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June 16, 2015Thinks he’s a dreamer
June 16, 2015
The South Central Industrial Association installed a new president and awarded accolades by candlelight Thursday night after the power went out briefly during its annual banquet at Cypress Columns in Gray.
The power went out shortly after guest speaker J. Stanley “Skip” Bertman, former baseball coach and athletic director at Louisiana State University, took the stage and power was restored nearly a half hour later.
“It’s a candlelight dinner now,” joked Bobby Pitre with Scurlock Electric Inc. “It’s kind of romantic.”
In an effort to keep things moving along, former SCIA President Robert Clemons and Executive Director Jane Arnette installed this year’s SCIA officers by the warm glow of candles fortuitously placed at the center of each table in the large banquet hall.
After power was restored, Oneil Malbrough, president of Shaw Coastal, was named this years’ president of the SCIA.
“As I look at the list of past presidents that I will follow, I know that I’ve got some very big shoes to fill,” Malbrough said. “I promise to you all that I will do my best and will work as hard as I can to keep this organization moving forward.”
William G. “Bill” Blanchard, vice president of Gulf Island LLC, was named executive vice president of SCIA. Cory Kief, director of business development for Crosby Tugs, was named SCIA vice president. Paul Danos, executive vice president of Danos, was named secretary of the SCIA board. Charles Theriot, owner of Charles C. Theriot & Company, remains SCIA’s treasurer.
Jared Toups, with Oil States Industries, will join the board as a new director. Edward Bouterie, of Bourgeois Bennett, LLC, and Chris Bollinger, president of Bollinger Enterprises, will both serve as directors on the board as well.
This year’s SCIA President’s Award went to Kurt Crosby, CEO of Crosby Tugs. The company got its start in 1977 with just one tug boat. Crosby Tugs now employs more than 800 people and recently entered the international market with the creation of subsidiary Crosby Mexico.
The 2015 Tillman Esteve Award, honoring an outstanding member who projects the values and ideals of the organization, went to Nicol Blanchard, college & career transition coordinator, for her work coordinating the Work It! and Jump Start programs. Both programs aim to educate area high school students in technical fields while they are in high school, allowing them to become certified in specialized fields.
The program, which was first created by the SCIA for surrounding parishes, has since been expanded through the Louisiana Department of Education to secondary schools statewide.
Members of the South Central Industrial Association dine during the organization’s annual banquet. A brief power outage turned the event into a candlelight dinner for almost a half hour.
