Photo courtesy of Louisiana Central
As economic development continues to evolve, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: long-term economic vitality depends on stronger connections between economic development, education, workforce development, employers, and community leadership. That is the idea behind Rally Your Region, a new initiative launched by IEDC and workforce and education expert Mark C. Perna as part of IEDC’s centennial celebrations across the year.
Earlier this month, we held our first Rally Your Region event in partnership with Chris Masingill and the team at Louisiana Central, the regional economic development organization serving 10 parishes across central Louisiana. The goal of these events is simple but important: bring together educators, employers, economic developers, workforce leaders, philanthropy, and community stakeholders to align around a shared vision for the future of their region and, more importantly, begin building the relationships and partnerships needed to move that vision forward.
Central Louisiana was the perfect place to launch this work.
Across the region’s 10 parishes, more than 340,000 people live, work, and play, driving an economy that has seen its gross regional product grow from $13 billion to nearly $17 billion in just the past six years. As I spent time getting to know the place and the people of central Louisiana, it became clear that this is a region shaped by resilience, strong relationships, and a deep commitment to building a stronger future together.
You have seen me write before about the evolving role of economic developers and the shift toward a systems stewardship approach that connects not just economic development, but also workforce development, education, housing, childcare, and infrastructure. Rally Your Region events are designed to put that approach into practice by creating space for conversations that too often happen in silos.
Partnering with Mark Perna on this initiative has been a natural fit given his longstanding focus on education, workforce readiness, and helping communities better connect students and workers to opportunity. Bringing those conversations together with economic development is critical as communities compete not only for jobs and investment, but also for talent and long-term economic resilience.
In Alexandria, Louisiana, we brought together economic development leaders, community colleges, universities, school superintendents, educators, local philanthropy, and workforce partners from across the region. It was a room full of people who all understood the importance of their individual work, but needed a rallying point to come together across industries and focus areas.
Photo courtesy of Louisiana Central
By the end of the event, there was a growing recognition around the room that collaboration is not simply important, but essential to the future of the region. The hard work begins now through building relationships and partnerships each and every day, all with the goal of rallying the region together, driving economic prosperity, and equipping the next generation of leaders to stay, lead, and grow in the place they have always known as home.
This was just the first of many Rally Your Region events designed not simply to talk about the future of economic development, but to activate it. Economic developers serve as catalysts, and when we invite educators, workforce development specialists, employers, and community partners to the table, special things become possible.
Central Louisiana has a bright future ahead, made even stronger by a growing and dynamic team through Louisiana Central, the economic development organization that is catalyzing a region, rallying together around a common cause, shared mission, and collective vision for the future.