Jane Arnette

Jane Arnette is fun and would not have it any other way. As executive director of the South Central Industrial Association and interim executive director for the Terrebonne Parish Economic Development Authority, Arnette is known as being energetic, witty and insightful.

Born in Houma, Arnette was raised in Plaquemines Parish then returned to Terrebonne Parish in the 1970s. Her career experience includes work in education, sales, public safety and business development.

“When I moved here and [finished] my degree, I taught language arts at Lisa Park [Elementary School] for a year then I went to Delta Service Industries,” Arnette said of her career path.

Thirty years ago Delta Service Industries was one of the largest employers in Terrebonne. While at Delta Service Industries, Arnette got a taste of community and business development. “One of the first things I did was help get Thompson Road paved,” she said.

When Delta Service Industries folded in the mid 1980s, Arnette was among those that found herself without a job. “That was devastating. But it taught me to appreciate what I had.”

Arnette went back to teaching, that time at Ellender Memorial High School for a year. A stint at Terrebonne General Medical Center gave her experience with marketing and communications. Then she joined the Houma Heart Clinic to work in development.

“After my children were raised and out on their own I felt it was time for me to back up and take a look at what I wanted to do in life,” Arnette said.

In 2001, the opportunity to work for SCIA opened for Arnette and has grown into a position where she serves as a network and information resource, an economic developer, and promoter of industrial career opportunities.

At the beginning of this year Arnette was selected to fill, in a volunteer capacity, the role of interim executive director for TEDA. But she has not neglected her paying job while taking on the added responsibility and views that as helping the region as a whole.

“At SCIA I’m growing the region but we’re also giving back to the community,” Arnette said. One area she is giving back is with the Work It! project in which SCIA members encourage and provide training opportunities for new generations of technical and industrial employees through scholarship programs. “That is so important to me. We’re providing a [long term] service to this region.”

Arnette explained that while a typical social service might have a mission of accommodating the underserved, SCIA’s mission is to invest in the larger community by addressing industrial issues, coastal restoration and preservation concerns, and providing educational opportunities. “That active voice of regional industry makes the difference,” she said.

Arnette offered advice to a younger generation of women in business when she said they should perform their jobs with a high degree of ethics and do what they enjoy.

Among her professional tools, humor has served Arnette in a primary manner because it is how she identifies herself and finds a place to fit in. “I’m a fun person,” she said. Those that know her would not have it any other way.

Title: Executive Director, South Central Industrial Association / Interim Executive Director, Terrebonne Economic Development Authority

Age: 63

Family: Children, Leigh Robinson, Walter Arnette, four grandchildren

Education: Bachelor’s of Science degree in communications Nicholls State University

Career Experience: Education, business development

Who was your biggest influence: Professionally, Leon Toups and Kerry Chauvin; personally, her father Maurice “Jack” LeBouef

If you were not doing this what would you like to be doing: “I’m doing it. I’m being me.”

What one word describes you: Hyper-kinetic