Leadership EXCEL took a trip to Lafayette for their September Session for the 2019 year! The class found themselves Downtown Lafayette on the morning of Wednesday, September 18th where they heard from CEO of the Downtown Development Authority and Acadia Parish native, Anita Begnaud. Begnaud spoke about all things downtown with the group; participants had a great discussion about all pros and cons that come with downtown areas and how vital they are in a metropolitan area. In the same sitting, the group was also able to visit with the Executive Vice President of Economic Development at One Acadiana, Jim Bourgeois. Bourgeois focused on the importance of community competitiveness, business development and talent recruitment in not only Lafayette but the Acadiana region as a whole.
The group took a stroll down Jefferson Street to meet up with Paige Krause at the Acadiana Center for the Arts, where they dove into the significance of the arts in culture, communities and everyday life! ACA manifests an undying effort to foster art and culture in the Acadiana region. Participants had lunch at Tiniball inside of Rock’n’Bowl to complete their morning Downtown Lafayette.
Next, the class got a grand tour of the UL Lafayette Athletic Facility with Troy Wingerter, Director of Football Operations. Participants toured the facility from top to bottom including the state-of-the-art, top 10 in the nation weight room to the NFL recruiting office — where they were able to see first hand the impact the program has on the community and the economy
Leadership EXCEL ended their day at Begneaud Manufacturing with a tour of a facility from Andy Begneaud herself! Begneaud’s 65,000-square-foot facility serves a variety of industries, including agriculture, aviation, aerospace, architecture, art, food processing, marine and medical technology just to name a few.
The EXCEL program is hosted by the Acadia Parish Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the Jeff Davis Chamber of Commerce and thanks to the following sponsors, the Leadership EXCEL program is possible. The 2019 Sponsors are as follows: Acadia General Hospital and Lafayette General Health, First National Bank, Jennings American Legion Hospital, Encore Healthcare and Rehabilitation, Acadia Parish Farm Bureau, Acadia Parish Assessor Jim Petitjean, The Bank, Bank of Commerce, Dugas, Soileau & Breaux CPA Firm, Rayne Building & Loan, Farmers State Bank, First Guaranty Bank, E.L. Habetz Builders, Carmichael’s Cashway Pharmacy.
