MONROE CHAMBER WEEKLY REPORT Volume 17, Issue 8 2585854
Monroe Chamber of Commerce
Weekly Report
February 20, 2017
TOGETHER WE’RE STRONGER 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 [email protected].
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.
MONROE CHAMBER ANNOUNCES 2017 LEADERSHIP OUACHITA CLASS
The Monroe Chamber of Commerce announced the participants of the 29th
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
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.
MONROE CHAMBER WEEKLY REPORT | Volume 17, Issue 8
MONROE CHAMBER WEEKLY REPORT | Volume 17, Issue 8
MONROE CHAMBER WEEKLY REPORT | Volume 17, Issue 8
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.
MONROE CHAMBER WEEKLY REPORT | Volume 17, Issue 8
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 25th.
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 life-
long 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 28th. 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 25th 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.
MONROE CHAMBER WEEKLY REPORT | Volume 17, Issue 8
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 WEEKLY REPORT | Volume 17, Issue 8
MONROE CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE
212 Walnut Street, Suite 100 Monroe, LA 71201
PHONE: (318) 323-3461
FAX: (318) 812-7594
E-MAIL:
Website: www.monroe.org
THE MONROE CHAMBER’S MISSION
IS TO LEAD IN THE CREATION
OF AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH
OUR BUSINESSES THRIVE.