Discover Lafayette

With a multicultural and diverse church membership of 1800, Pastor Jay Miller of the Family Church is known for his unique style of delivery, always mixed with humor and passion.  Pastor Jay also serves as the President of Lafayette Christian Academy, one of the fastest growing private Schools in all of Acadiana with 1100 students. LCA proudly claimed state championships in both Boys and Girls Basketball in 2017.

Pastor Jay and his congregation have bought up 100 acres of land which abut I-10 and Moore Park, a softball park and multi-purpose facility owned by Lafayette Consolidated Government. With a recurring lack of funding, Moore Park has deteriorated and is unusable in its current state of disrepair. Recognizing the need to offer athletic facilities such as a ball field to his school’s students as well as all students living in the area, Pastor Jay reached out to Gerald Boudreaux, LCG’s Director of Parks and Recreation to discuss a partnership to offer a first-rate baseball facility to the public. Effective December 21, 2016, the Family Church assumed control and responsibility of Moore Park for an initial period of ten years, renewable up to 60 years. The Family Church agreed to renovate the existing fields, dugout, concession area and restroom facilities, while LCG maintains ownership of Moore Field and the public will have access to its facilities. A fund drive is now underway. For more information, please visit https://www.thefamilychurch.org and www.lafayettechristianacademy.com.

Lafayette enjoys a wildcatter mentality, which makes it an inviting place for entrepreneurs. In this episode of Discover Lafayette, Jan Swift interviews Tom Cox, whose own entrepreneurial days in Lafayette started back in 1995.

As founder & CEO of Golfballs.com, Tom launched the first online retail business in Louisiana. From the first year’s sales of $17,000, Golfballs.com has grown to $25mm in annual sales. Tom also co-founded Einstein Digital Media, a web-development firm that grew to be one of the largest in Louisiana prior to sale.

Tom Cox is the volunteer-president of the Opportunity Machine, a business incubator and accelerator based in Lafayette, LA. He is active in Lafayette and Acadiana, serving as Vice Chair of the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise and a member of the IberiaBank Lafayette Advisory Board.

Tom is the former Chair of the Louisiana Workforce Commission and Lafayette Economic Development Authority, and was an advocate for entrepreneurship support during his term as commissioner.

Tom Cox is a fan of entrepreneurs and those that aspire to be. Volunteering to assist others, serving as a mentor, lending a kind word of advice to start-up entrepreneurs: Tom Cox definitely contributes to the success of others following their dream of launching their own business.

For more information on Tom Cox and Golfballs.com please visit www.golfballs.com

After graduating from LSU School of Dentistry in 1983, Dr. Ann Laurent was one of only three female dentists in Lafayette. Setting the standard for cutting-edge dental and cosmetic procedures, she has maintained long-term relationships with her patients as she built a successful practice.  In 2017, Dr. Laurent partnered with Dr. Thomas Sammons. Along with Dr. Sammons and their team of professionals, Dr. Laurent works to keep current with the latest techniques and treatments to ensure optimal dental health and appearance.

On this episode of Discover Lafayette, Dr. Laurent shares with Jan Swift the childhood event which inspired her to pursue a career as a dentist, and her personal sense of spirituality which inspires her daily life.

An avid supporter of the artistic community, Dr. Laurent believes the arts are an important part of our psyche, both as individuals and the greater community.  As she stated, "We are all designed in the image of our Creator, and we were all designed to create. That's what brings us life, that's what brings us fulfillment, that's what brings us a sense of purpose....anything that sparks that, that's what I'm all about it." Laurent further states, "That's what I love about Lafayette, that there's an impetus and desire to stoke that fire, that creativity within the schools and the community."

The sense of community, as well as the creative, loving, and happy spirit of Lafayette, are reasons Dr. Laurent is proud to call Lafayette home. For more information on her practice, please visit https://sammonsdds.com.

Lafayette enjoys a collective wildcatter mentality that fosters a business climate of success, open for people who are willing to jump in! Home of the Oil Center, developed by Maurice Heymann in the 1950’s, Lafayette is situated in the very heart of America’s energy corridor and historically, business development in the region has been directly tied to the fortunes of the oil and gas sector.

Since 1955, opportunities and developments have been showcased biennially by LACGOE (Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition), one of the world's pioneer oil and gas expositions fueling global energy solutions. This year, LAGCOE will be held October 24 – 26, 2017. Don Briggs, President of Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, will be honored as LAGCOE Looey and serve as its goodwill ambassador and ceremonial host.

In this episode of Discover Lafayette, Jan Swift interviews Angela Cring, Executive Director of LAGCOE about its history, the importance of LAGCOE in connecting oil and gas sector businesses with opportunities, and fostering the energy workforce pipeline. For more information on LAGCOE, visit http://www.lagcoe.com.

This episode features State Representative Nancy Landry, District 31, which includes the southern portion of Lafayette Parish.

Elected in 2008, Nancy Landry is a Republican who chairs the Louisiana House Education Committee. Pro-life, pro-business, pro-2nd Amendment, and a strong advocate for parental choice in public education, Nancy is a graduate of LSU and LSU Law School.

Nancy established an award-winning system to provide reduced-cost legal representation to families in crisis, and currently provideds support services to the oil and gas industry doing petroleum landman work.

Nancy is the mother of two grown sons.  When one of her son's experienced difficulty as a very young student in the public school system, she became motivated to become active in improving educational outcomes for all of our students.  While Nancy's son was eventually able to experience academic success in his education, not all students have the same experience.

Nancy has a saying that we can all get behind:  "Your zip code shouldn't determine the choices you have in the school you attend. We don't choose our dentist or doctor based upon zip code, so why do we accept that it is ok for our students to be placed based upon their zip code?"

Representative Landry may be reached at [email protected] or (337)262-2252.

When you think of the South, you envision friendly people with warm hospitality and gracious manners. Historically, it’s the way we’ve been raised, to smile, welcome people into our homes, and make people feel at home.In today’s world, there isn’t always the same focus on manners and etiquette. Discover Lafayette is proud to shine the light on a Lafayette resident who brings sunshine and fun into the myriad aspects of behavioral etiquette.

Lynley Jones is a native of Pascagoula, Mississippi and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi. With a background in politics, Lynley currently serves as Children’s Ministry Director at Asbury United Methodist Church in Lafayette. Her newest endeavor, Behave! All Things Etiquette….is a wonderful resource for our community as she makes herself available to coach businesses and individuals in manners, etiquette and navigating through life’s ups and downs.

A bona fide charm school graduate of Mrs. Sealy’s Southern School of Charm and an expert on manners, Lynley has presented her etiquette course to innumerable organizations and businesses and also teaches etiquette to young men and women in Lafayette’s Cotillion. Her etiquette classes cover every topic from Executive Presence to Children’s Etiquette 101.  She recently shared her tips on "date etiquette" on KADN which you can watch here.

There’s no doubt about it: if you have an etiquette question or don’t know how to behave in certain uncomfortable situations, Lynley is the go-to person!

I encourage you to check out Behave! All Things Etiquette's facebook page and website at https://allthingsetiquette.org.  Thank you Lynley Jones for helping us all Behave!

 

Lafayette is known as the “Hub City.” Lynn Guidry’s love of the community inspired him to develop a fascinating presentation on the history of Lafayette and its visionary decisions which positioned it to become the hub of Acadiana. Guidry has shared this historical account countless times with civic clubs and Leadership Lafayette classes so that Lafayette’s history can be understood in the context of today’s entrepreneurial environment.

The City of Lafayette and its leaders have a strong history of stepping up to provide infrastructure and advanced technological services with the financial support of its residents. Guidry has created a timeline showcasing the important milestones which triggered growth. beginning in 1836 when Lafayette residents passed a referendum to build a series of five roads, each leading from Lafayette to Abbeville, St. Martinville, Crowley, Opelousas, and New Iberia. People had to pass through Lafayette to get from one town to another if they wanted to travel on good roads, hence leading Lafayette to become the "Hub City."  Next, the Lafayette Utilities Systems was proposed by city leaders after the world watched in awe as the 1893 Chicago’s World Fair was lit up by electricity; the desire for pressurized water, as well as the ability to light its towns and streets, drove the public to demand its own electrical system. Lafayette was "lit" decades before the surrounding towns and growth commenced.

By 1897, Lafayette Utilities System was operational with the opening of its Grant Street plant. The ability to offer electricity placed Lafayette in the lead position to be selected as the site for the Southwest Louisiana Industrial Institute (now UL - Lafayette) which opened its doors in 1901, and set Lafayette apart from neighboring cities as electricity attracted commerce, opportunity and growth. Maurice Heymann's development of the Oil Center in the early 1950's was the critical component leading to Lafayette's emergence as the hub for the emerging oil industry.

A well-known architect, Guidry’s projects include downtown’s Parc International & Parc Sans Souci, Carencro City Hall, the Junior League building, the Carencro Sports Complex and so many more which enrich the local quality of life. Lynn has been active in politics, having served on the Carencro City Council and then on the Lafayette Parish Council. Lynn Guidry is a man who continually gives of himself to make Lafayette Parish a better place.

Blue Rolfes, longtime anchor of KLFY TV10 who now serves as Communications Director for the Diocese of Lafayette, discusses her career as a journalist, balancing family and work, and her love of Lafayette’s culture and people.

Robert Dafford, a Lafayette native and resident, is one of the most prolific muralists in America having painted over 400 works of public art across the United States, Canada, France, Belgium, and England. Dafford has painted twenty large scale canvasses depicting the Expulsion of the Acadians from Acadie (now Nova Scotia) in 1765 leading to their settlement in Louisiana, where they are now known as Cajuns. Reproductions of his award-winning art have been featured in textbooks, film and video productions, as well as the Smithsonian, National Geographic, Southern Living, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and many more periodicals.

On this episode of Discover Lafayette, Dafford shares how his travels abroad as a young man in the Navy led him to appreciate the unique culture offered here in Lafayette and what we now call “Acadiana,” and how it led him to visually create the story of the Acadians for a greater public understanding.

Jady Regard embodies the spirit of Louisiana.

Well-known throughout Acadiana for his chief day job as C. N. O., or Chief Nut Officer,

of Cane River Pecan Company, Jady brings a sense of joie de vivre to

everything he does. But don’t let this fun-loving persona mislead you; while

Jady Regard’s humor can be disarming, his proven track record of success in a

myriad of unrelated fields provides rich data to be mined by anyone dreaming of

starting their own business.

In a recent podcast episode of Discover Lafayette, Jady and I discussed life, work, family, and his love of Lafayette. As we chronicled his various job adventures, he labeled himself “the perfect boomerang baby” referring to his many treks in and out of Louisiana before he settled down in Lafayette.

To get a better snapshot of the creative energy

Jady exudes, we started with his college days working for the LSU Basketball

team when Shaquille O’Neal was a star. 

His love of sports led him to work for the Louisiana Ice Gators and

eventually the Chicago Bears.

Jady moved back to Louisiana to assume

management duties of Cane River Pecan Company in 2002.  The company’s roots go back to 1969 when his

father and uncle acquired a pecan orchard along the Cane River in Natchitoches

Parish. Today Cane River is focused on B2B, and Jady’s creative marketing

tactics have led to success in the niche market of corporate gifting. Plans are

in the works to open a “pie bar” which will offer up fantastic desserts made

with pecans (no other nuts allowed!).

Many of you know

Jady as the author of a line of successful children’s books which started with Born to Be a Tiger, and led to five other

books commemorating family love of great football traditions.  Jady shared that writing books has been one

of the most rewarding things he’s done in life.

Other interests in

Jady’s life have led to him to follow his creative bent. As a child, his father

would take him to Le Petit Soldier Shop

in New Orleans, which was the second oldest toy store of its kind in the U. S.

As an adult, he retained his fascination with toy soldiers; while working for

the Bears, he was visiting an upscale toy store and wondered, “Does anyone

makes toy replicas for college marching bands?” One thing led to another and if

you’re a fan of miniature collectibles, you may want to check out Jady’s Little

Band Man Company.  Hand sculpted in Northern

England, Jady commissions tiny marching band members representing teams such as

Texas A & M, LSU, Texas, USC, Michigan, Harvard, West Point, and more.

On family-owned property in Lena,

Louisiana, Jady also serves as a lead guide on wild alligator hunts. Attracting

visitors from around the U. S., people flock to his Bourbe Lake Hunting Club to

experience a thrill-seeking hunt. 

Alligator hides can then be processed into beautiful gifts right here in

Lafayette at the Hermes-owned RTL Tannery.

Louisiana has great story-tellers, and I

can’t think of a better one than Jady Regard! As I listened to our interview

again to prepare this article, I couldn’t help but feel immense pride in living

right here, in what Jady described as “the most perfect sized town.” I hope you

agree as you listen to his fascinating interview at discoverlafayette.net.