Each year, the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce presents one corporate entity from the Greater Shreveport area with its prestigious J. Pat Beaird Award for their outstanding business achievements. 

This year, the Chamber announced CenterPoint Energy as the 2014 Industry of the Year. 

“[We are] honored to be recognized as another in a long line of fabulous companies and organizations that have supported this community. It is such a high honor for us; we are greatly honored to be in that group of companies and organizations,” Eric Barkley, North Louisiana district director for CenterPoint Energy, said. “I think it’s a reflection of not only the current CenterPoint Energy employees but all those employees down through the years that have really put their heart and soul into serving this region.”

The J. Pat Beaird Award is in honor of J. Pat Beaird Sr., who spent a lifetime working to make Greater Shreveport and the state a better place to work and live. The recipients of the award are held to the same high standards, and must meet the criteria of real dollar expansion, community involvement and the creation of new jobs. CenterPoint Energy employs approximately 250 in the Greater Shreveport area and provides natural gas service for approximately 150,000 customers.  

In addition to economic development, CenterPoint Energy is deeply rooted in community service and involvement in the area. 

“We work closely with the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, the  United Way, economic development organizations are very important to us, educational endeavors are very important to us,” Barkley said. “From a pure livable standpoint, one of the major things we do is the Mudbug Madness Festival each year. We have been the title sponsor for several years. Not only does that mean just a financial contribution, but our employees get deeply involved in volunteerism and manning the booths and helping that fantastic festival to run. We are tickled to be a part of that festival.” 

Brad Tutunjian, regional vice president of operations for Louisiana and Mississippi, is proud of the level of community involvement their employees are committed. “We have employees on the board of the American Red Cross, we support out troops in Afghanistan, hold food drives for the food banks in the area, and we have frequent blood drives that our employees regularly participate in,” Tutunjian said. “I would like to recognize the employees of CenterPoint Energy because it’s those people who volunteer and have such a great work ethic and have been working with us for so long that really make the impact in the community. Those are the people that actually I think should be recognized for this award. We couldn’t have done it without them.”

CenterPoint Energy also looks to the next generation with their community programs. Each summer, they hold a program called Energy Camp for high school students. “We want to expose [students] to energy careers and what the energy business is all about. Whether it’s our particular end of the business, or pipeline companies or electric companies or whatever, it gives the kids a chance to see what the opportunities in that field might be,” Barkley said.  

Barkley, who has been with CenterPoint Energy for 16 years, said community involvement is at the core of what they as a company represents. 

“CenterPoint has a set of five core values that we all live by. Safety, integrity, accountability, initiative and respect. I want to zero in on the respect part because one of the core components of the respect value is to value the communities that we serve. We realize that we are a part of that community; our people live there and work there and we want to give back and be heavily involved with volunteerism and with financial support,” Barkley said. “That core value, in the context of the award we are receiving really hits home. That part of CenterPoint Energy really resonates with me. I have personally been involved in many volunteer opportunities in town along with other CenterPoint employees, and I just thoroughly enjoy it. It’s one of my favorite parts of my job. It makes you feel good to be out doing your part to make Shreveport a better place to live.” 

Barkley is pleased and excited CenterPoint Energy is receiving the award. “CenterPoint has a value statement: Our goal is to lead the nation in delivering energy, service and value. We are greatly honored and appreciate the chance to serve this area with natural gas. It’s a privilege we don’t take lightly,” he said. “The value we bring is not only the natural gas service to the community, but the involvement in the chamber, the economic development realm where we are working to attract industry and jobs to the area – that is a value that companies like ours bring beyond that first glance you see as natural gas service. We do a lot of other things that we hope bring great value to the citizens of Shreveport,” Barkley said. “We are so honored and grateful for the recognition. It means a lot to us to join this group that’s been honored in the past; it’s a very illustrious group, and for us to be a part of it is very moving for us. We will continue to do a good job for the folks in Shreveport and for the folks at the Chamber.”