City of Monroe Shares LMA Economic Development Award with CenturyLink

Monday, August 8, 2016 - 1:30pm

The media is invited to a special press conference 11 am Thursday, August 11, 2016, at the CenturyLink Technology Center of Excellence, located at 100 CenturyLink Drive in Monroe, Louisiana. Monroe Mayor Jamie Mayo and members of the Monroe City Council will make a special presentation to CenturyLink CEO and President Glen Post in celebration of Monroe winning the Louisiana Municipal Association Community Achievement Award for Economic Development for the CenturyLink Technology Center of Excellence.

On March 24, 2015, CenturyLink officially opened the CenturyLink Technology Center of Excellence at a ceremony held at its corporate headquarters in Monroe, LA. This 300,000 square foot state-of-the art facility is a technology research and development lab, a network operations center and collaborative office and meeting space. CenturyLink employs roughly 2,000 workers at its headquarters with an annual payroll exceeding $100 million. Many experts say the Technology Center expansion will serve as a catalyst to help shape the future of Monroe and northeast Louisiana.

The City of Monroe won the “large city” Economic Development Award at the 79th Annual Convention of the Louisiana Municipal Association, held in Alexandria, Louisiana July 28-30. For the annual LMA Community Achievement Awards municipalities are allowed to submit one project in one of three categories (Economic Development, Basic Services, or Community Service). The cities are judged against their peers based upon population size and category. An independent panel of judges reviews all entries and selects a winner in each category and population size. Monroe routinely competes against larger cities such as Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Bossier City, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Shreveport and New Orleans.