St. Tammany Corporation Awarded President’s ‘E’ Award for Export Service

MANDEVILLE, La – From the St. Tammany Corporation:

Marty Mayer, board president of St. Tammany Corporation, and Chris Masingill, the organization’s CEO, announced that St. Tammany Corporation has been awarded the President’s “E” Award for Export Service. Masingill and Todd Whalley, St. Tammany Corporation’s director of existing business and industry, accepted the award on July 13 at a ceremony at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. Created in 1961, the President’s “E” Award is the highest recognition a U.S. entity can receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports. It is given to businesses and organizations for assisting and facilitating export activities.

“It is my privilege to inform you that St. Tammany Corporation has been selected to receive the President’s ‘E’ Award for Export Service in recognition of your organization’s achievement in making significant contributions to an increase in U.S. exports. This well-deserved award is the highest honor given to providers of services to U.S. exporters,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo in her congratulatory letter to the organization. “St. Tammany Corporation has demonstrated a sustained commitment to export expansion. The ‘E’ Awards Committee was very impressed with St. Tammany Corporation’s demonstration of community-wide export expansion supported by resources provided to its constituent companies. The organization’s direct outreach to more than 600 companies to provide business counseling over the past four years was also particularly notable. St. Tammany Corporation’s achievements have undoubtedly contributed to national export expansion efforts that support the U.S. economy and create American jobs.”

According to the International Trade Administration’s Metropolitan Export Series, exports are vital to St. Tammany Parish’s economy and demonstrate many consecutive years of growth in goods shipped, with particularly strong results exceeding 30% in 2018 and 2020. The most recent data further indicates that St. Tammany is one of only two parishes in any of our state’s nine Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) with diversified export values and consistent growth from 2017 to 2020. In addition to export goods, this data reinforces the importance of service exports from St. Tammany Parish, including our specialized telecommunications, maritime, and energy subsector clusters.

St. Tammany Corporation works closely with the New Orleans U.S. Export Assistance Center to facilitate direct business assistance and regular free virtual programming to area businesses looking to enhance or expand their export activities. John Henry Jackson serves as Senior International Trade Specialist of the U.S. Commercial Service New Orleans, and strongly supported the nomination of St. Tammany Corporation for the President’s “E” Award.

“St. Tammany Corporation is honored to receive the prestigious President’s ‘E’ Award as it recognizes our commitment to providing robust and specific business technical assistance to our local business community through our business retention and expansion program, Advance St. Tammany,” said Masingill. “We are appreciative of the expertise of Erin Butler and John Henry Jackson of the New Orleans U.S. Export Assistance Center. Their ongoing service to the regional business community and collaboration with area economic development organizations provides opportunities for businesses to maximize export initiatives and reach new markets.”

“The team’s continuous business outreach and technical assistance services paired with the collaboration of subject matter experts such as the New Orleans U.S. Export Assistance Center create a landscape for St. Tammany to be the destination of choice for business retention, expansion, attraction, and formation,” said Mayer. “We are thrilled for St. Tammany Corporation’s efforts to be recognized with the President’s ’E’ Award for Export Service and look forward to continuing to work with the local business community to enhance their export efforts.”

“St. Tammany Corporation exemplifies the pursuit of equitable economic growth through international trade. By working diligently for years with its native industry and maximizing resources for the benefit of all, its leadership and staff sustained growth in the overall exports of the parish and expanded its base, building momentum which even carried through the recent downturn,” said Jackson. “St. Tammany companies are clearly resourceful and enterprising—they know that 95% of the world’s consumers are outside the U.S., and they’ve refocused strategic plans to greatly diversify their clientele and gain additional resiliency. If there was any time for this award to truly distinguish successful programs promoting global commerce, that time is now. Congratulations to St. Tammany Corporation, and I look forward to continuing my agency’s support for the strong relationship among local leaders of the parish and the international trade community.”