$220K donation benefits Larose

The Larose Regional Park and Civic Center got a huge boost last week courtesy of the Bollinger Family Foundation and Edison Chouest Offshore.

The companies donated $120,000 and $100,000, respectively, last Wednesday to help expand the civic center.

In the late 1970s, John Rabb, then-president of the Bayou Civic Club, announced his vision for a civic center to host Larose’s French Food Festival, the club’s marquee event.

“We have the meeting minutes when Mr. Rabb said that the civic center needed a pavilion,” said Jasmine Sauder, the club’s executive director. “He knew that we could do so much more with the expansion of the facility. We have been working to make his dream come true for the last 30 years.”

At the time, the civic club did not have the funds to construct a permanent building. It was put on the back burner, but never completely forgotten.

Bayou Civic Club leaders set out to raise money for the project in 2006. BP kicked off the fundraising drive with a $175,000 donation last November. Those funds secured a contractor for the project.

The recent donations will help lay the foundation for the pavilion.

“Bollinger and Edison Chouest have stepped up to provide the leading gifts that will help us fund a permanent pavilion at the civic center that will be used for generations to come,” said Henri Boulet, president of the Bayou Civic Club.

The Bayou Civic Club operates the park and civic center. The club has raised nearly $400,000 for the project to date.

The pavilion, when complete, will be 116 feet-by-211 feet. Construction could begin as soon as next spring. Casey Curole, the co-chairman of the pavilion project, said the civic club is proceeding with the design and engineering phase.

The club will begin soliciting donations for phase two once the foundation is down. Sauder estimated the construction project will cost just over $1 million.

“The pavilion will surely enhance public life for the Lafourche community,” she said.

Charlotte Bollinger, executive vice president of the Bollinger Family Foundation, empathizes with the Bayou Civic Club’s need for a pavilion. During the 1980s, she said, Bollinger was in a similar situation. The ship-building company rented large tents for its Blessing of the Fleet celebrations for years before a permanent fixture was erected on the company’s grounds.

“It was a good addition for us, and it will be a good one for the civic center,” Bollinger said. “I have always wanted something like this for the civic center.”

Dionne Chouest, legal counsel for Edison Chouest Offshore, said as a resident of lower Lafourche, she enjoys visiting the regional park with her family.

“We commend them for the work that the volunteers are doing here at the civic center,” Chouest said. “We can actually see where our dollars are being spent, and the progress they are making to make this one of the best facilities in the area.”