By George Swift

Today, The SEED Center, 4310 Ryan St., hosts an Open House from 5 -7 p.m. in celebration of its 10th anniversary.

The official name is the Southwest Louisiana Entrepreneurial Economic Development Center. The late Dr. Robert Hebert, President of McNeese State University, helped us shorten the name to “SEED Center.” “We are planting seeds for businesses to grow,” he said, thus, it’s The SEED Center.

The genesis for this project occurred before Hurricane Rita in 2005. As the last major city in the state to have a business incubator, the idea was floated. There were dozens of folks who worked together to make the center a realty. After Rita, public meetings were held to find sustainable projects for recovery and long term growth. The business incubator was one of those projects. In discussing the project with then Calcasieu Parish Administrator Mark McMurry and then Asst. Administrator Bryan Beam, the idea of much more came to light.

Before the SEED Center, The Chamber and its Foundation were downtown, the McNeese Small Business Development Center was on campus, and the regional planning commission had been in various locations. Having one location containing all entities was desirable and convenient for clients and prospects.

However, there were differences of opinion as to where the facility should be located. After much discussion and various views it seemed a consensus could not be found. Dr. Hebert called to check on progress, or lack thereof, and he suggested property owned by the university behind McDonald’s on Ryan Street. Having the facility at McNeese was unifying because all stakeholders from our five parishes saw McNeese as “their” university.

However, funding was a big issue. The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury voted to utilize Rita recovery funds to cover a large share of the cost. Then Mayor Randy Roach and The City of Lake Charles concurred. The Chamber sold our building downtown and put up cash.

We were still short but the U.S. Commerce Department’s EDA (Economic Development Administration) came through with a $4 million grant. Thus, the $13 million facility was funded and could be built debt-free.

In the 10 years, hundreds of business meetings have been held at The SEED Center. Included were prospective companies and industries seeking data about our region. Area companies conduct planning and training sessions. Literally hundreds of folks wanting to start a business have met with the Small Business Development Center and the Business Incubator of Southwest Louisiana, which has flourished.

Over 200 companies have located in the Incubator through the years under the leadership of then Executive Director Adrian Wallace. Business training and development programs are offered to incubator clients. Many firms were started here and grew out. The most notable was WAITR which was founded at the SEED Center and sold for over $300 million dollars. Some businesses did not make it and failed. However, statistics prove that a start-up company utilizing the services at an incubator are 80% more likely to succeed than start-ups without those services.

Looking ahead, we believe the next 10 years will be even more exciting. There will be a renaissance of startup companies employing new technology. Our region is poised to become the clean energy mecca with wind, solar, and carbon capture. This will be led by existing industry as they transition to a lower carbon footprint. All of this will create thousands of jobs.

The investment made in The SEED Center is creating a huge return in economic growth and job creation. On this day of the 10th Anniversary Celebration, we thank and honor the dozens of dedicated leaders who worked together for the benefit of the region.

“Made possible by collaboration for collaboration” would  be a good theme for Southwest Louisiana, where business gets done.

a

George Swift is president/CEO of the Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance. Contact him at 337-433-3632 or gswift@allianceswla.org.