Agriculture Business & Community Forum Agenda

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Agriculture Business and Community Forum Agenda
Davison Athletics Complex
1454 West Alabama Avenue,
Ruston, LA
Tuesday, January 31, 2017

7:30-8:00 a.m. Registration and Coffee
Welcome
8:00-8:10 a.m. Welcome and Recognition of Special Guests
Dr. Stan Napper, Vice President for Research and Development, Frank
Earl Hogan Professor, Louisiana Tech University Lynda Lowe, National Coordinator, Economic Recovery Support Function, U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration

8:10-8:30 a.m. Introduction to the National & State Disaster Recovery Frameworks
Wayne Rickard, Federal Emergency Management Agency,
Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator Declarations: DR-4263-LA (March Flooding) and DR-4277-LA (August Flooding) Economic Recovery Support Function

8:30-11:30 a.m. Agriculture

8:30-10:00 a.m.
USDA and University Panel Discussion
Lee Jones, Assistant State Director, USDA Rural Development
Reese Traylor, District Director, Louisiana USDA Farm Service Agency
State Office
Rene Simon, Director, Marketing and Agricultural Economic
Development, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry
Billy “Rogers” Leonard, Assistant Vice President and Program Leader, LSU AgCenter
Odis Hill, Assistant Area Agent, Agriculture and Natural Resources, Southern University Ag Center
Dr. Gary Kennedy, Louisiana Tech College of Applied and Natural Sciences

10:00-10:10 a.m. Break

10:10-11:05 a.m. Specialty Crops and Food Hubs Panel Discussion
 Kay King, CEO, Morehouse Economic Development Corporation
 Martha Marak, Executive Director, Northwest Louisiana Food Bank

11:05-11:30 a.m. Cultural Tourism
 Tana Trichel, CEO, Northeast Louisiana Economic Alliance

11:30-11:45 a.m. Lunch Served

11:45-1:15 p.m. Community Luncheon
USDA Stronger Economies Together Program
Louisiana Development Ready Communities Program
Community Capacity and Long-Term Recovery Resilience Planning
Community Capacity and Long-Term Recovery Planning
 Lee Jones, Assistant State Director, USDA Rural Development
 Skip Smart, Director - Community Competitiveness, Louisiana
Economic Development
 Tonia Pence, National Disaster Recovery Support,
Community Planning and Capacity Building RSF Field Coordinator,
FEMA

1:15-5:00 p.m. Business

1:15-3:00 p.m. Small Business Assistance Panel Discussion
 Michael Ricks, State Director, U.S. Small Business Administration
 Virendra “VC” Chhikara, Director, Louisiana Small Business
Development Center, University of Louisiana - Monroe
 Clay Rives, Emergency Operations Specialist, National Incident
Management Systems and Advanced Technologies Institute, University
of Louisiana – Lafayette
 Erin Butler, Director U.S. Commercial Service New Orleans, U.S.
Department of Commerce
 Kelly Ford, Program Manager, Northwest Louisiana Procurement
Technical Assistance Center

3:00-3:15 p.m. Break

3:15-4:30 p.m. State and Federal Contracting Opportunities