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  • George Marks – Director of International Trade and Cultural Development for LCG

    George Marks – Director of International Trade and Cultural Development for LCG
    2026/10/09
    George Marks, Director of International Trade and Cultural Development for Lafayette Consolidated Government, joined Discover Lafayette to discuss his vision for connecting Lafayette to the world by building upon one of our region’s greatest assets: our culture. George stepped into his new role in April 2026, but in many ways, he has been preparing for it for the past two decades. An artist and native of Arnaudville, George is the founder of NuNu Arts and Culture Collective, the remarkable cultural gathering place that helped demonstrate how art, music, language, food and simple human connection can breathe new life into a small community. “I will tell you that I feel NuNu’s has been preparing me for this role for the past 20 years.” From Arnaudville to LSU and Back Home George grew up in Arnaudville and eventually attended LSU, where he initially planned to study business. An art professor saw things differently. George recalled the professor asking what he was majoring in. When George answered “business,” the professor responded, “No, no, you need to switch.” He did. After graduating from LSU in fine arts, George remained in Baton Rouge for approximately 15 years, building his career as an artist. He began selling his work while still in college and became associated with Anne Connelly Fine Art. He also spent three years working at LSU in programming, managing a frame shop, gallery and craft center, experience that in retrospect foreshadowed what he would later create in Arnaudville. George describes his art as expressive, spontaneous and deeply influenced by his surroundings. Power lines, landscapes, cotton, family stories and the visual memories of rural Louisiana repeatedly find their way into his paintings. When his father became ill, George returned home to Arnaudville. After his father died, George began recognizing just how much his hometown had shaped his artistic vocabulary. “I realized that a lot of the symbols that were in my art were actually from Arnaudville.” Creating a Place Where People Wanted to Be Arnaudville was very different when George returned. He remembers approximately nine empty storefronts, a stark contrast to the thriving small town of his childhood. George knew that if he was going to remain there, something needed to change. “We knew that we wanted to create a place that people would want to come, and where we wanted to live first.” At the time, George didn’t know the term “creative placemaking.” He simply understood that art, activity and people could bring spaces back to life. The community began programming events and activating vacant or underused buildings. One space became Tom’s Fiddle & Bow. Another eventually became a guest house. A space that would become The Little Big Cup was temporarily activated as an art gallery, in part to show what was possible and encourage others to invest in the community. That philosophy ultimately grew into NuNu Arts and Culture Collective. Today, NuNu’s occupies approximately 7,500 square feet in a former hardware store and lumberyard. It includes gallery spaces, a market, café, makerspace, technology studio and work areas for artists. George says the organization benefits from an extraordinary amount of volunteer support, with approximately $550,000 in volunteer value contributed annually. NuNu’s has become much more than an art gallery. It is a place to gather, make things, exchange ideas, celebrate Louisiana French culture and welcome people from around the world. And now George is bringing that philosophy to Lafayette. “NuNu-fying” Lafayette The Lafayette International Center was established in 1989 to connect Lafayette with international opportunities and relationships. George is building upon the trade and economic development foundation established under longtime director Philippe Gustin while greatly expanding the Center’s emphasis on culture and Lafayette’s creative economy. George jokes that they are “NuNu-fying Lafayette.” But there is a serious economic development philosophy behind the phrase. The International Center is being transformed into a place where people can learn, work, meet, collaborate and create. The first floor is envisioned as a public-facing convening space, something George describes almost as “everyone’s living room.” “You can come in, grab a coffee across the street. Come and sit. Pull out your laptop, do some work within a space that displays original art, but also examples of some of the projects that we’ve worked on with some of our international partners.” Alliance Française will become more visible within the building and expand access to its French library. A new Co-Lab space will provide desks to cultural nonprofit organizations, allowing groups to work in proximity to one another and share ideas, equipment, expertise and resources. George calls it creating “positive tension” among organizations. “One might own a stage, ...
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    52 分
  • J.P. MacFadyen — Moncus Park, a Place Where Community, Nature and Belonging Come Together

    J.P. MacFadyen — Moncus Park, a Place Where Community, Nature and Belonging Come Together
    2026/10/16
    When J.P. MacFadyen first joined Discover Lafayette in 2022, Moncus Park was still in the early stages of becoming the extraordinary public gathering place envisioned by a group of determined Lafayette citizens nearly two decades earlier. Today, the 100-acre park in the heart of Lafayette has blossomed into one of Acadiana’s most treasured destinations, offering everything from peaceful walks among native plants and wildlife to concerts, outdoor movies, fitness classes, farmers markets, and holiday celebrations. J.P., who joined Moncus Park in 2019 as operations director and became executive director in 2021, returns to share the latest developments, including new facilities, an ambitious calendar of free public programming, and the financial realities of operating a privately managed, nonprofit park that welcomes everyone. The conversation also takes us back to the beginning, when two young women, E.B. Brooks and Danica Adams, helped rally the community to save the former horse farm from development. Reflecting on their efforts more than 20 years ago, J.P. says, “There was a yearning and now even more so for public spaces where people can connect and belong.” That sense of belonging remains central to everything Moncus Park does. More Than a Beautiful Green Space One of the most remarkable aspects of Moncus Park is the feeling of escape it provides despite its location along one of Lafayette’s busiest thoroughfares. A short walk into the park brings visitors into a landscape of rolling hills, water, trees, wildlife, and peaceful places to reflect. J.P. explains that the park’s programming is built around three guiding pillars: nature and sustainability, community and belonging, and health and wellness. These priorities are reflected in a growing assortment of activities, from birdwatching and learning about native plants to yoga, Pilates, sound baths, cultural exchanges, and organized dog walks. The park partners with For the Birds of Acadiana to release rehabilitated birds back into their natural environment. Visitors can participate in these releases, which are incorporated into the park’s nature programming. Moncus Park also works with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette on cultural exchanges that introduce visitors to different traditions through food, dance, and other experiences. Even something as simple as walking a dog can create a meaningful human connection. “It’s amazing when you put people in a public space together with some sort of activation, how easy it is for people to bond,” J.P. explains. For J.P., these activities serve a larger purpose. They provide a reason for someone to visit the park for the first time, discover its beauty, and perhaps develop friendships along the way. He describes a philosophy of creating inviting public spaces that begins with making them clean, safe, and welcoming. From there, thoughtful landscaping, benches, shade, and amenities make people comfortable. Programming then brings the space to life. New Improvements: A Meditation Garden, More Parking and a Farmers Market Pavilion Several significant improvements have made Moncus Park more accessible and inviting. Among the newest additions is the Kergan Family Meditation Garden, located beyond the central bridge toward the quieter back portion of the park. The garden is arranged into four smaller garden spaces, each with distinctive plantings, benches, water features, and inspirational messages. J.P. describes it as a place designed for reflection, where visitors can enjoy a moment of quiet in the middle of the city. The park has also substantially expanded its parking capacity with assistance from state funding. The primary paved parking area increased from 155 to 225 spaces, and the new Paul Doerle Sr. Farmers Market Pavilion includes an additional paved parking area. With overflow parking, the park can accommodate approximately 600 vehicles during major events. The Farmers Market Pavilion represents another important milestone. In addition to providing a home for the popular Saturday market, it creates new opportunities for weddings, family reunions, corporate crawfish boils, and other gatherings. These rentals are especially important because they help generate the revenue necessary to sustain the park’s operations. The Financial Reality of Running Moncus Park One of the most revealing portions of our conversation concerns a fact that many Lafayette residents may not fully appreciate: Although the City of Lafayette owns the land, Moncus Park is operated and maintained by a nonprofit conservancy. The conservancy is responsible for the park’s construction, maintenance, security, landscaping, programming, trash collection, and day-to-day operations. Its annual operating budget approaches $3 million. “That is a challenge we face every year,” J.P. acknowledges, explaining the continuing need to educate the public about the park’s financial structure. The organization relies on ...
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    50 分
  • Olivia Regard – Attorney, Baker, Writer and Champion of the Arts

    Olivia Regard – Attorney, Baker, Writer and Champion of the Arts
    2026/10/01
    Olivia Regard, corporate counsel for Aggreko, food writer for The Advocate, baker, arts advocate, mother and enthusiastic traveler, joins Discover Lafayette to share the many chapters of a life that has been shaped by curiosity, creativity and a willingness to say “yes” to new experiences. Olivia grew up in New Roads, Louisiana, and spent seven years at LSU earning her undergraduate and law degrees. She laughs that one of the perks was “seven years of cheap football tickets.” She also holds a memorable place in LSU history: Olivia was LSU Homecoming Queen alongside Homecoming King Warren Morris, shortly after Morris hit his legendary game-winning home run in the 1996 College World Series. After law school, Olivia began her legal career in Baton Rouge with the Jones Walker law firm. She moved to Lafayette in 2005, transferring to the firm’s Lafayette office, and later practiced with Babineaux, Poché, Anthony & Slavich before moving from private practice into the corporate world. Her early litigation practice included environmental toxic tort defense before she transitioned into employment law. She handled matters involving non-compete agreements, proprietary information, discrimination and harassment claims, among other employment disputes. As a young lawyer, she had the opportunity to work alongside an experienced Jones Walker litigator handling cases across the country. “I learned so much from him,” Olivia says of that early mentor. Today, Olivia serves as Associate General Counsel for Aggreko, a global company specializing in temporary power and temperature control solutions. Aggreko’s work can range from providing power for major events to supporting data center construction, hospitals, petrochemical and refining operations, manufacturing facilities and other businesses that cannot afford an interruption in power or temperature control. Interestingly, Aggreko is headquartered in Scotland, but its North American story has strong Acadiana roots. The company expanded into North America through the acquisition of an oil and gas business in New Iberia, and its New Iberia campus remains a significant part of its operations. Olivia provides legal support to Aggreko’s data center and petrochemical and refining sectors, as well as its North American human resources team. Her background in employment law is particularly valuable because the role of in-house counsel is often preventative rather than reactive. She explained the difference between private practice and corporate counsel this way: when an employment dispute reached her in private practice, “the damage was already done.” She was defending, mitigating or resolving an existing problem. In-house, the goal is to educate managers and employees, maintain compliance with applicable laws and hopefully keep disputes from developing into litigation in the first place. “I love when I don’t have to call outside counsel to help me with a problem.” Olivia has been with Aggreko for just over three years and has found the experience enormously rewarding. “I have had more fun and learned more in that three-year time period than probably the 20-plus years of legal experience combined.” Louisiana Bakes For many people in Acadiana, however, Olivia may be just as familiar from a completely different pursuit: her Louisiana Bakes column in The Advocate. Olivia’s love of writing goes back to sixth grade and her English teacher, Pam Whitlock, whom Olivia credits with giving her both a love of writing and confidence in her own voice. Her love of cooking goes back even further. “My first memories of cooking were in my grandmother’s kitchen.” Olivia grew up in New Roads in a family where, as she jokes, “I either know them or I’m related to them.” Her grandmother was a wonderful cook, remembered particularly for her fried chicken and pumpkin pie. Unfortunately, neither recipe was preserved. “Those are the two recipes that I wish someone would have captured before she passed.” Food, memory and family would eventually become the ingredients of Olivia’s own writing. Like many families, the Regards spent a great deal of time in the kitchen during the COVID shutdown. Olivia sat her children down and asked everyone to choose something they wanted to learn to cook, something they wanted to eat, and something new they wanted Olivia to learn to prepare. COVID also brought Samson, Olivia’s sourdough starter, named for her grandmother’s maiden name. Cooking became a way of staying connected. Olivia shared recipes on Instagram and even mailed packets of yeast to friends around the country who couldn’t find it in stores. Friend and writer Jan Risher then organized a COVID-era version of The Great British Bake Off, livestreaming participants from their kitchens as they cooked and were interviewed by judges. That experience helped plant the seed for what came next. A “Year of Yes” When Jan later approached Olivia about ...
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    56 分
  • CuGino’s Hunter Moody and Gene Todaro

    CuGino’s Hunter Moody and Gene Todaro
    2026/09/25
    Discover Lafayette welcomes Hunter Moody and Gene Todaro, proprietors of CuGino, their beautiful Sicilian restaurant located at 117 South College Road in Lafayette. This episode is presented in special partnership with Eat Lafayette by Lafayette Travel, celebrating the locally owned restaurants that help define our community and our culture. CuGino may be relatively new to Lafayette’s restaurant scene, but there are generations of restaurant experience behind it. Hunter Moody grew up in one of Lafayette’s best-known restaurant families, while Gene Todaro brought authentic Sicilian cooking to Acadiana more than four decades ago as one of the founders of Marcello’s. Their paths are remarkably different, but their philosophies about food, hospitality and the people who work alongside them are very much the same. Hunter Moody: Raised in the Restaurant Business For Hunter, the restaurant business was part of life from childhood. His grandfather, B. I. Moody, was a CPA who became involved in the restaurant industry through the Trotter brothers’ Burger King franchise interest. The Moody family went on to own and operate numerous restaurants and other franchises, including Luther’s Barbecue, Chart House and Outback Steakhouse. Hunter remembers being included in the business by his father at an unusually young age. “When I was 12 years old, he’d say, ‘Son, get in the car. We’re going talk to Outback Steakhouse in Baton Rouge.’ When I was 15, he’d say, ‘Son, come sit at the kitchen table. Let’s discuss this month’s P&Ls and financial statements.’” Hunter says academics were highly valued in his large family, but he discovered early that his strengths were elsewhere. “I was more of a blue-collar kind of person, believe it or not, coming from a very well-off family with a lot of privileges, a lot of opportunities. But I played sports and loved them. I was good with my hands, good with people. From a young age, I wanted to be in the restaurant business.” At the age of 28, Hunter took over his family’s Sonny’s Barbecue operation in Baton Rouge at a difficult time. The restaurant had experienced two down years following the 2008 financial collapse, and the family was considering closing it. Hunter saw potential in both the management team and its loyal customer base. Within a year, he says, sales and profits returned. Over the next decade, the restaurant nearly doubled its sales. That experience also shaped Hunter’s approach to leadership. As Sonny’s itself began adapting to a changing restaurant industry, Hunter embraced a management philosophy centered on kindness, teamwork and creating a workplace where people could thrive. “I never minded sweating. I never minded working hard. And that’s why the business worked out well for me early on.” Gene Todaro: From Palermo to Louisiana Gene Todaro’s story begins thousands of miles away in Sicily. Gene grew up in Palermo and was 14 years old when his family came to the United States in 1961. His father had actually been born in Pueblo, Colorado, before returning with his family to Sicily, which meant he was an American citizen. After World War II, with Palermo devastated by bombing, Gene’s father and his brothers began considering leaving Sicily. A visit to the American consulate changed everything when they learned Gene’s family could obtain American passports. “We came into the country on an American passport because our father was American.” The family initially settled in New Orleans, where relatives already lived, before Gene’s path eventually brought him to Lafayette. Gene did not initially plan on spending his career in a restaurant. His academic background was in accounting, and he earned an MBA through Texas A&M while working for Halliburton in Dallas. He also operated a restaurant on the side. Then his younger brother Marcello, who was attending USL in Lafayette, called. “He says, ‘Gene, there are no good Italian restaurants in Lafayette. I need you to come down here and see what you think and see if you can help me get a restaurant.’” Gene came to Lafayette, surveyed the local restaurant scene and agreed that the city could use another Italian restaurant. He helped get the business started with every intention of returning to Dallas. Six or eight months later, his brother called again and asked for help. Gene sold his Dallas restaurant and moved to Lafayette. The rest became part of Lafayette restaurant history. The Todaro Taste The Todaro family’s food traditions came directly from Sicily. Gene remembers shopping for his mother, Rosalie, and learning the ingredients that went into her cooking. He may not have been the one doing the cooking, but he learned what the finished product was supposed to taste like. Rosalie Todaro “I knew all the ingredients and what went into different dishes, and I knew what they should taste like. And if something didn’t taste quite like it, we got to ...
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    57 分
  • Missy Rogers – Founder and President of Noble Plastics

    Missy Rogers – Founder and President of Noble Plastics
    2026/09/18
    Discover Lafayette welcomes Missy Rogers, founder and president of Noble Plastics, an advanced manufacturing company headquartered in Grand Coteau, Louisiana. Noble Plastics is a remarkable Acadiana success story. What began in 2000 with one injection molding machine and Missy as the company’s sole employee has grown into a sophisticated manufacturing operation specializing in precision injection molding, engineering and robotic automation. A mechanical engineer by training, Missy built Noble Plastics around a deceptively simple idea: solve difficult problems for customers and be willing to manufacture things others say cannot be done. But as Missy shares in our conversation, Noble’s success has never been about one person.“It’s never been about me, and it’s never been something that can be achieved by an individual. I think the sooner you recognize that, the sooner you empower the capable people around you.” From Engineering to Entrepreneurship Missy grew up on the West Bank of New Orleans and earned her mechanical engineering degree from LSU. Today, she serves in advisory capacities at both LSU and UL Lafayette, and after three decades in the Lafayette area, she considers Acadiana home. Her grandfather, an engineer himself, had a profound influence on her life and leadership philosophy. He taught her to see herself as “a piece of the whole, not the head of the whole,” a lesson she continues to emphasize as Noble develops new managers and leaders. Missy met her husband, Scott Rogers, while both were mechanical engineering students at LSU. She describes herself as the analytical engineer and Scott as the creative, visionary engineer. Their complementary strengths eventually helped launch Noble Plastics. In the late 1990s, both were working in the energy sector when Scott recognized opportunities to use advanced plastics in applications traditionally dominated by steel. The automotive industry was already turning to lightweight materials to reduce weight and cost, and Missy and Scott both saw potential for the same transition in energy and defense. Plastics could offer properties particularly useful in demanding applications: chemical neutrality, electrical insulation, lighter weight and the ability to replace certain metal components. There was skepticism. Missy remembers being told some of their ideas simply couldn’t be done. But that became part of Noble’s niche. “Sometimes it takes a visionary who doesn’t see the limits, like my husband. And then a person like myself who will say, ‘Yeah, I believe in you. I’ll support this. Let’s find a way.’” Building a Company and a Family at the Same Time Noble Plastics’ first home was the rear of a rented building in an industrial park off Ambassador Caffery. Missy had a detailed five-year business plan, but life quickly reminded this self-described planner that not everything fits neatly into a spreadsheet. She and Scott already had two young children when Missy unexpectedly became pregnant with their third. Her attorney and accountant jokingly pointed out that there was nothing on page 17 of her carefully constructed business plan about having a baby in the third quarter. Her son spent much of his first year in a Pack ‘n Play in her office. Missy recalls holding him while a client signed a contract, handing the baby to the client, and then signing the agreement herself. That experience helped define the kind of people Noble wanted to work with: clients who valued relationships, local jobs and a company that understood their industries. What Exactly Does Noble Plastics Make? Noble is not making disposable cups, water-bottle caps or other commodity plastic products. The company occupies a highly specialized precision manufacturing space. In injection molding, solid plastic pellets are heated under pressure until the material flows, injected into a precision mold and then cooled back into a solid form. Depending upon the material, temperatures can reach the 500-, 600- or even 700-degree range. And these are not necessarily ordinary plastics. Noble works with specialty materials containing glass fiber, carbon fiber, nanotubes and other components engineered for strength, durability, heat management and insulating properties. Missy offers a wonderfully understandable description of the highly sophisticated equipment Noble Plastics operates: “They are like giant hot glue guns.” The difference is what comes out of those “hot glue guns.” Noble Plastics manufactures precision components used in energy, defense, solar, sporting goods and other industries, often creating parts the average consumer will never see. “What we make really matters in the programs that they go into,” Missy says. “And there’s a sense of pride for that.” Perhaps no story better illustrates the breadth of Noble’s work than one Missy recalls from about 15 years ago. On the same day, Noble’s smallest machine was producing super-glue ...
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    1 時間 4 分
  • Dr. Charles Boustany – Journey to Ukraine to Witness Human Toll of War

    Dr. Charles Boustany – Journey to Ukraine to Witness Human Toll of War
    2026/09/11
    Dr. Charles Boustany, retired cardiovascular surgeon and former six-term member of Congress representing South Louisiana from 2005 to 2017, joins Discover Lafayette to recount an extraordinary and deeply personal journey to Ukraine, where he traveled with his longtime friend and former Kentucky Congressman Geoff Davis to witness firsthand the human toll of Russia’s war upon Ukraine. The two former congressmen made the trip at their own expense. They went not as elected officials or representatives of the United States government, but as concerned Americans determined to listen, learn and better understand a conflict that Charles believes has profound implications far beyond Ukraine. Their journey culminated in a terrifying night in Kyiv on May 23, 2026, when Charles found himself sheltering in the basement of his hotel with Ukrainian families as missiles and drones pounded the capital for hours. It was an experience that changed him. A Friendship Forged in Congress Leads to Ukraine Charles and Geoff Davis became close friends while serving together in Congress. Their backgrounds were very different. Charles came to public service after a career as a cardiovascular surgeon. Geoff is a West Point graduate and former Army Ranger who served with the 82nd Airborne Division. Ukraine became particularly personal for Geoff after a West Point classmate, a retired U.S. Army colonel of Ukrainian ancestry, went to Ukraine and volunteered to fight after Russia’s invasion. Although the Ukrainians wanted to commission him as a senior officer because of his experience, he chose to enter the fight as a private. He was killed in combat. Charles had his own longstanding concerns about Russian aggression. While serving in Congress, he watched Russia’s actions in Georgia and the 2014 seizure of Crimea and territory in eastern Ukraine. He had traveled to Georgia as a member of Congress and visited within roughly 30 miles of the front line, seeing the consequences of Russian military action there. Over time, Charles and Geoff became increasingly concerned that Americans were losing sight of what was happening in Ukraine. “We felt like you have to go see what’s going on to really understand what’s going on in the world,” Charles says. “And if you’re a policymaker, it’s really important to do that.” They decided to go themselves. Their objective was first to gather information: to speak not only with government and military officials, but with ordinary Ukrainians living through the war. Their second goal was to return home and share what they had witnessed. The Long Road Into Ukraine Rather than entering through Poland, as many American visitors do, Charles traveled from Louisiana through Atlanta, Amsterdam and Bucharest, Romania. From there, he took a commuter flight toward the Romanian-Ukrainian border, where a humanitarian contact arranged for a van to take the group into Ukraine. The drive to Kyiv took approximately ten and a half hours. That route gave Charles an unexpected view of the country. They traveled through the agricultural heartland of southwestern Ukraine, passing farms and countryside that in some ways reminded Charles of home. The landscape was beautiful and peaceful, until reminders of war suddenly appeared: a bombed truck, a destroyed barn or a damaged home. Even those rural areas bore the scars of the conflict. What struck Charles throughout the trip was how familiar much of Ukraine felt. Gas stations offered snacks much like those in America. Stores and restaurants were open. People went about their lives. He laughed as he recalled that the restrooms they encountered along the journey were among “the cleanest bathrooms I’ve seen anywhere.” “The people are so nice,” he says. That sense of normalcy made the destruction they encountered even more jarring. “These Are People Just Like Us” Charles and Geoff deliberately sought out Ukrainians who could tell them what they had experienced. Some of the stories were almost unbearable. Charles met people who had survived Russian occupation and heard accounts of civilians tortured and killed. He spoke of a woman with a Ph.D. in sociology whose husband serves in the Ukrainian military. During Russia’s initial advance toward Kyiv, she hid with her children for two weeks, surviving on whatever water and food she could find until Ukrainian forces reached them. They visited an Orthodox seminary that had been damaged during the early days of the war. The priest who led the seminary described atrocities so horrific, Charles says, that the experience had nearly shaken his Christian faith. “It brought tears to my eyes to hear these things,” Charles recalls. He also met the mother of a young Ukrainian who had been killed during the early days of the war while serving with the Azov forces defending Mariupol. For Charles, these encounters stripped away the distance created by maps, political arguments and television coverage. “These ...
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    56 分
  • Alyson Habetz – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Softball Coach

    Alyson Habetz – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Softball Coach
    2026/09/04
    Alyson Habetz: Coming Home to Lead Louisiana Softball with Faith, Purpose and Heart Alyson Habetz, head coach of Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Softball, joins Discover Lafayette to share the remarkable journey that brought her from the baseball fields of Crowley to collegiate and professional competition, a 25-year coaching career at the University of Alabama, and ultimately back home to lead the program where her softball story began. We were honored to have legendary coach Yvette Girouard join us for this conversation. Girouard founded the Ragin’ Cajuns softball program and coached Alyson during her years as a student-athlete at the University of Southwestern Louisiana, now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Their affection for one another, their competitive spirit, and their deep love for Louisiana softball shone throughout the interview. A Childhood Built Around Baseball Alyson grew up in Crowley as the youngest of eight children. With four older brothers who played baseball and a father who coached the sport, the ballpark felt like home from her earliest years. “It was the sport in the house. I just fell in love with it at a very early age.” She began playing T-ball at age seven as the only girl on an otherwise all-boys team. Because she had grown up playing alongside the same boys, Alyson recalls that her teammates accepted her based on the things that mattered to them: “Can she hit? Can she throw? All right, let’s go.” At age ten, Alyson met Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda at Blackham Coliseum. She asked him to autograph her glove, and despite members of the media pressing him to move along, Lasorda stayed, signed the glove, spoke with her, and gave her his business card. Alyson wrote to him, and he answered every letter. The two became lifelong friends, with Lasorda signing his letters, “Love, your adopted uncle Tom Lasorda.” He also saw something in Alyson that she did not yet see in herself. “He told me a long time ago I was going to be a coach,” she recalls. “I’m like, no, I’m going to law school. I’ll be an attorney.” Fighting for the Right to Play When Alyson entered Notre Dame High School in Crowley, the school did not have a softball team. She expected to continue playing baseball with the boys she had competed alongside for years, but she was told Louisiana rules did not permit girls to play on boys’ teams. Her coach and principal sought an exception, but the request was denied. On the ride home from Baton Rouge, Alyson’s father told her the family would support her if she wanted to challenge the rule in court. She agreed, beginning a legal battle that lasted roughly two years. The original ruling went against her, but her attorneys appealed. Alyson was sitting in class near the end of her sophomore year when her coach received the news: “Aly, by the way, they changed the rule. You can play.” Alyson went on to play baseball during her junior and senior years, becoming the first female in Louisiana to play high school baseball and earning all-district honors as a pitcher and first baseman. She was also an all-state basketball player and the salutatorian of Notre Dame’s 1990 graduating class. Discovering Softball at USL Alyson came to USL on a basketball scholarship and eventually became a member of the 1,000-point club. One day, while walking across campus, she noticed what looked to her like “this miniature baseball field” and learned that walk-on tryouts were being held for fast-pitch softball. With her basketball coach’s permission, she showed up and met head coach Yvette Girouard and assistant coach Patrick Murphy. Alyson told them she played first base, then positioned herself behind the bag as she would have in baseball. Girouard quickly corrected her: “This isn’t baseball, girl. You’ve got to play way up here for the slappers.” The larger ball, underhand delivery, different release point, and defensive positioning required an adjustment. Still, Girouard immediately recognized Alyson’s ability. “She was a natural,” Girouard says. “We knew she was making the team.” Alyson competed in both basketball and softball, at times traveling extraordinary distances to meet the obligations of both teams. She also excelled academically, earning Academic All-America recognition while majoring in communications. Her softball career included third-team All-America honors and a place on the 1993 team that made the program’s first appearance in the Women’s College World Series. Alyson vividly remembers walking onto the field in Oklahoma City and seeing a sea of Ragin’ Cajuns fans. “There are no fans like the Ragin’ Cajun fans.” As other teams were eliminated, many of their supporters became Cajun fans, drawn to the warmth of the Louisiana contingent, the food shared in the parking lot, and the Mardi Gras beads handed out by supporters. Girouard remembers that first World Series appearance just as clearly: ...
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    1 時間 17 分
  • Leonard Louvierre – Zea Rotisserie & Bar

    Leonard Louvierre – Zea Rotisserie & Bar
    2026/08/27
    For nearly 25 years, Leonard Louviere has been one of the most familiar faces in Lafayette’s restaurant community, serving as general manager and an investor in Zea Rotisserie & Bar. But Leonard’s story in hospitality began long before Zea opened its doors in Lafayette. In this episode of Discover Lafayette, Leonard joins Jan Swift to share his journey from working in restaurants, bars and hotels while attending USL, to spending 15 years overseeing food and beverage operations at the Cajundome, and ultimately taking a leap of faith that would shape the next chapter of his life. This is a special edition of Discover Lafayette in partnership with Lafayette Travel and Eat Lafayette. We thank them for their support! “I ended up loving working in restaurants,” Leonard recalled of his college years. “The people I worked with, we worked hard. We were paying our way through everything, including school, and it was always in me to do that.” From the Cajundome to Zea After graduating from USL, Leonard briefly went into construction, building a few spec houses, but he knew food and beverage was where he belonged. The newly built Cajundome offered that opportunity. Leonard initially applied for an assistant food and beverage position and was invited to work one night as something of an audition. Several people were being considered. By the end of the week, management told him, “Nobody worked like you. We want you to come and do this.” That one-night opportunity turned into a 15-year career at the Cajundome, where Leonard eventually became food and beverage director. His next chapter began at a restaurant industry show in Chicago, where Bryan McLain, owner of Louisiana Market, introduced Leonard to the men behind the Taste Buds: Gary Darling, Greg Reggio and Hans Limburg. The longtime friends and business partners had created Semolina and were developing a newer concept, Zea. McLain had a Lafayette building. The Taste Buds had the restaurant concept. Leonard had deep roots in Lafayette, restaurant experience, and the desire to invest and work. Within about a week, they decided to make it happen. Leonard didn’t just take a management position. He invested his life savings in the Lafayette restaurant. “I was scared,” he admits. But nearly 25 years later, that leap of faith has more than paid off. The “Magic” of the Zea Menu So how does Leonard describe Zea’s food? It isn’t easily placed into one category. The menu reflects influences from around the world, but Leonard says there are Southern flavors and seasonings woven throughout, whether it’s the Thai ribs, Asian almond shrimp or corn grits. And four dishes stand above the rest. “The magic. It’s Thai ribs, corn grits, Asian almond shrimp, spinach salad.” “We can’t make recipes that incredible again,” Leonard says. “We’ll never lose those four.” Consistency is critical to Zea’s success. Recipes are followed precisely, from the ingredients and proportions in the spinach salad to the preparation of every entrée. Kitchen employees are trained to meet exact specifications because a guest should receive the same dish each time they visit. Interestingly, Leonard readily admits that he doesn’t cook. What he does know how to do is hire people who are better than he is at what they do. He points to longtime kitchen manager Heath Lemoine, who has been with him for 24 years, and a management team whose members have worked together for more than two decades. “I hire people better than me,” Leonard says. “It is the reason I have succeeded.” Building a Culture Where People Stay Long-term employees can be unusual in the restaurant industry, but at Zea Lafayette, Leonard’s management team has remained remarkably stable. “We truly do love each other, without a doubt,” he says. That doesn’t mean a busy restaurant isn’t intense. It is. But Leonard draws a clear distinction between the urgency surrounding food and service and the way employees treat one another. Respect remains paramount. When hiring, Leonard says character and personality often matter more than experience. “You have to be a nice person. You have to want to deal with the public.” Employees need a sense of urgency, an understanding of teamwork, and a genuine desire to serve others. When something goes wrong with a guest, Leonard doesn’t want employees explaining or making excuses. He wants them asking a simple question: “How can I fix this?” Leonard believes everyone would benefit from working as a restaurant server for six months. Why? Because serving teaches you how demanding it can be to work with the public, how to put someone else’s needs first, and what hospitality really means. “I’m a servant. I invested my life savings, I’ve done well, but that’s all I am. I serve people. That’s it.” A Long-Awaited Transformation For nearly a decade, Leonard pushed his partners to make a major investment in the Lafayette Zea....
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