News | September 2023

It already might be the “hottest, sweetest, oiliest, and saltiest place on Earth,” but Iberia Parish is hoping to add “greenest” to that list before long.

Dozens of local and state officials, business leaders and others gathered in the middle of a sugarcane field Thursday morning to celebrate the beginning of the largest private capital investment in Acadiana’s history.

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — On Wednesday, Sept. 27, One Acadiana, in partnership with KLFY, will host the three candidates for Lafayette Mayor-President in a forum at the Acadiana Center for the Arts.

The forum will be moderated by KLFY’s Darla Montgomery and will be livestreamed through the KLFY website beginning at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

State, regional and local elected officials along with executives with solar panel manufacturer First Solar broke ground Thursday on a $1.1 billion manufacturing facility in Iberia Parish, a project officials say will benefit the entire region.

Ohio-based First Solar, the largest solar module manufacturer in the Western Hemisphere, celebrated the start of the two-year construction project at the Acadiana Regional Airport; it will be the company’s fifth manufacturing site. State and elected officials have tabbed it as the largest capital investment ever in the region.

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One Acadiana wants your idea for a small business that would work inside one of downtown Lafayette’s most historic buildings.

The organization is hosting a months-long Small Business Challenge, a contest to find an entrepreneur who may have the best idea for a business to occupy the Sans Souci building, 219 E. Vermilion St., next to Parc Sans Souci possibly by the start of Festival International next year.

One Acadiana and other partners have launched a website geared toward helping small business owners and budding entrepreneurs get connected to necessary resources.

The website, louisianabizhub.com/acadiana-region, will offer a database of resource providers throughout the state along with lists of services for things such as business planning, entrepreneurial training, business counseling, sales, marketing, human resources and other topics, officials announced Wednesday morning.

Dee Stanley has been named President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SIDES & Associates, the Lafayette-based advertising, public relations and communications program management firm. For the past seven years, Stanley has served as Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of SIDES.

LAFAYETTE, La. – Regional partners have launched a new digital platform to connect entrepreneurs and small business owners with resources to help them start and grow their businesses.

LAFAYETTE, LA (September 1, 2023) – Advancial Federal Credit Union is excited to launch its 3rd Annual Swipe and Support campaign to raise funds for Second Harvest Food Bank of South Louisiana. Funds raised by this campaign will go to support Second Harvest’s Makin’ Groceries Mobile Market program, a custom-built truck that brings fresh groceries to underserved areas throughout the Acadiana area.

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