The Voice of Southwest Louisiana

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SWLA non-profit 2016 Dancing Gala By Dalia Matheus, President (International Club) Diversity is a key ingredient in building relationships between individuals from different cultures. To illustrate, consider Paella. A cultural dish, Paella consists of several ingredients including chicken, seafood, rice, vegetables, saffron, and other spices. In Paella, each of these ingredients maintain their individual flavor while also working together to create a savory meal that is truly one of a kind. When I cook this dish at home, I invite people from different countries to celebrate the coming together of our cultures. As when you are cooking Paella, the first step to understand other cultures is to know, understand and appreciate our own individual cultures. By knowing our own identities and cultural backgrounds, we will be able to understand how culture, music, art, food, religion, gender, education and language influence our behaviors. Learning how to communicate and respect each other will facilitate intercultural understanding in our community and will also help to strengthen relationships among people in our community. Intercultural competence is critical while doing business. Today, many organizations have employees from diverse cultural backgrounds in order to stay competitive in this international market. Many companies understand that cultural misunderstandings and stereotypes can negatively affect and impact their business. It is important to understand and appreciate how the values and morals of other cultures affect the workforce on a day to day basis. For instance, while some cultures value punctuality and timeliness, others do not. In my case for example, it is common knowledge that Latin Americans rarely make punctuality a priority. Instead, we have a relaxed view of time. However, when I have a business meeting in the United States, I strive to be on time so I do not offend any of the attendees. In order to form meaningful business relationships, it is vital to understand the difference in company cultures. As members of an increasingly diverse community ourselves, we need to build a positive and sustainable relationship between our international community that welcome them. The opportunity for collaboration in our community is knocking at the door. The International Club has been an instrument to welcome people from different countries and cultures. We welcome diversity and are proud for the diversity and difference of our own cultures. The International Club understands that the world we share is a multicultural society. The whole world: economies, religions, governments and businesses progressively grow when we embrace differences in each other’s cultures. Therefore, the key to Global progress is collaboration and respect among different cultures and countries. Pictured are attendees from previous International Club Galas held at Lake Charles Civic Center during the month of December. AUGUST 2016 WWW.THEVOICEOFSOUTHWESTLA.COM Volume 4 • Number 1
SWLAbusiness Office of Juvenile Justice Services L-R: (Top) William A. Sommers, Office of Juvenile Justice Services Director, Joshua Campbell, MARC Manager, Jonathan Schafer MARC Case Manager (Bottom) Bonnie (BJ) Fontenot, MARC Receptionist, Connie Spinks, MARC Probation Officer M.A.R.C. - Multi-Agency Resource Center By Brenda Hill In today’s society, youth are challenged with all types of circumstances and happenings. They are not limited to just one family, race or background. Their exceptional circumstances sometimes require immediate assessments of their problems so that appropriate outreach strategies can be put in place. Therefore, MARC has an expedited intake process with a collaborative Children & Youth Planning Board that helps youth in need navigate themselves to make responsible and accountable decisions. The Multi-Agency Resource Center – MARC - will accept any youth in need, and especially those from Families in need of Services, FINS. It is located next to the Juvenile Justice Center off E. Prien Lake Road, right down the road from Chuckie Cheese. William A. Sommers, Director – Office of Juvenile Justice Services, and Joshua Campbell, CAC, CCS and MARC Manager, are filled with compassion and care about families with youth in need of services. They are deeply rooted in faith and sincerely believe that we are only as strong as our weakest link. That is why they send out a warm invite to parents, grandparents and/or caregivers to bring their child and come experience their special policy in place. Sommers says, “A hungry child is an angry child so we have plenty of apple juice and snacks on hand.” WALK IN FAMILIES are encouraged to experience the expanded hours Monday – Saturday from 8:00 am – 11:00 pm. Feel the compassion and care from this warm and welcoming team of professionals as they ‘accentuate the positive’ that lies deep within your child. Sommers and Campbell have what they call a ‘My Child Test.’ Campbell says, “Every child is treated as if he or she is our child sitting before us.” Other communities are taking notice of the continued success of the MARC facility. For more information, contact Joshua Campbell at 337.721.3951 or email him at jcampbell@cppj.net Volume 4 • Number 1 WWW.THEVOICEOFSOUTHWESTLA.COM AUGUST 2016
Page 2 and 3: editor’s By Brenda Hill Protect t
Page 4 and 5: Pictured are Mayor Randy Roach and
Page 6 and 7: On July 18th, the Pastor of Living
Page 8 and 9: our diversity that actually unites
Page 10 and 11: #PositiveIsMe Protect & Serve… th
Page 12 and 13: SWLA entertainment band By Joyce R.
Page 14 and 15: SWLA entertainment & movie review G
Page 16 and 17: means no waiters bothering you come
Page 18 and 19: SWLA women in business L - R: Shaun
Page 20 and 21: SWLA fashion PRESS Vintage Shopping
Page 24 and 25: SWLA education The Gift of Teaching
Page 26 and 27: Photo credit Joseph P. Booth From l
Page 28: We’re building ... Women in busin

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