Baton Rouge, LA (February 6, 2024) – The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) on Friday announced its 2024 strategic priorities and reviewed its 2023 outcomes at its Annual Meeting presented by Kean Miller. BRAC’s five-year regional strategic plan, BRING IT!, and the 2024 annual priorities may be viewed at brac.org/bringit.
“Entering the midpoint of the BRING IT! strategic plan, we are keeping our feet on the gas,” said Ann Trappey, BRAC interim president and CEO. “With major program and initiative launches in 2022 and sustained growth in 2023, our goal for 2024 is to amplify these achievements, positioning the Baton Rouge Area as a premier hub for talent and business investment. This calls for a heightened emphasis on attracting young professional talent and fostering future energy industry investments.”
Outcomes of BRAC’s 2023 annual plan spanned each focus area of its five-year strategic plan, including the growth of initiatives like the Talent Action Collaborative, H2theFuture, small business services, and the Drive Minority Business Accelerator powered by ExxonMobil. BRAC saw 12 new business entries to the market or expansions of existing businesses, representing $430 million in capital investment. Additionally, BRAC advocated for and successfully passed two quality of life bills, one addressing public safety, and the other creating a local incentive to attract more concerts and festivals to the area.
The organization will build on last year’s successes with a focus on six priorities in 2024:
Create popular recruitment campaign for young talent. BRAC and Visit Baton Rouge will launch “Better in BTR,” a multi-media national marketing campaign and website, to attract young professional talent to Louisiana’s Capital Region, as well as bolster the region’s pride.
Secure major investments in future energy projects to help cement the region’s place as a hub of renewable energy investment and advance BRAC’s goals of economic diversification and increased job opportunities.
Secure major milestones on new bridge construction. The legislature has invested significantly in Capital Region transportation infrastructure projects in the last couple of years and BRAC will continue to advocate for advancement on the Mississippi River South Bridge project – a necessity for the region to continue to grow.
Launch for-profit redevelopment fund to draw investment to disinvested areas by developing an inventory of abandoned, publicly-owned land and buildings to put out for redevelopment bids, creating an online portal for showcasing reinvestment and redevelopment opportunities and related financing tools.
Launch local positive perception campaign in tandem with the national talent recruitment campaign. BRAC will use the messaging created for the national campaign and adapt it for a local audience, working to improve community pride and perception to create a positive ripple effect that retains talent.
Address availability and affordability of insurance. Louisiana residents face high insurance costs and scant coverage options. BRAC will advocate for measures that mirror best practices from other Gulf South states, such as creating statutory trigger language for what constitutes an insurer receiving satisfactory proof of loss in property insurance claims.
BRAC’s five-year, regional strategic plan, BRING IT!, may be viewed at brac.org/bringit.
About the Baton Rouge Area Chamber
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) is an aggressively ambitious regional economic development organization with a bias for action. BRAC seeks to push Baton Rouge beyond the status quo, unleash its potential, and support a vibrant business community that believes the finish line does not exist. BRAC seeks to accelerate economic opportunity in the Baton Rouge Area, for everyone, through BRING IT! Baton Rouge, its five-year, regional strategic plan. Learn more about BRAC at brac.org.
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