Publisher: Baton Rouge missed out on not taking risks on two leaders

We can all look back with regret at decisions we’ve made and opportunities we’ve missed. The big misses can be costly and painful, says Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister: for example, when Baton Rouge leaders opted not to take risks on Buzzy Thibodeaux and Scott Shirey, who have gone on to success in other areas. Thibodeaux, who fell short of getting a job as head of the Baton Rouge Area Convention & Visitors Bureau in the mid-1990s, has become executive vice president of Junior Achievement USA. And Shirey has been honored for his leadership of a KIPP charter school in Arkansas, after the East Baton Rouge School Board rebuffed his efforts to open a similar academy here in 2001. “In the near future, our community will have key leadership positions in transition, and we should all pay close attention,” McCollister says. Read the full column here. Send comments to editors@businessreport.com.