An entire industry will be honored for its outstanding achievement at the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce 2016 Annual J. Pat Beaird Industry and The Forum Top Businesses of the Year Awards luncheon.

The luncheon is named and held in honor of industrialist and philanthropist J. Pat Beaird Sr. At the luncheon, the chamber honors one outstanding, largescale business with the Industry of the Year Award.

The chamber has chosen to recognize the banking and credit union industry for 2016. To qualify for the award, businesses must represent the principles Beaird promoted: real dollar expansion, community involvement, and the creation of new jobs. The selection of the industry that is honored each year is made by the senior council of the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, which is made up of several of the chamber’s past chairmen of the board.

“In the past we would, generally, honor a single company, but then we decided a few years ago that sometimes you can’t honor just a single company – that there are several really good companies in a particular industry,” said Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce President Dick Bremer. “So this year, we’re honoring the banking and credit union industry, and there are 27 banks and credit unions that are members of our chamber that will be honored as part of that significant industry.”

The following banking and credit union members will be honored:

ANECA Federal Credit Union, BancorpSouth, Bank of Coushatta, Bank of Montgomery, Barksdale Federal Credit Union, Business First Bank, Campus Federal Credit Union, Capitol One Bank, Carter Federal Credit Union, Citizens Bank & Trust Company of Vivian La., Citizens National Bank, Community Bank of Louisiana, Cross Keys Bank, First Guaranty Bank, Gibsland Bank & Trust, Home Federal Bank, Iberia Bank, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Origin Bank, Ouachita Independent Bank, Pelican State Credit Union, Progressive Bank, Red River Bank, Regions Bank, Shreveport Federal Credit Union, WESLA Federal Credit Union and Willis-Knighton Federal Credit Union.

The chamber, along with The Forum, also honor small businesses at the luncheon. Last year, three companies had that distinction; this year there will be five honorees. Those among The Forum Top Businesses of the Year are BNB Systems, Cook, Yancey, King & Galloway, Forte & Tablada, Twisted Root Burger and Vintage Design Group. This award highlights the labor and love these small businesses and their owners pour into the regional economy. (Featured individually in this section.)

Barksdale Federal Credit Union has been around since 1954 and started out as a credit union to serve military members exclusively. The financial institution has since grown to 19 branches. BFCU vice president of business development Melissa Couch said customers are likely to find the same services at their credit union that they enjoy at a bank.

“We believe that a financial institution should be more than just a place to transact deposits and cash a check,” Couch said. “It’s really important to us, when someone comes in, that they know we can handle any of their financial needs, but we want to know them as a person as well. We realize that without our membership, we wouldn’t be anywhere.”

Founded in 1975 and with two branch locations in Northwest Louisiana, Progressive Bank is proud to offer its customers a full-service customer experience. Progressive Bank NWLA Market President/Chief Lending Officer Greg Lott said that is something that differentiates the bank from others within the industry.

“At Progressive Bank, all of our bankers are charged with helping you achieve your dreams,” he said. “If you look at our profession, banks exist to help people, they exist to help businesses grow, and they exist to help improve our community. I think that’s why we’re being recognized. We’re just here to help folks and fulfill the needs in our community. I think, collectively, we all do a good job to meet those needs.”

Bank of Montgomery has 12 locations – three of them local. The bank was founded in Montgomery in 1903, and Bank of Montgomery Business Development Consultant Henry Burns said it is considered one of the top banks in the state technology-wise.

“It’s small compared to the huge banks, but it has the assets and the amenities of a big bank,” he said. “We still have smalltime, thoughtful relationships, but we also provide a myriad of services.”

Burns said Bank of Montgomery is excited to be included in this honor with such a worthy group because he said [the industry] is all on the same team to help and be part of the community. “It’s neat to be in an industry where their primary goal is to be available and accessible and to address people’s financial needs.”

Ouachita Independent Bank has been in Shreveport-Bossier City for almost 14 years. Today, there are 12 banking locations throughout northern Louisiana – four local. The institution believes lifeaffecting financial decisions should be made locally, where they live, not some distant corporate headquarters. The bank specializes in business loans for small businesses and up to larger transactions.

“When folks come in here to make deposits and transact business, they end up staying and visiting. It’s a different environment,” said Ouachita Independent Bank president of the NW division Walter Lamb. “We’ve been as good as the folks we’ve been able to surround ourselves with, and that’s always been, to me, the cream of the crop.”

Luncheon attendees can expect a treat in addition to seeing these businesses honored, and Bremer said the motivational keynote speaker for the luncheon should draw a larger-than-usual crowd. “We have an outstanding speaker for the luncheon. His name is Gene Kranz, and he was the NASA flight director for Apollo 13,” he said.

Kranz, a former NASA flight control director and manager of the Apollo 13 ground control team, was there when the infamous words “Houston, we have a problem,” were spoken to Mission Control by the Apollo 13 astronauts in April 1970. Kranz will bring the message “Failure is Not an Option” to the audience as the best-of-the-best Northwest Louisiana businesses are honored.

“I just think it’s really great that the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce has stopped and looked at the financial institutions that are here – that are making a difference in the lives of our neighbors,” Couch said.

The J. Pat Beaird Memorial Industry of the Year appreciation luncheon will be held at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 26 at the Shreveport Convention Center. A limited number of tickets will be sold. Tickets are $45 each and may be purchased by calling Chamber Vice President of Member Services Tracy Whittington at 677-2547. The city of Shreveport is providing free parking for the event.