Let’s unite and make Baton Rouge even better

The Capital Area United Way’s annual fundraising campaign is again underway, and your support is needed more than ever. For many people, these are difficult times, so the needs of our community have grown. That means we all need to pull together and hold the line.

The great thing about your United Way contribution is that it goes to work here in the greater Baton Rouge community. The United Way helps improve the quality of life for all of us by funding 49 local health and human services agencies and 16 affiliated Community Health Charities. Your generosity is even more critical than ever. Let’s step up as a community—a family—of 10 parishes and all do our part.

For those who don’t have a lot of money to spare, or who want to give back to the community in other ways, now is your chance. In addition to your financial pledge, you and your company can get involved by adopting a project at one of the United Way’s local agencies. Sept. 11 has been designated as a National Day of Service, when millions of Americans will volunteer to help their own communities in memory of those who lost their lives that awful day in 2001.

Mayor Holden has challenged the community to roll up its sleeves and get to work helping those in need. Just one of the neat projects on tap is free car maintenance and home repair for widows, single moms and military wives who don’t have the resources to do it themselves.

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that when people unite for a purpose, it creates momentum and energy to move things forward. This is a great opportunity to serve and make a real difference in our city.

Visit thewaytohelp.org to sign up and make ours a better community in which to live.

Sunday in the Park just around the corner

Autumn weather is perfect for outdoor concerts, and one of Baton Rouge’s best fall offerings is Sunday in the Park, the series of free downtown concerts held in the shade of the live oak trees next to the Shaw Center for the Arts. The fall season kicks off Sunday, Oct. 4, with a double bill of Cajun and Creole zing.

225 launched Sunday in the Park four years ago along with the Arts Council of Baton Rouge and Chief Executive Officer Derek Gordon. Thanks to generous support from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Mayor Holden and the city-parish, and other sponsors, Sunday in the Park has grown into a popular tradition for many local families. Whether you pack a picnic lunch or order take-out from any of the restaurants around the Shaw Center for the Arts, you can pop open your lawn chairs, relax and enjoy the best music Louisiana has to offer. This year’s lineup looks like this:

• Oct 4: Feufollet and Cedric Watson

• Oct. 11: Joe Krown Trio with Walter ? “Wolfman” Washington and Russell Batiste Jr.

• Oct. 18: Streamline

• Nov. 1: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band

• Nov. 8: Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue

Here to help your business

If you are an entrepreneur, business owner or manager, you can’t afford to miss our BizTech Expo Oct 8 and 9 at the River Center. Besides the plethora of companies showcasing the latest products and services to help businesses grow, there will be ongoing seminars and workshops where you can gain timely insights and learn ways to make your business stronger. As always, two special events highlight the annual show. On Wed., Oct. 8, esteemed economist Loren Scott will unveil his economic forecast for Louisiana at the Top 100 Private Companies Luncheon. The following morning, check out the Louisiana CEO Forum to find out what top business minds are thinking.

To purchase tickets or find more information, visit businessreportexpo.com.

Film industry still going strong

Baton Rouge’s film industry keeps chugging along with new projects, shows and films filming around the area all the time, not to mention more and more post-production work at places like Celtic Studios. Richie Adams, one of 225’s People to Watch in 2007, graduated from entrepreneur and film credits artist to filmmaker this summer when his company, River Road Creative, produced a comedy film that’s close to his heart, “Inventing Adam.” It’s part-biographical and features graduates of the FOX network’s popular Mad TV. Read about Adams’ Baton Rouge “reinvention” here.

Strong personality

A cursory check of past 225 issues reveals only a small handful of personalities strong enough to warrant a cover story: local baseball legend Skip Bertman, powerful politico Walter Monsour, a quatrain of candidates for governor, and a trio of LSU quarterbacks. This month we delve into the fascinating, creative world of Rigsby Frederick, a Cajun-born country boy who moved to Baton Rouge in the early 1970s and whose vision and work helped guide the salon market into the haute, sophisticated industry it has become. Learn more about the creative facets of Rigsby Frederick here.

Congratulations!

Hats off to the newest member of the Louisiana Business Inc. family of publications, InRegister. Baton Rouge’s premier social magazine is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Check out the special anniversary edition on newsstands now. It features a cool, comprehensive look back at two decades of who’s who in Baton Rouge. And in October, watch for a fresh look and some interesting added features in the new-look InRegister.