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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
Date and Time
Tuesday Jan 31, 2017
7:30 AM - 4:30 PM CST
