Chevron, French teacher take home Chamber’s top honors

“Whatever communities they work out of, they invest heavily in, to the point of becoming a treasured community partner,” LA 1 Coalition Executive Director Henri Boulet said.

Boulet was describing Chevron, the global energy company that, after 60 years of operations in the Gulf of Mexico, became the latest recipient of the Lafourche Chamber of Commerce’s Business and Industry Award.

“I think Chevron has been committed to this area for a long time, and I want to say that they will be here for many, many, many years to come,” said Pete Melancon, who accepted the award on Chevron’s behalf. “We don’t just operate here. I think we’re citizens of this community, and we want to see our community prosper.”

Boulet commended Chevron for its contributions to the Gulf Economic Survival Team, Restore or Retreat and America’s Wetlands. He thanked them for donating $150,000 over three years to the recently completed $1.1 million pavilion behind the Larose Civic Center and for supporting the LA 1 Coalition.

“Chevron also recognizes how absolutely vital our infrastructure is to businesses along our coast, and … I am proud of their longstanding support of the highway coalition’s efforts,” Boulet said. “Chevron always says, ‘Yes,’ when our community knocks at the door.”

The chamber held its annual awards banquet last Wednesday. The business group also named its 2012 Board of Directors, which Chett Chiasson will chair, and listened to motivational jokes delivered by public speaker Curt Boudreaux, a Cajun humorist and administrative assistant at Golden Meadow Lower Elementary.

Chiasson, the executive director of Port Fourchon and the 2011 Bayou Industrial Group board president, said he hopes the chamber is able to increase its already 400-plus membership by “15 to 20 businesses already in the community.”

Vice-Chair Simone Maloz, Restore or Retreat; Secretary Scott Friedlander, Danos & Curole; Treasurer Archie Chaisson III, Lafourche Shrine Club; and Immediate Past Chair Paula Rome, T. Baker Smith, round out the board’s officers.

Jean Louis Mendy, French teacher at Grand Isle School and a native of Senegal, Africa, received the Education Award. Mendy moved to the area after Hurricane Katrina to help rebuild the area. He also tutors Spanish-speaking students on a voluntary basis and has organized trips for students to visit New York, the Grand Canyon, Canada and France, presenter and Chamber President Lin Kiger said.

Joseph Leonard was named Business Person of the Year. Leonard currently works as a sales manager for GIS Trucking, and presenter Ted Falgout noted Leonard’s dedication to civic involvement. Leonard serves on the executive board of the LA 1 Coalition and a board member of Restore or Retreat and the South Lafourche Bank.

Lindo Terrebonne was named the chamber’s Community Hero for his annual role in the Cerebral Palsy Telethon. “Under his coordination, the fundraising surpassed the $1 million milestone and continues to climb,” said presenter and Lafourche Parish President Charlotte Randolph.