By Emily Faget
When Aaron Moak was a boy, his grandfather always told him Central would become its own city. “Central is our place, our community,” he’d say.Over 30 years later, Moak’s grandfather’s wishes have come true. In fact, his grandson played an indispensable part in Central’s growth.
“This town has always been a part of our family. We wanted it to be our own,” Moak said.
Moak has been an active member of the Chamber of Commerce since he opened Computer Evolutions almost 15 years ago. Since then he has been an active supporter of Central as its own community.
“I don’t mean to say we should be an isolated city, but it’s our duty as members of this community to support ourselves with our own government and schools,” Moak said.
It’s this sense of responsibility that drove Moak to become a board member only two years after joining the Chamber. He was 22 years old.
“I saw right away that local businesses could have a special relationship with the community. We could do more than just collect dues and sign up a few guest speakers - we could become a group that puts back into the community what they give to us,” Moak said.
Booming Business
Moak started Computer Evolutions after a short stint as a tech employee at Computer City. He observed not only a shortage of computer services in Central, but a lack of personal contact with customers.
“If you wanted to fix your computer, even something simple, we had to ship it to New Orleans, ship it back, charge for all that... I wanted to fill that gap with a store where you could see, touch, feel things, talk to a real person,” Moak said.
Moak’s business took off right away. Within three years, he outgrew two separate locations.
Yet Moak believes his business would not have succeeded anywhere but Central initially.
“You know people, and most importantly they know you. It keeps you motivated to maintain good professional relationships,” Moak said.
It isn’t always easy to run a business like Moak’s, especially with a family. Moak has two sons, 11-year-old Travis and 4-year-old Carson. Missing out on spending time with them is the only thing Moak regrets about late-night computer jobs and paperwork.
“You don’t have time off. There’s never a moment where you truly clock out. But if I were to stop working and look back someday, I’d wonder what I could have done if I had stuck with it,” Moak said.
Supporting Schools
It was Moak’s oldest son Travis that inspired Moak to support the new Central school system. Although he had always encouraged Central schools, it became more important as Travis approached his first day of school.
“I just knew how important this was for Travis, for all of our children. We have control over our own destiny, and we proved it then,” Moak said.
But why is it important to keep his children in Central? Moak explained that parents are more involved with a close-knit school system
“Any school system is only as good as its parent involvement. If you have to drive across town it’s harder. Parents have a vested interest and so much direct involvement with the school board here, they stay motivated for their kids,” Moak said.
Chamber in the Community
This same link exists between the Chamber and Central community, according to Moak.
“Everything you put into the Chamber, you’ll get back 100 percent,” Moak said.
Since Moak joined the Chamber board, he has helped organize a huge number of community programs like Cooking for Our Kids and the Mardi Gras ball.
Moak remembers one year in particular when Central learned that its teenagers had a unusually high suicide rate. Moak and the Chamber sprang into action, organizing a prayer banquet to give teens hope and enthusiasm for the new school year.
But Moak’s proudest achievement as a Chamber member is the annual Christmas parade, which he developed into a Christmas Festival with a grand light display last year.
His inspiration for the festival came from Christmas as a child. His family drove to downtown Baton Rouge every year to look at the huge Kiwanis light display and nativity scene. Moak wanted the same tradition for his family.
“I’ve always built towards something I could take my children to, where all families could bring their kids and create their own special tradition. I felt like this year we finally did it,” Moak said.
Recession-Proof
Moak works closely with the Chamber’s economic development team to look at what Central must do to continue its steady growth.
When asked if he feels concerned about the current economy, he explained, “At the Chamber we have a saying: ‘We refuse to participate in the recession.’”
Moak has strong ideas on how to keep it that way. He recommends more local business with local employees, and participation in school and local government.
“From a local standpoint, we can keep Central strong by circulating our tax dollars within the community. People want to ‘buy Central’ and we’ve got a great base of local businesses to do that,” Moak said.
This doesn’t mean a city-wide explosion of commerce, but the same steady pace Central has always followed.
“I want to see ‘mom and pop businesses’ succeed, not just my own. When it comes down to choosing a big chain or a local business that has a friendly atmosphere, the local business will always succeed in Central.”