Report IDs Gulf fire source
August 29, 2013
Trailer Unlimited newest venture for Blanchard’s
August 29, 2013
A mainstay of the Louisiana seafood industry has tendered his resignation as head of the agency that has for the past two decades navigated the industry’s direction in terms of promotion and potential sales.
Ewell Smith announced his resignation last week as director of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, a position he has held for 13 years.
The resignation comes as Lt. Gov. Jay Dardenne’s office of Culture, Recreation and Tourism takes over oversight of the board, in keeping with a bill filed earlier this year by State Sen. Norby Chabert R-Houma.
“I have reached a time in both my life and career where new challenges and opportunities must be explored,” Smith said in his resignation letter, sent to LSPMB chairman John Folse. “The longterm relationships and friendships I have established over the years make this departure almost unbearable.
I can leave this position feeling I have left the organization as well as the men and women of Louisiana’s fishing communities on solid ground, prepared to meet the challenges of the future.”
The Great American Seafood Cook Off seen on PBS and the Food Network, the Louisiana
Seafood Cook Off, the Oyster Eating Challenge, the Louisiana Seafood Festival and signature po-boy builds at the Super Bowl and the White House are among the board’s accomplishments Smith noted.
Dardenne’s office issued a terse statement acknowledging the resignation and noting that a replacement will be found as quickly as possible.
Dardenne is authorized to make the pick from names submitted by the board.
“Long before the BP Oil Spill, our Board became crisis-communication experts leading the way to recovery following Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and lke,” Smith’s letter continues. “We were the first Louisiana industry to be in DC following the devastation left by Katrina.”
Smith said he plans to spend time with family while deciding what direction his career should now take.
Sarah Voisin, appointed to the board earlier this year by Gov. Bobby Jindal, said she was saddened to hear of Smith’s resignation.
But her plan is to continue to follow the course he and other staffers began.
