Dear Mr. Gates:
I noted with great interest your May 28 article entitled CW Economic Development Educational Series: How Major Economic Development Occurs in St. Tammany Parish, and I am moved to write this in response to the significant errors in that story. I hope that this will set the record straight for your readers, and enable them to be educated about local economic development in a factual and accurate way.
For starters, you begin two paragraphs with the word “Above…” which strongly implies that there is some sort of hierarchy or reporting relationship among the several organizations, both public and private sector, that are involved in the delivery of economic development services in our community. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are lucky to have a wide range of such groups and individuals committed to strengthening and expanding the business and employment bases in St. Tammany. Those mentioned in your article work very closely together, and indeed complement each other, but there is no structural relationship between or among them. For example, my Department (a public agency) works closely every day with the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation (a private concern) to attract new employers to our area, promote the use of business incentives, support existing employers, and to represent our Parish to regional, Statewide, and national groups. We are pleased with this symbiotic relationship, and we frequently collaborate with and rely on both large Chambers of Commerce in St. Tammany, as well as the Northshore Business Council (NBC), Covington Business Association (of which I am a member), and many other organizations. There are several other examples of overlapping membership and participation in multiple groups by many individuals.
Additionally, your story states quite erroneously that the Northshore Business Council “directs” the St. Tammany Economic Development Foundation. That is simply untrue. The NBC directs itself, and the STEDF directs itself. Furthermore, contrary to your statement, the NBC is not affiliated in any way with the government affairs website www.standupsttammany.org. That website is owned and operated strictly by the St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce, as clearly stated on the home page of that website. It serves as an information resource on local issues such as hydraulic fracturing, State issues such as transportation, and federal issues such as healthcare.
As near as I can determine, you did not communicate directly with any representatives of any of the agencies named in preparing your story. Perhaps if you had done so, you could have avoided so many misleading and false statements. I would be very happy to visit with you, the Covington Business Association, or any other group that may need further clarification about the role and purpose of all organizations involved in the economic growth of St. Tammany Parish. Thank you for this opportunity to provide the facts to your readers.
Don Shea, Dir. of Economic Development, St. Tammany Parish
