New Jobs, New Opportunities

I told you that creating more jobs was my number one job as your governor since first taking office.

The result: we are now at the top of many national rankings, and we have weathered the national economic downturn better than other states in the south and the nation.

Of course, growing our economy and creating jobs are about more than just numbers.

It’s about providing new opportunities for the families who were forced to move away from Louisiana because there weren’t enough jobs here in the past. It’s about ensuring that when our children grow up, they don’t have to get on a plane to come visit for the holidays. Now, many more of our Louisiana children can just drive across town for the holidays because they are pursuing their dreams right here in the state.

As I travel around the state this year, I’ve met many folks who have been out of work or out-of-state, but have now found jobs with companies that are creating jobs here in Louisiana.

In North Louisiana, I met Sara Reese who was out of work for two years after International Paper closed up shop in Bastrop.

When IP closed, I went up there and told the town that when one part of our state hurts, our entire state hurts, and we made a promise to work for the long-haul until our people got back to work.

Our work paid off later when we announced DGA foods would create 317 jobs in the area.

DG Foods has already hired 200 folks, including Sara. She said she “truly thanks God” for DG Foods, because the new job changed her life and that DG Foods has provided many unemployed people with a chance to work again.

I also met Russell Faletti who found a job as a hardware design engineer at Globalstar in South Louisiana.

After relocating their headquarters to Louisiana from Silicon Valley a year ago, Globalstar has already created more than 100 new jobs and is on track to create nearly 600 jobs.

Russell first came to New Orleans in 2002 where he studied engineering at Tulane and fell in love with a girl from Louisiana who became his wife.

After graduating though, he had to move away to San Antonio for work. In 2009, four years after moving to Texas, Russell and his wife talked about moving back to New Orleans and saw that Globalstar was looking to hire and he was offered a job. As somewhat of a joke, Russell and his wife decided that if the Saints won the Super Bowl, they would move back to Louisiana.

The rest is history of course as the Saints beat the Colts and a day after the win, Russell told his boss in Texas he was moving back to Louisiana for a job.

In Southwest Louisiana, I met Mike King who was without full-time work for a year and a half when he met supervisors from Aeroframe who were in the process of expanding their operations at Chennault International Airport. Mike was encouraged to apply and while he had no experience working on airplanes, the Fast Start program was available to train him to handle aircraft maintenance work. Mike said the opportunity at Aeroframe opened a door for him to an exciting and rewarding career, and he loves his job.

It is my goal to build an economy in our state that makes thousands of more stories like Russell, Sara and Mike. I will not rest until Louisiana is the best place in the world for everyone to get a great education and pursue a rewarding career. We still have more work to do. The New Louisiana we are building is a beacon to the entrepreneurs, the dreamers, and those looking to grow their businesses and create opportunities for the next generation of American workers.