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DATES: May 8th ● May 17th ● May 22nd ● May 31st, 2017
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Connected by CLEDA and funded in part by USDA

1. Introduction to Efficiency and Improving Financial Bottom Lines
An overview of the Technology in Farming Series with engaging resources from the National Center for Appropriate Technology, the ControlledEnvironment Agriculture Center, and more! Your farm or ranch is greater than the sum of its parts, these short courses will look at several farm systems and how they intersect with available technology to support increased profitability, growing/raising food year-round and improved efficiency.
Location: CLEDA offices @ 900 4th Street ● Alexandria LA 71301 ● Suite 300 ● The Classroom (to right of vault)
Date & Time: Monday, May 8th, 2017 ● 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm

2. Irrigation
Using “The Irrigator’s Pocket Guide” as a reference, this workshop will discuss irrigation tips & tricks to keep cost low and soils and plants healthy. Get to know this take-to-the-field guide that demystifies the art of irrigation management, explains everything you need to know about soil moisture and crop water use. Free copy of “The Irrigator’s Pocket Guide” for first 20 pre-registered attendees.
Location: CLEDA offices @ 900 4th Street ● Alexandria LA 71301 ● Suite 300 ● The Vault Meeting Room
Date & Time: Wednesday May 17th, 2017 ● 3:30 – 5:00 pm

3. Row Covers, High Tunnels & Greenhouses
From low-tech to hi-tech: a discussion and exploration of floating row covers, caterpillar tubes, high tunnels, and glazed greenhouses. These tools and technologies can help you control temperatures, water use, pest management, and extend your growing seasons. Join us to explore options and impacts for your operation. Includes a tour and Q & A with Gray-Walk Farm (controlled environmental agriculture operation) owner Jay Pearson.
Location: Gray-Walk Farm ● 90 Harold Miles Rd ● Alexandria, LA 71301
Date & time: Monday, May 22nd, 2017 ● 3:30 – 5:00 pm

4. Equipment for Scaling Up
Choosing the right tool or piece of equipment can be a challenge and can also greatly effect production efficiency and the economic bottom line for the small-scale farmer. Investing in well-designed hand tools or good quality equipment enhances the farmer’s ability to maximize production. Using tractors and implements designed for small-scale intensive crop production can increase crop quality and yields while reducing labor inputs. Join us to see some of the companies that are bringing science and innovation to fields around the nation. Hoss Tools Wheel Hoe Demonstration. Oggun Tractor Demonstration.
Location: Dean Lee Research Station ● 8105 Tom Bowman Dr. ● Alexandria, LA 71302
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 31st, 2017 ● 3:30 pm to 5:30pmTechnol

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Guest speaker Tance Hughes will share the story of Southern Designs, a business he started in 2008 when he was a senior at Vidalia High School. Hughes would screen print T-shirts in his garage. When orders grew, he moved into a retail unit and then a larger facility in his hometown, eventually transitioning from printing T-shirts to manufacturing decorative, laser-cut metal and wood products. Today, Southern Designs employs 30 people who work out of a 30,000-square-foot facility in Vidalia, exporting products throughout the United States and Canada.

“Rural entrepreneurship can be done. You can be successful in small communities,” he said. “I’m really proud of what we’ve done in a small town like Vidalia.”

Maker Mornings is a quarterly event the Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance launched in early 2015 to bring local makers together to unlock their creative potential.

The May event culminates “100 Ways of Making,” a campaign to identify and highlight at least 100 makers in Central Louisiana. They will earn a spot on the interactive Central Louisiana Maker Map, which will be unveiled at the Maker Mornings event.

“Central Louisiana’s makers community continues to grow and contribute to our economy,” said CLEDA President Jim Clinton. “The Maker Map gives our makers a chance to shine, while showing the rest of the state and nation some of the great things that Central Louisiana has to offer.”

Maker Mornings is free, but registration is encouraged. “This special Happy Hour time will offer everyone the opportunity to network after work and be inspired a great speaker,” said John Cotton Dean, CLEDA’s Director of Regional Innovation.

Register at cenla.org. For more information about Maker Mornings, contact Dean at 318-441-3424 or by email at jdean@cenla.org. You can also learn more by visiting facebook.com/MakerMornings.

To see products from Southern Designs, visit www.metalunlimited.com and www.southern.design.com.

You and your organization depend on the success of our education delivery system to help all of our citizens become productive members of our economy. Unfortunately, we have 55,000 adults that have not yet achieved their High School Diploma. You can help us help these adults get back on the pathway toward achieving the basic education that they need to live a better life.

We have entered a competition for a grant from the USA Today Network (Gannett Co., Inc.) to present the best idea in the category of Education. The competitors present their ideas in the form of a video and the general public can vote, on-line, up to 30 times (one vote per person per day) from April 12 through May 12. I am asking you to help us bring this grant money to Central Louisiana by voting for our video each day for 30 days. It will take less than a minute. Simply click here and wait for our video with Jim Clinton speaking to come up. Just to the right of Jim, you will see a panel entitled Vote, that will have a brief description of the Project Rewrite. When you are ready, simply click on the Vote, then enter your name, age and email; and submit your vote. This project will benefit the citizens of Central Louisiana (Allen, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Vernon and Winn Parishes).

Please vote early and often, and also, as soon as possible, forward this on to your friends that share our interest in improving the educational attainment for our region. Consider sending to any distribution lists of like minded associates to which you might have access. And use Facebook, Twitter and any other forms of Social Media that you may frequent. Please let me know if you have any questions about this project or this request.

Thank you for your help.

Wayne L. Denley
Vice President of Knowledge Platforms

PLEASE VOTE HERE DAILY

The Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance (CLEDA) is excited to announce the first Farm to Table event of 2017, on April 20^th from 8:30 – 9:30 am in the Vault at the CLEDA offices in downtown Alexandria. Farm to Table events are geared towards restaurants, institutions, and businesses that buy/sell food on a regular basis, and want to engage with local farmers and ranchers to bring local food and high quality ingredients to their customers. “Our Farm to Table initiative allows us to build economic opportunities while boosting quality of life at the same time,” said CLEDA President/CEO Jim Clinton. “Thriving local farms and fresher, tastier, healthier food on our tables–those are great outcomes.”

Central Louisiana farmers and ranchers grow and raise a stunning array of foods; and since demand often exceeds availability, it can be time consuming to try and connect with local food resources; Farm to Table mixers make local foods from Central Louisiana easier to get.

The Farm to Table event on April 20^th can help local businesses:

• Find farmers and ranchers to supply local foods
• Source local food for special events or every day menu ingredients
• Have a local item custom grown/raised just for them
• Learn more about the farms/ranches in the region
• Build relationships with local farmers and ranchers
• Invest in local economic development with delicious food

The Farm to Table events build on the momentum of CLEDA’s work over the past four years to bring resources, tools, and events to the region that support vibrant rural economic growth through revitalized rural food systems. CLEDA convenes annual conferences, monthly meetings, and a wide assortment of events throughout the year to engage people in all aspects of our local food system.

“We have amazing local food producers (farmers & ranchers) in Central Louisiana, we want to continue to highlight their products and encourage access to and consumption of fresh, healthy local foods” said Bahia Nightengale, Director of CLEDA’s Local Foods Initiatives. “We want everyone in Central Louisiana to have access to local food, we know it is a crucial part of vibrant rural communities and strong economic growth for our region.”

For more information, contact Bahia Nightengale, CLEDA’s Director of Local Foods Initiatives, at 318-441-3408. If you can’t attend the Farm to Table event feel free to request assistance to see what CLEDA can do to connect you to resources that increase your ability to offer fresh local foods to your customers. Check the www.freshcentral.org website for more information. Farm to Table events are funded in part by a Healthy Behaviors Program Grant from The Rapides Foundation and with support from Keller Enterprises.

The Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance (CLEDA) is an organization which consists of the economic development entities from the parishes (counties) of Allen, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Vernon and Winn. The mission of the Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance is to help people prosper in vibrant, thriving communities.

Media Contact:
Bahia Nightengale, Director of Local Foods Initiatives ● Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance
Phone: 318-441-3408

Plans by an Eastern European company to convert an idled Grant Parish biofuels plant into an ammonia manufacturing facility have been put on hold indefinitely, officials with the Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance announced Friday.

“We’re disappointed that the TopChem project has been suspended,” Jim Clinton, president and CEO of CLEDA, said. “We will work with Grant Parish and Louisiana Economic Development leaders to repurpose the plant, which is one of the many economic assets in Central Louisiana. In addition, we will continue to work with Investimus Foris as they review their options.”

Lithuania-based Investimus Foris had planned to spend $265 million to turn the former Vanguard Synfuels refinery in Pollock into the TopChem plant that would have employed 85 workers to produce half a million tons of ammonia yearly.

Investimus Foris officials said the company is weighing its options, including whether to sell the property to another company or bring in other investors. Investimus Foris board Chairman Arunas Laurinaitis indicated that the company would now explore different scenarios.

Grant Parish Police Juror Winston K. Roberts, who has been active in supporting the plant, said the news was disappointing. “This would have put many people in Grant Parish to work in good-paying jobs,” Roberts said. “And that’s not counting the hundreds of construction workers that would have been needed to convert the plant.”

The facility had been an ammonia plant in the 1970s before it was shut down. In 2003, Vanguard Synfuels started producing renewable biodiesel.

The Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance (CLEDA) is an organization which consists of the economic development entities from the parishes (counties) of Allen, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Vernon and Winn. The mission of the Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance is to help people prosper in vibrant, thriving communities.

Media Contact:
Jim Clinton
President and CEO
Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance
Phone: 318-441-3401

Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance is the regional economic development organization for the Ten Parishes of Central Louisiana. CLEDA provides a wide variety of economic development services including recruitment, retention and development of major employers; building knowledge platforms and networks to achieve higher levels of educational achievement and skills training; and regional innovation initiatives in entrepreneurship, food systems development, and maker communities. CLEDA prides itself on being an innovative, mission-driven organization.

CLEDA is seeking a bright, energetic and experienced person to lead its Major Employers Division. Reporting directly to CLEDA’s President/CEO, this person will be responsible for recruitment, retention and expansion of businesses within the region. The Division is the primary contact for delivery of state-managed services from Louisiana Economic Development throughout the region. The Division supports and facilitates the activities of the Central Louisiana Manufacturing Managers Council. In addition, the Division is responsible for the site certification process in the region.

The person chosen to lead this division will be responsible for:

• Creating and executing marketing plans in support of CLEDA’s “Central Louisiana: We Make Good Stuff” brand.
• Networking with local, state, regional and national organizations to further the purposes of the Division and the organization.
• Presenting to community, municipal, parish and state entities in support of the Division’s purpose.
• Collaborate with and support the President/CEO in the development and management of the annual budget, financial records, and board communications.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher in a relevant field, or equivalent experience.
• 4+ years of economic development experience.
• Documented experience in recruiting new businesses into a region. If you have not led successful economic development recruitment efforts, you will not be considered for this position.
• Experience with finance, budgeting and long-term business planning.
• Possess a leadership style that is ethical, open, trustworthy and collaborative.
• Willingness and ability to travel, as necessary.
• Willingness and ability to locate in the Alexandria, Louisiana metropolitan area (if not already resident here).

Salary and Benefits: CLEDA will provide a competitive wage and benefit package for the right person for this job. Specifics will depend on the selected candidate’s experience and background.

APPLY by e-mail only. Provide your resume, including work history, education background, references, and other evidence of leadership (along with a cover letter if you prefer) to jclinton@cenla.org. For additional information on CLEDA, please review our website at www.cenla.org.

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE

If the following sounds like you click here to register.

Inspired by the life-story of Pulitzer nominee Clifton Taulbert, Ice House Entrepreneurship is designed to empower participants by exposing them to entrepreneurial thinking while immersing them in entrepreneurial experiences that will enable them to develop and hone entrepreneurial skills.

· How entrepreneurs with limited resources identify, evaluate, validate opportunities in real-world circumstances and start a business with the resources they currently have
· Understand the entrepreneurial mindset – identify specific beliefs and assumptions that drive entrepreneurial behavior
· Understand the basics of bootstrapping – the process that enables entrepreneurs to build client-funded business
· How to connect with local entrepreneurs who can provide critical guidance and support

Target Audience & Course Application

Ice House Entrepreneurship is ideally suited for those who are industrious, energetic, working now and considering starting a small business on the side that they grow it into a life changing opportunity.

Course Highlights: Mindset for Success

Lesson 1 – The Power to Choose: Life is not a lottery. The ability to choose the way we respond to our circumstances is fundamental to an entrepreneurial mindset. Using real-world examples, participants learn to recognize how choices rather than circumstances will ultimately shape our lives.
Lesson 6 – Building Your Brand: Actions speak louder than words. Entrepreneurs are problem solvers and reliability is the key to their success. Using case studies and modern-day examples, participants learn how entrepreneurs transform simple solutions into big opportunities by building a reputation for reliability.
Lesson 8 – The Power of Persistence: Entrepreneurship is not “get rich quick” and expecting it to be easy is a mistake. The “secret” behind every entrepreneur’s success is hard work, perseverance and determination. Participants learn from experience the importance of persistence and the role it plays in every entrepreneur’s success story.

Who are MAKERS?

MAKERS, are people and companies that create things & ideas. MAKERS are: builders, artists, manufacturers, storytellers, chefs, fabricators, restaurateurs, suppliers, thinkers, and doers!

According to AdWeek, the maker movement, is the umbrella term for independent inventors, designers and tinkerers. A convergence of computer hackers and traditional artisans, the niche is established enough to have its own magazine, Make, as well as hands-on Maker Faires that are catnip for DIYers who used to toil in solitude. Makers tap into an American admiration for self-reliance and combine that with open-source learning, contemporary design and powerful personal technology like 3-D printers. The creations, born in cluttered local workshops and bedroom offices, stir the imaginations of consumers numbed by generic, mass-produced, made-in–China merchandise.

CLEDA adds to this concept, the idea that the manufacturers of today are MAKERS – innovating to stay competitive and creating value across the landscape.

Throughout 2017, CLEDA will be highlighting many of the exceptional MAKERS in central Louisiana.

Nominate someone you know, register yourself, and let us tell your story across the state and nation. www.cleda.org/MAKE

Register Here!

A report put Louisiana at No. 1 for the percentage of adults with a high-quality post-secondary certificate, and the state’s overall rate of earning a credential improved from last to 26th. The drastic move up the ranks comes from a change to include certificates in the equation and a push for more credential opportunities in career and technical education.

The claims come from the latest “A Stronger Nation“ report released in April from Lumina Foundation, a private foundation based in Indianapolis. In it, the group announced Louisiana now has the highest percentage in the nation of working age adults (25-64) holding a high-quality postsecondary certificate as their highest level of attainment.

“Not often do we get to make claims like that in Louisiana,” said Monty Sullivan, president of the Louisiana Community & Technical College System, to members of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Sullivan cited Lumina’s findings Tuesday as he testified before the committee with other “witnesses” there to discuss ways to strengthen career and technical education. He told members of Congress that certificates helped Louisiana move from 50th to 26th in post-secondary attainment rate. “A key factor in that dramatic improvement was inclusion for the first time of less-than-associate- degrees credentials,” Sullivan said.

The Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University calls certificates the fastest-growing post-secondary credential, second only to bachelor’s degrees in the number earned each year. “Many certificates, which are predominately awarded by community and technical colleges, have significant value in the workforce and can provide a family-sustaining income and a gateway for further education,” according to a Lumina release. Louisiana career and technical education programs have seen a push at both the high school and college levels to offer more programs that end with an industry based certification.

“The importance of certificates, be it industry- based credentials or college certificates, is they typically indicate a benchmark of quality educational attainment for a specific industry,” said Jimmy Sawtelle, chancellor of Central Louisiana Technical Community College. Sullivan told the committee that federal funds from the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 have been critical to such programs in Louisiana.

“The strategic investment of Perkins funds has been instrumental in achieving this accomplishment,” he said. “This success has occurred in an environment with sharply declining state resources and increasing tuition. Meanwhile, Louisiana’s economy continues to show strong workforce demands in spite of a recent downtown in the oil and gas economy.” According to national data in the report, 4.9 percent of Americans hold high-quality postsecondary certificates as their highest level of attainment, compared to 15 percent in Louisiana.

The state’s overall post-secondary attainment rate is 44.7 percent, a calculation found by applying data on postsecondary certificates to Louisiana’s overall degree attainment rate from 2014, which was 29.7 percent. The adjusted rate (44.7 percent) puts Louisiana 26th nationally.

When the formula only included associate degrees and above in 2013, the state was ranked 50th in overall degree attainment. “This report demonstrates the tremendous work of our colleges in meeting the workforce needs of business and industry across Louisiana,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said in a release. One way LCTCS and its colleges have grown programs is by aligning them to business and industry needs. The C4M, or certificate for manufacturing, offered at Central Louisiana Technical Community College is one example of what Sullivan calls a more keen focus at his system’s schools.

“The combination of a strong market demand, narrowing state resources and tuition costs has forced our colleges to focus more keenly than ever before on responding to the workforce needs of industry, improving the value proposition to our students and maximizing every single dollar that can be driven toward technical and career education,” Sullivan told the committee. “Simply put, alignment of programs and resources to market demands has been key to our success.”

The missions of Lumina and LCTCS dovetail, which is evident in both group’s strategic plans and goals. Lumina wants to increase the proportion of Americans with high quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by the year 2025, which the organization calls Goal 2025. That goal is similar to those found in the LCTCS plan known as Louisiana 2020: Building the Workforce of Tomorrow, which includes six major system-wide goals to achieve by 2020. According to the plan announced in October 2014, the system wants to achieve six major goals by 2020: double the number of graduates to 40,000 annually, double the annual earnings of graduates to $1.5 billion, quadruple student transfers to four-year universities to 10,000 annually, double the number of students served to 325,000 annually, quadruple partnerships with business and industry to 1,000 annually, and double the foundation assets to $50 million. “All of that goes into the same direction of … being viable in a global market,” Sawtelle said.

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