Chamber of Commerce outlines, markets Parish’s advantages
The Bossier Chamber of Commerce has launched an initiative to reinvent the face of Bossier in today’s economic market.
Lisa Johnson, Chamber President and CEO, said Bossier Innovates is a campaign to rebrand the parish and its municipalities to use collectively in telling “our story” to recruit new business and talent to the area. The goal, she said, is for the community to see a growth in new businesses, residents and opportunities in the whole parish as a result of a growing local economy.
“The need in addressing the branding of the area is to be proactive,” Johnson said in an e-mail. “Bossier continues to grow and see strong growth patterns. But there is always a need to improve upon what you have.”
Bossier Innovates was developed in partnership Bossier Economic Development leaders in order to streamline Bossier’s message out of the area, Johnson said. The chamber released information on their website as well as an Internet video, developed by the Bossier Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Fairfield Studios, BPCC and CIC providing footage, that shows how Bossier is changing through interviews with local economic development leaders.
Rocky Rockett, Executive Director / President of the Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation, said innovation is important because it brews success.
“We are always open to ideas and out of the box thinking, which I firmly believe has led to a lot of the successes Bossier has enjoyed over the last decade plus,” Rockett said.
He added that Bossier shares some great resources that have helped us through very tough times both locally and nationally.
“Gaming, Oil and Gas, and the Defense industry have opened great doors of opportunity for job creation in our market along with medical and traditional industries,” Rockett said. “These businesses take advantage of our business atmosphere that is often viewed as progressive due to the investments mentioned before.”
Rockett said programs currently being developed from an "out of the box" mold would improve some of the job training and education aspects to be able to compete for facilities here and meet the jobs need they require.
“That makes us continue our competitive edge worldwide and once again shows our innovative nature to meet our customers’ needs,” he said.
Johnson said the results they hope to see from this initiative will take some time. However, they have already started taking action to get things rolling.
“It is time we become great at a new level,” Johnson said. “Bossier Innovates will put Bossier Parish on a new platform for economic development showcasing our business and education partnerships not only at the local level but these partnerships that are now being launched nationwide with National awards.”
Johnson said there are several ways for residents and businesses to get involved in Bossier Innovates – word of mouth, social media and being community ambassadors.
“If your company has a website or strong social media, place the video and logo on your site to show our strong partnership,” she said. “The goal is for each of us to show our pride for our community and encourage others to join us and grow our economy.”
For more information, visit www.bossierchamber.com/bossier-innovates
