GET DAILY REPORT FREE
SPOTLIGHT
DAVID CRESSON
President and CEO, Louisiana Chemical Association and Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance
“Of Louisiana’s many assets, the one piece we’re failing to leverage is our young people. We’ve got LSU, Southern and BRCC, and we’ve got some of the best engineering schools, law schools, and medical resources in the state. We want to set our kids up for success, and with the wave of new projects coming to Louisiana, we have the means to do so. Meta, Hyundai Steel, CF Industries, Venture Global, just to name a few—these are high-impact jobs coming over the next few years. Kids who are in middle school and high school now are going to be working those jobs. We need to start preparing them, especially for jobs in the trades. If we don’t, we’re failing. If Louisiana has to bring workers in from Texas or Mississippi to fill these positions, we’re missing a major opportunity for our own kids.”
JEFF CONRAD
Chief Executive Officer, Pelican Credit Union
“We are leaving behind too many individuals because they don’t know what opportunities exist. Walk out of this room and ask someone on the street about these public-private programs, and they have no idea they’re available. In our industry, we saw an opportunity to improve lives by starting with young people. We pay students for good grades and offer scholarships at every branch. The objective is reward for education. There are ideas like that in every company, but there’s no shared vision. We don’t say, “That’s a great idea—let’s do it together.” We’re all busy doing our own thing, heads down, trying to help our employees and industries, but we’re not sharing them or collaborating across industries in the Baton Rouge Community. Because of that, the general population has no clue what’s available to them.”
CHUCK DAIGLE
Chief Executive Officer, Ochsner Baton Rouge and Lake Charles
“We have to think more regionally—not just the city of Baton Rouge, but the areas around Baton Rouge, including New Orleans and all the assets that come with it. My youngest says, “I don’t want to visit any other college. I want to be at LSU. I want to stay in Louisiana. I like the fishing, the sports, the culture.” Another one may not come back, but that’s why exposure to our assets matters. Bringing all the pieces together to create a broader vision for the region is important as we sell what we have. I’m glass-half-full. There are a lot of good things going on.”
CONNIE FABRE
President and CEO, Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance
“Louisiana is this unbelievable emerald jewel of green landscapes. I recently watched a video of someone who flew from Baton Rouge to Mobile along the Mississippi River, and all you could see was this beautiful green. What’s being portrayed all over the world by anti-industry activists is that we’re an industrial wasteland, and that is just not who we are at all. When I land in Baton Rouge, all you can see are trees and little lights twinkling. It’s beautiful. That’s our Sportsman’s Paradise. We have industry, but we also have all this wonderful nature. We have livestock and pastures, sugar cane and other crops growing right next door to manufacturing plants. Some of it is owned by industry and leased to farmers. We are coexisting and fostering a health community.”
CHARLES LANDRY
Partner, Fishman Haygood
“We need to capture New Orleans as part of Baton Rouge, not the reverse. You’ve got two professional teams, some of the finest dining in the world, and it’s a 45-minute drive from our city. The same applies to Lafayette. You’ve got the history and culture of Acadiana, fishing, hunting. We need to talk about all the amenities within an hour of Baton Rouge so we don’t have a fractured view of the region. Other than snow skiing, you can do about anything you want to do here, if we just think of Baton Rouge as something bigger.”
WILLIE E. SMITH, SR.
Chancellor, Baton Rouge Community College
“We have powerful assets — great colleges, strong industry corridors, and a vibrant culture — but we don’t package them as boldly as we should. There is an opportunity for us to engage more with the great colleges in our region to solve the workforce challenges of Baton Rouge. Greater coordination is needed, and no one college can go alone. LSU can’t go alone, Southern can’t go alone, and BRCC can’t go alone. The men and women who live in this city and cherish Baton Rouge don’t see us cooperating. They see rivalry—Tiger, Jaguar, Bear—but what difference does that make to our industry partners? They want talent and skills. We need to tighten those relationships and coordinate our efforts.”
