Letter from the President, June 9

What a BEAUTIFUL time to be living and doing business in Monroe and Northeast Louisiana. I recently came across a couple of quotes that resonate with our changing world. The first is –“I alone cannot change the world,  but I can cast a stone across the water that creates many ripples”. The second is ‘The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new”.  The stone creates many ripples that have been cast. Meta and the new construction companies along with the support industry are making a HUGE and POSITIVE wave of change. As a city and community, we have fought and worked hard for this to happen. Our new neighbors are awesome. Our new neighbors love this community like we do and they are bringing new life, new attitude, and a new story that we all get to write. As a business, you need to prepare. Focus your energy on “building the new”. What an amazing opportunity we all have. By the first quarter, the META Data Center construction will be wide open. It’s hard to imagine 5,000 – 6,000 new workers in our area. Build your future business on growth. Be aggressive and be prepared. Own your story and tell your story. Please reach out to us if you want to discuss or you can reach out to our good friends at GROW NELA who are leading the way. I will leave you with a paraphrased quote from Louisiana State Senate President Cameron Henry. During his talk at Northern Exposure, he said over and over what a wonderful city and community we have. He said we have a great story to tell and each of us has to be those storytellers. Opportunity is knocking – be ready, be flexible, and be aggressive.