Letter from the Chamber President

By Lindy Price, 2009 Chamber President

Welcome to the Winnsboro-Franklin Chamber of Commerce website and to our Franklin Parish community - one of THE best places in Louisiana to live, to work, and to raise a family.

Franklin Parish is an eclectic mix of industry, retail business, banking, healthcare, education, food service, and agricultural production – with a sprinkling of entrepreneurial diversity thrown in for good measure – all working together for the common good.

The Winnsboro-Franklin Chamber of Commerce understands that in order to have a strong economic environment, you must have a strong community that supports and encourages growth and innovative thinking. We are truly blessed in Franklin Parish to have leaders, business owners, educators, and a wealth of private citizens who recognize that we all share in the responsibility of creating economic success and stability as well as a healthy community environment for our children and grandchildren.

As a community, we share the vision. We work, we volunteer, we support and serve as we build on the successes of those who came before us and develop new and innovative strategies that will make Franklin Parish even better.

For the past 65 years, the Winnsboro-Franklin Chamber of Commerce has diligently fulfilled the mission of the founding fathers to “create, enhance, and promote the economic environment, employment opportunities and the quality of life in our community and to advocate and create solutions for business and community issues.”

The Chamber is involved in numerous projects throughout the year that benefit our community. A prime example is the Taste of Franklin, an annual spring affair, which is co-sponsored with the Franklin Parish Catfish Festival. The Taste of Franklin promotes the local food service industry and at the same time serves to ‘kick-off’ the annual Franklin Parish Catfish Festival, an event that brings thousands of visitors to Franklin Parish each April. The Chamber also co-sponsors the Academic Achievement Banquet that provides thousands of dollars in scholarships to deserving Franklin Parish students each year. We also pay tribute to our farming community for their hard work and diligence in maintaining our agricultural industry with a fish fry held in their honor each fall.

We sponsor other fun projects such as the annual nighttime Christmas Parade, the Children’s Parade, Trail of Trees, and the Shop Franklin First campaign each holiday season. These events promote local businesses and encourage Franklin Parish citizens and visitors alike to patronize the local markets.

The Chamber works with other local civic and private groups to encourage new business development, to create awareness of problems facing our community and to develop potential solutions, to be a source of information and support for business owners, and to maintain and enhance the good that is Franklin Parish.

As the 2009 Chamber President, I am honored to serve alongside the army of volunteers that work out-front and behind the scenes to build a better Franklin Parish for all citizens. That is the uniqueness of our community. We think outside the box, we work together to make things happen, and we support the efforts of all.

If you’re not a member of the Winnsboro-Franklin Chamber of Commerce, please join us today. Your investment will pay big dividends in many different ways as we work together to make Franklin Parish a better place to live, to work, and to raise a family.

<< Back to About the Chamber