Jeff Davis Parish is in the “Catbird Seat”

By Jessica Ferguson
The Times of SWLA



Jefferson Davis Parish, located between Lafayette and Lake Charles, could very well become a retirees’ dream. The parish is home to approximately 32,000 residents who walk down tree-lined streets and along rural roads. While visitors describe a “let’s walk back in time” feeling, Jeff Davis Parish is moving into the future at a rapid rate.

Marion “Butch” Fox, Executive Director for the Jeff Davis Parish Economic Development and Tourist Commission says, “We’re sitting in the catbird seat. We’re right on I-10 and we have land to develop.”

Jeff Davis appears to be booming. A multi-million dollar water park is planned for the Lacassine area and is expected to open mid-summer. Studies indicate approximately 4,000 visitors a day.
According to Fox, Jeff Davis Parish has been a very well-kept secret for a long time. “There’s land available to be developed. Lacassine Industrial Park is definitely the driver when it comes to that,” she says. But Jeff Davis has more going for it than just available land. “The cotton spinning plant is going up – it’s in the final stages of getting all their equipment in,” Fox said. “We will have the only cotton spinning plant ever built in Louisiana and it’s using state of the art equipment from Germany.” Fox says the mill will employ about 60 people with full benefits and there’s a possibility of another location at some point.

Fox says that unemployment in the parish is 4.1 percent—the lowest in the state. “We have a lot of great opportunities with existing businesses and to capitalize on them with new ventures. Credit is tight right now—that makes a big difference—but it’s just a very slight slow-down. It hasn’t come to a screeching halt,” Fox said.

Jeff Davis Parish is also home to one of the most significant ethanol facilities in the country, and is a national leader in research and development of cellulosic ethanol. Louisiana Green Fuels is the sugar based ethanol plant at Lacassine. Another plant, Verenium is located on the east side of the parish.

One of the largest employees in Jeff Davis Parish—aside from the hospital is LEEVAC Shipyards, Inc. LEEVAC builds ships for the gulf and off shore industry. According to Fox it’s quite a facility. “Everyone should come out for the next launch. They launch them sideways in the river—it’s really fun. They’re a high energy group of people; it’s a fun, exciting place to work.” Fox says the hospital, LEEVAC Shipyards, Inc., and Jeff Davis Electric Co-op bring in people from the eight surrounding parishes to work every day in Jeff Davis Parish.

One of the most exciting things happening in the parish these days is called SPARC—Southern Petroleum Arts and Recreation Center. The SPARC is a new cultural attraction in development by the Louisiana Oil and Gas Museum Foundation which will feature and promote several of the assets of Southwest Louisiana in one modern location. Located in Jennings, this won’t be the typical history or art museum. The plan is to bring together the dynamic aspects of energy, art, environment, and tourism.

Fox sees Jeff Davis Parish as an opportunity to invest. “We’re fast becoming the parish you want to deal with in the state for economic development, for new investment, for new dollars. We’re the first in the state who have done the crawfish tours which is highly successful. We take them to the farm, the packaging plant where they grade and ship the crawfish out, and those who take the tour can actually cook the crawfish themselves. It’s a hands-on thing. We’re working on a bike trail to Lorraine Bridge and back, canoe trails and so much more.”

While Jeff Davis Parish sounds like every retiree’s dream, every young family’s desire, Fox admits they do have their problems. “Sure we have our problems just like everyone else but we look at our problems as opportunities to do better.” Fox was raised in Jeff Davis Parish. “We’re trying to give people a strong economic base because so many are moving back home,” she says.
So when asked what the biggest challenge is for a community that sounds like it’s thriving, Fox says it’s the learning process. “Economic Development is a process. Our parish is rural. We’ve never had a lot of big economic development.”

Fox says they’re looking at all the different processes, permits for one, zoning for another. “We’re looking at making it a one stop shop; we’re working at getting all the information together in one place so when people come in and want to invest in our community they can go to one place and get all the answers they need.”

Another challenge is attitude, she says. “People understand that if they want their children and their grandchildren to live in Jeff Davis then they’ll have to change the way they think about economic development,” Fox says. “We want to continue our rural lifestyle but we have to supplement it with other economic development drivers.”

Marian “Butch” Fox has been the Executive Director of the JDP Economic Development Commission for a little over two years. The Economic Development Commission is funded by The Tourist Commission, the town of Welsh, the city of Jennings, and the Police Jury has contributed too. Fox says, “We do a whole lot with not a lot of money. We’re in the middle of everything and it’s a very good place to be.”