Chad Sonnier – LCG Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness

Fabian Patin, a Lafayette architect whose name has become synonymous with the preservation and beautification of Rotary Point, a peaceful sanctuary on the Bayou Vermilion, joins Discover Lafayette to discuss his decades-long dedication to Lafayette’s waterways and the enduring spirit of civic service that drives the Rotary Club of Lafayette. He has been a loyal member of the club for decades. Origins of Rotary Point and the Bayou Vermilion Revival Rotary Point came to life in the 1980s through a partnership among the Rotary Clubs of Lafayette, the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, and the creation of Bayou Vermilion District. At the time, Lafayette was in the throes of the oil bust, and the once-vibrant bayou had fallen into neglect and pollution. Patin recalled how his colleague, attorney, Bob Cole, then Lafayette Chamber president, looked beyond the downturn: “Rather than worrying about it, Bob said, let’s do some things to improve it. We’ve got a bayou; it’s not the best one now, but it can be.” Cole’s optimism led to the creation of a master plan for the Vermilion River. Half the funding came from private citizens and companies, the other half from the City of Lafayette. That plan inspired state legislation to create the Bayou Vermilion District, a nine-member commission—of which Fabian was an original commissioner—charged with implementing restoration and access projects. To secure federal funding under the Dingell-Johnson Act, Lafayette needed a 20 percent local match. Fabian and local leaders convinced the Parish Council to contribute the unused 400-foot right-of-way from West Bayou Parkway to the Vermilion as the local match. The federal funds, championed by then U.S. Senator John Breaux, completed the financing. Fabian recalled, "If you give us the right to use that land for our 20 percent match, that can be our 20 percent—and it worked.” How Rotary Point Got Its Name Initially conceived as a simple boat launch, the site evolved when Fabian—active in both the Bayou Vermilion District and Rotary—saw an opportunity: “If I can go to our Rotary Clubs and say, look, if we call it Rotary Point, I think I can get our clubs to pay for the overlook.” That promise birthed Rotary Point, with local Rotary Clubs funding the overlook while the Bayou Vermilion District handled access improvements. It became one of the first public boat launches on the Vermilion and a shared symbol of civic collaboration. Stewardship and Beautification Through the years, the Bayou Vermilion District has continued major maintenance—most notably replacing the aging wooden bulkhead with steel reinforcements—while the Rotary Club of Lafayette maintains and beautifies the grounds. Fabian, now 81 years of age, can still be found there almost every day: mowing, planting, spreading mulch, or supervising upgrades. The site now features benches, picnic tables, irrigation, flowering azaleas, and majestic live oaks—many planted to honor international Rotary presidents. Fabian explained how community partnerships brought the space to life: Azalea Trail volunteers donated 35 azaleas. Trees Acadiana, led by Sarah Schoeffler, provided and planted dozens of plants and live oaks. Compost from Lafayette Parish enriched the soil, coordinated by Rotarian Stan Messenger, who negotiated increased deliveries of mulch and soil for the park. Dr. Jim Rees established a Peace Pole inscribed in eight languages reading “May peace prevail on Earth.” Centennial Monument and the Sugar Mill Gears In 2020, to commemorate the Rotary Club of Lafayette’s 100th anniversary, Fabian spearheaded the construction of a striking centennial monument. The centerpiece: enormous gears salvaged from historic sugar mills, a visual echo of Rotary’s gear-wheel emblem. “We poured concrete on site. Rotarians learned how to pour concrete.” Despite an initial $100,000 goal reduced by COVID-era constraints to $18,

Amanda ("Mandy") Osgood and Tracy Lindberg of Graze Acadiana join Discover Lafayette to discuss their love of creating beautiful food presentations and what it is like to open your own small business. A mother–daughter team who have brought the art of grazing to Lafayette since 2019, this episode is presented in partnership with Lafayette Travel and Eat Lafayette as we spotlight locally owned restaurants and eateries. Located at 113 Arnould Boulevard in Lafayette, Graze Acadiana was built upon the Australian concept of gather and graze, which connects people with beautiful, high-quality food and creating shared experiences around the table. Building a Business Together Mandy reflected on what it means to run a business with her mom: “We spend every single day together and call each other a million times. Building this business together brought us closer. And we just have a really close friendship. So it’s been great. And being business partners, I know a lot of people can’t manage that with family, but it’s been really good for us.” The two are originally from the Mississippi Gulf Coast. “We’re both actually from the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, the Biloxi/Ocean Springs area. And we moved here… Mom moved here about 15 years ago, and I moved here about 13 years ago,” Mandy explained. “I had my first child and she needed to be closer to her grandson. So here we are.” Mandy Osgood and Tracy Lindberg, owners of Graze Acadiana They quickly felt at home. “We fell in love with Lafayette. It’s just so family oriented. Family friendly. Of course, the food’s wonderful and the people are wonderful. And so it was really a place that I wanted to raise my family and wanted to be closer to." Mandy describes herself as “the creative one” while Tracy brings her restaurant management background and entrepreneurial mindset. “We both love entertaining. We love gathering people together and just making beauty out of simple things,” Mandy added. The Early Days of Grazing Before “charcuterie” was a household word, Tracy and Mandy were already creating lavish spreads. “Back in the day, friends and family would have us do weddings and birthdays and stuff like that. We used to make these massive grazing spreads. We didn’t even know they were called that at the time. We put gorgeous food on the table.” In 2018, they saw the grazing trend explode in Australia. “There were about five places in the entire United States that were doing the grazing thing at that time. Like big cities—Austin, New York. My mom was like, let’s do it.” From the start, they chose to run things professionally. “So from day one, we started in a commercial kitchen. We didn’t do it out of our house,” Mandy explained. But that came with hurdles. Tracy recalled: “What really surprised me… was when we went down to the health department and found out that we had to have the commercial kitchen, and then we had to have a grease trap. Normally people make things at home, but incorporating this in the way we wanted to do it—right or not do it at all—cost tens of thousands of dollars.” Mandy added: “I don’t think any of us knew that we were going to know this much about a grease trap at this point in our lives. My mom scoured plumbing department rules and laws… because grazing was such a new concept. There were no set standards for that. We had to figure all that out.” Surviving COVID By 2019, Graze Acadiana had opened its first storefront off Kaliste Saloom Road. “Things were booming and going and we were growing… educating people what the charcuterie world was about because it just wasn’t that popular here,” Amanda recalled. Then the pandemic hit. Their tagline had been “Gathering Grapes.” Amanda laughed: “And Covid said, no, you don’t. So we had to start changing our concept and work with that.” They shifted from large spreads to individual options. “We started doing petite boxes,

We welcome Broussard Mayor Ray Bourque, a lifelong resident of Broussard who has dedicated his career to public service and business. Before being elected mayor in 2018, he served eight years as a city councilman for District 3 and has co-owned Touche Printing and Signs for more than three decades. He also served as board president of the Broussard Chamber of Commerce. Most importantly, he has supported community projects that enhance quality of life for his city's residents, such as expanded recreational facilities and infrastructure improvements that keep up with Broussard's rapid growth. A Growing City with Deep Roots Mayor Bourque highlighted Broussard’s rapid growth: “Our recent census estimate from LSU in the state puts Broussard at 17,300 people, roughly. And back in the 2020 census, we were 13,400 people. So we are growing rapidly, exponentially.” Despite the growth, the mayor emphasizes community values: “I always say to people in Broussard that we're all neighbors. I've grown up there. I have so many lifelong friends that knew me since I was a child that are in Broussard. But we also have so many new residents because we're a growing community.” The Three Pillars of Leadership When making decisions for the city, Mayor Bourque and the City Council focus on “Public safety, quality of life and economic development. When we're making decisions on a project or an initiative, we try to make sure it checks at least two of those boxes. "Those three things are very relatable, that one cannot wholly exist without the other. If you're doing a quality of life initiative, it is generally good for economic development and vice versa. And public safety is just an umbrella that captures it all. If we don't have a safe community, then all the other things are held back. We can't invite people to move, or to spend time, or to come spend money in our community without providing a safe community. But it starts with a culture of our employees in Broussard, really focusing on hospitality. If you call city government, do you feel like that person is trying to help you on the other end of the phone? Or if you have a question or a problem and we come out and meet with you, sometimes the answer is no, but you can say no in a professional way. The goal is to try to help people, because everyone deserves to be valued, especially by their city government, because we're really serving those people. We have to do intentional work, and that intentional work is to grow our community, to invest in our own economy, to control that economy if we can, because it's the driver to help us fund police departments and fire departments and all the initiatives that we want to do in Broussard. So getting new customers in our city for our businesses to be able to work with is important." Business-Friendly Policies Broussard has long attracted businesses by not levying a city property tax or inventory tax: “It's worked for us. Sales tax is our driver, which means we have to have people working in our city. We have to have commerce in our city. That’s how we drive our tax revenues and can fund police, fire, etc.” He sees the city’s role as being a partner to business owners: “Our job is to cultivate an environment where people can be successful and businesses can be successful. Ultimately we win or lose together.” Infrastructure and Economic Development Preparedness is key: “If a business wants to place a facility in your city...and I have to say no, but in two years I can be ready, they're going somewhere else. We're not waiting on that. We're building it now.” Broussard has master plan underway for water, drainage, and downtown redevelopment. The city recently secured a $3,710,000 grant from  the State of Louisiana, Office of Community Development – Water Sector Commission for water system improvements. The Water Sector Program – Phase 2 grant award will be  used to help fund the city’s water system improve...

Our guest today is Chad Sonnier, Director of the Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (OHSEP) for Lafayette Parish. With over four decades of service in fire protection and emergency response, Chad Sonnier brings unmatched experience to the role of coordinating disaster preparedness, response, and recovery efforts across federal, state, and local agencies, nonprofits, and the private sector. "I was 18 years old, hired to be in the fire service and helping people in their time of need. It is something I've really become accustomed to, and I couldn't imagine doing anything else. I mean, people call 911 at their worst time of day or worst time in their life, and, we're there to help them, that's what we're there for." Chad served as City of Scott’s Fire Chief before being named to his current post. He had served with the Lafayette Fire Department for years before his appointment with the City of Scott. Over the course of his career, Chad has worked as a hazmat technician, fire engineer, fire coordinator, and hazmat chief. In 2020, he was inducted into the Louisiana Fire Chiefs Hall of Fame—a testament to his lifelong passion for public safety. “Helping people is my passion. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” Chad Sonnier shares. A Newly Formed Office The department was officially created in 2024 by Lafayette Mayor-President Monique Boulet, who recognized the growing federal and state mandates in emergency management and the need to keep her community safe. It now operates independently of 911 services, with a broader scope that includes emergency responses to events such as hurricanes, mass gatherings like Mardi Gras, hazardous material accidents, and unexpected “no-notice” events such as train derailments. This year in 2025, for the first time, Lafayette’s Emergency Operations Center partially activated its services during Mardi Gras. Agencies including fire, police, Acadian Ambulance, local hospitals, and even federal partners like the FBI and ATF, worked side by side to ensure public safety. “When you’re face to face in the same room, communications are so much better,” Chad explains. Beyond Hurricanes: Preparedness in Action While hurricanes are top of mind for many residents, Chad addressed the wide range of emergencies his office addresses to help those most in need: Warming and cooling centers – Established for residents without reliable heating or air conditioning, with help from partners such as Catholic Charities, Red Cross, and even private companies like Stines, which donated large cooling fans. Volunteer organizations – Hundreds of volunteers with local nonprofits and faith-based groups (VOADs) play an essential role in long-term recovery. These groups often provide building supplies, roof repairs, and mold remediation for families still suffering from past storms. College partnerships – Student-athletes contribute required service hours by assisting disaster victims, creating meaningful community connections. Chad reflects, “I was taken aback by how many people are willing to help, especially in Lafayette Parish. If it wasn’t for these nonprofits, I don’t know where a lot of people would be today.” Planning Ahead and Responding Fast Chad contrasts his years as a firefighter—where speed and immediate action are critical—with the long-term strategic planning required in his current role. Chad Sonnier served as Fire Chief of the City of Scott for 23 years His office scripts hurricane responses a week in advance of landfall, but also prepares in advance for sudden emergencies that occur without warning. “No-notice events” like hazardous material spills require rapid mobilization of shelters, water, food, and safe housing, often within an hour to ninety minutes. Recreation centers, the Cajundome, and other facilities are pre-designated as shelters or reunification centers,

Today we welcome Warren Abadie, Director of Traffic, Roads and Bridges for Lafayette Consolidated Government (LCG). A Lafayette native, Warren has spent his entire career with LCG, steadily rising through the ranks after graduating from UL Lafayette in 2003 with a degree in electrical engineering (computer option). He started as an engineer aide, moved on to traffic maintenance supervisor, traffic signal/system engineer, and city-parish transportation engineer before being appointed director in 2020. “I affectionately refer to myself as the director of misery and unhappiness,” Warren joked, but his love for his job is clear. He explained that a professor once told him, “Your first job will determine your whole career,” and in his case, that proved true. His engineering background in coding and electrical systems naturally aligned with his first promotion into traffic signals. Managing 190 Traffic Signals Across the City Warren oversees a vast system of about 190 traffic signals, many of which LCG maintains through agreements with the state. He explained how the signal network functions: “If you’re on a minor street at a major street, it’s going to feel like the signal is taking forever. A minute in your car feels more like five minutes. But we run the system as a network. All the signals on Pinhook have to have the same cycle length… so there’s some inefficiencies there. But the main street always takes precedence.” With a central server syncing up internal clocks, Warren and his team can monitor complaints in real time, using traffic cameras and logs to identify problems, often adjusting signals remotely: “We’re always tinkering. We’re always changing. We’re always trying to make 10 pounds of fluff fit in a 5-pound bag.” Balancing Capacity, Convenience, and Safety Warren described the essence of traffic engineering as a balancing act: “Traffic engineering is a balance of three things. Capacity. Convenience. And safety. If safety was first, your car wouldn’t go more than five miles an hour… If it was all about convenience, there’d be no pavement markings on the road. And if it was all about capacity, I wouldn’t allow left turns on signals.” This balance is one reason he strongly supports roundabouts, which check all three boxes by being safer, more efficient, and accommodating U-turns. He acknowledged, however, that roundabouts are more difficult to design and build, and some—like the Ridge Road and Rue de Belier roundabout—are already over capacity, with plans in place for upgrades. Traffic Growth and New Projects “Traffic is a sign of economic activity and growth,” Warren noted, pointing out Lafayette is one of the few parishes in Louisiana still growing. He listed several new roundabout projects in the works, including: Broussard and Robley West Broussard and Duhon (near Acadian Village) Ridge and Domingue Road Rue de Belier and Ridge (expansion to multi-lane) Vincent Road at E. Broussard LA 92 and East Broussard (toward Milton) Safety, Motorcycles, and Crash Data As a father, Warren is deeply concerned about motorcycles: “Don’t let anybody you love drive a motorcycle because your target value is just too small and the margin for error is just way too small. It’s exciting, but the reality is there’s just not any room for error.” His department continually analyzes crash data and works to balance safety with traffic flow, noting that signals reduce deadly right-angle crashes but often lead to an increase in rear-end crashes—generally less severe. Road Repairs and Infrastructure Challenges Road work is another part of Warren’s responsibility, and he was candid about the frustrations drivers feel: “Everything we do day to day requires the use of that system. Generally, the roads are already congested. Now I got to fix it and make them more congested. It’s not something we take lightly.”

Russ Hosmer, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, certified life coach, former national-champion bodybuilder, and founder of Constant Progression, an online life coaching and personal development platform serving clients worldwide, joins Discover Lafayette to discuss his mission to help others reach their full potential. Russ grew up in New Jersey, just outside of New York City. At 17, his parents retired and moved to Alabama. He studied at Jacksonville State University and worked in health club turnarounds: “We found the gyms and the health clubs that were in the red, and we brought them into the black. We got the management together, the business side of it, and got them better and rolling.” Russ was a bodybuilder alongside business: “I was a state champion when I was a teenager… top five in the national championship. I was a national champion twice. Two times. Two years in a row as the first one to ever do that.” That era cemented discipline: “I was blessed. I was doing what I love… when you do that, you don’t ever work a day in your life.” Choosing the Marines, Special Operations, and What Service Really Looked Like “My family is Marine Corps. My grandfather was a WWII veteran and my brother was a Marine… it was almost like, well, I have to do that.” He enlisted on a whim, calling it “probably the greatest decision of my life.” Boot camp at Parris Island: “They start drilling leadership principles into you the day you get there… It’s a transformation process. It’s the title,, being a Marine. So you have to earn it.” After graduating top of his class in the School of Infantry, he went to amphibious reconnaissance / special operations: “We’re like 1% of the Marine Corps.” Operational reality: “Less than 1% of the Marine Corps see combat. We do more hospitable missions than we do combat missions. It’s urban warfare, small unit tactics. We don’t actually fight other countries like uniform military. it’s a different world we live in.” He traveled extensively: “I was in 37 countries in three years. I was deployed a lot. But I volunteered because that’s what I wanted to do.” PTSD, Loss, and a Five-Year Turning Point Russ is candid: “I do have severe PTSD… I didn’t know I had it for years. Then all of a sudden, it was really bad.” Compounding events:“I lost my corporate job during COVID. I had been a senior executive of a Fortune 500 company for twenty years. Then my dad died, and my mom died, then my older brother died." It left him “in a very dark place, kind of lost." "I decided, you know what? I need to help people overcome the PTSD, get the resilience and the mindset, and learn how the mind works and how the body works. And why is this happening?" On the rate of veterans committing suicide, Russ says, “They say it’s 22 a day. There’s a lot more than that. They don’t have help, they think it’s a sign of weakness. But you admitting it and talking about it, that’s a sure sign of strength.” From a five-year journey, he created Constant Progression: “We’re always looking to be our best self. We’re all on that journey of constant progression.” Training the Marines & A Vanderbilt Recovery Study That “Changed Everything” After instructing at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, Russ became a Physical Training Advisor for the Eastern Recruiting Region—“anything east of the Mississippi River… the whole East Coast.” His remedial programs “went before Congress and they actually enacted those into standard operating procedures… now a part of the Marine Corps training standards.” Russ helped run a muscle recovery study with Vanderbilt University to reduce injuries and attrition: “We had a lot of lower body extremities' injuries, especially with the female recruits… hip fractures and femur fractures, tibia fractures… kids nowadays… they don’t eat well.” Findings touched hydration, chow hall practices, food quantity by body weight, and training tweaks (including pull-up progression): “The best way t...

Today we welcome Tim Metcalf, a Lafayette entrepreneur whose name is tied to some of Acadiana’s most beloved establishments. Owner of Deano’s Pizza, Prejean’s Restaurant, and Marcello Wine Market, along with ventures in real estate, storage, and assisted living, Tim has built his life around preserving local traditions while bringing fresh ideas to our community. A Family Legacy in Restaurants Tim’s entrepreneurial roots trace back to his father, who left behind a thriving restaurant career in California where his pizzeria drew in celebrities and locals alike. Fess Parker and Steve McQueen were regulars as they could hang out in the days before paparazzi. “He left very successful restaurants in California just because he didn’t like the political, sociological climate. He was a country boy, an Idaho potato farmer, and the fast lifestyle of California didn’t sit well with him.” A Korean War veteran, his father moved the family to Lafayette in 1970, opening Deano’s in 1971. "Lafayette was booming. Oilfield, oil and gas. You know, he just didn't come to Lafayette on a whim. He read entrepreneurial magazines saying how it was one of the fastest growing cities in the country at the time," says Tim Metcalf. The original Deano’s on Bertrand Drive was a simple pizzeria: counter service only, draft beer, pizza, a little green salad, and fountain drinks. “You wouldn’t recognize it at all today… when Dad first started, there was no waitress. It was counter service. That didn’t work in Lafayette. He soon changed it.” Deano's menu from the 1970s. Posted by Mona Bernhard on Lafayette Memories's Facebook Page. Tim, then ten years old, adapted quickly to Louisiana life after growing up in Santa Barbara. “They said, well, you can trade your surfboard for maybe a horse or a mini bike. I’m like, I’m okay. That sounds good to me.” He helped his dad around their rural property on Ridge Road and learned the value of hard work. "“We had pigs, sheep, rabbits, chickens… and a pretty big garden. Dad had a rototiller — an old Sears knuckle buster — and it was a lot of work, and it all fell on me.” As the youngest of four, Tim shouldered much of the responsibility for cutting grass, working the compost pit, and tending to the garden. “The older ones were in high school and had jobs. So from cutting the grass to road tilling, to manure, to compost, it all fell on me.” Looking back, he credits that hard work with shaping his character. “It taught me some really solid work ethic. I was never afraid of work, and still I’m not.” By the 1980s, Tim had taken over the reins of Deano's. Recognizing the need to adapt, Tim expanded both the hours and the menu. “When I got aboard, we started lunches and then we started other food and expanding the menu. 1983–84 — we had to do something else.” His biggest shift was weaving Acadiana’s food culture into the pizza kitchen. “That was an awakening — to start taking the Cajun food, the great food that we have in this area, and incorporating it into our pizzas and our menu. Sausages, boudin, shrimp.” Photo by Paul Kieu for the Advertiser Expansion and Adaptation Tim later partnered with his son to open a South Lafayette Deano’s, which quickly became a success. “My son and I have this great working relationship.” When COVID hit, they pivoted to selling pizzas and ranch dressing in grocery stores, personally delivering orders across Acadiana. “We kept our whole staff busy. We didn’t have to lay anybody off.” That resilience fueled further growth. When the Guilbeau family approached him about Prejean’s, Tim stepped in. “I wanted to keep it as pure and original as possible… I wanted to make it the spot in Carencro for the locals to hang out.” Prejean’s: Preserving a Cajun Landmark The opportunity to purchase Prejean’s came unexpectedly. “I had a good customer that goes, hey, you know Bob Guilbeau? He wants to talk to you about Prejean’s. Next thing I know,

Discover Lafayette welcomes Paul Eason, founder of Eason Advertising, a marketing and public relations firm based in Lafayette, to share his family history as a member of the Billeaud family. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Billeaud Companies. A native of Lafayette, Paul graduated from Cathedral-Carmel High School and USL. He has built a successful career in advertising and PR since launching his firm in 1999, representing clients across industries ranging from banks to automotive dealerships. Paul’s story, however, is deeply intertwined with the legacy of the Billeaud family. As a descendant of this influential family, Paul has served on the board of Billeaud Companies since 2013 and has chaired the board since 2021. He is the first chairman in the company’s history who does not carry the Billeaud name, a point of pride and responsibility. The Billeaud Family Legacy The company's origins began when Pierre Jean Billeaud (1806-1877) and his wife, Rosalie Felicite Grizeau, immigrated to Louisiana with their son, Martial Francois, from Bourgneuf, France in 1840. Pierre made his living as a wheelwright (blacksmith). When Martial was 16 in 1852, he followed in his father's footsteps and established a blacksmith shop near the Vermilion River, on the site presently occupied by the DoubleTree Hotel. In 1872, Martial brought new stalks of sugar cane to the area, purchased a mule driven-cane crushing machine, built a mill and began buying land to start a sugar cane business. The endeavor evolved into Billeaud buying more land and building up the sugar company. Martial Billeaud was the first in his family to begin the history of the Billeaud family's commitment to responsible use of land resources and active involvement in the community. Billeaud Companies can be traced back to 1914, when Martial F. Billeaud, Sr. sold the business to his children. who originally incorporated it into the Billeaud Sugar Factory, Inc. Built upon earlier cane-crushing operations started in the late 19th century, the enterprise grew into a powerhouse of sugar production. Over time, multiple plantations—including Comeaux and Broussard—were consolidated under the umbrella of the company, reflecting its family-driven nature. Martial F. Billeaud, Sr. (1836 - 1916) was the driving force behind the current family-owned Billeaud Companies. The family is proud to have facilitated the building of Martial F. Billeaud Elementary School at 500 E Fairfield Dr, Broussard, LA, on property formerly owned by the company. Paul recalls childhood visits to the factory in Broussard, where the machinery left lasting impressions. The sugar factory had been part of the daily life of his family for generations. "Popie Billeaud jokes that I'm the first chairman of Billeaud Companies that doesn't carry the Billeaud name. As a child, I went to the sugar factory a bunch. In those days, my uncle was running the sugar factory, and as I remember we'd go there to see the them crushing the cane and bringing the cane in and the smokestacks. It was a big operation, located about where Mike's Marine is in Broussard. I knew that I was always going to be involved with Billeaud Companies. We have a swing set in my backyard that was made at the sugar factory and syrup bowl in the front yard. It was always a part of my life." As time went on, and Lafayette and Broussard expanded, economic realities, environmental issues, and federal policy shifts made sugar production less sustainable. In 1979, the sugar factory closed. The company pivoted to land development, real estate, and commercial property investment. This strategic shift—guided in part by longtime CEO James L. “Tex” Plumley—allowed the company to prosper through oil discoveries, building acquisitions, and commercial development. Growth Into Real Estate Development Today, the Billeaud Companies own and manage more than 800,000 square feet of developed property,

Discover Lafayette welcomes Marcelle Bienvenu, cookbook author and food writer who has been preparing Cajun and Creole dishes since the 1960s. A St. Martinville native, she still lives there with her husband, Rock Lasserre. Marcelle has written about Creole and Cajun cooking for The Times-Picayune, Time-Life Books, and has been featured in Garden & Gun, Food & Wine, Saveur, Southern Living, Redbook, The New York Times, Louisiana Life, and Acadiana Profile. She authored Who’s Your Mama? Are You Catholic and Can You Make a Roux?, as well as Who’s Your Mama? The Sequel, and Cajun Cooking for Beginners. She co-edited Cooking Up a Storm: Recipes Lost and Found from The Times-Picayune of New Orleans, which was nominated for a James Beard Award in 2009. Marcelle worked with Emeril Lagasse for 15 years and coauthored several cookbooks with him, including Louisiana Real & Rustic, Emeril’s Creole Christmas, Emeril’s TV Dinners, and Every Day’s a Party. She also owned and operated the beloved restaurant Chez Marcelle in Broussard, at the former Billeaud Family Plantation site. She has worked at legendary restaurants including Commander’s Palace and K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans, and taught for 11 years at the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University. Growing Up in St. Martinville “When I was a youngster, it was idyllic. You could ride your bike anywhere. Nobody cared where you were going. We could go around the block and ask all the ladies, ‘What do you have for supper tonight?’ If I liked hers better than mine, I could stay with her. Everybody on our block was related.” Her father’s family owned The Teche News, and she grew up folding papers and helping with printing: “Besides the newspaper, Daddy did wedding invitations, football programs. I used to hate it because my hands were always full of ink… Mama would fix the sandwiches at the newspaper office because we never went home on paper day until late. The ink was all over your bread.” She credits her early love of cooking to meals at family camps on Vermilion Bay: "My father was a Boy Scout leader, and we had a camp at Granddad's on Vermilion Bay, at Sycamore Point, and we had one in the Basin. A lot of our meals were cooked on an open fire wood bar. And I thought that was absolutely fabulous. So I would sit at my daddy's elbow with his beer. I was beer holder. I would say, shouldn't you go medium low? You don't have a dial, you'd have to move it. I became infatuated with that. I thought that was just marvelous. “We were laughing the other day about when we were little, nobody said, oh, we're going to have Cajun food. Are we going to New Orleans? Can we have Creole food? We never would. Nobody ever said that." An interesting side note: Marcelle is the aunt of Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry. His mother and Marcelle's sister, Edna Bienvenu Landry, died in 2019. Our governor also unfortunately recently lost his father, architect and business owner, Al James Landry, on July 30, 2025. The Start of a Culinary Career In 1971, while working at The Times-Picayune, Marcelle met the Time-Life Books crew. “They were thinking of doing a book on Acadian Creole cooking… We were supposed to be only a chapter in the Southern book, but we ended up with a whole book.” Working with the Brennans and legendary chef Paul Prudhomme shaped her approach: “He really brought Cajun cooking up to another level… It was absolutely wonderful to see them marrying those two cuisines to see what they came up with." Before Prudhomme joined Commander's Palace, no one in New Orleans was serving chicken and andouille sausage gumbo. Chez Marcelle Marcelle’s uncle offered to finance a restaurant in Broussard, and they transformed the old Billeaud Plantation home: “We did fabulously for almost four years and then the whole business… the oil industry crashed. It happened so fast my CPA called to ask if we had closed.

Lafayette Fire Chief Robert Benoit, a man who has devoted 46 years to protecting our community, recently announced his retirement. A Lafayette native, Chief Benoit joined the department in May 1979 and made history in August 1993 when he became the first Black fire chief in Lafayette’s history. Under his leadership, the department expanded from seven to fourteen fire stations, modernized equipment and training, and earned improved fire ratings, saving money and lives. Chief Benoit has been inducted into the Louisiana Fire Chiefs Hall of Fame and served as President of the Southwestern Division of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. As he prepares to retire on August 15, 2025, Chief Benoit reflected on the calling he discovered as a child, the trials and triumphs of leading during economic downturns and political shifts, and the deeper sense of purpose that led him to seminary and prison ministry. “I think it was a gift that God placed in me, probably from birth… getting to how I got there was looking at a firefighter in a book at school at seven years old… and I said, ‘I want to be a firefighter.’” From Stockboy to Chief Chief Benoit’s journey began with humble jobs—first at Lafayette Drug Company, then Martin Mills in St. Martinville—while waiting to meet the age requirement to become a firefighter. When the age was lowered to 18, he took the civil service exam, passed, and began training at the fire academy. His first assignment was the Central Fire Station, where he spent 99% of his career. "The first thing you get is an interview with the fire chief. The fire chief at that time was Wayne Prejean. He told me he was going to give me a shot. I remember walking out the fire station realizing that I was going to get a job. Even though I had to go through the physical process. And then from there, once I cleared the physical, I went to the academy which lasted three months. It was exciting. I did everything I needed to do." My first station was at Central Downtown, which is where I work today. At that time, we had a pumper truck and a ladder truck and a rescue truck in the station. That's where I started to learn the business of firefighting. Learning that business, reading on my own time, a lot of time in the fire station. We were very short on firefighters." “They called it ‘The Rock’... because everything comes through the Central Fire Station. That was administration, firefighters, and the communications center.” A Rapid Rise Through the Ranks Benoit was known for his drive and initiative. He became a truck driver within three years (something that on average takes about eight years), communications officer, arson investigator, and captain—a rank he reached in just six years. “I wanted to learn every section of the fire department... Didn’t realize I was going to be chief. I just wanted to understand how this organization worked.” In the 1980, the local economy tanked. "I used to hear people make the comment. Last one out. Turn the lights out. They had a lot of vacant buildings and having a lot of fires that was arson.Kids were setting buildings on fire. And of course, unfortunately, some businesses were setting their businesses on fire. The fire chief at that time was Jack Massey who needed some help in the fire prevention bureau in the arson section. He asked me to go work in there just for a couple of months, just to help him out. I wound up going in there and found a home in fire prevention. So this is seven years later. I'm in fire prevention. I started learning the business of investigations. I started getting trained by ATF agents, FBI agents, insurance agents and going to school. That's where my educational level really skyrocketed. I started getting degrees and learning this business of investigating fires. The fire chief put me in charge of internal affairs for the fire department. So I pretty much did everything,