BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana Economic Development (LED) is accepting nominations until Tuesday, April 22, for the 2008 Lantern Awards through the state’s eight Regional Planning and Development Districts. The Lantern Awards annually recognize an outstanding manufacturer from each district.

Nomination packages may be obtained from one of the eight planning districts and are due to the corresponding district office. District contact information and a nomination form can be found at www.lapdd.org.



“We see the Lantern Awards as an opportunity to recognize manufacturing excellence across the state and acknowledge the importance of this industry sector to Louisiana’s economy,” said Patrick Witty, LED director of Community Outreach Services.

Awards will be presented Tuesday, June 10, at a Governor’s Mansion reception. The awards are sponsored in part by the Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association.

The lanterns received by the award recipients have been handcrafted from copper and Louisiana cypress for more than 50 years by Bevolo Gas and Electric Lights in New Orleans.