UPPER LAFAYETTE ON THE MOVE www.upperlafayette.com
June 2014 Volume 66
LAFAYETTE GENERAL HONORED UPPER LAFAYETTE STAYCATION IDEAS ALSO
Rotary Club of Lafayette North Celebrates 30 Years Upper Lafayette Sponsor LYS Scholarships Welcome New Members Printed by Lafayette Economic Development Authority
Published by Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation
Printed by Lafayette Economic Development Authority
Board of Directors David Welch, President Cherie Hebert, Vice President Todd Citron, Secretary/ Treasurer Adrian Baudoin Julie Dronet Don Dupuis Brenda Foulcard Donna Landry Kirk LaCour Beau Phares Dwight “Bo” Ramsay Herbert Schilling Bryan Tabor Jerry Vascocu Monty Warren
Honorary Advisory Board Don Dupuis Ed Krampe Dwight “Bo” Ramsay Herbert Schilling
Staff
Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation is an association of proactive individuals and business leaders joined together to be a catalyst for change. The Foundation’s mission is to enhance and direct the positive, planned growth of Upper Lafayette, focusing on quality of life, while participating in the overall development of the Greater Lafayette Metropolitan Area.
Jan Swift, Executive Director
Mailing Address P.O. Box 53107 Lafayette, LA 70505
On the Web www.upperlafayette.com For membership information or sponsorship opportunities, contact Jan Swift at jan@upperlafayette.com or 337-769-7649
Volume 66 • June 2014 • www.upperlafayette.com
A Letter from the Executive Director Summertime is here and am I ready for a vacation break! The best part is, we have so many beautiful sites here throughout Upper Lafayette and the Acadiana region to explore and enjoy. A “staycation” is perfect for those of us who are saving our cash for home improvements or just don’t want to hit the road this summer when there is so much right here in our backyard. To get ideas for this article, I went first to TripAdvisor.com and saw that the #1 top attraction in our area is Vermilionville, located at 300 Fisher Road, right off Surrey St. by the airport. Visitors can take advantage of a 30 minute boat ride, wonderful scenery, great shopping and a visit back in time to our region’s early days. Right here under our nose! Another top favorite is the 110 acre Acadiana Nature Station at 1205 E Alexander St. where you can hike, learn more about nature and take paddle trips down the Vermilion. For more information, see http://www.naturestation.org. Looking for a quaint inn locally? Check out the Savoy Bed and Breakfast at 533 Rue Bon Secours in Scott which received rave reviews from travelers who have visited dozens of B & B’s around the country. For more information on the Savoy, contact Rodney or Darlene Savoy at thesavoybandb@yahoo.com. And of course, Upper Lafayette is home to some of the most beautiful golf courses around. Why not get a little exercise and enjoy the scenery at Oakbourne Country Club (3700 E. Simcoe), the Farm d’Allie (5500 Moss St.) or the Wetlands (2129 N University Ave.)? I hope you get my point. There is a great deal to enjoy right here and at home, and sometimes we just need to be reminded of our many treasures that we take for granted. We have much to be proud of in Upper Lafayette Parish, and we just need to look around us.
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Jan Swift Executive Director
BELOW: Acadiana Park Nature Station
June 2014 • www.upperlafayette.com
Seven Ways to Start A Great Day Article Courtesy of the Dale Carnegie Team of Middle Louisiana/East Texas We all know that the first hour of your day will often times set the tone for the rest of the day. That being said, here are seven surefire positive day starters for you to read. They are:
#1: PLAN THE NIGHT BEFORE
Taking 20 minutes to lay out your clothes and plan your breakfast can save you from a stressful, mad rush in the morning. With a little efficiency, you’ll save the frustration and scrambling, leaving you ready to tackle more important issues.
#2: SCHEDULE A POSITIVE MEETING TO DISTRIBUTE GOOD INFORMATION
Having something to look forward to is a great way to energize you in the morning. If you don’t have an exciting opportunity or important meeting lined up, try to schedule one. The prospect of a fun and productive encounter usually wakes you up with a smile and often without an alarm clock.
#3: STRETCH EVERY PART OF YOUR BODY FOR 15 SECONDS Limbering up your muscles and joints enhances the flow of blood through your body, providing an extra shot of oxygen to all your tissues.
#4: TRY 15 MINUTES OF MEDITATION
#7: OPEN YOUR EYES TO BRIGHT COLORS
Meditation stimulates the brain in a deep and thoughtful way. It allows you to clear distractions from your mind and purge negative energy. Center yourself by shutting off your mental chatter and clearing your mind, opening yourself to the positive energy the world brings your way.
Research suggests that exposure to bright colors in the early morning raises your spirits and energy. So pick up a pleasant bouquet every few days and set it right in your view.
#5: DRINK A MINIMUM OF 8 TO 10 OUNCES OF WATER
You have been fasting all night and you wake up dehydrated. Many doctors recommend a glass of water first thing in the morning, before your coffee or breakfast.
#6: OPEN A BOOK THAT HAS INSPIRATIONAL COPY -
Buy a few books that are uplifting, inspiring, or even humorous for your first brain stimulus. This will give you positive, fun thoughts to keep you energized throughout the day.
www.upperlafayette.com • June 2014
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Some people are naturally morning people, while others hit their stride in the afternoon or evening. No matter what your inclination, everyone knows the importance of starting off your day on the right foot. A smooth, stressfree morning sets the tone for the rest of the day and keeps you sharp and clear-headed, ready to take advantage of any opportunities that might come your way. Conversely, carrying the stress of family, weather, traffic and other distractions into your office can hinder your success and directly affect your employees and/or co-workers. By using the tips above, you can start out each morning on your terms and be prepared to make it a great day!
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Welcome New Member: Lafayette Youth Soccer Association So many of us have great memories of friendships forged during soccer practices, games and tournaments played on the fields of Moore Park. Whether you are a child, a parent or grandparent, we all smile when we think of the fun times spent in Upper Lafayette while participating in Lafayette Youth Soccer Association events. We are proud to welcome this stalwart of our community to the ranks of Upper Lafayette Economic Development Foundation. LYSA and Cajun Soccer Cup have been shepherded by Executive Director, Mitch Ritch for several years. Michael has professional playing experience with the Columbus Crew (MLS) as well as an extensive coaching history. Michael currently holds a USSF ‘A’ License and USSF National Youth License. LYSA also enjoys an active and caring Board of Directors headed by President, Jason Foreman.
For more information on Lafayette Youth Soccer Association, please visit http://www.lysasoccer.com or call (337)261-5425. Upper Lafayette is proud salutes Lafayette Youth Soccer Association/Cajun Soccer Club for all you do for our families and our greater community!
LEFT Michael Ritch of Lafayette Youth Soccer Association and Exectutive Director Jan Swift
BELOW Lafayette Youth Soccer Association team enjoying their trophy
The association caters to the various needs of the community, from offering the Turf Tyke program which provides a basic introduction to the fundamentals of soccer for little ones, to the CSC Juniors Program, to the Cajun Soccer Club for talented and competitive players who are looking to play competitively at the collegiate level. The various tournaments held throughout each year are an important contributor to our local tourism industry, as the traveling teams and families fill our hotels, shop and frequent our many restaurants. For us adults in the community, there is even a Summer Adult League for summer time fun, where all games will be played at Moore Park on Sunday evenings from June 8th to July 20th this year. This league is strictly for fun: there are no referees, no scores kept, and no standings, just a good time and an opportunity to kick back and enjoy yourself. LYSA/Cajun Soccer Club offers summer camps for either halfday or full day sessions. The camps offer a great way to enhance a child’s technical skills while having a great time with friends. Moore Park is located at 210 Sonny Roy Lane in Lafayette off of N. University Avenue.
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June 2014 • www.upperlafayette.com
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Arlene LeBlanc and Jan Swift giving away door prizes; Dr. Chuck Burnell and colleagues enjoying the presentation; Joan Wallace and Adam Chapman of The705 Young Leaders of Acadiana.
www.upperlafayette.com • June 2014
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Upper Lafayette May Meeting a “Timely” Event! A sold out crowd enjoyed camaraderie as well as professional development tips on time management at our May 21 luncheon. Over 120 people packed the Acadian Companies’ auditorium on N. University as we focused on time and how we utilize this precious commodity. Led by our guest speaker, Christina Harper of Excelerant, we were challenged to take a thoughtful look at our priorities and consider what activities actually fill the hours of each day. When you consider what is truly important in your life, such as family, friends and faith, it becomes crystal
clear that we must choose to prioritize throughout each day if we will remain true to our core values. Christina did a wonderful job of presenting her nuggets of wisdom and received a standing ovation at the conclusion of her talk. We also enjoyed hearing from Jason Huffman of United Way of Acadiana about the “Leader in Me” program being taught in area schools. Based upon Steven Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” the principles of integrity, honesty, fairness and human dignity are BELOW Attendees of the May Meeting enjoying the event
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June 2014 • www.upperlafayette.com
CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER LEFT: May Meeting attendees give Christina Harper a standing ovation; Presenting Sponsor, Advancial; Christina Harper and Arlene LeBlanc at the Upper Lafayette May Meeting
www.upperlafayette.com • June 2014
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transforming behavior in schools nationally. In Lafayette Parish, several schools are privileged to have the program taught to its students, and Jason shared the startling success enjoyed once students are exposed to leadership skills that enhance effective living. All in all, our meeting was so much fun and we were grateful to have so many community members among us.
Special thanks must go to our Presenting Sponsor, Advancial, and our Host Sponsor, Acadian Companies, for making this meeting such a success!
CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT: Jason Huffman of United Way; Murphy Guilbeaux and Jeff Benton; Host Sponsor, Acadian Companies; Calvin James and Executive Director, Jan Swift
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June 2014 • www.upperlafayette.com
Upper Lafayette Sponsors Scholarships for Louisiana Youth Seminar for Deserving Students A key area of focus for Upper Lafayette is to improve the educational climate for all of our students. We also believe that encouraging leadership qualities in our youth is an avenue to future success by enabling them to see the unlimited possibilities for their potential in life. One way in which we have chosen to further this goal is to underwrite scholarships to enable deserving students at Carencro High and Northside High Schools to participate in the Louisiana Youth Seminar this summer at LSU. Working with recommendations made by counselors at both schools, students were selected to attend this summer’s LYS July session. Louisiana Youth Seminar is held every July for juniors and seniors throughout Louisiana. Students participate in many activities which focus on leadership skills, such as communication skills, setting and achieving goals, team building, understanding and accepting others, developing selfconfidence, and problem solving skills. For more information, visit http://louisianayouthseminar.org.
ABOVE: Executive Director, Jan Swift, Kallie Guillory, Harold Williams and Adrian Baudoin in front of Carencro High School
Upper Lafayette On the Move Highlights Local Icons A great benefit of having your own television show is getting to meet great people and highlight their accomplishments in a relaxed 26 minute format. Recently Jan Swift has invited Chanda Rubin, renowned professional tennis player, and Lee Verret, successful State Farm Agent, to be on the show. Not only are these two individuals interesting to learn about, but they both shared some personal anecdotes that were inspiring and uplifting. We invite you to watch Upper Lafayette On the Move on AOC 2 (LUS 4 and Cox 16) on the second and fourth Thursday of each month, at 8:30 p.m., or on our website at www.upperlafayette.com/videos. We have interviewed some of the best known and talented people in our community and look forward to many more years of using this wonderful avenue to promote Upper Lafayette!
www.upperlafayette.com • June 2014
ABOVE: Chandra Rubin, Professional Tennis Player, appearing on Upper Lafayette On the Move.
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Lafayette General Health named “Large Business of the Year”
was honored for being one of the area’s largest employers, with many of its employees serving as volunteers in various capacities that benefit the entire community. LGH also contributes to and sponsors events for several causes across its nine-parish service area, which coincides with Junior Achievement of Acadiana’s regional territory.
Junior Achievement of Acadiana named Lafayette General Health its “Large Business of the Year” for 2014. Lafayette General Health President/CEO David L. Callecod, FACHE, was presented with the award and honored at the 18th annual Business Hall of Fame event on May 6 at The Victorian Mansion in Broussard. Junior Achievement of Acadiana connects volunteers from the business community with students in grades K-12 to learn about entrepreneurship, jobs skills and financial literacy. LGH
The Business Hall of Fame honors individuals, such as Callecod, who share their personal professional experience to help students make a significant impact on the local free enterprise system and community. Some proceeds from the Business Hall of Fame event help Junior Achievement reach out to more students. Junior Achievement is a worldwide organization that utilizes experimental, hands-on methods to teach students how to generate wealth, manage it and how to generate jobs to make their communities more robust. Last year, Junior Achievement of Acadiana reached over 5,000 students in both public and private schools across a nine-parish area.
Cox Honors Inspirational Students Who are Heroes for Us All Cox Communications recently honored 41 students as Inspirational Heroes on at River Oaks in Lafayette. The event recognizes students who inspire others with the way they’ve overcome obstacles. The public, private and parochial schools in Cox’s six-parish Acadiana footprint are each invited to submit the name of one student who has met special challenges or overcome some sort of adversity. Some of the students have faced diagnoses of several illnesses or cancer, struggle with physical or developmental disabilities or faced the loss of a parent. Some of the students have overcome learning or behavioral challenges. “We know that each of our Cox Inspirational Heroes has overcome obstacles in their young lives and have done so with determination, courage and a positive attitude. That’s a winning combination, and we are pleased to be honoring them,” said Director of Operations for Cox Acadiana Julie Simon-Dronet.
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ABOVE: Julie Simon-Dronet (left) and Fran Gladd (right) honoring Korianna Boloney with the Cox Inspirational Heroes 2014 Award
June 2014 • www.upperlafayette.com
Rotary Club of Lafayette North Celebrates 30 Year Anniversary On May 14, 2014, the Rotary Club of Lafayette North celebrated its 30th anniversary in fine style at the party room of Schilling Distributing on Moss Street. Originally chartered on May 24, 1984 and sponsored by The Rotary Club of Lafayette, the Rotary Club of Lafayette North was the fourth club chartered for Rotary International in Lafayette, Louisiana. The club was chartered with 28 members, two of whom remain active today: Dr. Donald Reed and Danny Delhomme. The first meeting place was the Travelodge on the Evangeline Thruway. The club now meets at the Ramada Conference Center at 2032 NE Evangeline Thruway. The early leaders and founding members of our club are: Russell Leblanc, Joe Gajan III, Travis Knight, Greg Zaunbrecher, L. J. “Frenchie” Thibodeaux, Richard Bijeaux, Terry Latiolais, Virgil Reid, Ron Vidrine, Bobby Castille, Lynn Guidry, Dr. Don Reed, and Danny Delhomme. The Rotary Club of Lafayette North has a strong history of continuing to focus on “Service Above Self” in the community and to those worldwide. Current club service projects include teaching the “Choices” program in schools throughout our community, Clean Up Day at Rotary Point, Cite’Des Arts staffing, Faith House Special Needs Drive, assisting with Run Upper
www.upperlafayette.com • June 2014
Lafayette, funding of UL Lafayette scholarships to Northside, Carencro and Teurlings High students, mentoring the Carencro High Interact Club, and much, much more. The first president of Rotary Club of Lafayette North was Russell LeBlanc and the current serving president is Andre Mitchell. Many distinguished North Lafayette leaders have served throughout the club’s 30 year history and we expect many more leaders will be stepping up to the plate. Upper Lafayette congratulates Rotary Club of Lafayette North for 30 years of fine service to better our community! CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT:
Tom Acosta, Rotary District 6200 Governor of Port Allen, La., and Andre Mitchell, president of the Rotary Club of Lafayette North; Linwood Broussard (Past District Governor of Rotary District 6200 and member of the Rotary Club of Lafayette), Tom Acosta, and Greg Landry; attendees having fun at the social; Pat and Louise Logan; Donna Landry and Executive Director, Jan Swift
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Upcoming Upper Lafayette Events July Meeting Wednesday, July 16, 2014 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Mark your calendar for this event
September Meeting Wednesday, September 17, 2014 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Mark your calendar for this event
Run Upper Lafayette Saturday, September 13, 2014 8:00 a.m.. Pelican Park, Carencro
For more information or to register, visit www.upperlafayette.com/events
Platinum Members Acadian Companies Acadiana Computer Systems, Inc. Aries Marine Corporation ASH/Badger Oil Company Couret Farms Cox Communications Delta Media Home Furniture Hub City Ford IBERIABANK Lafayette General Medical Center McDonald’s of Acadiana MidSouth Bank Our Lady of Lourdes Republic National Distributing Company Schilling Distributing Company Stone Energy Corporation Whitney National Bank
Gold Members Acadiana Rubber & Gasket Atmos Energy Beau Box Commercial Real Estate Dupré Logistics, LLC Fenstermaker & Associates Gulf Coast Bank Home Bank Omni Energy Services Pixus Digital Printing The Southwest Group Tobacco Free Living Van Eaton & Romero
Silver Members Ace Plumbing, Inc. Arsement Machine and Supply, Inc. BBR Creative Cajun Harley Davidson Coburn’s Supply Company Edward Jones/Bob Crist Excelerant Gauthiers’ RV Center
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Silver Members Guidry’s Uniforms Master Builders & Specialists, Inc. Oakbourne Country Club Rader Solutions Shelf Energy, LLC SLEMCO Stella Maris Stirling Properties Total Pump and Supply, LLC Universal Sign & Manufacturing Company Walters Funeral Home
Bronze Members Acadiana C.A.R.E.S. Acadiana Symphony Orchestra Advancial Federal Credit Union Anytime Fitness Upper Lafayette Aspen Clinic Associated Travel Boys and Girls Clubs of Acadiana Jean C. Breaux, Jr. & Associates Breaux’s Mart Bridge Ministry of Acadiana, Inc. Community Foundation of Acadiana Crawdaddy’s On-Site Catering Dale Carnegie-The Winner Institute Davis Property Management Derek Development Corp., LLC Joey Durel Drury Inn & Suites Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Lynn Guidry, Architect John Paul The Great Academy Jolie’s Louisiana Bistro Lafayette Animal Aid Lafayette Community Health Care Clinic Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission Lafayette Youth Soccer Association Lee Verret/State Farm Insurance Agency Lowry’s Printing and Copying Flo Meadows, Coldwell Banker Iqbal Merchant, CPA Melancon I-49 Storage Center Petroleum Club
Bronze Members Ron J. Gaubert Realtors W. W. Rucks, III Sarah Schoeffler Schools of the Sacred Heart SMILE John Swift Sylvan Learning Center Teche Electric Supply, LLC Dr. Brent Jason Toups, LLC Terry J. Rogers, Ltd. Valerie Gotch Garrett, APLC WorldPay
Sponsors PLATINUM IBERIABANK Lafayette Airport Commission LEDA Stone Energy GOLD AT&T Beau Box Commercial Real Estate Dupré Logistics Excelerant Hub City Ford LUS Fiber Rader Solutions Tobacco Free Living SILVER Acadian Companies Advancial Federal Credit Union Schilling Distributing Company
City of Carencro City of Scott
BRONZE
June 2014 • www.upperlafayette.com