A letter from The President & Board Chair

To our valued stakeholders:

For nearly three decades, the Jefferson Chamber’s mission remains unchanged: to improve the business climate and quality of life in Jefferson Parish and the region. We strive for excellence, maintaining a Five – Star Accredited Chamber of Commerce, placing us in the top 2% of Chambers in the United States. We would like to take this opportunity to let you know how your investments and contributions have promoted successful initiatives in our community throughout the past year. 

Advocating on a local, state, and federal level to endorse and support pro-business policies and legislation continues to be our first priority. In 2022, we made great strides in improving the business climate in Jefferson Parish. We fought tirelessly to educate and communicate the concerns of expanding the Jefferson Parish School Board and were victorious in preventing the creation of two additional districts. We were also an active participant on the American Rescue Plan Task Force to advise the Jefferson Parish Council how to spend the $84 million received from ARPA in transformational ways. We organized the Industrial Alliance Task Force which continues to oppose additional industrial zoning regulations proposed by Jefferson Parish which would be crippling to the Jefferson Parish economy, particularly the West Bank. We are proud of our advocacy work in 2022 and look forward to making greater strides in 2023 through our numerous visits to Baton Rouge and Washington D.C. Please consider joining a committee and attending one of our governmental site visits to ensure our voices are heard at all levels of government!  

Educating and professional development remain a high priority to ensure that our workforce is equipped to supply ever-demanding job growth. We re-branded our Education Committee to the Education and Workforce Development Committee to be inclusive of our initiatives. Leadership Jefferson, a nine-month program designed to develop business and community leaders with the capacity to improve the quality of life in our region, graduated its 20th class in 2022.  In collaboration with JEDCO, our Prosper Jefferson seminar series offers an environment for professionals to grow together, focusing on topics such as public speaking, leadership, and company culture. We consistently advocate for higher standards, accountability, and greater funding in the classrooms to improve academics and technology.

Connecting people ensures growth in businesses, and no organization does that better than the Jefferson Chamber! Monthly networking events such as our Business and Breakfasts and Business Card Exchanges provide an accessible way to increase your business network. Our Crawfish Boil, one of our many signature events, increased capacity to over 730 business representatives from across our community. Additionally, the Black & Gold Gala, held at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center, boasted an attendance of more than 1,000 civic and community leaders. 

As President and Chairman of the Jefferson Chamber, respectively, we could not be prouder of the work of the Chamber’s small staff and our dedicated volunteers. We have hosted over 80 events in the past year, including educational seminars, networking events, advocacy trips and more. Our members voluntarily participate on eight different committees as well as the Jefferson Chamber PAC and Foundation for the betterment of our organization. 

Thank you for your continued support of the Jefferson Chamber and your investment in our award-winning Chamber to make our mission of Improving Business – Improving Lives possible.  

We look forward to our continued partnership with our investors and the community in 2023!

With Our Sincerest Gratitude,

Ruth W. Lawson
President, Jefferson Chamber

Al Galindo
2023 Chair, Jefferson Chamber