Vermilion Chamber president says interest, involvement going strong

The Vermilion Chamber of Commerce is in a healthy state at the moment, according to new Chamber President Ben Rivera.
Rivera spoke to the Abbeville Kiwanis Club earlier this week, offering updates on the Chamber, as well as its direction.
“Right now our membership is up to 290,” Rivera said. “That is the highest it has been in recent years. We are starting to get more and more support from the community. People are reaching out who don’t necessary even own a business. It is always encouraging when people want to participate in something like this.
“That helps with the growth.”
As for that growth, Rivera spoke of his vision for the Chamber.
“My vision for the Parish is bringing the Parish together,” Rivera said. “I want to bring the Parish together to work for economic development and work to support all businesses in Vermilion Parish.
“We want to work to help businesses grow and bring in new businesses.”
Helping to make that happen is a reaching out to the different parts of the Parish.
“One of the first orders of business when you become president is you have three appointees for the board,” Rivera explained. “In those situations, people call people they know. I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to just bring in my people.
“I want to incorporate the Parish as a whole.”
Rivera, an agent with Thomson Smith & Leach Insurance Group, Inc. in Abbeville, appointed Delcambre’s Wendell Verret, Maurice’s John Suire and Kaplan’s Maria Constintine. He didn’t stop there.
“We have compounded on that by including a panel of Ambassadors to serve as a liaison for our communities,” Rivera said. “We want to open communication and dialogue from the local areas, so that the Chamber can be more aware of the needs of our communities.”
The group of ambassadors indeed spans the entire Parish. Included in the group are Travis Richard (Gueydan), Kathy Villien (Maurice), Mike Hardy (Abbeville), Janice Morvant (Erath), Wendell Verret (Delcambre), Scott Young (Intracoastal City) and Ross Comeaux (Kaplan). Maria Constintine will also assist Comeaux in the Kaplan area.
“Our goal is to have these ambassadors speak with the mayors and other key people in these communities,” Rivera said. “They will act to relay information to the
Chamber. Each community has issues that will be different. That opens up a new line of communication for the board when you have people out there opening up a dialog with people in each of the communities.
“That way we can be more involved and help the businesses in those communities.”
Rivera said the Chamber is also working with other entities in regard to economic development.
“We are seeing how much money is in the Parish, where it is being spent and how much is leaving the Parish,” Rivera said. “Where does that dollar go when it leaves Vermilion Parish?
“When we understand that, we can incorporate ideas on how to recapture that money to help support our local people.”