Program to encourage networking
Educational service to
benefit businesses in
surrounding areas
By Heather Mangold
City
Editor
Approximately 500 Lafayette business owners will
be able to benefit from a new program that is being launched by the
Lafayette Urban Enterprise Association.
The program, Zone Business Education Access, will
provide all businesses located in the zone with free membership in the
Regional Education Network. The zone is a large area that includes parts
of downtown Lafayette and surrounding neighborhood areas.
The network is a non-profit organization that provides
education services to businesses. These services range from two-hour,
single topic lunch sessions to multi-session classes on specific subjects
requested by the participating business, according to a press release.
By joining the network, businesses may be able
to save the large fees that would be required if they wanted to participate
in the program on their own.
"Through this network they (businesses) can get
with several employers who have the same general interest and can share
the cost for these services and reap the benefits," said Dennis Carson,
executive director of the association.
The primary goal for this new initiative is to
help strengthen Lafayette's existing zone businesses, said Carson.
"The REN (Regional Education Network) realizes
the benefits of a zone-wide membership and the potential for increased
enrollment in its classes, so we negotiated a zone-wide membership fee
that LUEA (Lafayette Urban Enterprise Association) is paying," Carson
said.
A local member of the network is the company Henriott
Financial Services Inc.
"We joined the network because it gave us networking
opportunities with other companies," said Steve McQueen, spokesperson
for Henriott Financial Services Inc.
McQueen said it is a pretty good program because
the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce sponsors it, and participating in
the program reduces the cost of training by having training sessions
with other members of the network.
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