Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco will invest $700,000 from her Rapid Response Fund to create 700 new jobs at US Support Company's call center facility in Shreveport, La., raising the company's total employment in Louisiana to 2,000 jobs. US Support Company is headquartered at Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

At an announcement ceremony in Shreveport today, Governor Blanco joined executives of US Support Company and the Greater Shreveport Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the successful cooperation between industry, regional economic developers and the state. The partnership has resulted in 1,300 new jobs for Northwest Louisiana in less than two years, with 700 additional jobs on the way.

"Louisiana and its citizens have exceeded our expectations, and we are fortunate to expand our facility in such a short time," US Support Company Executive Vice President Dennis Quinn said. "Due to our huge success, we have spent millions more than we had originally anticipated, and thanks to the hard working people of Shreveport, we look forward to adding 500 jobs by the end of 2005."

Shreveport is US Support Company's only location outside of Florida. The company operates call centers that provide technical support staff to assist customers with their cable, Internet, computer, DSL and telephone service.

US Support Company's arrival in Shreveport is traced to a phone call to the Greater Shreveport Chamber in late 2003. The company was responding to an ad placed by the Chamber in a call center industry trade magazine. In very short time, chamber and city representatives began the search for locations in Shreveport, after meeting with US Support Company executives.

The existing call center featured in the ad was no longer available. However, the Chamber and City of Shreveport identified an innovative alternative, acquiring the campus and facilities of a growing church in Shreveport. That site is now a beautiful campus setting for the US Support Company's call center.

With the help of an initial grant of $1.3 million from the Louisiana Economic Development Award Program from Louisiana Economic Development, US Support Company built its workforce in Shreveport to more than 1,300 employees in less than two years.