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July 2006 Brought to you by:
Greater Pointe Coupee Chamber of Commerce

Welcome to the third edition of the Pointe Coupee economic development e-newsletter. We are beginning to work out the bugs, and the newsletter is growing quickly. If you did not receive the first two editions, please go to the chamber Web site at www.pcchamber.org to peruse them. We welcome feedback and content.

I want to thank Renee Daigrepont for her work on these newsletters.

Sincerely,
Jamie Mabile Delatte
Economic Development Director
Greater Pointe Coupee Chamber of Commerce

Quote of the month:
"In the past a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people--they no longer can lead solely based on positional power."
-- Ken Blanchard

NRG Announces Comprehensive Repowering Inititiative
  EnergyPlant

Princeton, NJ; (June 21, 2006)--NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) today announced plans to develop approximately 10,500 megawatts (MW) of new generation capacity over the next decade to help meet the energy needs of its high-demand, capacity- constrained markets and to support NRG’s continued growth. This re-powering initiative, which will be funded with the support of partners and project finance debt, would represent a total investment of $16 billion.

Read the Redevelopment Report

Economic Development Update
 

 

Several economic developers from the capital area attended the National Plastics Expo in Chicago the week of June 19. Entergy sponsored the booth and registration for the attendees, which came from all over the state. The expo, put on by the Society of the Plastics Industry, is one of the largest in the United States with more than 75,000 people in attendance. Majority of the attendees were looking to sell their machines or product design to a company, but many companies were interested in the booths that marketed available buildings or land for development. Several good leads were received, which Entergy puts together to share with all of us who manned the booth.

The prior tradeshow, the International Council for Shopping Centers, has produced several return phones calls, with a viable lead requesting maps and contact names and numbers for retail development. The Staubach retail group out of Addison, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, called for more information and maps. Pointe Coupee is on the bubble for national retail development with its population hovering around 25,000, which is the cutoff number required for most of this type of development.

Emerald Bayou Studios/LTC-Jumonville Film Training Class
  Film production training class in progress Class
New Roads, LA – June 27, 2006 – Emerald Bayou Studios and LTC-Jumonville announce critically needed film production training class in progress. The class consists of 24 incredibly diverse students who share a passion for the film industry. These enthusiastic individuals of various ages and backgrounds hail from eight parishes including Pointe Coupee, East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Lafayette, Orleans, Jefferson, Iberville and Calcasieu.

The LTC Jumonville Film and Video Production Class is a 12-week program introducing students to industry terminology, equipment operations and crew responsibilities on a production set. The program consists of seven weeks of classroom instruction and five weeks of practicum. During the seven weeks of classroom instruction students participate in LTC Orientation, Introduction to Film and Video Production, Introduction to Screenwriting, Introduction to Video Pre/Post, Introduction to Audio, Introduction to Lighting and Introduction to Camera.

Dean Amy Gauthier, LTC-Jumonville, states “I am very excited to see the film and video production students on campus. Their energy and creativity lets you know that this program is needed and there is an interest in the film industry.”

The program in its sixth week is presently exposing students to Introduction to Lighting under the instruction of Alvin Henry (“Glory Road”, “Close Encounters”). The students have already completed Introduction to Video Pre/Post taught by Cyril Neville, Jr (“Growing Up In The Heart Land”, “MTV”), Introduction to Audio instructed by Whit Norris (“Friday Night Lights”, “Gospel”), Introduction to Film and Video Production instructed by Marquetta Cheeks (EBS) and Introduction to Screenwriting instructed by Linda Thurman (EBS).

“Our program is completely interactive and students have hands on experience with all of the equipment in every aspect of production,” states Marquetta Cheeks, President of Production at Emerald Bayou Studios.

The students have created their own logo and website to complement the class. Linda Thurman, President of Business Development at Emerald Bayou Studios says “The unique thing about this program is that the students are trained on 35mm film where other programs in the state train on video.”

“I am extremely excited about the program, its attendance and the quality of its instructors. The La. Capital Area Film Commission is proud of the work that has been done in such a short time,” comments Jamie Mabile Delatte, Economic Development Director of Greater Pointe Coupee Parish Chamber of Commercer.

During the five weeks of practicum the students are placed on a production set, where they shoot a short 35mm film based on a script created in their Introduction to Screenwriting class.

Graduates of the LTC-Jumonville film production class are eligible to apply for Emerald Bayou Studios Home Grown Workforce Initiative (HGWI). HGWI is a comprehensive 16-week on-the-job film production-training program providing production experience and screen credit on a professional film crew which produces a movie for commercial release.

More information is available online at www.emeraldbayoustudios.com, www.jumonvillefilm.com or by calling Amy Gauthier, Campus Dean, LTC-Jumonville, at 225 638 8613.

Film Production Students during Introduction to Audio class. From left to right: Front row – Thomas Russo, Reginal Varice, Ross Bergeron, Jane Stafford, James Mann, Polly Babin. 2nd row – Brice Miller, Donta Coleman, Beverly Carter, Bartley Collier, Joe Major, Roger Robinson, David Prince. 3rd row – Veignet, Janeice Karanja, Lisa Jarreau, Lydia Toussaint, Margeaux Johnson, Jewel Tucker. Back row – Shirley Jones, Jabari, Josh Law, Shayna, Gregory White.

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Smithsonian Exhibit, “Key Ingredients—Food For Life”
  Coming to New Roads this summer poydras
Representatives from the Smithsonian, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and project directors from four other exhibit sites (Nachitoches, Jena, Baldwin and Franklin) will converge on June 29th to help JPMAC members assemble the “Key Ingredients- America by Food“ Smithsonian exhibit at Poydras.

Invitations will be issued for a special reception on June 29th at 5:30 p. m. at the Poydras Center for the press, public officials, special guests and all JPMAC members.

Many major events and displays are planned to compliment the Smithsonian Exhibit. One is a JPMAC Gumbo Arts Camp planned from June 23 through July 10. The camp is specifically designed to support the Smithsonian exhibit theme, “Key Ingredients-America by Food.” An original play focusing on families and food memories will be written by L. S. U.’s Dr. Schaffer and performed by local talents on Saturday, July 8 in the Poydras Auditorium. The material for the script will come from oral histories of parish residents. Under the direction of Jennifer Abraham, Livonia High and Catholic High of Pointe Coupee 11th graders learned interviewing techniques to obtain the histories. Please call for more Gumbo Arts Camp information and registration at 627-5466 or 638-6430.

JPMAC is asking for volunteers from the community to become museum guides, help with events, design spaces and prepare them for local displays. Museum guides will be needed from June 30th through August 10th. Other volunteers will be needed to help with events. Other individuals will be needed to design and prepare spaces for local displays prior to the exhibit’s opening, June 16th through June 17th. Call Bobbie LaCour( 638-6670) to schedule a date and time as a guide during museum hours. You will be notified about docant (guide) training to prepare you for any questions the public may have in regard to the exhibit and our local history. Call Fern Lorio (638-6127) to volunteer for any event or museum set-up work. We are encouraging as many adults and youth as possible in our community to get involved—not just JPMAC. The success of the Smithsonian exhibit at Poydras this summer relies upon your help, support and enthusiasm.

Check out the Web site for more information: www.keyingredients.org

Smithsonian Exhibit Events

June 30th
evening

Wine tasting(a professionally led presentation, discussion, and sampling) (maximum: 50 tickets)

 

July 15 th
Pecan Shelling Plant

Pecans in Pointe Coupee Tour (an exhibit display, with a Saturday industry presentation and a tour of Bergeron's Pecan Shelling Plant)

 

TBA
Alma Plantation

Sugar Cane in Pointe Coupee (a tent display of sugar cane exhibit, with a Saturday industry presentation and a tour of Alma Plantation)

 

TBA
Scott Civic
Center

Human Body Walk (a walk-through exhibit of the human body on display on a Thursday and Friday)

 

July 8
Poydras Auditorium

Artistic Gumbo Performance (an original play written by a scholar and performed by summer arts students)

 

July 12

Food in Movies (a screening of a movie with a food-related theme with professionally moderated discussion by a scholar)

 

July 22-23

  • How Men Cook (a local food preparation and presentation of wild game and Creole favorites )
  • Cookbooks used in Pointe Coupee (a collection display and sale of locally authored cookbooks)
  • Feed sack fashions display (a display of garments made from feed sacks)
  • School Arts Contest display (a display of local elementary school students written and visual art with a food theme)
  • St. Joseph 's Altar (a display of a local altar tradition with samples of food)

 

 

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Parish events for the month of July
 

July 1 & 2
Running Down the River Barrels
Multi-Use Center
Contact: Weldon Jewell
225-638-5548

4th of July Boat Parade
1p.m.
South End of False River
Contact: Marc Barker
225-405-5387

July 8
10th Annual Island Family Reunion
Multi-Use Center
7a.m. to 7p.m.
Contact: Roosevelt Gremillion
225-638-6821

July 8
Market Day
Across from City Hall
9:00a.m. till 2:00p.m.
Vendors are Welcome $10 Fee
Contact: Yvonne Chenevert
225-638-3192

July 9
LA Best Sac-a-lait
Fishing Tournament
Old River
Old River Landing
Sponsor: Louis Mechanical
Dan Thornton 337-228-2164 or
225-921-4619

July 16
Livonia Team Tournament
Old River
Old River Landing
Contact: Dan Thornton
225-921-4619 or
337-228-2164

July 22
Baton Rouge Barrels
Multi-Use Center
Contact: Weldon Jewell
225-638-5548

July 23
Team Supreme Fishing Tournament
Old River
Old River Landing
Contact: Dan Thornton
225-921-4619 or
337-228-2164

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Tips for Selling on eBay
Katz, Jerome A., and Richard P. Green. Entrepreneurial Small Business. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2007. 301.   ebay
-- Use detailed descriptions so that the buyer isn't expecting something different from what you are selling.

-- A picture is worth a thousand words. Make sure the photo is not too dark or too light. Does it adequately display your product? Check out backgrounds, too. They can detract from the subject and might even show things you'd rather not display on the Internet. And don't use huge slow-to- download files.

-- Watch out for misspellings and typos. Experienced eBay buyers use the search engine to find specific things and it won't find your misspelling. Besides, it doesn't look very professional.

-- Be honest and factual. Don't say, "slight damage." Instead state that there is an eight-inch chip in the upper right-hand corner and a faint scratch along one side. The buyer can make an informed decision, and there are no surprises.

-- If buyers have a question, they'll e-mail you. Respond as soon as possible, at least within 24 hours. Don't post auction items just prior to going on vacation.

-- Be honest and up-front about shipping. It is acceptable to charge for postage and a reasonable amount of shipping materials. If you are using recycled boxes, don't charge for them. Some sellers like to use a flat fee for all shipping charges (e.g., $5.00 per paperback book). Experienced eBay buyers will know that for regular U.S. media mail, that price is way out of line. If you're the only one selling that item, they may pay, but if there are a dozen others, they'll shop around or reflect their concerns in the top bid they place

. -- Customer service is very important. You want positive feedback. Dissatisfied buyers may either leave negative feedback or leave no feedback at all on your transaction.

-- Since most buyers are somewhat reluctant about buying from a seller with no feedback, try buying for a while; your feedback rating will grow, and since there is no differentiation between buyer and seller feedback, this puts you in better position as a seller.

-- Ship promptly. Package well. Notify your buyers when things have been shipped. If you need to wait for a check to clear and you'll be gone a few days during that time, let them know. Most buyers are prepared to be reasonable if they know what's going on

. -- Leave feedback for your buyers, too. First of all, it helps them when making further purchases. Second, if you expect feedback yourself, do it for them. If they see you've posted positive feedback, they are more likely to do so themselves

-- See what the competition is doing to see if you even want to try eBay auctions. If your product (or something fairly similar) is selling on eBay for less than you need to make your profit goals, find another way to get to your customers.

Welding Training
  Louisiana Technical College in Baton Rouge

A tuition-free job training program in the construction trades will soon be available at the Louisiana Technical College in Baton Rouge. Participants will receive classroom instruction and practical shop experience in welding. The federally funded program is being offered through a partnership between the Louisiana Department of Labor and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System.

Anyone interested in enrolling in the program should call (225) 359-9465 or go to http://www.lctcs.net

The program is funded in part by a federal H1B grant awarded under the President's High-Growth Job Training initiative, as implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration.

Link: http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/business/2920411.html?showAll=y

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LSU AgCtr Offers Business Assistance
 

Louisiana State University Ag Center offers businesses classes to assist with difficult customers, leadership training, how-to-cash in on a small business, entrepreneurship, steps to getting a job and workplace ethics. Most of these programs are free or for a nominal charge. For detailed summaries and contact information for each, please see the report below.

Read the Business Report

FOR SALE
 
1936 Two Story Brick Building and Antique Business. Total square feet 7622; 9% cap rate on rental. Offices upstairs; antique business downstairs; gift & jewelry shop in rear downstairs. Renovated in 2001 with new roof, a/c & heat, wiring, plumbing, etc. Located at 116 West Main Street, New Roads, La. in heart of historic downtown. Contact Yvonne Chenevert at 225-978-8367.

FOR RENT!!
 
Lovely 2BD 2BA home on False River. Completely furnished and has covered parking. Excellent pier with awesome views of the River and a lovely rose garden surrounds this home. One year lease is required!! Call Sherri for more details @ 225-235- 5817.

 

For More Information:

phone: 225-638-3500
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This email was sent to frogola69@yahoo.com, by jamie_delatte@bellsouth.net
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Pointe Coupee Chamber of Commerce | P.O. Box 555 | 2506 False River Drive | New Roads | LA | 70760