What began as a community-driven response to one of the most difficult chapters in Southwest Louisiana’s history is now offering lessons to communities beyond our region.
In August, Just Imagine SWLA was featured at the U.S. Travel Association’s annual Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations (ESTO) 2026 in Philadelphia, where travel and tourism industry leaders from across the country gathered to exchange ideas about the future of tourism and the communities they serve.
Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana President and CEO Sara Judson presented alongside Visit Lake Charles President and CEO Kyle Edmiston and Director of Communications Candy Rodriguez during a standing-room-only session titled “How DMOs Can Support Community Vision Without Mission Drift.”
At the center of the conversation was a partnership that has been years in the making.
Just Imagine SWLA emerged following the devastation of Hurricanes Laura and Delta in 2020 as Southwest Louisiana shifted from immediate recovery toward a long-term vision for the region’s future. The 50-year resilience master plan for Calcasieu and Cameron parishes was shaped through 12 months of extensive community engagement and ultimately identified 11 catalytic projects addressing priorities ranging from coastal protection and resilient housing to waterfront development, the Bayou Greenbelt and the Nellie Lutcher Cultural District.
From the beginning, Just Imagine SWLA was designed as a community vision, not the work of any one organization. Residents helped shape the priorities. Community leaders and organizations brought different areas of expertise to the table. As that vision moved from planning to implementation, those partnerships became increasingly important.
Visit Lake Charles became one of those partners, using the communications skills its team relies on every day to reach a wide range of audiences, build relationships with local media and stakeholders, and tell Southwest Louisiana’s story in meaningful ways.
At ESTO, Judson, Edmiston and Rodriguez shared how that relationship developed and, more importantly, what the organizations have learned from it.
The session focused on three ideas that have helped guide the partnership. First, organizations must determine whether an opportunity genuinely aligns with their mission and where their expertise can add value. Second, partners need clarity about what each organization owns, what it supports and what falls outside its responsibility. Third, communications should be integrated thoughtfully so that community progress reaches the audiences who need to hear about it without creating a separate operation disconnected from an organization’s core work.
For Just Imagine SWLA, that communications partnership has helped expand awareness as the initiative has moved from vision to action.
Instagram reach has grown approximately 155% from the 2024 baseline, while Just Imagine SWLA content on Facebook generated nearly 600,000 views and almost 7,000 link clicks in the first seven months of 2026 alone. Since launching in 2025, the initiative’s LinkedIn page has generated more than 305,000 impressions. The newsletter audience has grown about 31% since the first edition was sent in 2023, and earned media has resulted in 59 unique placements since that same year.
Those numbers matter because community engagement does not end when a plan is published.
As projects advance, residents, stakeholders and potential partners need opportunities to understand what is happening, why it matters and how individual efforts connect to the larger vision for Southwest Louisiana. Continuing to tell those stories helps keep the community connected to a plan it helped create.
Sharing the Just Imagine SWLA experience nationally serves another purpose.
It creates an opportunity for Southwest Louisiana to contribute to conversations happening in communities across the country about resilience, quality of place, economic development and collaboration. It also gives local leaders the chance to exchange ideas with others navigating similar challenges and bring new perspectives back home.
Perhaps most importantly, it demonstrates that the work happening in Calcasieu and Cameron parishes has value beyond our geographic boundaries.
Southwest Louisiana has learned difficult lessons about recovery and resilience. It has also learned what can happen when residents are invited into the planning process, organizations contribute their strengths and partners remain committed long after the initial vision is created.
A standing-room-only audience in Philadelphia was an encouraging sign that those lessons resonate.
But the most important audience for Just Imagine SWLA remains the community that created it.
The real measure of success will continue to be found here, in projects moving forward, partnerships growing stronger and residents remaining connected to the future they helped envision.
Each opportunity to share the Just Imagine SWLA story extends the reach of the work happening here, strengthens connections with communities facing similar challenges and brings new ideas back to Southwest Louisiana.
If you have not already, stay connected with Just Imagine SWLA by scanning the QR code to sign up for the newsletter and following us on social media for project updates, community stories and opportunities to get involved. And be sure to keep checking back here in Thrive each month for unique Just Imagine SWLA stories highlighting the people, projects and progress shaping Southwest Louisiana’s future.
