BY JOHN H. WALKER

Editor and publisher

If you are wondering what factors are combining to drive the economy down and what you can do to help turn things around, the River Region Economic Development Initiative (RREDI) has a program scheduled that might be just the ticket.

“What Is Driving the Economy Down Now and How Can This Be Reversed” is the subject of a program hosted by RREDI Thursday at the St. John Parish Community Center, 2900 Highway 51 in LaPlace.

Dr. Loren C. Scott of Loren C. Scott & Associates, Inc. will keynote the program, which will also feature Cajun humorist Murray Conque.

Scott is one of the 32-member National Business Economic Issues Council, which meets quarterly to discuss issues of state, national, and international interest. This group has experts who cover international trade, Washington economic policy, retail trade, trucking, steel, chemicals, etc. Dr. Scott is an energy specialist on the NBEIC. He has been interviewed recently on MSNBC, CNBC, and Bloomberg TV and his work has been cited in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and the English-language Moscow Times, to name a few.

Scott was on the Economics Department faculty at Louisiana State University from 1969 to 1998, where he rose through the ranks from assistant professor to the holder of the Freeport-McMoran endowed Chair of Economics.  He is presently Professor Emeritus of Economics at LSU.  

Tickets for Thursday’s program are $10 each and may be purchased in advance at the St. John Parish Department of Economic Development, 1801 W. Airline Highway, LaPlace. Activities get under way with a networking session at 5:30, dinner at 6:30 and the program at 7 p.m.

For more information, call 652-9569.