INDEvents

ABiz Top 50 Luncheon Kicks Off IND Events Fall-Winter Schedule

by Patrick Flanagan

The 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year Symposium is new to the line up and will debut in early December.

Lawrence Lessig

Top-selling author, national political reformer and Harvard Professor Lawrence Lessig is the keynote speaker for the 2014 ABiz Top 50 Business Luncheon scheduled for Thursday, August 20, at the Cajundome Convention Center at noon. Held in honor of the region's top performing privately held businesses and the locally domiciled publicly traded companies, the event is traditionally one of the largest produced by IND Media each year. The luncheon is a prelude to an impressive line up that will round out the IND Events schedule for 2014.

New to the series this year is the 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year Symposium, slated for early December.  "This event will provide a unique opportunity for ABiz readers to dialogue with some of the emerging and established top performers among Acadiana's respected entrepreneurial ranks," says ABiz Co-Publisher Cherry Fisher May. "The magazine has profiled these local thought leaders for several years. For this event, we envision a new format that will provide a unique opportunity for an idea exchange in real time." Nominations for 2014 Entrepreneur of the Year may be submitted via email to Editorial Director Leslie Turk ([email protected]). Past honorees include Dr. Kip Schumacher, founder of Schumacher Group, Lenny Lemoine, CEO of The Lemoine Company, and digital media pioneer, musician and Lafayette native Scott Eric Olivier.

Perhaps the most inspirational event each year is the Women Who Mean Business Awards Luncheon, slated for Thursday, Oct. 2. WWMB honorees are selected annually from nominations submitted by readers and past winners, and represent local women of influence in business, government, education and non-profit organizations. The class of 2014 will be announced soon and profiled in the Sept. 15 issue of ABiz.

Dr. Loren Scott is a perennial favorite in the IND Events line up. His annual presentation of the Louisiana Economic Outlook is scheduled this year at the Entree to Business Breakfast on Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Cajundome Convention Center at 7:30 a.m. Scott's presentation drills down on macro national business trends and their likely impact on Louisiana's statewide economic performance with a shout out to some key regional companies and micro forecasts affecting Acadiana. Scott is professoremeritus of economics at LSU, a member of the National Business Economic Council and was appointed to the economic advisory board of the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, comprised of Fortune 100 CEOs, top university presidents and national union leaders.

In addition to these B2B events, IND Monthly's INDstyle Awards is slated for Thursday evening, Sept. 18, at the Acadiana Center for the Arts. This event honors local style makers and fashionistas across the sartorial spectrum from Boho to haute couture. The evening also includes a professionally produced runway show of fall fashions from Lafayette's top retailers. Nominees for 2014 may be submitted to Special Projects Coordinator Robin Hebert via email at [email protected], who can also provide ticket information and other details for all IND Events. She can be reached by phone at (337) 769-8603.

The IND Events Schedule At a Glance

ABiz Top 50 Luncheon
Wednesday, Aug. 20
Cajundome Convention Center
Noon

INDstyle Awards
Thursday, Sept. 18
Acadiana Center for the Arts
7 p.m.

Women Who Mean Business Awards    
Thursday, Oct. 2
River Oaks Event Center
11:30 a.m.

Entree to Business
Thursday, Oct. 16
Cajundome Convention Center
w/ Dr. Loren Scott
7:30 a.m.

Entrepreneur of the Year Symposium
Early December
Cajundome Convention Center
Details TBA

For information, contact Robin Hebert at [email protected] or by phone: 337.769.8603.