In October of 2001, Nickie Monica, Parish President of the Parish of St. John the Baptist retained BMF to spearhead a special initiative aimed at the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs. The goal of the initiative was to win a bid to locate a 25-acre War Veterans Home in St. John parish.

The parish was late in submitting a proposal and missed the first round of required inputs. When BMF was engaged, we had approximately two weeks to pull off what ended up being a win-win for the state, the parish and Louisiana's veterans, without the advantage of significant time or input from an organized body committed to the project. It was clear that, in order to lead an already established pack, we had to do a great deal of research and to effectively differentiate the parish from its well organized competition.

We differentiated the parish in a number of ways, namely by recognizing that beneficiaries of the Veterans Home would be overwhelmingly African American, and that the Parish of St. John, over 40% African American in residency, would be a welcoming location for the residents. Additionally, we were able to demonstrate the impressive number of parish residents currently on active duty in the military, and thus the supportive environment that the facility would enjoy in the parish.

We were able, on very short notice, to compile relevant statistics to cast the parish in a favorable light for the Veterans' home location: Statistics such as available acreage for possible later expansion, water and waste connection information, proximity to airports, proximity of fully staffed hospitals, dialysis centers, highways, existing VA outpatient centers and the fact that the parish had a significant volunteer base that could be put to use at the home.

We compiled letters of support for the parish from the Governor to U.S. Senators and Congressmen. Additional letters - over 100 in all - came from neighboring parish presidents, council members in St. John and surrounding parishes, legislators from around the state (including the President Pro-Tempore), and from not-for-profits ranging from nine VFW and American Legion Post directors to the AARP and the United Way.

We were able to meet with economic development experts around the state and within the Parish to assess economic advantages and, subsequently, to enumerate them in clear and concise language. The economic advantages included an economic incentive package that we put together with the Parish President to help "sweeten the pot" for the Parish.

And finally, BMF packaged the proposal to stand out in terms of its professional yet creative look, and ease of use. We met with Parish councils around the state and got many to pass resolutions in support of St. John as the favored site for the VA home, despite the fact that neighboring parishes had been part of the process longer and one, in fact, was considered the undisputed (and as yet unannounced) winner.

BMF's ability to strategically position St. John the Baptist Parish and its advantages, combined with an effective grassroots and grass tops campaign that was planned, executed and embodied in a formal presentation in a mere two weeks, resulted in a winning proposal by the Parish.