{"id":4151,"date":"2015-11-05T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2015-11-05T14:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/?p=4151"},"modified":"2015-11-05T11:46:03","modified_gmt":"2015-11-05T17:46:03","slug":"karen-lambert-clapp-go-group-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bestofswla.com\/2015\/11\/05\/karen-lambert-clapp-go-group-director\/","title":{"rendered":"KAREN LAMBERT CLAPP GO GROUP DIRECTOR"},"content":{"rendered":"

STORY BY SCOTT E. RAYMOND<\/strong><\/p>\n

PHOTOS BY LINDSEY JANIES<\/strong><\/p>\n

Karen Lambert Clapp, 31, is a home-grown, experienced marketing professional with an accomplished track record of success. Announced by the GO Group (Southwest Louisiana Task Force for Growth and Opportunity) in February of this year as its director, Clapp appears to be an excellent fit for the job.<\/p>\n

At my meeting with her, she is professionally dressed and has an attentive demeanor; she begins by talking about her background, and then addresses the history, current activities and future of the GO Group.<\/p>\n

Born in Lake Charles and raised in the small, south Beauregard Parish town of Ragley, Clapp says she would characterize herself as ambitious, but that her spiritual identity represents the biggest part of who she is, and that it has never let her down.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very ambitious,\u201d she says, \u201cand I\u2019m driven to where I feel my skills can be best utilized and where I am called. [My faith] is the biggest part of who I am.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge of what\u2019s upon our area is real, and I love a challenge,\u201d Clapp continues. \u201cIt\u2019s something intrinsic; I can\u2019t necessarily identify what it is. It\u2019s seeing how much you can accomplish, but it\u2019s not necessarily putting your name on it. It\u2019s just, \u2018Hey, who says we can\u2019t do this. Who set that limit?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing there are no limitations, and having a sense of humor in \u2018trying to accomplish the impossible\u2019 is what makes my outlook unique. It takes a special person with a unique outlook to accept this particular challenge [as GO Group director],\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

While attending McNeese State in 2006, Clapp met her future husband Jed \u2014 an LSU graduate and now an electrical engineer \u2014 at a local car dealership they were both working for at the time. After college, they began dating and got married in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cI come from a very hard-working family,\u201d says Clapp. \u201cEverything we had we worked very hard for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still close to her south Beauregard roots, Clapp says she likes to fish and is a \u201cmean cook.\u201d \u201cLower Beauregard \u2014 it\u2019s everything [in food] we\u2019re used to here,\u201d she says, smiling.<\/p>\n

Clapp, who graduated from McNeese with a double major in marketing and management with a minor in speech, says she always knew she wanted a career in marketing. \u201cI knew it was something that sounded exciting, and it was something that would probably push me to my limits.”<\/p>\n

After receiving her college degree, Clapp went to work in Kinder at Allen Parish Hospital in an entry level position in marketing. In nine months, she says, she was the hospital\u2019s marketing director.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn order for you to see success in any business,\u201d Clapp says, \u201cyou\u2019ve got to communicate and you have to be successful in marketing your business. It\u2019s all about the strategy: how you define it, and how you choose to implement it.”<\/p>\n

A year and a half later, Clapp was back in school working on a master’s of business administration (MBA) degree at McNeese. During that time, she also purchased her first home and started working in marketing at West Calcasieu Cameron Hospital. Within about a year\u2019s time, she says, she was promoted to department head.<\/p>\n

Clapp worked at the hospital for seven years before being hired by the GO Group as its director.<\/p>\n

\"KarenClapp-2435\"<\/a>Purpose Of The GO Group<\/strong><\/p>\n

Clapp says the GO Group is a regional, five-parish organization focused on the growth and opportunity coming to this area. She states that three key fundamentals were the basis for the formation of the GO Group: identification of issues; coordination of efforts among various agencies to address the issues; and adoption of a big-picture mentality.<\/p>\n

She says that 86 percent of the growth is anticipated to be in Calcasieu Parish. Right now, Cameron Parish, where two new LNG facilities are under construction, is where the biggest investment is taking place.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver $30 billion in construction activities\/capital investments [in Cameron Parish] are currently underway.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The growth is] rapid population growth; rapid expansion. When you have as many announced expansions as we have \u2014 $97 billion worth of investments right now \u2014 someone has to start looking and planning for what Southwest Louisiana is going to look like, because we want to preserve our culture and who we are. In a nutshell, the GO Group is looking to capitalize on the opportunities that exist with this industry expansion and growth, and reduce subsequent impacts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want small businesses to flourish; we want to ensure that everyone has access to the job opportunities that will result. So capitalizing on the opportunities and reducing any potential impacts [is the goal].<\/p>\n

\u201c[For example], how can we make our infrastructure work in a way that is efficient to accommodate the multitude of individuals that will soon arrive here for work? It\u2019s planned growth, not [being] reactive. The GO Group is a proactive, community-driven movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

In The Beginning \u2026 Now \u2026 The Future<\/strong><\/p>\n

Clapp gives an overview of where the GO Group has been, where it is now, and its next steps.<\/p>\n

Says Clapp:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the beginning, we had our organizational chart and our steering committee, which is pretty much that decision-making body that decides where the GO Group goes and what initiatives we focus on. Our subcommittees, at that point, started talking [about] things we could expect with this industrial expansion. It was just more of a discussion about, \u2018What are some things we need to start preparing for?\u2019<\/p>\n

“But after Sasol made the investment in the regional impact study, and after that was released in 2014, there were some recommendations that came from that. Everything identified as potential impacts by those subcommittees was taken into consideration when the study was conducted, and all of that information combined resulted in pretty sound recommendations on how we could properly prepare our community for what was to come.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The GO Group] looked at that information and said, \u2018OK, now we have something we can really take hold of and begin working to develop strategy for.\u2019 And so we created what we call task forces \u2014 a new layer of the GO Group that essentially serves as long-term planners. And don\u2019t be fooled by \u201clong-term.\u201d They are talking about some really tough issues that have historically been sensitive issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where we are with the task forces. The subcommittees that were formed at our inception are continuing their work and are addressing short-term issues.<\/p>\n

There are four task forces: Growth Planning, Education & Workforce Development, Public Service Improvements and Special Community Related Initiatives.<\/p>\n

\"KarenClapp-2263\"<\/a>One of the issues Clapp says Growth Planning is studying is where population growth will be most suitable. She mentions Barbe High School in south Lake Charles as an example of a school that\u2019s at capacity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere does the infrastructure exist that could support large developments and (also) the amount of people who are coming here?\u201d Clapp asks.<\/p>\n

Clapp says the Growth Planning Task Force is also talking about the possibility of the development of unified standards for planning and development in the area, which, she says \u201cis going to benefit so many pieces of our community. An area that could benefit would be the current drainage system.\u201d<\/p>\n

An issue Clapp says the Public Service Improvements Task Force is talking about is drainage because, she says, \u201cyou see more people flooding than ever before in their neighborhoods. Why is this happening? We know the answer and are looking to institute positive changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clapp mentions water districts as another example of where restructuring may enhance operational efficiencies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith these task forces, we\u2019re talking about these and other issues; we\u2019re looking at alternatives; we\u2019re researching other communities that have had success in other models; and we’re trying to determine whether the adoption of those models of success would make sense here or [would] they need to be adapted to fit what we have in this area?\u201d<\/p>\n

All four of the task forces are discussing key issues relative to their assigned areas of focus.<\/p>\n

Clapp says one of the biggest issues facing the Education & Workforce Development Task Force is the unfavorable \u201cattitudes and perceptions that exist\u201d relative to some of the jobs that will soon be available. She says that because many students may feel pressured by their parents into going to four-year colleges, they may be bypassing industrial career opportunities providing salaries that are very good and that require a lot of skill.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got some jobs in industry that require highly skilled individuals,\u201d she says, \u201cbut just because it requires a two-year degree doesn\u2019t necessarily make it inferior to anything a four-year institution could offer you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clapp says another issue being address by the GO Group is temporary housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe studies have shown that worker villages are the preferred alternative to meet a short-term, but temporary, demand for housing,\u201d she says. \u201cIf our community is unable to reach a solution to the temporary housing issue, it could be detrimental to the success of some of these projects and our community moving forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cDisplacement or homelessness is something we\u2019ve already begun seeing given increasing rental rates. Not only that, but if temporary workers seek temporary housing in residential neighborhoods, you\u2019ll have an increased likelihood that numerous people will begin sharing single family housing units.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clapp uses south Beauregard and Allen Parish as examples of growth in terms of new building permits that have already been issued as a result of the industrial growth in Southwest Louisiana.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalcasieu Parish, where most of the growth is occurring, doesn\u2019t have as much land available as it did in the past. Some people who are coming here from other areas \u2014 and while working here \u2014 are looking for more of a rural lifestyle,\u201d she says. \u201cThey may be looking for acreage, and in their search they may reach out to Beauregard and Allen Parish. South Beauregard Parish, in general, has grown astronomically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clapp says \u201cwhile Allen and Beauregard have seen growth in the number of residential development permits in those areas, Jeff Davis Parish is seeing increased interest from industry looking to locate there.\u201d Clapp mentions the new Metalplate Galvanizing plant in Jeff Davis Parish.<\/p>\n

Clapp says the job of the GO Group is to \u201cshow what types of needs exist and then work on some type of strategy to address those [needs].\u201d<\/p>\n

On Aug. 18, the GO Group held a public meeting at the West Cal Events Center in Sulphur to give the public an update on its activities and provide an opportunity for public comment. The next steps for the GO Group include introducing strategic initiatives to address identified issues, seeking public input on those strategies and then beginning implementation.<\/p>\n

Says Clapp:<\/p>\n

\"KarenClapp-2438\"<\/a>\u201cThe whole idea behind the GO Group is community-driven change, and I\u2019ve said some of it won\u2019t be comfortable; I\u2019ve said some of it won\u2019t be popular. [The volunteers of the GO Group] know that. They are aware of it, and they are actually very excited to objectively show what their research has resulted in and to share that with the community. They are excited to engage the community and say, \u2018OK, these are changes that must be made to our current system; these are some of the things that we think might be suitable. What do you think?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bottom line is that without the community\u2019s input and buy-in, the essential changes needed to move our community forward won\u2019t be made.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people view change as negative, and as soon as they hear the word, there\u2019s just something attached to it that is very unattractive. But we have an abundance of opportunity that exists for us that will enhance the quality of life of so many people. Who wouldn\u2019t want a better life for themselves and their families?<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot tell you what the future of [the GO Group] is going to be. I know that I\u2019m going to give it everything I have to make it successful [so] that Southwest Louisiana can emerge from this growth and expansion much better and much more prosperous than it is today.\u201d<\/p>\n

When The Boom Is Complete \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

When this writer asks Clapp what would be a very positive outcome, overall, years from now, when the bulk of the industrial expansion work is complete; when the permanent new jobs are in place for the long-haul; and when most aspects of the GO Group’s goals and objectives and needs and challenges have been addressed, she has the following to say:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best possible outcome would result in little to no observable recognition that investments of this magnitude were made here because the proper systems were in place to welcome these opportunities, in their fullness, gracefully and flawlessly.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ways To Follow The GO Group<\/strong><\/p>\n

The GO Group can be followed on its website gogroupswla.com; on Facebook: facebook.com\/gogroupswla; and by viewing videos on YouTube entitled, \u201cGO Group Now!.\u201d For more information about the GO Group and the goals of the task forces, call 721-3508.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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