HAMMOND – The Hammond Chamber of Commerce officially launched an initiative Aug. 25 in support of Southeastern Louisiana University students and student-athletes. The “Our Town, Our Team” initiative was introduced by Chamber Board Chairman Chris Moody during the chamber lunch meeting at Twelve Oaks on Southeastern's campus.
The chamber is working with three media partners – The Hammond Daily Star, Lamar Advertising, and Northshore Broadcasting – on the initiative.
“Program participation entitles chamber members to special advertising discounts from our media partners,” said Moody. “All businesses have to do to qualify is agree to promote the Lions as part of their advertising runs. That can be as easy as changing their business logo colors in the advertisement to green and gold or simply dedicating a portion of their ad to support Southeastern.”
At the luncheon, the chamber also announced the latest area business recipient of the Southeastern Spirit Award, an award given to an area business that goes above and beyond in its support of the university. The award was presented to La Carreta Restaurant. Previous Southeastern Spirit Award winners are Albertson's and University Donuts. It was also announced that the chamber would begin recognizing a male and female student athlete of the month.
Moody stated that a recent statewide survey revealed that the Hammond community is near last in terms of local support given to its neighboring university.
“This means we were below Natchitoches and Thibodaux,” he said. “We can and must do better.”
Moody suggested that area businesses can show their support by having their employees wear green and gold on Fridays in support of Southeastern.
“The chamber is offering businesses Our Town, Our Team flags and t-shirts available for purchase at wholesale cost,” Moody added. “Buy them for your employees to wear with pride. Hang a flag at your business and your home.”
For more information on the Our Town, Our Team initiative, contact the Hammond Chamber of Commerce at 985-345-4457.
