Chamber News: Capitol Visits, Northshore Focus, LED Survey, Scholarships Awarded and More

May 14, 2024

Visiting the Capitol to Strengthen Relationships, Show Support

Yesterday, our CEO Lacey Osborne and Vice President Michelle Biggs spent time at the Capitol with our legislators strengthening our relationships and showing our support. Pictured (l-r) are Jay Galle, Larry Frieman, Kim Carver, Leah Long, Stephanie Berault, Michelle Biggs, Brian Glorioso, Lacey Osborne and Peter Egan.

Last week, members of the Louisiana Chamber of Commerce Executives (LACCE) including our own Vice President Michelle Biggs attended the annual LACCE Day at the Capitol. Over 20 chambers from around the state participated and received legislative updates from several key advocacy leaders and policymakers.

Three College Scholarships Awarded from Golf Tournament Proceeds

Congratulations to Madelyn Smith from Slidell High School, Halle Anne Haaga from Fontainebleau High School and Sadie Ochoa from Northshore High School. Each received a $1,000 college scholarship from our Chamber with proceeds from our 2024 Swinging for Scholarships Golf Tournament. St. Tammany Parish School Superintendent Frank Jabbia joined our CEO Lacey Osborne and our Membership Director and scholarship program coordinator Meredith Wright in making the presentations. Several of our top-level Chamber investors were able to join us for the scholarship presentations. Read more here.

(l-r seated) Madelyn Smith, Halle Anne Haaga, Sadie Ochoa, (l-r standing) Frank Jabbia with St. Tammany Parish Public Schools, Kimberly Brechtel with CGB Enterprises, Inc., Jeremy Theriot with REV Business, Kim Melvin with Lakeview Hospital, Ronnie Simpson with Ochsner Health, Brooke Russell with AVALA, David Boudreaux with Hancock Whitney, Kelly Rabalais with St. Tammany Health System, Donald Peltier with American Bank, Sandy Badinger with Slidell Memorial Hospital and Lacey Osborne

Issues Making News

Gov. Signs Property Insurance Reform Bills into Law

Last week, Gov. Landry signed a series of insurance reform bills aimed at stabilizing our state's property insurance market.

“Our hope is that this package of bills will start to create more balance in the law and in the market such that we can drive the cost of property insurance down so it’s more affordable for our citizens,” Gov. Landry said.

Click here to read more.

Update on Constitutional Convention Efforts

The state House voted last week to call a special convention to rewrite Louisiana’s constitution, but only after Gov. Landry and House leaders agreed in a major concession to delay the convention’s start until Aug. 1. This start date still appears to give convention delegates enough time to meet over the next two or three weeks and then approve a new constitution that would be put before voters statewide on Nov. 5. Click here to read more.

New Proposal in Discussion to Fund Jail, DA's Office

St. Tammany Parish will ask voters to free up taxes that it already collects to fund the parish jail and district attorney’s office. President Cooper and the Parish Council are proposing to extend the use of an existing sales tax, with the council voting unanimously to place the measure on the November ballot. Read more here.

Voter Apathy in St. Tammany Parish

St. Tammany Parish is home to 188,858 registered voters as of April 4 and a total of 14,048 voted in the Municipal General Election on April 27. And a total of 23.1% of parish voters cast a ballot in the recent DA’s race.

Click here to read St. Tammany Farmer Editor Andy Canulette's article on voter apathy and how to improve voter turnout.

Click here to read our May 10, 2024 Legislative Update

Member Shout-Outs

We are very happy to welcome The Toasted Yolk Café’s first location in Louisiana—in Covington! This daytime dining hub, located at 206 Lake Drive, offers breakfast, brunch and lunch from 7 AM to 3 PM, Monday through Sunday.

Congratulations to Bryan Camerlinck on his promotion to President and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana. Camerlinck joined BCBSLA in 2016 as chief financial officer and was promoted to the role of executive vice president and chief operating officer in 2021. Read more here.

St. Tammany Corporation Recognizes Economic Development Champions

In recognition of last week's worldwide Economic Development Week, St. Tammany Corporation highlighted several key champions who have dedicated themselves to growing our community by providing economic opportunity and generating wealth to directly support St. Tammany's quality of life. Our Chairman Chris Abadie, senior vice president of Colliers international, is among those recognized. Click here to find out all the 2023 St. Tammany Champions of Economic Development.

Join Us at the Capitol May 29

Chambers of commerce from Livingston, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes will visit the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge on Wednesday, May 29, for the Northshore Focus. It is an opportunity to thank our outstanding Northshore delegation and remind them of our needs and issues. The event will take place in the Rotunda from 11a.m. to 2 p.m. Chamber members are invited to join us!

Uplifting Message Delivered at Economic Development Breakfast

Positioning Louisiana to win was the focus of Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Susan Bonnett Bourgeois’s discussion at our State of Economic Development breakfast last week. She discussed how she is making her department more effective and customer service oriented—and the benefits these changes will have on our state’s economic approach. She and St. Tammany Corporation CEO Chris Masingill both emphasized the advantages we have in our state, region and parish, and believe Louisiana is primed for new investment across a wide range of key industries.

We thank them for their presentations, Ochsner Health for sponsoring the economic development breakfast, and The St. Tammany Farmer for being our media sponsor.

Take Survey, Help Louisiana WIN

Louisiana Economic Development is eager to begin surveying Louisiana businesses to better understand their needs from a state economic development perspective.

Please make the time to take this brief 15-minute survey to help LED learn more about your business, how they may better serve you, and how your expertise may serve as a foundation for developing and implementing our work.

Click here to take survey.

SBA Offers Disaster Aid, Information

The Small Business Association has opened a Disaster Loan Outreach Center in Slidell's Towers Building for victims of last month's severe weather. The office is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. No appointment is necessary.

The deadline to apply for property damage is July 2, 2024. The deadline to apply for economic injury is Feb. 3, 2025. Read more here and learn how to apply online.

Last Friday, Live Better Committee members joined Healthier Northshore to support Habitat for Humanity in their work to build a healthier community with affordable and safe housing. Thank you to Chamber members from Your Local Pediatrics on Demand, JJL&W Insurance Consulting Firm, St. Tammany Health System and Servpro!