Four speakers take the stage in September event

For 30 years, The Rapides Foundation has worked to improve the health status of Central Louisiana by providing access to high-quality healthcare and community services – and as part of that mission, the Foundation has also devoted substantial resources to the region’s economic development.

During the Foundation’s 2025 Symposium -- Building on Progress. Shaping What’s Next -- on Thursday, Sept. 4, at the Randolph Riverfront Center, more than 200 attendees heard state and local presenters explain the past, present and future of Central Louisiana’s economic development and how decades of strategic investment have positioned Central Louisiana for growth.

The annual symposium recognizes the Foundation’s Sept. 1, 1994, creation and provides information on a topic of importance to the Central Louisiana community. The 2025 event focused on Economic Development. The creation was the result of a joint venture partnership between Rapides Regional Medical Center and HCA. Today, the Foundation owns 26 percent of the hospital and has grown its assets from $140 million in 1994 to $373 million.

Since its inception in 1994, the Foundation has awarded $281 million in grants.

“People may ask, ‘Why does a health-focused foundation focus on economic development?’” said Joe Rosier, President and CEO of The Rapides Foundation. “While the mission of The Rapides Foundation is to improve the health status of Central Louisiana, our vision is to positively impact Central Louisiana by deploying resources to improve key health factors across our nine-parish service area.”

Studies show that populations who are more educated, with higher incomes, often live longer and free from disease diagnoses.

“In our most recent grant cycle, just under 40 percent of funding will be spent on healthcare access and healthy behaviors, while 43 percent will be spent on education,” Rosier said. “Our goal is to have more children graduate high school and ready for the next stage of life, whether it be a four-year university, technical college or employment in local industry.”

The Foundation allocates 16% of its funding to economic environment, focusing on “increasing median household income by growing income and wealth across the board.”

Strategies used by the Foundation to accomplish that goal include workforce development, business startup and expansion and regional economic development.

Jim Clinton served as President and CEO of Louisiana Central, the regional economic development organization representing a 10-parish area, from 2008 to 2025. In his speech, he reflected on his tenure and pointed to several key developments already at work in the region.

“The Rapides Foundation’s work in the K-12 area and early childhood education has reverberated through Central Louisiana and throughout the state,” Clinton said.

While other areas of the state have benefited greatly from the oil and gas industry, or from the generation of university-based research, Central Louisiana, Clinton said, is solidly rooted in healthcare, manufacturing and entrepreneurship and is in a unique position for renewable energy and emerging opportunities in the AI space.

Clinton thanked the Central Louisiana community “for giving me the chance to do this work” over the past 17 years.

He also thanked The Rapides Foundation “for its remarkable commitment to using best practices and for investing in best practices. They’ve got more discipline about connecting individual grant decisions to the purpose of the organization, and to the long-term interest of the community than any organization I’ve ever dealt with,” he said. “They’re the best funder I’ve ever worked with, and I’ve taken a lot of money from a lot of organizations.”

Susan Bourgeois, Secretary of Louisiana Economic Development, outlined the state’s plans to invest in and elevate rural communities, ensuring that regions like Central Louisiana are part of the state’s economic future.

When Bourgeois took on her role in Louisiana Economic Development, she was confronted with one important statistic.

“Louisiana was the only state in the South over the last five years that was losing population and this was a trend we had to reverse,” Bourgeois said.

And that meant change across the board.

“The reception I received was incredible,” Bourgeois said. “Leadership said, change it all.”

Statewide, three areas of focus were education, public safety and tax reform. Changes in those spaces, Bourgeois said, make Louisiana more attractive to industry and investors. In the last 18 months, Bourgeois’ team put 54 projects on the board and brought in approximately $70 billion in capital investment, and created 23,000 new jobs.

“And we are far from done,” Bourgeois said.

With a new leadership team, and representation from eight Louisiana regions, Bourgeois has implemented a “Nine by Ninety” plan with specific, measurable goals to achieve by December 2026. Industries on her list include life sciences, technology, professional services, agribusiness, logistics, aerospace and defense, and energy/processing.

Chris Masingill, the incoming President and CEO of Louisiana Central, says the future of Central Louisiana is bright.

“I am honored to have this opportunity and I’m excited to get to work with the type of legacy companies we have in this community, companies that have been investing in our community for decades,” Masingill said. “I grew up in a community just like Alexandria. This is a community that has faith, loves their family, has grit – and this is a community and region that is hungry for opportunity.”

Masingill unveiled his plan for Louisiana Central in his first 100 days on the job. The plans include completing a 10-parish comprehensive strategic economic development plan, and launching a “We Make Good Stuff” regional tour to engage directly with 100 business and community leaders to ensure their perspectives remain front and center as the team shapes the future of the organization, the region and economic growth. 

His approach is based on four key pillars: 

• Organizational Excellence: Building upon staff expertise and capacity; enhancing operational effectiveness; raising resources
• Economic Development Strategy: Positioning the existing industrial and business base to grow and reinvest; recruiting new business investment and job creation; talent attraction; wrap-around entrepreneurship support
• Strategic Initiatives & Partnerships: Scaling strategies focused on labor force participation and workforce development, place-based development, and quality of life; breaking down silos to maximize impact; identifying cutting-edge best practices to address ongoing challenges 
• Marketing and Engagement: Proactively telling Central Louisiana’s story to the world; elevating partnerships; enhancing collaborations.

“We have a competitive advantage,” Masingill said. “The way we are geographically positioned is a strategic advantage, and the work ethic of our region is one of the best in the nation.”