manager, ecormier@allianceswla.org Liz Deville, VP, Finance & Administration, ldeville@allianceswla.org Brittany Duplechian, Project Manager, bduplechian@allianceswla.org Jennie Goodeaux, Customer Service, jgoodeaux@allianceswla.org Betty Hebert, Membership Sales, bhebert@allianceswla.org Avon Knowlton, Executive Vice President, aknowlton@allianceswla.org Portia Metoyer, Events Coordinator, pmetoyer@allianceswla.org Michelle McInnis, Workforce Development, mmcinnis@allianceswla.org Mike Mitchell, Membership Sales, mmitchell@allianceswla.org Paula Ramsey, VP, Chamber, pramsey@allianceswla.org Daphne Richard, Research Director, drichard@allianceswla.org Linda Robertson, Bookkeeper, lrobertson@allianceswla.org R.B. Smith, VP, Workforce Development, rsmith@allianceswla.org Danielle Trahan, SEED Ctr Incubator Admin., dtrahan@allianceswla.org Morgan Turpin, Economic Development, mmurray@allianceswla.org Amanda White, VP, Communications, awhite@allianceswla.org Adrian Wallace, Exec. Dir., Business Incubator, awallace@allianceswla.org Paul Arnold, SCORE, parnold@allianceswla.org Roy Paul, PTAC, paul@allianceswla.org

As we reflect on the devastation of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina ten years ago, Southwest Louisiana has undergone very significant changes and improvements. The recovery and rebuilding efforts were nothing short of miraculous. Cameron Parish best demonstrates our fortitude and courage. Knocked to the ground by Rita, then Ike and Gustav, Cameron continues to rebuild and look to the future. In Calcasieu the teamwork and leadership of our area mayors and the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury got us back on our feet quickly. Chennault, Port of Lake Charles, Sowela, McNeese and area industry rebounded. The Chamber SWLA in its former location on Pujo Street became the recovery headquarters for over 3,000 area businesses who sought various services and assistance. It was one of the Chamber’s finest hours.

Thousands of volunteers from around the nation came to our aid and for that we will be eternally grateful. The City of Lake Charles begin funding improvements downtown and along the lake thanks to a voter-approved bond issue.

Nothing exemplifies the teamwork more that the construction of the SEED Center on the campus of McNeese State University. Realizing the need to diversify our economy and focus on entrepreneurship, The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury and the City of Lake Charles approved using some of the Hurricane Rita recovery funds to build a business incubator and economic development center. With proceeds from the sale of the former Chamber building , a grant from the US Commerce Department EDA, and built on property owned by McNeese State University, the SEED Center was built debtfree. The location was embraced by the whole region, because McNeese is our regional university. The Alliance and other organizations have been in the SEED Center for two years. In that time over 25 startup businesses have located in the incubator. Several have grown out, a couple did not make it and a couple were not a good fit. We have a place and programs to help start-up businesses get the assistance they need.

The tenth anniversary of Rita and Katrina is the time to reflect on the past and pause to remember those who lost their lives and property in these storms.

We also can use this occasion to dedicate ourselves to the future of Southwest Louisiana and our state. From the disasters of 2005 to now, SWLA is leading the nation in announced industrial projects, with over $30 billion of those projects underway now, many in Cameron Parish. Another $56 billion in projects are in various stages of development. One lesson we learned from Rita is that working together is the key to success. Petty differences in the long run really don’t matter and division only hinders our full potential. As our elected officials, business leaders, and caring citizens look ahead to the potential of our area, maintaining unity can make our future the brightest possible. My granddaughters, who are 8 and 4, were not around when Rita hit. Ten years from now, I hope Madison and Katelyn will think this is a great place to live. For me, if that happens, we will have been successful. On this Rita Tenth Anniversary, a heart-felt thank you to all officials, business leaders, citizens, and volunteers from around the nation who played key roles in helping Southwest Louisiana go from disaster to strength.

LegisGator 2015—In Pictures State Rep. Joel Robideaux (R-Lafayette) took top honors as the 2015 LegisGator of the Year at the Chamber SWLA’s 10th Annual Awards Luncheon at L’Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles. Close to 900 Chamber members, colleagues, elected officials and visitors were in attendance to recognize Robideaux and dozens of state legislators honored for their commitment to the Chamber’s pro-business legislative agenda during the 2015 Legislative Session.

“The Chamber chose to honor Rep. Robideaux because of the profound leadership he showed in providing the legislative mechanism to fund McNeese, SOWELA and fellow colleges and universities across Louisiana during a budget crisis,” said George Swift, President and CEO of the SWLA Economic Development Alliance. “That was a hard thing to do, but he put his own needs and aspirations aside for the many weeks it took to do the right thing for our colleges and universities, our students, and our future. And he successfully convinced his fellow legislators to do the same.”

Rep. Pugh accepting for Rep. Fannin

Other major award winners were Rep. Jim Fannin (R-Winnsboro) who won the Chair's Award for his work as Appropriations Chair to fund higher education and health care, Sen. Ronnie Johns (R-Lake Charles) who won the Government Affairs Award for supporting the Chamber’s agenda at the Capitol, and Rep. Julie Stokes (R-Kenner) who won the Fusion Five Award, given to an up-andcoming freshman legislator who displays leadership and affects positive change.

House Speaker Chuck Kleckley (R-Lake Charles) was given the Legacy Award as he ends his final term in the House of Representatives.

U.S. Senators David Vitter and Bill Cassidy, M.D. and U.S. Reps. John Fleming, M.D. and Garrett Graves gave congressional updates, and State Rep. Jonathan Perry (R-Kaplan), a comedian, gave a special tribute to his fellow legislators during the program.

Speaker Kleckley

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Sen. Johns Page 3

Supporting Development Pictured from left: 2015 Chamber SWLA Board Chair Celia Broussard; Thomas Chamberlain, Senior Project Manager of Entergy’s Southwest Region; Greg Guilbeau, Entergy’s Senior Manager of Customer Service.; Avon Knowlton, Alliance Executive Vice President; and George Swift, Chamber SWLA & Foundation President & CEO. As part of Entergy’s ongoing support to the SWLA Alliance Foundation, the company recently donated $68,525 at the Alliance’s June Board Meeting. Their donation reflected $40,000 to SWLA’s on the Move five-year campaign which will help address the critical issues facing our region: workforce development, business recruitment, business retention and expansion, regional marketing, and building a single voice for a true regional partnership. The remaining $28,525 reflects their annual event and project sponsorships like our SWLA Day at the state capitol.

These donation are the most recent investments to the SWLA Alliance Foundation’s SWLA on the Move economic development campaign. The current plan of work for SWLA on the Move is to address the critical issues facing our region: workforce development, business recruitment, business retention and expansion, regional marketing, and enhancing the regional partnerships.

2nd Photo: Steve Geiger (center), Manager of the Phillips 66 Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex, presented a check in the amount of $20,000 to George Swift, President/CEO of the SWLA Economic Development Alliance (left) and Avon Knowlton, Executive Vice President of the Alliance.

3rd Photo: George Swift, President and CEO of the SWLA Economic Development Alliance, Ben Marriner, President of Southwest Beverage; and Avon Knowlton, Executive V.P. of the SWLA Economic Development Alliance. Ben Marriner presented a check in the amount of $10,000 to the Alliance Foundation.

4th Photo: 2015 Board Chair Celia Broussard of Southwest Call Center, Chennault Executive Director Randy Robb, Alliance Executive VP Avon Knowlton, and Alliance President & CEO George Swift. Randy Robb presented a check for $10,000 to the Alliance Foundation.

5th Photo: George Swift, President and CEO of the SWLA Economic Development Alliance, received a check for $5,000 from Ken Francis, Division Manager at Lake Charles Coca-Cola Bottling, and Blaine Royer, On Premise Manager at Lake Charles Coca-Cola Bottling.

The Chamber and the SWLA Alliance Foundation are part of the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance. As part of the funding for the SWLA Economic Development Alliance, SWLA on the Move promotes economic development in Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron and Jeff Davis Parishes.

Liz Fuselier of Sassy Oil is the Chamber Ambassador of the Quarter.

Alliance In Pictures

Leadership EXCEL of Crowley visited the SEED Center learning more about Southwest Louisiana regional development from Adrian Wallace (far left) and Avon Knowlton (far right)

The Chamber SWLA hosted One-on-One Forums with the four main Louisiana gubernatorial candidates.

Coburn’s Hosted our September After Hours Page 5

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Senate President John Alario, Westwego Rep. Jeff Arnold, Algiers Rep. Johnny Berthelot, Gonzales Rep. Wesley Bishop, New Orleans Rep. Chris Broadwater, Hammond Rep. Terry Brown, Colfax Rep. Henry Burns, Haughton Rep. Steve Carter, Baton Rouge Sen. Norby Chabert, Houma Rep. Mike Danahay, Sulphur Rep. John Bel Edwards, Amite Rep. Franklin Foil, Baton Rouge Rep. AB Franklin, Lake Charles Rep. Johnny Guinn, Jennings Rep. Jeffrey Hall, Baton Rouge Rep. Joe Harrison, Napoleonville Rep. Bob Hensgens, Geydan Rep. Dorothy Sue Hill, Dry Creek Rep. Paul Hollis, Covington Rep. Frank Howard, Many Rep. Mike Huval, Breaux Bridge Rep. Barry Ivey, Baton Rouge Rep. Patrick Jefferson, Homer Sen. Ronnie Johns, Lake Charles House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, Lake Charles Sen. Bob Kostelka, Monroe Sen. Eric LaFleur, Ville Platte Rep. Terry Landry, Lafayette Rep. Bernrd LeBas, Ville Platte

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Rep. Chris Leopold, Belle Chasse Rep. Blake Miguez, Jeanerette Rep. Greg Miller, Norco Sen. Blade Morrish, Jennings Sen. Edwin Murray, New Orleans Rep. Stephen Ortego, Carenco Rep. Vincent Pierre, Lafayette Rep. Steve Pugh, Pontchatoula Rep. Eugene Reynolds, Minden Rep. Dee Richard, Thibodaux Rep. Joel Robideaux, Lafayette Sen. Gary Smith, Norco Sen. John Smith, Leesville Rep. Julie Stokes, Kenner Sen. Mike Walsworth, West Monroe Sen. Rick Ward, III, Port Allen Rep. Tom Willmott, Kenner

Homeownership in SWLA: It’s a Lot to Consider If you are moving into our region, welcome! If you are new to homeownership, congratulations on your decision to own your own home. We are expecting over 8,000 families to be moving into our region, so we figured that we would give you a run down on things to consider when looking for a home.

When choosing a new home, buyers often consider issues related to schools, neighborhood, floor plan, and house age. If you currently find yourself in the market, this article offers a discussion of a less-mentioned, yet important factor to consider when purchasing a new home.

Moving out to the “country” onto a big plot of land is the dream of many. However, when that dream becomes reality and you find yourself with a large lawn to repeatedly mow, and landscape to maintain, it may result in regret. Maintaining an acre or more can be backbreaking, time-consuming work and a considerable expense. But, did you know that it has negative environmental affects as well?

For one, gas-burning yard maintenance equipment like lawn mowers and weed eaters have some of the least efficient engines around. Operating a push mower for an hour can spew nearly the same amount of pollution into the air as a 100-mile car trip. Those emissions are Fusion Five’s Up & Coming also a considerable source of smog or ozone, which is Legislator was Rep. Julie Stokes bad for you and your family’s health.

For another, developed landscape and lawns are much less efficient at soaking up rainwater. Collectively, all the acreage in our area dedicated to roads, parking lots, and lawn space has led to an increase in storm water runoff and flooding. New development accompanying our increasing area population has the potential to add to the problem.

This year, we said good bye to Public Policy Vice President Marie Centanni

Cutting back on the size of our lawns and landscaping can have a positive impact on our environment. Suppose the 10,000 families projected to move into Southwest Louisiana choose homes on half acre lots, rather than full acre lots. That would mean fewer emissions from yard maintenance and would help maintain our air quality. It will also help control flooding. Further benefit could be realized through low maintenance landscaping and minimizing lawn areas.

So consider a smaller lawn. You’ll spend less time and money toiling in your yard and we all may breathe a bit easier, too.

SEED Center Incubator & Angel Investors Award Business Pitch Winners

The winners of the Third Annual SEED Center Business Pitch Competition received $2,500 each from the Angels of Southwest Louisiana. The competition was divided into four categories: local high school students, college students from the five parish area, general business and technical sector. The goal of the Business Pitch Competition is to increase awareness, of the SEED Center Business Incubator, and increase entrepreneurship in local region.

On July 1, the City of Lake Charles, the Arts and Humanities Council of SWLA and the SWLA Economic Development Alliance announced that a section in Lake Charles has been designated the Nellie Lutcher Memorial Cultural District by the Louisiana Office of the Lt. Governor: Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism Office of Cultural Development. Counting the Nellie Lutcher Memorial Cultural District, the five parish Imperial Calcasieu region now has five cultural districts (three in Lake Charles: Nellie Lutcher, Charlestown Cultural District and Cottage Shops Cultural District; along with the Downtown DeRidder Cultural District in Beauregard Parish and the Town of Welsh Cultural District in Jeff Davis Parish.)

Cultural districts are designated by governing authorities for the purpose of revitalizing a community by creating a hub of cultural activity.

Once a cultural district is certified by the state, two tax incentives take effect:  The sales of qualifying original, one-of-a-kind art within the district are exempt from local and state sales tax.  Renovations to residential and commercial historic structures within the district may be eligible for state historic tax credits.

The winner for the High School Division is Tyler Simien, a YEA program graduate, with Tyler Simien Photo+ Design.

The Arts and Humanities Council will file an annual report to the state Office of Cultural Development - like the agency does for other dis The College Divison winner is Lance Sefcik tricts -- in order to keep the area's designation. with Bayou Rentals, LLC. "The designation of the Nellie Lutcher Memorial Cultural District is a  The General Business Division winner is success for all of Southwest Louisiana. The Alliance encourages all John O'Donnell with Bayou Bicycles. business owners to take advantage of the benefits in this and all of the other cultural districts in the five parish region. We are presently  The Technology Division winner is Gene working on additional economic development policies that can be utiHill, Sr, with Swivel Hill, LLC. lized in the cultural districts, therefore allowing entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow and succeed. The Alliance is in the business of The contest was successful, "We had our largest helping business and we are proud to have taken an active part in getever number of entries this year with 37 ting this project completed." said George Swift, President and CEO of submissions. Also, for the first time, we had the Alliance. entries in our high school division. Competition was in each of the four divisions was at a very Artists are encouraged to utilize the district and take advantage of the high level. The Business Pitch Competition 23 million motorists who pass through it annually on Interstate 10. provides a showcase for entrepreneurs and their creativity. Sponsoring and hosting this For more information about the benefits of cultural district in Lake event at the SEED Center serves to establish us Charles, contact City Hall at 491-9176 or Eric Cormier, Special Proas the center for all things entrepreneurial," jects Manager/Assistant Communications Manager at the SWLA Ecosaid Adrian L. Wallace, Executive Director at the nomic Development Alliance at 337-433-3632 or ecormiSEED Center Business Incubator, who can be er@allianceswla.org. contacted at awallace@allianceswla.org or 337-433-0977 Ext. 2201. 

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Alliance Provides Information & Resources for SWLA Businesses Recently the Alliance added the Southwest Louisiana Housing Study (see page 1) to its website which brought us to the realization...we have a lot of cool things on our website!

We host the Small Business Resource Guide, a step-by-step guide to starting a business and working with area industry. The guide, sponsored

by Sasol and developed by the McNeese University Small Business Development Center and the Southwest Louisiana Entrepreneurial and Economic Development Center (SEED) Business Incubator assists entrepreneurs with starting new businesses, growing existing businesses and connecting with companies services that can provide guidance and support. The resource guide is based on a nine-step process that helps small businesses develop a business plan, establish documentation and finances, market services and sustain the business. To view the full guide, visit allianceswla.org/ businessresourceguide.

We’re searching for ambitious, creative, talented and motivated middle and high school students who are excited to learn how to transform a passion and an idea into a REAL business over the course of an academic year. To nominate a student to apply to the Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) Class of 2015, please follow the three simple steps below:

IDENTIFY VIBRANT STUDENTS The types of students who excel in the Young Entrepreneurs Academy are highly motivated, driven, creative, thinkers who are excited about new ideas, new opportunities, and are looking to do something big.

Business experience is not required to be successful in YEA!. Often, our most successful students are those who have a passion or talent and are excited to We host the Workforce Resource Guide - another pub- further develop that passion, as well as students who lication funded by Sasol - to help the unemployed and are excited by the concept of becoming a business underemployed pursue careers in Southwest Louisiowner. ana. You can learn more at www.allianceswla.org/ workforce-resource-guide.

COMPLETE & SUBMIT THE ONLINE NOMINATION The bulk of our interesting reports and statistics can be found on our Data and Resource page. There you can find out about the projects underway, our major employers, our housing study, and stats on population, income, labor. For more information about our reports and information, contact our Research Director Daphne Richard at drichard@allianceswla.org or (337) 433-3632.

FORM https://yeausa.wufoo.com/forms/yea-studentnomination/

CONFIRM YOUR STUDENT NOMINEE APPLIES TO YEA! The students you nominate will be invited to apply to YEA! Encourage your nominees to complete the online application: http://www.yeausa.org/ apply_today.php For more information, contact Adrian Wallace at awallace@allianceswla.org or (337) 433-0977.

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Who is our audience? We consider anyone who is in the business of providing housing or making housing decisions for our community to be our target audience. It was our hope to equip government, developers, builders, financial institutions, etc. with the tools they need to make well-informed decisions about our housing markets. In particular, we are aware that this market demand would stretch the limits of our local resources and that outside resources would be necessary to meet the demands.

Studies and plans are often conducted by larger firms for their own purposes but it is our local builders and developers that we had in mind when creating this work.

Quality of Life Update Development: Downtown Lake Charles Dog Park The group has been working with the City and calling on contractors to get a good estimate on how much it would cost to build a dog park in Downtown Lake Charles.

Healthy Lifestyles: Growing for Profit 2 Healthy Lifestyles has been collaborating with the Partnership for a Healthier SWLA The document is designed to provide each parish of Southwest on bringing "Growing for Profit-Wholesale Louisiana with a pullout report. Although each pullout report can Success" Workshop. Southwest Louisiana be used as a stand-alone report, we encourage the readers to specialty crop growers will learn valuable thoroughly study the entire report in order to truly understand information including post-harvest hanthe market dynamics of the entire region. This report can be dling, maintaining the cold chain, cleaning used as: and drying, packing and grading, relation As a repository of information for the Southwest Louisiana ships with buyers, food safety best practichousing market es, and marketing techniques.  As a guide on the processes of building and developing housing The Growing for Profit-Wholesale Success  As an informative document that will tell us what will happen Workshop was held on Wednesday, August in the housing markets if we do nothing 19, at the SEED Center. Attendees also re As a guide for decision makers who are considering investceived a free copy of the Wholesale Success ments to meet the housing manual which covers current best practic"The output of this demands es for food safety, post-harvest handling,  As a tool to project the packing, business management, marketreport will prove vital needs ing, and crop-specific profiles for over in the proper future  As a tool to determine 100 crops materials. growth and where housing should be development of our built in the region Living Southwest: Orientation region.

Its value is  As a recruiting tool for the On August 27, the Living Southwest industries that are attempt- significant and its information is group partreliable – a testament to the ing to attract top talent to nered with the local economy the Calcasieu hard work of those tasked with Parish Liits creation. Southwest Modeling is a tool that incorpobrary to host Louisiana is fortunate to have rates historical data to assist in our first Oriaccess to such a useful projections for future events. entation for resource.” Karen Lambert The most sophisticated tools new SouthClapp, GO Group Director were available to us in our west Louisiana residents. modeling process. However, due to the unique housing market dynamics that exist in Southwest Louisiana, the housing demand based on upcoming projects and jobs growth This orientation was sponsored by required in-depth research by the Alliance to provide accurate data that had to be collected directly from the new jobs sources.

In combination, historical data and new jobs data will provide our audience with the most accurate projections for housing available.

Welcome

REGIONAL PARTNER Thomas Chamberlin, Entergy’s Sr. Project Manager

Chamberlin with Louisiana Economic Development's new Secretary of Economic Development Steven Grissom, and Clair Hebert Marceaux of Cameron Parish Development

Tom Chamberlain was named Southwest Region Project Manager for Entergy in January 2015. Chamberlain comes to Entergy with more than 10 years of experience in recruiting and retaining commercial and industrial business. Most recently, he served as Manager of Energy Efficiency Services at Austin Energy in Austin, TX, before accepting the Project Manager post at Entergy.

As an important economic development initiative, Entergy offers a single, convenient source for prospective businesses to access the people and information needed to expand or locate in Louisiana. In project management, the group collaborates with economic development partners in their RFI/RFP responses by identifying best fit communities, sites and/or existing buildings based on specific project requirements. In addition, we help plan and coordinate prospect’s field visits and arrange introductions to business and community leaders.

You can reach Thomas Chamberlin at tchamb2@entergy.com.

DEVELOPING TALENT Liz Deville, VP of Administration, Receives IOM Liz Deville, Vice President of Finance and Administration of the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development, recently completed the Institute for Organization Management, a four-year nonprofit leadership training program provided by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“Institute graduates are recognized across the country as leaders in their industries and organizations,” said Raymond P. Towle, IOM, CAE, the U.S. Chamber Foundation’s vice president of Institute for Organization Management. “These individuals have the knowledge, skills, and dedication necessary to achieve professional and organizational success in the dynamic association and chamber industries.”

Through a combination of required courses and electives in areas such as leadership, advocacy, marketing, finance, and membership, Institute participants are able to enhance their own organizational management skills and add new fuel to their organizations, making them run more efficiently and effectively.

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Welcome New Members Premium Member DC International, Inc. The Lemoine Company SCS Services, Inc Entrepreneur Member HKA Enterprises, Inc. Leaf Services, Inc. Preferred Members Absolutely Custom Apparel & Graphics Acadiana Addiction Center CC`s Coffee House/Glazed Confections Construction Services of SWLA, LLC DXP Enterprises First South Farm Credit Flooring & Design Center, Inc. Industrial Thermal Services, LLC Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches Kinetic IT Solutions Maximum Industrial & Supply, LLC Mike Baker Brick of Lake Charles Mitchell Metal PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans TRS Staffing Solutions/TRS Craft Services Way Services, LTD

Business Members Acadiana Affiliate of Susan G. Komen Allegiance, LLC beAed Industrial Identification Products Browne Stewart Company Bryan K. Williams Dry Wall & Plumbing Comfort Suites - Sulphur Doggett Machinery Services First Data Harris & Estes Estates, LLC Herman Brown Brick Company Hodges Appraisal LLC (Incubator Client) Iles Medical Testing Impressions Advertising Specialties Klassic Louisiana Catering, LLC Lake Charles Anesthesiology, APMC Lake Area Appraisal Firm Landmark Consulting, LLC Mimosa Boutique The National Golf Course Paw Paw’s Diner (Incubator Client) The Picard Group Premier Staffing, LLC Service Master Restore Southwest District Livestock Show, Inc. TRK HR Management Services Volunteer Pastilles, LLC Who's Next? Inc. Barber, Beauty & Beyond

Mark Your Calendars!

October 30 - Chamber SWLA Annual Golf Tournament at The National Golf Course of Louisiana in Westlake. Playing times are still available, and sponsorships are filling up fast.

November 18 - Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon at The SEED Center at 11:30 a.m.

January 28, 2016 - Annual Banquet at the Golden Nugget Casino