What started out as an idea conjured up by six people having drinks in a bar quickly grew into a large, active group dedicated to improving the city of Baton Rouge.
Austin 6 is not an organization, it does not have an agenda representing a single issue — it was not formed to serve one particular purpose.
The group’s Web site claims that it is more an attitude than anything else. Austin 6 picks up projects in many different areas.
Michael Trufant, a cofounder of Austin 6 and CEO of connectutilities.com, said the group exists to bring together citizens of Baton Rouge and their ideas to focus on the improvement of the city.
“We look at the issues from a citizen’s perspective only,” Trufant said. “We make recommendations to work for a better product and have an interest in doing well.”
Austin 6 has six core principles leading the group to help improve Baton Rouge — push forward, no looking back, no “BS,” inclusiveness and diversity, no outside agendas, and beginning and end.
These principles include valuing positive action, letting the past energize ideas, being straightforward and stressing diversity.
Austin 6 is a nonpartisan, non-biased group. They do not accept dues and they have no by-laws.
“It is just us spending our own money at times — because we want to help out the city,” Trufant said.
This past fall, the Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce sent 120 business leaders to Austin, Texas to find out what contributed to the success of Austin during the past two decades.
The name for Austin 6 surfaced during the first-ever (informal) meeting between six people on the Chamber trip last Fall.
“We had some drinks and were talking about the idea of improving Baton Rouge, and we just comically said ‘Austin 6’ and it stuck,” Trufant said.
“Twenty years ago, Baton Rouge and Austin were pretty much the same city,” Trufant said. “Since then, though, the attitude and speed of Austin’s development has surpassed that of Baton Rouge.”
There were originally six people and the group also emphasizes their six core principles.
Trufant said they do not focus so much on the name of the group as its purpose.
“It’s just a name,” Trufant said. “If you get so hung up on a name, how are you going to get the stuff done?”
To move toward improving Baton Rouge, Austin 6 is pushing opportunities to improve and grow and is focused on putting young people to work.
Local universities and colleges — LSU, Southern and BRCC — carry huge initiatives and are playing a key role in helping to improve Baton Rouge, Trufant said.
“It is absolutely critical to have LSU students involved,” Trufant said. “Youth are the power of what’s next — we have to attract and appeal to college-aged students.”
The Outreach LSU project, headed by volunteer project leader Scott McKnight, is dedicated to gathering students to congregate and help change things in the city.
McKnight, who graduated from LSU in May, said he is in charge of getting students and faculty involved in Austin 6 projects.
“I want to get interest going at LSU,” McKnight said. “We just need to let people know about it because once they hear the attitude, they just get sucked in.”
McKnight said that not only will contributing to Austin 6 be beneficial to Baton Rouge, but students will have an opportunity to share interests with “big businessmen in town” by participating.
“Everyone is on the same level playing field in Austin 6,” McKnight said. “I am not seen as a recent LSU graduate, and Mr. Trufant is not seen as CEO of connectutilities.com.”
Baton Rouge has a tendency to not embrace college students and try to keep them here after they graduate, he said.
The transition period for students directly after graduation is key in developing a strong labor force, and the Austin 6 group is concerned that Baton Rouge is not keeping many people or bringing employees in.
“Some politicians don’t like to do that,” Trufant said. “We are pushing on those groups.”
When an issue arises, 20 to 30 members come together to work on developing ideas to help influence the outcome.
In February, District 12 Councilman Jim Benham proposed an amendment to the city and parish alcohol ordinance that would have prevented 18- to 20-year-olds from entering bars and lounges.
Approximately 70 Austin 6 members attended the Metro Council meeting and voiced their opposing opinions to the amendment, Trufant said.
The council, in turn, rejected the proposed amendment.
Right now, Austin 6 is in the process of contributing to the development of the Downtown Development District and the recent resignation of the Baton Rouge School Board President Jackie Mann.
“We want to have input in helping to rename the new downtown area,” Trufant said.
Members from Austin 6 also are interested in getting the “right person, not just the next person” on the School Board.
Persons interested in becoming a member of Austin 6 can go to their Web site, austin6.com, and sign up.
“You have to want to do it for the right reasons,” Trufant said. “We don’t accept money.”