As the fall season approaches, so also comes the much-anticipated J. Pat Beaird Industry and Top Businesses of the Year awards luncheon, hosted by the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, with the support of their sponsors, 318 Forum, Chase Bank and J. Pat Beaird Memorial Fund.

“The Chamber is proud to announce that our Industry of the Year Award recipient this year will be Metro Aviation,” said Dr. Timothy Magner, Shreveport Chamber president.

The Industry of the Year winner is chosen from a senior council comprised of past board chairpersons of the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce.

“These are people who have a keen understanding of our organization’s goals and mission and the ability to link those two,” Magner said. “That’s a particularly effective group to be evaluating that award.”

Criteria include promoting real dollar expansion, community expansion and creation of new jobs.

“It’s about looking at the organization over time,” Magner said. “The criteria doesn’t change year to year.”

The Chamber and 318 Forum will also recognize four small businesses at the event. They are Flying Heart Brewing & Pub, a craft brewery and restaurant; Maxim Watermakers, LLC, a company that designs, engineers and manufactures water treatment equipment; RSI Building Products, LLC, a wholesale and retail distributor; and SOBO Promotional Products, LLC, a promotional product distributor.

These businesses were nominated under specific guidelines as defined by the Small Business Administration. They must be a service business and/or retailer with annual revenues of $3.5 million or less, a manufacturer with fewer than 500 employees or a wholesaler employing fewer than 100 workers.

In addition to honoring Metro Aviation and these select small businesses, the awards luncheon will also play host to a recognized authority on leadership and crisis management, former Naval Commander Kirk Lippold.

Cmdr. Lippold was in command of the USS Cole when it was targeted by a deadly al Qaeda terrorist attack in 2000, 11 months before 9/11. His team training before the attack and unflappable leadership afterward galvanized his crew to action, resulting in lives and the ship being saved.

A compelling storyteller, Cmdr. Lippold draws upon his Five Pillars of Leadership to offer strategies he learned and applied to instill integrity into his team members and mitigate crises throughout his naval career.

With takeaways for organizations on assessing their own successes and failures to prepare for what the future may hold, his lessons learned can make the difference when it matters most.

"The privilege and burden of leadership come with a level of accountability that business leaders must achieve to ensure their long-term success," Lippold said. “The art of leadership can be developed and sustained throughout any organization, given the right tools and commitment.”

In his opinion, crisis management plays a big part in a successful business.

“Business leaders today need to know and understand the key steps of how to lead through crisis and maintain top-notch effectiveness of their team or organization,” Lippold continued. “Learn how the importance of human factors during a crisis can be used to teach every company’s team to prepare for what’s ahead.”

This year’s luncheon will be at 11:30 a.m.

Thursday, Sept. 20, at Sam’s Town Hotel and Casino. Tickets are online at www. shreveportchamber.org. Prices are $75 for nonmembers and $55 for members. Table and event sponsorships are also available.

For more information on the J. Pat Beaird Awards or any of the other Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce initiatives, contact Erin Smith, director of marketing, communications and public relations for the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, at erin@shreveportchamber.org or 318-677-2500.

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