2585854 MONROE CHAMBER WEEKLY REPORT Volume 17, Issue 8 Monroe Chamber of Commerce Weekly Report Last Week, CenturyLink announced their partnership with the City of Monroe, the Monroe City School System, the Ouachita Parish School System and the Cyber Innovation Center (CIC) to bring a nationally recognized STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curriculum to local students. Currently teachers with the Monroe City School System are training to begin incorporating the program into their curriculum. TOGETHER WE RE STRONGER MONROE CHAMBER ANNOUNCES 2017 LEADERSHIP OUACHITA CLASS The Monroe Chamber of Commerce announced the participants of the 29 th Leadership Ouachita Class today at the Monroe Chamber Office. On hand for the announcement were Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo, a graduate of Leadership Graduate, Sue Nicholson, Monroe Chamber president and Jeff Laudenheimer, Chairman of the Leadership Council. The 2017 participants are: Stacie Ambrose, OIB; Jessie Arant, Origin Bank; Jody Blakley, CenturyLink; Lori Calhoun, P & S Surgical Hospital; Alicia Calvin, MCS Excellence Academy; Ashlee Clampit, KTVE/KARD; Rachel Dean, ANGUS Chemical; Kaitlyn Grekoff, Monroe WM CVB; Jennifer Haneline, Louisiana Campaign for a Tobacco-Free Living; Miracle Hill, Centric FCU; Kelvin Horne, Immanuel s Healing Center; Rachel Hutchinson, CenturyLink; Traci Jordan, University Health Conway; Leah Martin, BancorpSouth; Nicole Morgan, MoeBiz; Linda O Neal, Origin; Morgan Patrick, ULM; Audrey Peterson, First National Bank; Daryl Platt, City of Monroe; Chetamor Robinson, First National Bank; Matt Simonton, ANGUS Chemical; Laurie Smith, Chase Home Finance; Kayla Smith, Monroe Housing Authority; DeRon Talley, LSBDC; Iantha Thomas, Mogul Realty Solutions; Carlie Turner, Origin Bank; Justin Underwood, Movement Mortgage; Ashley White, The Food Bank of NELA; Erica Williams, SMSO. Continued on page 4 February 20, 2017 CALENDAR Tuesday, February 21 at 5:30 p.m.-the Ouachita Parish Police Jury will meet at the Ouachita Parish Courthouse. Wednesday, February 22 at 12 noon- Congressman Abraham will provide a Congressional Update at the Monroe Civic Center. The cost to attend is $25. Please call Daphne McClish at 807-4018 to RSVP. Wednesday, February 22 at 3:30 p.m.-the Monroe Chamber Governmental Advocacy Committee will meet at the Monroe Chamber office. For information, please call Lori Reneau at 807-4022. Friday, March 3 at 2:00 p.m. - Affinity Specialty Clinic Ribbon Cutting. The business is located at 2516 Broadmoor. Tuesday, March 7 at 12 noon -The Ambassadors Club will meet at Copeland's. Guest speaker is Cesar Camacho with INFIT- Monroe. Cost to attend is $15. Please RSVP to Sarita Daniel at sdaniel@monroe.org. Tuesday, March 7 at 3:00 p.m. - Copeland's of New Orleans Ribbon Cutting. The business is located at 3851 Pecanland Mall Drive. Wednesday, March 8 at 11:30 a.m.-the Monroe Downtown RiverMarket Expansion Groundbreaking. The event will take place on the south end of the Warehouse No1 parking lot. Thursday, March 9 at 4:00 p.m. - Bank of Ruston Ribbon Cutting. The business is located at 2450 Tower Drive. Friday, March 10 at 3:00 p.m. - BancorpSouth Grand Opening & Ribbon Cutting. The business is located at 4094 Sterlington Road.
2017 Leadership Ouachita continued from page 1 The Leadership Ouachita class will run through November 2017. Those selected will be trained to take an active role in government advocacy, workforce development, infrastructure and all aspects of the community where leadership is needed to make an impact. The course empowers the emerging leaders of northeast Louisiana to transform the region into one of the best places to live, work and do business. The 2017 class will begin with an opening retreat at Toledo Bend Lodge. The first session includes a basic leadership assessment that includes a component on how society works through participation in SIMSOC, a simulated society. Over the course of the year, class members will meet with leaders in education, economic development, transportation, and workforce development. To learn more about Leadership Ouachita, go to www.monroe.org. Ribbon Cuttings The City of Monroe and the Monroe Chamber hosted a ribbon cutting last week for Terri s Tax Service. The new business is located at 208 Cole Ave, Suite A. The City of Monroe and the Monroe Chamber hosted a ribbon cutting last week for Mel s Fried Chicken and Catfish. The business is located at 340 Highway 594 in Monroe. Last week, ULM and the Convention and Visitors Bureau cut the ribbon on the new baseball fields at ULM. Pictured to the left is ULM President Nick Bruno and Alana Cooper and her staff from the Monroe-West Monroe CVB.
Nominations Now Accepted for the 2017 Thomas H. Scott Awards of Excellence The Monroe Chamber of Commerce, the News-Star and the University of Louisiana at Monroe College of Business plan to recognize the growth and development of new and expanding businesses in Ouachita Parish with an awards ceremony that will be held on May 25 th. The three entities have collaborated on The Thomas H. Scott Awards of Excellence. The awards will be presented to Ouachita Parish businesses that have demonstrated a commitment to Northeast Louisiana by creating or retaining jobs, making a capital investment in machinery, equipment or a new facility and that participate in worthwhile projects that make the community a better place to live. The award is named after Thomas H. Scott, the founder of Scott Companies, which is headquartered in Monroe. Scott was raised in Mississippi and attended Mississippi State University where he received a degree in agriculture engineering. Following graduation, he moved to Shreveport where he was employed with International Harvester. While in Shreveport, he met Mayme, the woman who was to be his wife and lifelong companion. The couple moved to Monroe in 1939 to open Scott Truck and Tractor Company. Over the years, Scott Truck and Tractor evolved into Scott Companies, which includes Scott Equipment, Scott Financial Services, Scott Irrigation, Scott Real Estate and CBS Interests. Scott summarized his business philosophy in a company brochure that was published in 2000. In it he said, People are important. Our number 1 goal has always been to serve the customer. Our business has been built on service to our customer and service to the communities in which we are located. Scott continued to work at the business until his death in 2001 at the age of 90. Four awards will be presented: small business category (businesses that employee 1-10 people); medium business category (businesses that employee 11-50 people); large business category (businesses that employee 51 to 100 people); and corporate (businesses that employee over 100 people). Nominations are open to any Ouachita Parish business that expanded their business or made a capital investment in 2016/17; created or retained jobs; and that participate in worthwhile causes throughout Ouachita Parish. Nomination forms are available at the Monroe Chamber. Area businesses are encouraged to nominate their own business. The deadline to submit a nomination is 5:00 p.m. Friday, April 28 th. All completed nominations should be mailed or delivered to the Monroe Chamber of Commerce at 212 Walnut Street, Suite 100; Monroe, LA 71201. The winners will be announced at a reception to be held on May 25 th at the ULM Conference Center. Tickets for the event are $35 per person. For more information or to nominate a business, please call the Monroe Chamber at 323-3461.
NELA Manufacturer s Council to Meet February 28 On Tuesday, February 28 at 3:30 p.m. at the Monroe Chamber office, the NELA Manufacturer s Council will meet. The Keynote speaker for the event is Ray Peters with RoyOMartin. Recently RoyOMartin led a group of manufacturers in Northwest Louisiana in a training program that provided on the job training. Students participating in the program learned C4M and were paid while they trained. The training was provided by the Louisiana Community College system. The program was very successful with the participating manufacturers saying they would participate in the program again because the students graduating from the program were so well prepared to go to work when they finished their training. The meeting is open to all area manufacturers. For more information please call Sue Nicholson at 807-4015.
MONROE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 212 Walnut Street, Suite 100 Monroe, LA 71201 PHONE: (318) 323-3461 FAX: (318) 812-7594 E-MAIL: communications@monroe.org Website: www.monroe.org THE MONROE CHAMBER S MISSION IS TO LEAD IN THE CREATION OF AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH OUR BUSINESSES THRIVE.