business news - Deborah Burst

Y o u r B u s i n e s s & L i f e s t y l e M a g a z i n e 

Private Cos. 

to Watch in 2011 

North Shore 

businesses that 

more than just 

weathered 

the storm 

PAGE 14 

Window Shopping: 

best local finds for fall 

Sit down with 

St. Tammany 

schools 

Superintendent 

Trey Folse 

September/October 2010 

Inside 

Globalstar’s 

Inside 

Globalstar’s 

move to 

Covington 

Covington 

PAGE 35 

Cool 

Caribbean 

recipes 

More business news: 

• Taking a shine to solar power 

• SBA lenders in short supply

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4 September/October 2010 

great choice when it comes to 

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©2010 Ochsner Health System (ochsner.org) is a non-profit, academic, multi-specialty, healthcare delivery system dedicated to patient care, research and education.

52 

38 

On the cover: Henryk “Heiner” Orlik at the Heiner Brau Microbrewery in Covington 

Photo by Frank Aymami 

28 

NORTH SHORE FACES 

Around the Parish 

People moving up, events, 

ribbon cuttings and 

more who’s who . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

Last Word 

John Crosby, local hero . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 

What’sInside 

S e p t e m b e r / O c t o b e r 2 0 1 0 

FEATURES 

Taking the Initiative 

Quality of life and a lucrative digital media incentive — 

inside Globalstar’s big move to Covington and why it may 

have left the door open for more companies to follow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Success on Tap 

How Heiner Brau Microbrewery mastered a new label 

and the art of marketing with its Covington Brewhouse line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

Sunny Outlook 

Businesses hope St. Tammany will finally take a shine 

to solar power after a partly cloudy courtship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 

NORTH SHORE BUSINESS 

Private Companies to Watch in 2011 

Donahue Favret Contractors, FARA and Smoothie King — 

Find out how these North Shore companies have 

more than just weathered the financial storm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

Who’s Who List: Top Private Companies on the North Shore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

Banking 

Small business loans are in demand on the North Shore 

but SBA lenders are in short supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

Education 

Superintendent Trey Folse addresses how he plans to keep 

St. Tammany Public Schools on top even in the face of budget cuts . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

Who’s Who List: Private Schools, Two- and Four-Year Colleges . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

NORTH SHORE LIVING 

Window Shopping 

Return to the routine of fall in style 

with these local finds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 

Off the Menu 

Make waves with cool, Caribbean flavors in your 

own kitchen with these recipes from the pros . . . . . . . . . .28 

Favorite Spaces 

A crimson-themed nursery reveals a Mandeville couple’s true colors. 

Plus, tips for creating a playful nursery your child can grow into . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 

Your Health 

Patients don’t always connect vision problems to computer use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

IN EVERY ISSUE 

27 

From the Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

From the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Go.See.Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 

Shorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

September/October 2010 5


STAFF QUESTION 

How far would you go to show your support 

for your favorite sports team? 

Christian 

Moises: 

I already went that 

far. I got a tattoo 

of a black and 

gold fleur de lis. 

September/October 2010 

Publisher: Lisa Blossman 

CityBusiness Publisher and President: D. Mark Singletary 

CityBusiness Editor: Greg LaRose 

EDITORIAL 

Editor: Renee Aragon Dolese 

Art Director: Lisa Finnan 

Associate Editors: Christian Moises 

Jenny Peterson 

Staff Writers: Richard A. Webster 

Ben Myers 

Jennifer Larino 

David Muller 

Market Researcher: Jennifer Nall 

Market Research Intern: Rebecca Giraud 

Contributing Writers: Deborah Burst 

Diana Chandler 

Ariella Cohen 

Christine Fontana 

Autumn Giusti 

Craig Guillot 

Suzy Kessenich 

Art Assistant: Alex Borges 

Photographer: Frank Aymami 

Contributing 

Photographer: Russell Pintado 

ADVERTISING 

Advertising Executives: Cassie Foreman, 

Jaclyn Raymond 

PRODUCTION 

Production Manager: Julie Bernard 

Pre-press Manager: Shelley Costa 

Art and Production Coordinator: Samantha Verges 

ADMINISTRATION 

Director of Operations: Gina Brignac 

Office Coordinator: Marilyn Miller 

CIRCULATION 

Circulation Manager: Joseph Owens 

Circulation Marketing Manager: Maryellen Kanode 

Jennifer Larino: 

Gallons of face paint, 

miles of driving and 

maybe a pet stingray 

if the Tampa Bay 

Rays made it back 

to the World Series. 

Julie Bernard: 

I sat at the bar for 

five hours before the 

Saints Super Bowl, 

without a drink, just 

to save my lucky 

seat for the game. 

The entire contents of this magazine are copyrighted by NOPG, LLC, 2010, with all rights reserved. Reproduction 

or use, without permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited. 

North Shore Report (USPS #28) is published monthly by NOPG LLC, 

1305 Causeway Blvd., Ste. 103., Mandeville LA 70471, 

(985) 626-1121. 

Subscriptions: 

Subscription Services 

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Phone: (800) 451-9998 

Fax: (800) 329-8478 

It is the policy of this publication to employ people on the basis of their qualifications 

and with assurance of equal opportunity and treatment regardless of 

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CityBusiness® is a registered trademark of CityBusiness/Twin Cities Inc. 

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Subscription Services, 10 Milk Street, Suite 1000, Boston, MA 02108 

Customer service: (800) 451-9998. Subscription rates: $12 per year. 

New Orleans Publishing Group LLC is an affiliate of Dolan Media Company: 

James P. Dolan, president, CEO and chairman; Scott J. Pollei, 

executive vice president and chief financial officer; Mark Stodder, vice president newspapers.

PHYSICIANS 

from the publisher 

Lisa Blossman 

CityBusiness recognizes North Shore Health Care Heroes 

Please congratulate the following North Shore health care professionals who were honored at the annual CityBusiness Health Care 

Heroes event. To view a copy of the event program, visit www.neworleanscitybusiness.com and click on “Events” on the top toolbar. 

John Breaux 

Position: cardiothoracic surgeon, Louisiana Medical Center and Heart Hospital 

Age: 50 

Family: wife, Betina; children, Jason, 21, Eric, 21, Elise, 18 

Education: bachelor’s degree in zoology, Louisiana State University; doctor of 

medicine, LSU School of Medicine 

Ravi Kanagala 

Position: cardiac electrophysiologist and partner, Tchefuncte Cardiovascular Associates 

Age: 40 

Family: wife, Anita; children, Abhishek, 10, Nikhita, 5 

Education: bachelor’s degree in biology, Earlham College; doctor of medicine, 

Indiana University School of Medicine 

Thomas Weatherall 

Position: medical director of radiation oncology, Slidell Memorial Hospital 

Age: 81 

Family: wife, Jennifer; daughters, Wendy, 34, Rebecca, 31 

Education: bachelor’s degree in journalism, University of Alabama; doctor of medicine, 

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine 

PROFESSIONALS 

VICKI BANNER 

Title: certified pharmacy technician, Slidell Memorial Hospital 

Age: 39 

Family: husband, Louis; sons Jonathon, 17, Quin, 13 

Education: graduate, Andrew Jackson High School 

Lori Fonte 

Position: director of radiation oncology and cancer program coordinator, 

Slidell Memorial Hospital 

Age: 42 

Family: husband, Danny; son, Ethan, 13 

Education: bachelor’s degree in allied health, University of St. Francis 

Rebecca Stubenrauch 

Age: 51 

Position: clinical supervisor of cardio pulmonary rehabilitation, Slidell Memorial 

Hospital 

Family: husband, Steven; children, Rachel, 31, Joseph, 29, Steven, 20, Samantha, 18 

Education: bachelor’s degree in nursing, Loyola University 

Lisa Blossman, publisher of North Shore Report and associate publisher/senior vice president of CityBusiness, can be reached at (504) 293-9226 or at lisa.blossman@nopg.com. 


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100 Cherokee Rose Lane 

(off of Hwy 21) 

Covington, La 70433 

985.867.8867 

504.862.1654 

www.firstcastlefcu.org 

from the editor 

Renee Aragon Dolese 

Buying locally is good for more than just a clear conscience 

Like most people these days, my husband, Dale, 

and I try buy Louisiana seafood whenever possible. 

It gives you a sense you’re doing your part to 

prop up our local industry after the BP oil spill 

clouded our waters and our seafood’s image. 

Dale recently went to a local seafood market 

to buy some Louisiana crawfish tails to make 

etouffee. The owner told him they were all out 

of local crawfish, but there were some foreign 

crawfish still available. Dale had his heart set on 

etouffee for dinner, so he bought the crawfish, 

which were imported from China and packaged 

in Washington. 

Our etouffee didn’t go down very well that 

night, and to compound the guilt, the foreign 

tails happened to have a strong fishy taste, 

almost inedible. I imagined the elite Green 

Beret snouts of the FDA seafood sniffers would 

have smelled these coming a mile away. 

Even though we supported a local seafood 

seller by buying the imposter crawfish from 

him, we will go Louisiana all the way next time. 

�� 

I’m not usually a xenophobe in my consumer 

behavior. My past two cars were a Honda and a 

Subaru, because I think they’re superior cars and 

a good value. But I really do believe Louisiana 

seafood is the freshest, best seafood you can buy 

— with the added benefit of supporting local 

hardworking people and businesses. 

So why stop at seafood? 

There are plenty of superior local products 

out there. And as it turns out, there is a growing 

appetite for those Louisiana-centric goods 

and services. 

Covington-based Heiner Brau Microbrewery 

launched its Covington Brewhouse line of beer 

this spring, and North Shore sales figures for the 

new localized label are 400 percent higher than 

sales of other Heiner Brau products, which are 

also doing quite well, according to marketing 

manager Frank LeCourt. 

But people are scooping up these locally 

made products for more than just a good conscience. 

Buying locally keeps the money in the state 

and, in some cases, in the parish. Small businesses 

and their employees profit and so do our 

governments with a stronger tax base. 

Buying locally is green. Whether it’s produce, 

beer or building materials, a smaller carbon 

footprint is created when items are 

shipped shorter distances. 

Buying locally makes a statement — that we 

can survive a catastrophic hurricane and almost 

equally catastrophic oil spill and continue to 

produce the highest quality beer, seafood, 

smoothies, banks, circuit boards and Who Dat 

T-shirts around. 

Next time the market is all out of the Louisiana 

seafood I’m looking for, I’ll revise the menu on the 

spot. Either that or I’ll open a cold bottle of Bayou 

Bock and think about it for a while.• 

Renee Aragon Dolese is editor of North Shore 

Report. Reach her at renee.dolese@nopg.com or 

at (504) 293-9211. 

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Matt Gardner 

3701 Hwy 59, Ste. C 

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18539 Hwy 22, Ste. J 

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Debbie P Stuart, AAMS ® 

3979 Hwy 190, Ste. D 


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Jerrold A Rabalais 

209 West Hwy 22, Ste. H 

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985-845-1072 

Danny Boudreaux, AAMS ® , CFP ® 

2395 Gause Blvd East, Ste. 4 

Slidell, LA 70461 

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Chad W Elter 

255 West Florida Street 


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Lee R Cosgrove, AAMS ® 

2051 E Gause Blvd, Ste. 60 


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1200 Bus Hwy 190 Ste. 21 


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2625 North Causeway Blvd 


985-809-0854 

Jeanette M Sanford 

2170 Hwy 190, Ste. 135 


985-781-7683 

September/ 

October 

TOUR … The St. Tammany 

Fire District and the 

Commission on Cultural Affairs 

will host its Firehouse Tour concert 

at noon Sept. 18 at Fire 

District No. 12 Covington. The 

event will feature live entertainment 

from Christian Serpas, fire 

safety demonstrations and activities 

for children. Admission is free. For 

more information, call 898-3011. 

SHOP … Art for Madisonville will host 

the Madisonville Art Market from 10 a.m. 

to 4 p.m. Sept. 18 on the Tchefuncte 

Riverfront in Madisonville. Artwork from 

local artists will be available to purchase. 

Admission is free. For more information, 

visit www.artformadisonville.org. 

ENJOY … 

The second 

annual Louisiana Gator 

Fest will be held from 10 a.m. to 10 

p.m. Sept. 18 and noon to 8 p.m. Sept. 19 

at Tammany Trace in Mandeville. The 

event will feature live entertainment, a gator 

cook-off competition, food, beverages and a 

Miss Louisiana Gator Fest beauty pageant. 

For more information, visit www.louisianagatorfest.com. 

STRUT … St. Tammany Parish 

Hospital will host its second annual Heart of 

Fashion benefit for the hospital’s pediatric 

care department at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 23 at 

Tchefuncta Country Club in Covington. 

The event will feature a New York-style runway 

show by Saks Fifth Avenue, a cocktail 

luncheon, a silent auction, surprise giveaways 

and gifts. For more information, call 

898-4171 or visit www.stph.org. 

TEE OFF … The East St. Tammany 

Chamber of Commerce will host its 12th 

annual golf tournament at noon Oct. 8 at 

Oak Harbor Golf Club in 

Slidell. Registration begins at 

10:30 a.m. The cost is $125 

per player and includes lunch, 

a putting contest and dinner. 

For more information and to 

register, call 643-5678 or email 

jobeth@estchamber.com. 

DRINK … The Heiner Brau

Microbrewery will host its sixth annual 

Oktoberfest from 5-9 p.m. Oct. 8 and 

from 2-7 p.m. Oct. 9 at the Heiner Brau 

Microbrewery in Covington. The event 

will feature food, live music and beer on 

tap. Admission is free. For more information, 

visit www.heinerbrau.com. 

RUN … Varsity Sports will host its 

inaugural Gulf Coast Half Marathon at 7 

a.m. Oct. 10 at the Mandeville Lakefront. 

There will be a post-race party including 

food, beverages and an awards ceremony. 

The cost is $40 for the first 500 registrants 

and increases until the day of the race. For 

more information and to register, call 377- 

9563, e-mail joerelaxo@gmail.com or visit 

www.louisianahalf.com. 

MINGLE … The Junior Auxiliary of 

Slidell will host its 39th annual Charity Gala 

from 7-11 p.m. Oct. 23 at the Le Grande 

Maison in Slidell. The event will feature an 

open bar, live and silent auctions, and live 

entertainment. Tickets are $75 per person. 

For more information and to purchase tickets, 

call 701-7341. 

TRICK OR TREAT … 

St. Tammany Parish 

Hospital’s Parenting Center 

and Capital One Bank will 

host its annual Monster Mash 

fundraiser from 10 a.m. to 4 

p.m. Oct. 23 at Bogue Falaya 

Park in Covington. The event will include a 

trick-or-treat village, games and arts and 

crafts. Tickets are $4 a person in advance, 

$6 a person at the gate and $15 a person for 

activity wristbands. For more information 

and to buy tickets, visit www.stph.org. 

SAIL AWAY … The Lake 

Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum will 

host its 21st annual Madisonville Wooden 

Boat Festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 

23-24 at the museum in Madisonville. The 

event will feature more than 100 classic 

boats, live entertainment, food, arts and 

crafts, and a boat-building contest. Tickets 

are $10 per person and children 12 and 

younger and uniformed military enter free. 

For more information, call 845-9200 or 

visit www.lpbmm.org. 

JAM … The city of Slidell will hold its 

Bayou Jam Halloween Bash featuring Vince 

Vance and the Valients from 5:30-7:30 p.m. 

Oct. 24 at Heritage Park in Slidell. 

Admission is free and children are encouraged 

to attend in Halloween costumes. For 

more information, call 646-4375 or visit 

www.slidell.la.us. 

NETWORK … The East St. Tammany 

Chamber of Commerce will host its 

fourth Friday breakfast at 8 a.m. Oct. 29 

at The Gallery in Slidell. Mayors repre- 

senting St. Tammany Parish will be at the 

event. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. for networking. 

Admission is $25 for members 

and $30 for nonmembers. Pre-paid reservations 

are required. For more information 

and to make reservations, call 643- 

5678 or e-mail kay@estchamber.com. 

FEAST … St. Joseph Abbey will host its 

Deo Gratias celebration to benefit the 

Seminary College from 6-11:30 p.m. Oct. 

30 at St. Joseph Abbey in Covington. The 

event will include dinner by Chef John 

Folse and silent and live auctions. Tickets 

are $75 a person. For more information, call 

NEAR YOUR HOME 

HOME 

FOR MORE CONVENIENT 

WORK 

Bou 

rge 

ois 

Benn 

e t tt 

867-2242, e-mail vcrouere@sjasc.edu or 

visit www.sjasc.edu. 

COOK OFF … The 

third annual Abita River 

Chili Cook-off will be held 

from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 

30 at the Abita Trailhead 

Plaza in Abita Springs. The 

event will feature live entertainment, 

arts and crafts, and a Halloween costume 

contest for children and adults. Admission 

is $5 per person. For more information, email 

info09@abitariverchilicookoff.com or 

visit www.abitariverchilicookoff.com. 

B usiness 

& Individual 

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Busines 

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Audit, 

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Services 

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a nd Employee 

B e n e fi t t P 

P l a n n i n g 

NORTH SHORE 985.246.3022 

1070-B WEST CAUSEWAY APPROACH, MANDEVILLE, LA 

NEW ORLEANS | HOUMA | THIBODAUX 



N e w s , n o t e s a n d 

o t h e r m e n t i o n a b l e s 

Market trends in 

St. Tammany a mixed bag 

Economic trends in the first quarter of this year suggest 

the local economy is sustainable but not expanding on a 

large scale, according to the St. Tammany Economic 

Development Foundation in its quarterly Trends Report 

that tracks key economic data and indicators in St. 

Tammany Parish for the first three months of the year. 

Unemployment was up to 5.3 percent, up from 4.9 

percent the same time last year. Louisiana’s unemployment 

rate was 6.9 percent and the national rate was 

10.4 percent. 

Single-family residential building permits were up 

7.7 percent to 140 compared with 130 last year. The 

number of housing units sold fell 6.9 percent to 407 

compared with this time last year. Average sale prices of 

housing units declined 5.9 percent to $224,196. Average 

rent cost fell 11 percent to $1,078. 

Commercial permits fell 30 percent, 

with 84 issued in the first quarter. 

Retail sales fell 7.4 percent from 

this time last year. Hotel receipts rose 

1.4 percent. There were 550 new 

business starts, a 3.1 percent decline. 

New projects in the first quarter 

of this year totaled $4.8 million, and 

are expected to bring nearly 1,100 

permanent jobs to St. Tammany. 

St. Tammany posts 

highest foreclosure rate 

in metro area 

The New Orleans metro area saw an increase in 

foreclosure filings in July, with St. Tammany Parish 

posting the highest foreclosure rate, according to 

figures released by Irvine-Calif.-based RealtyTrac. 

St. Tammany, with 415 filings, had the highest 

rate in the New Orleans metro area at one in every 

233 housing units receiving a filing. That marked a 

55.43 percent increase over June and a 234.68 

percent surge from a year ago. Filings include 

default notices, auction sale notices and bank 

repossessions. 

Here's how the other parishes fared: 

• Orleans: 346 filings for a rate at one in every 

331 housing units, up 13.82 percent from June 

and 37.85 percent from July 2009; 

• Jefferson: 389 filings for a rate of one in 

every 466 housing units, up 35.07 percent from 

June and 112.57 percent from last year; 

• St. Bernard: nine filings for a rate of one in 

every 956 housing units, up 200 percent from 

June. RealtyTrac did not list a percentage change 

from July 2009. 

• St. Charles: six filings for a rate of one in 

every 3,342 housing units, down 77.78 percent 

from June but up 500 percent over a year ago. 

• St. John: six filings for a rate of one in every 

2,924 housing units, down 33.33 percent from 

June. RealtyTrac did not list a percentage change 

from July 2009. 

Plaquemines Parish had no filings. 

Louisiana's 2,201 filings in July produced a 

foreclosure rate of one in every 856 housing units, 

a 35.11 percent increase over June and a 97.05 

percent surge over a year ago. That put Louisiana 

32nd out of 50. 

Construction begins on new 

forensic center in Lacombe 

A new apartment complex will be going up to complement recent commercial 

development along one of the North Shore’s fast growing commercial 

corridors. 

Developers Pratt Provosty and Paul and Quentin Dastugue expect to 

start construction in September on a 240-unit complex on the Ochsner 

Boulevard extension in Covington. The project will be built on a 14-acre 

site about midway between state highways 21 and 1085. 

“There are no apartment developments of any size on the west side 

of the Tchefuncte River,” said Quentin Dastugue. “We need work force 

housing there.” 

Working under the PPQ Northshore LLC partnership, the developers 

Groundbreaking ceremonies 

were held July 21 for the new 

$8 million St. Tammany 

Coroner Forensic Center, to be 

built on 40 acres adjacent to 

Highway 434 in Lacombe. 

The one-story, 23,200square-foot 

center, designed 

by New Orleans-based 

Sizeler Thompson Brown 

Architects, is expected to be 

completed in September 

2011. General contractor for 

the building is VCC 

Construction of Irving, Texas. 

The facility will consolidate 

all of the coroner’s functions, 

including offices, laboratories and examining centers into one location. 

The center will also house a toxicology lab providing blood/alcohol analysis 

for DUI/DWI cases, a function now being handled by the Louisiana State Police. 

“Ground breaking for our new forensic center is the culmination of extensive 

planning and insightful decisions by parish leaders to benefit St. Tammany 

Parish residents,” stated Dr. Peter Galvan, St. Tammany Parish coroner. 

Apartment complex planned for North Shore’s Ochsner Boulevard 

have filed $3.3 million in permits for the apartment complex. The same 

team developed Stone Creek Health Club and LLOG Exploration Co. 

headquarters on Ochsner Boulevard, which is anchored by its namesake’s 

medical clinic. 

In addition to the medical and engineering professionals who work 

nearby, Dastugue said the complex will draw tenants from other 

employers in western St. Tammany, including the city of Covington. 

The complex is scheduled to be complete next year by late spring or 

early summer, said Dastugue, who did not provide rent range projections. 

Obtaining financing for new construction was the most difficult part 

of bringing the development to light, he said. 

North Shore monks suing 

to sell hand-made caskets 

In the past, monks have set themselves on fire to protest injustice. 

The monks at St. Joseph Abbey of Covington are choosing a subtler 

route, through America's legal system. 

The 121-year-old Catholic monastery filed a lawsuit in a New 

Orleans federal courtroom in August challenging the constitutionality 

of the state's requirement that they have a license to sell their handcrafted 

wooden caskets. Members of the state Board of Embalmers 

and Funeral Directors are named as defendants. 

They are being backed by the libertarian Institute for Justice, which 

also represented florists last spring who sued the state for being 

required to have a flower-arranging license. A law was passed in the 

ensuing legislative session that eliminated hands-on arrangement tests 

— and the lawsuit was dropped — but a license is still required. 

Monks at St. Joseph Abbey had been furnishing caskets for its 

deceased abbots for years, but in the 1990s its handmade burial boxes 

started getting more interest from the public. 

They launched St. Joseph Woodworks on Nov. 1, 2007 — All 

Saints Day. The state Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors 

caught wind of the business and about a month later, before any caskets 

had been sold, informed the monks that selling caskets would 

result in a possible injunction, fines and jail time. 

The Institute for Justice says the license requirement does 

nothing to protect public health, as the people using the caskets 

are dead anyway. Further, it notes that caskets aren't legally 

required for burial in Louisiana. 

The Institute argues that the law is on the books "because the cartel 

of licensed funeral directors wants the lucrative funeral market to itself." 

The monks would have to apprentice for a year at a licensed 

funeral director for a year learning needless skills before being 

required to take an industry test, according to the Institute for Justice. 

In Louisiana, the application fee to open a funeral business is 

$1,500. To be an embalmer or funeral director, the application cost is 

$250 and $100 for funeral director apprentices.

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Smoothie King Executive Vice President 

Richard Leveille will gamely indulge some 

straightforward business talk. He readily discusses 

how the Covington-based smoothie 

giant has surpassed 600 franchises, including 

dozens of shops in South Korea and Egypt. But 

there’s more on his mind than dollars and cents, 

and he bides time until the questions end and 


Business 

P R I V A T E 

C O M P A N I E S 

3 Private Companies 

to Watch in 2011 

Donahue Favret Contractors, FARA and Smoothie King — 

Find out how these North Shore companies have more than 

just weathered the financial storm 

SMOOTHIE KING 

A HEALTHY INTERNATIONAL PRESENCE AND 

A STRONG NEW ORLEANS CONNECTION YIELD 

SUCCESS IN A DIMINISHED LENDING CLIMATE 

By Ben Myers 

Staff Writer 

ben.myers@nopg.com 

he’s asked if he’d like to add anything. 

Then he gets philosophical. 

“We really feel there is a social purpose for 

our being,” Leveille says. 

That purpose, in Leveille’s telling, 

sounds like any ad campaign you might 

imagine for a smoothie franchise concept: 

providing a distinctly healthy product that is 

Adam Payne assists 

customer Maggie 

Miller at the Covington 

Smoothie King. 

Headquarters: Covington 

President and CEO: Steve Kuhnau 

Principal business: nutritional smoothie franchise 

Founded: 1973 

Employees: 60 in corporate office; 600 franchises worldwide 

Why this company matters: Smoothies are a global phenomenon 

and Smoothie King claims to have invented them. 

2009 2008 

Revenue $162 million $148 million 

Employees 57 60 

Source: North Shore Report staff research 

enjoyable in its own right. 

But Smoothie King’s history reveals some 

genuine health food credentials. Founder 

Steve Kuhnau devised a nutritional fruit drink 

in the 1960s to contend with his low blood 

sugar, and Smoothie King claims that’s the 

origin of the smoothie. In any case, the invention 

was beneficial enough that Kuhnau

opened the first store in 1973. 

Smoothie King is now global. Beyond 

South Korea and Egypt, new franchises are 

expected in Japan and Turkey. 

That international presence is helping to 

buoy Smoothie King in a lending environment 

that almost seems designed to hurt a 

franchise corporation. Smoothie King caters 

to first-time business owners looking for solid, 

straightforward opportunities, Leveille says. 

That means the pool of potential Smoothie 

King franchisees tends to evaporate along 

with small business loans. 

“It’s a challenge for the small business 

owner,” Leveille says, referring to the current 

The national economic crisis of 2008 and 

2009 spared no victims, especially in the 

credit-dependent construction industry. The 

legions of sufferers included Mandevillebased 

Donahue Favret Contractors, which 

saw its volume plummet from $82.5 million 

to $44 million from 2008 to 2009. But contractors 

throughout the country are counting 

their blessings if they’ve emerged like 

Donahue Favret. 

climate. “The small business lenders have created 

a criteria that only allows lending to people 

that have been established in business for 

many years.” 

But Smoothie King also has a wild card in 

its pocket, and the company has played the 

card successfully throughout its existence: the 

familial culture of the New Orleans area. 

Leveille reasons that migration from the New 

Orleans area is the biggest reason for Smoothie 

King’s proliferation to Houston, Atlanta, the 

northeastern United States and elsewhere. 

As Smoothie King expanded to Houston 

in the 1990s, Leveille remembers ushering 

a franchisee around that city, trying to con- 

DONAHUE FAVRET CONTRACTORS 

2011 COULD MARK A RETURN TO PRE-RECESSION 

VOLUME, THANKS TO A BALANCE OF PUBLIC AND 

PRIVATE PORTFOLIOS AND A CERTAIN $108M PROJECT 

For one thing, there were no layoffs, 

says vice president Maura Donahue. 

Sure, there was obligatory fat trimming, but 

Donahue Favret managed to keep its 45- to 

60-member work force in tact. 

Secondly, the family-owned company, 

along with Florida-based Welbro Building 

Corp., just landed a very big deal: the renovation 

of the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. 

Completion of the $108 million project is 

vince bankers to take a chance. But no one 

knew what a smoothie was, and they were 

rejected nine times. Then the president of 

the 10th bank happened to be from New 

Orleans, and he went with it. 

Now there are 70 Smoothie Kings in 

Houston, dwarfing the 40 in the New Orleans 

market. 

“Many of our franchisees have come 

from New Orleans. They have been longtime 

guests of stores in New Orleans all 

over this marketplace, and then they’ve 

been transferred or moved, or they told a 

brother about it,” Leveille says. “That has 

helped our growth.” 

Donahue Favret Contractors continues work on the J.B. Lancaster 

Elementary School in Madisonville, to be completed in the spring. The 

company has found stability in balancing public and private portfolios. 

Headquarters: Mandeville 

President and CEO: John Donahue III 

Principal business: construction 

Founded: 1979 

Employees: 48 

Why this company matters: Donahue Favret will renovate 

the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans, another feather in the 

cap for the local company in an uber-competitive market. 

2009 2008 



Source: North Shore Report staff research 

expected by the fall of 2011. 

The Hyatt Regency is important not only 

as a high-profile milestone, but as a buoy 

heading into next year, Donahue says. 

But the crisis isn’t over. 

Katrina-related projects aren’t as abundant, 

and the halting financial market con- 

See PRIVATE COMPANIES, page 16 


Member 

FDIC 


Business 

Private Companies 

continued from page 15 

tinues to muzzle private-sector work. That 

contributes to tremendous competition 

for public-sector work. 

“It allows for a lot of people who would 

typically not be able to bid on perhaps some 

of the private work,” Donahue says. 

Donahue says her company traditionally 

works to balance its public and private 

portfolios. It’s a “healthy blend,” Donahue 

Abita Springs 

22109 Level St. 

Abita Springs, LA 

(985) 898-4785 

Celebrating Life 

in St. Tammany 

❑ ✓ Free Personal Checking 

❑ ✓ Free Small Business Checking 

❑ ✓ Free Online Banking 

❑ ✓ Free Online Bill Pay 

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Citizens Bank & Trust Co. 

Serving St. Tammany Since 1945 

Main Office 

222 N. New Hampshire St. 

Covington, LA 

(985) 892-3776 

Covington 

73021 Hwy. 25 

Covington, LA 

(985) 898-4749 

www.cbtbanking.com 

says, and it’s part of the company’s overall 

approach to growth. 

“We have not been about fast growth,” 

Donahue says. “We have been about steady 

growth, steady controllable growth in the 

right direction, and we have been able to 

maintain that over the years.” 

And that, perhaps, is why Donahue 

Favret expects this year to return to its 

prerecession volumes. 

Mandeville-City Hall 

3100 E. Causeway Approach Rd. 

Mandeville, LA 

(985) 626-8114 

Barkers Corner-Lee Rd. 

79030 Hwy. 437 

Covington, LA 

(985) 892-4234 

Discover CBT… 

We Make a Difference 

F.A. RICHARD & 

ASSOCIATES 

FORESIGHT AND THE 

BIGGEST COUP IN 

COMPANY HISTORY 

ENSURE SUCCESS 

FOR 2011 AND BEYOND 

Francis Richard, founder of Mandevillebased 

F.A. Richard & Associates, faced 

a defining moment in the late 1980s. 

Louisiana’s oil and gas industry was going 

kaput and Richard believed his company, 

which provided independent insurance 

adjustments to the industry, needed to transform 

itself. Richard steered FARA toward 

larger self-insured corporations and public 

entities. It was a risky move that caused 

internal consternation. 

“We went from our clients being insurance 

companies exclusively to larger corporations 

who could self-insure,” says 

Richard’s son, Todd Richard, who is now 

president and CEO. “It was painful. Not 

everyone agreed with the strategy.” 

But it paid off. By the early 1990s, 

Richard says the company acquired a critical 

mass of new, self-insured clients. Now the 

company provides an array of services, from 

claims administration to health care management, 

to hundreds of public and private 

clients throughout the country. 

And FARA just scored perhaps the 

biggest coup in its history. The company 

will now handle all claims made to the 

Louisiana Office of Risk Management on a 

five-year, $60 million contract. The company 

is adding 90 new employees and opening 

two new offices — a second one in 

Baton Rouge and a new one in Alexandria 

— to manage the new project. 

“It’s huge,” Richard says. “It will probably 

be our single largest account.”• 

Headquarters: Mandeville 

President and CEO: Todd Richard 

Principal business: risk management 

Employees: 385 

Founded: 1978 

Why this company matters: FARA is handling 

all claims made to the Louisiana Office of Risk 

Management 

2009 2008 



Source: North Shore Report staff research

Business 

Top private companies on the North Shore 

(locally based companies ranked by latest-year revenue) 

Company 

Phone 

Fax Address Principal business 

Smoothie King 

Franchises 

635-6973 

635-6987 

DonahueFavret 

Contractors Inc. 

626-4431 

626-3572 

F.A. Richard and 

Associates (FARA) 

624-8383 

624-8489 

Gilsbar Inc. 

892-3520 

898-1500 

Southern Homes 

LLC 

643-0123 

643-6364 

Central 

Progressive Bank 

882-2269 

882-6701 

Abita Brewing Co. 

LLC 

893-3143 

898-3546 

Rotolo 

Consultants Inc. 

(RCI) 

643-2427 

643-2691 

Gulf Coast Office 

Products Inc. 

249-6081 

249-6082 

Pontchartrain 

Foods Inc. 

892-6173 

892-6281 

CCTV Imports 

809-2778 

809-2725 

PMOLink LLC 

674-5968 

674-5995 

Mele Printing Co. 

893-9522 

893-2679 

Environmental 

Business 

Specialists LLC 

674-0660 

674-3483 

Fabre Smith and 

Co. 

626-1690 

(888) 840-7311 

121 Park Place 

Covington 

70433 

3030 E. 

Causeway 

Approach 

Mandeville 

70448 

1625 W. 

Causeway 

Approach 

Mandeville 

70471 

2100 Covington 

Centre 

Covington 

70433 

2053 Gause 

Blvd. E., Suite 

200 

Slidell 70461 

29092 Krentel 

Road 

Lacombe 

70445 

P.O. Box 1510 

Abita Springs 

70420 

894 Robert 

Blvd. 

Slidell 70458 

68443 Highway 

59 

Mandeville 

70471 

P.O. Box 3727 

Covington 

70434 

600 Deer Cross 

Court E. 

Madisonville 

70447 

2001 

Lakeshore 

Drive 

Mandeville 

70448 

619 N. Tyler St. 

Covington 

70433 

1930 Surgi 

Drive 

Mandeville 

70448 

1164 Rue 

Chinon 

Mandeville 

70471 

smoothies, supplements, healthy 

snacks 

Top executive 

Title 

Web site 

Steve Kuhnau 

co-founder and CEO 

www.smoothieking.com 

general contractors John "Jack" Donahue Jr. / 

John Donahue III 

chairman / president and 

CEO 

www.donahuefavret.com 

insurance services, third-party 

administration 

insurance services provider, thirdparty 

administrator 

M. Todd Richard 

president and CEO 

www.fara.com 

Hank Miltenberger 

president 

www.gilsbar.com 

homebuilder Adrian Kornman 

CEO 

www.southernhomes.com 

full-service financial institution Brandon Faciane 


www.cpb.com 

brewery David Blossman 

president 

www.abita.com 

landscape construction, pool 

construction, landscape 

maintenance 

Joe Rotolo 

president 

www.rotoloconsultants.com 

copy machines/document storage Bob Walsh 

chairman of the board 

www.gcopnet.com 

fast-food franchise Glenn Jacob 

vice president 

NA 

surveillance product 

manufacturer/wholesaler 

project and process management 

consulting 

Kevin Lazaroe 

president 

www.cctvimports.com 

Geoff Hingle 

CEO and president 

www.pmolink.com 

printing and mailing Mallery Mele 


www.meleprinting.com 

environmental consulting in the 

area of wastewater treatment, 

stormwater runoff and wetlands 

delineation 

marketing and communication 

strategies 

Michael H. Foster 

principal consultant and 

owner 

www.ebsbiowizard.com 

Janet Fabre Smith 

principal 

www.fabresmith.com 

No. of 

employees 

Year founded 

locally 

57 

1973 

48 

1979 

348 

1978 

324 

1959 

30 

1990 

166 

1967 

65 

1986 

178 

1978 

80 

1977 

249 

1977 

12 

1999 

32 

2000 

Revenue 

(millions) 

2009 

Revenue 

(millions) 

2008 

$162 

$148 

The above information was provided by the companies, with the exception of the banks' revenues and employee figures, which are provided by the FDIC. All revenue figures are rounded. 

There may be companies that do not appear on this list because they chose not to disclose their revenues. Additions and corrections should be sent on company letterhead to Research, 

New Orleans CityBusiness, 111 Veterans Blvd., Suite 1440, Metairie 70005 

50 

1985 

24 

1998 

1 

2009 

$44 

$85 

$40 

$43 

$32 

$28 

$30 

$26 

$26 

$33 

$21 

$18 

$18 

$15 

$18 

$17 

$14 

$14 

$11 

$13 

$10 

$11 

$7 

$8 

$6 

$6 

$1 

$0 



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Liz Munson sits in her restaurant, Liz's Where Y'at Diner, 

with Ron Coulonge, vice president of SBA lending at 

Gulf Coast Bank & Trust, and Thomas Sheldon, vice 

president of commercial lending. Munson acquired 

her SBA loan for the restaurant through the bank. 

Small business lending is in demand on the 

North Shore, with activity up almost 26 percent 

for the first nine months of the fiscal year. 

But experts say the busy cycle might be more 

than some banks can handle. 

Not enough banks are certified to offer Small 

Business Administration loans, and more 

underwriters need to undergo the necessary 

Business 

B A N K I N G 

Loan Rangers 

Small business loans are in demand on the North Shore but SBA lenders are in short supply 

By Autumn C. Giusti 

Contributing Writer 

training, says Ron Coulonge, vice president for 

SBA Lending with Gulf Coast Bank & Trust. 

There are 19 banks with branches in St. 

Tammany Parish. Of those, three are certified 

SBA lenders, according to research by sister 

publication New Orleans CityBusiness: 

Chase Bank, Gulf Coast Bank and Trust, and 

Regions Financial Corp. 

“With the growth of the North Shore, 

there’s so much demand for small business 

loans it’s unbelievable,” says Coulonge, who 

works out of Mandeville. “That’s why we’re 

getting loan (applicants) from other area banks 

that don’t provide (SBA) loans.” 

Gulf Coast Bank’s SBA lending levels have 

more than doubled in the past three years. In 

2007, the bank was lending $13 million a year; 

today, it’s between $30 million and $35 million, 

Coulonge says. 

As of late June, the North Shore had pro- 

See LOAN RANGERS, page 20 


Business 

Loan Rangers 


duced $17.6 million in loans with three 

months of fiscal 2010 remaining, according to 

the SBA. During the same period in 2009, 

there were nearly $14 million in SBA loans on 

the North Shore, which the SBA considers St. 

Tammany and parts of Tangipahoa and 

Livingston parishes. SBA’s fiscal year runs 

from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30. 

Bill Joubert, director of the Louisiana Small 


Business Development Center at Southeastern 

Louisiana University, backs up Coulonge’s 

claim that the North Shore could use more SBA 

lenders. The center helps small businesses put 

together business plans and SBA loan proposals. 

About half of the businesses that consult 

with the center are from St. Tammany, he says. 

“You have a lot of businesses that are 

switching banks simply to get credit through 

the SBA program,” he says. “What we’re hear- 

BY THE NUMBERS 

Here’s a look at small business loans on the North 

Shore, which the SBA considers St. Tammany and 

parts of Tangipahoa and Livingston parishes. 

Year Loans Total 

2007 121 $16.6 million 

2008 152 $26.2 million 

2009 118 $25 million 

2010 (through late June) 92 $17.5 million 

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration 

ing is that banks that are participating with 

SBA have a significant amount of loan activity 

compared to those that are not.” 

Extra paperwork 

One reason why SBA lenders are in short supply 

is because the process can be complex and 

requires extra time and documentation, 

experts say. 

“SBA loans do require paperwork, but 

those lenders need to assist with that paperwork,” 

Joubert says. “Hence, those banks that 

are making SBA loans have people trained in 

the program to facilitate the loan process.” 

Kurt Bozant, vice president and business 

banking officer for Regions Bank in Slidell, 

says there’s been little interest in SBA loans at 

his branch because of the extra steps involved. 

“A lot of the time with SBA, there’s more 

paperwork and fees involved (for the borrower), 

and it’s a little more cumbersome to 

process. A lot of customers I come in contact 

with don’t even want to do SBA loans,” he says. 

For that reason, Bozant says more of his 

clients turn to conventional loans before taking 

the SBA route. He says he hasn’t written 

an SBA loan in about two years. 

“Every now and then, I do have a customer 

who will come in and want to talk about an 

SBA loan. Then when I give them the documentation 

they need to do, we don’t hear back 

from them.” 

Michael Ricks, director of SBA’s Louisiana 

District office, acknowledges that some banks 

may be put off by the extra paperwork but says 

the SBA is willing to work with prospective 

lenders on the North Shore. 

“We do have staff here in the New Orleans 

district office that will go to lenders and conduct 

training sessions,” he says. 

The SBA has also been granted authority to 

hire a new lender relations specialist to assist 

with outreach efforts to the banks, Ricks says. 

“When I hear banks are reluctant to use 

SBA because they believe the process is too 

arduous, I take that as a failure on my part 

because I believe it’s my job to make sure that 

the lenders feel comfortable,” he says. “The

“When I hear banks 

are reluctant to use 

SBA because they believe 

the process is too arduous, 

I take that as a failure 

on my part because 

I believe it’s my 

job to make sure 

that the lenders 

feel comfortable.” 

MICHAEL RICKS 

director of SBA’s Louisiana District office 

North Shore is not really one of those areas 

where we’re seeing significant (lender) deficiency, 

but we do need to do a better job of marketing 

and training in the North Shore region.” 

Stimulus boost 

The increase in SBA loan demand on the 

North Shore is largely because of the federal 

stimulus plan, which took effect as the 

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 

early 2009, Ricks says. 

The act allowed the SBA to waive borrower 

fees, which can cost up to $50,000 in some 

cases. Although as of June, the SBA had run 

out of money for the fee waivers. 

The act also allows the SBA to increase its 

guarantee rate from 75 percent to 90 percent. 

That means if a $1 million loan goes into 

default, the borrower can request $900,000 

back from the SBA. 

“Without those provisions, I don’t suspect 

we would be doing nearly this well this fiscal 

year,” Ricks says. 

A $125,000 SBA loan was what brought 

Liz’s Where Y’at Diner to Old Mandeville last 

summer. The restaurant was a lifelong dream 

for Liz Munson, 46, who paid her dues as a 

waitress and restaurant manager for years 

before taking the leap. 

Until then, the most she’d ever borrowed 

was about $6,000. Now, the restaurant is taking 

on high-profile catering gigs and celebrated 

its one-year anniversary in July. 

“It’s growing very fast,” Munson says of her 

business. “And I couldn’t have done this without 

my loan. I don’t have that kind of money. I 

was a waitress. I was saving some money, but I 

wasn’t saving the way I should have.”• 

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PHOTO BY FRANK AYMAMI 


Business 

E D U C A T I O N 

Staying ahead of the curve 

By Richard A Webster 

Staff Writer 

richard.webster@nopg.com 

Superintendent Trey Folse addresses how he plans to keep 

St. Tammany Public Schools on top even in the face of budget cuts 

William “Trey” Folse III is the new superintendent 

of St. Tammany Public Schools, 

taking over for Gayle Sloan, who retired in 

July. Folse, deputy superintendent for the past seven 

years, has worked in the school system for 25 years, 

during which time St. Tammany schools have led the 

state in the quality of education they provide. 

But as Folse assumes control, he faces a variety of challenges 

that may force him to make some hard decisions. 

Q: St. Tammany Parish schools consistently rank near the top 

statewide, but what are some of the challenges you’re facing? 

A: We pay a percentage of each employee’s health insurance, and we’re seeing 

more unfunded state mandates that have increased the cost of health insurance. 

So there’s an extra expense that comes from that. We also have challenges with 

tax revenues being down somewhat. 

Q: How are you cutting costs to meet those additional 

expenses? Are you considering layoffs? 

A: Most school systems are having to do layoffs, but we’ve been very fortunate 

we’ve not had to do any. Through attrition and not replacing people, we’ve 

closed 120 positions across the parish. When somebody moved, retired or

esigned, those positions have not been filled. 

Every time a position opens, we look to see if 

someone else can pick up their workload or if 

it needs to be filled. We’re trying to look at ways 

to cut back on the budget wherever possible 

without having to lay off anyone. 

Q: How has attrition affected the 

classroom? 

A: It hasn’t impacted the classroom. Most of it 

has happened in our central office and support 

facilities. There’s been a 2 percent reduction of 

staff in schools and a more than 7 percent reduction 

at our central office, which includes supervisory 

positions. This accounted for $5 million 

in savings in next year’s budget, which started 

July 1. When you have to tighten your belt, I’d 

rather tighten it up here in the central office and 

not in the classroom with the teachers. 

Q: Can you continue to trim your 

budget through attrition while 

avoiding tougher choices? 

A: You get to a point once you do these types 

of things, you have to look at the next step. It 

will be interesting to see what the state does 

with us as far as funding. It will be interesting 

to see what sales taxes look like because, come 

December and January, you have to start looking 

at next school year. 

St. Tammany Parish Public Schools 

Superintendent Trey Folse and Assistant 

Superintendent Cheryl Arabie. 

I’ve been saying our class size is very good 

and something we’re very proud of. Our student-to-teacher 

ratio in the elementary schools 

is 19-to-1 and the state allows up to 25-to-1. I 

hope we don’t have to look at that as an area to 

save money but we may have to down the road 

if finances don’t improve. 

Q: You have several major projects 

in progress along with the opening 

of the new $52 million Salmen High 

School. While schools in New 

Orleans have languished for 

decades, how has St. Tammany 

managed to improve education and 

infrastructure every year? 

A: St. Tammany has constantly been at the top 

and it goes back to how much the community 

values and supports education, whether it’s 

teacher salaries, construction projects or millage 

renewals. Our PTA has the highest mem- 

A Louisiana Leader in Providing Audit, Consulting, and 

Tax Services to the Financial Service Industry 

Barry Kyle, CPA, Eric Bosch, CPA, Cheryl Haspel, CPA and Ted Mason, CPA 

New Orleans 504.835.5522 | North Shore 985.892.5850 | Baton Rouge 225.296.5150 

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bership by far out of any parish in Louisiana. 

We have an unbelievably supportive community 

with parents who value education. 

But with that come high demands. When 

they pass your bond issue with 80 percent 

approval and they continue to give you the 

money, you need to make sure the schools are 

top of the line. In five years, when we go back 

to the public and ask for money to renovate 

and remodel, we want them to have confidence 

that we have spent their money well and we are 

deserving to continue to build what they need 

and what’s best for the kids in the parish. 

Q: People are always saying that 

the younger generation of students 

is more problematic than the older 

generation. This is your 25th year 

working in the St. Tammany school 

system. Do you see a difference? 

A: I really don’t. I have a son who just graduated 

from LSU and a daughter who will be a 

junior at LSU. The technology and instant 

access to everything is different, but I think 

kids are still kids. They want to be loved, they 

want to be disciplined, they want to have rules 

and standards to live up to, and I think we 

need to challenge them with that. The goal is 

to keep the bar high because I believe anyone 

will rise to the expectations you set for them.• 

LaPort LaPort Sehrt Romig Romig 

Hand Hand is Southeast Southeast 

Louisiana’s Louisiana’s exclusive exclusive 

member member of the RSM 

McGladrey McGladrey Network, Network, a 

national national affiliation affiliation with 

RSM McGladrey, McGladrey, Inc./ 

McGladrey McGladrey & Pullen, Pullen, 

LLP, one of the 

nations’s nations’s largest largest 

accounting accounting firms. firms. 


North Shore private schools 

(ranked by annual tuition) 

School 

Address 

Christ 

Episcopal 

School 

80 Christwood 

Blvd. 

Covington 

70433 

Cedarwood 

School 

607 Heavens 

Drive 

Mandeville 

70471 

St. Paul's 

School 

917 S. Jahncke 

Ave. 

Covington 

70434 

St. 

Scholastica 

Academy 

122 S. 

Massachusetts 

St. 

Covington 

70433 

Northlake 

Christian 

School 

70104 

Wolverine 

Drive 

Covington 

70433 

Pope John 

Paul ll High 

School 

1901 Jaguar 

Drive 

Slidell 70461 

Archbishop 

Hannan High 

School 

71324 Highway 

1077 

Covington 

70433 

Kehoe-France 

Northshore 

25 Patricia 

Drive 

Covington 

70433 

Our Lady of 

the Lake 

Roman 

Catholic 

School 

316 Lafitte St. 

Mandeville 

70448 

Holy Trinity 

Lutheran 

School 

1 N. Marigold 

Drive 

Covington 

70433 


Phone 

Fax 

Tuition 

Fees 

871-9902 

871-9912 $7,700 

$400 per 

family 

building fee 

845-7111 

845-0669 $6,585 

$695 

892-3200 

892-4048 $6,450 

$300 

registration, 

$150 

building 

maintance 

892-2540 

893-5921 

635-0400 

893-4363 

649-0914 

649-5494 

249-6363 

249-6370 

$6,425 

registration 

- $400; 

tuition 

deposit - 

$300 

$6,300 

$650 

$6,200 

9th and 

10th: 

$1,060; 

11th: 

$1,260; 

12th: 

$1,410 

$5,800 

$200 

Total 

enrollment 

No. faculty Grades 

taught 

515 

65 

350 

42 

850 

70 

725 

56 

800 

100 

345 

26 

280 

23 

892-4415 

875-7636 $5,800 

$600-$975 386 

50 

626-5678 

626-4337 $4,219 

$165 

892-6146 

892-3012 

$3,800 

$400 

800 

55 

77 

15 

Pre-K 

through 

10 

2 year 

olds 

through 

7 

8 

through 

12 

8 

through 

12 

Pre-K 

through 

12 

9 

through 

12 

8 

through 

12 

Pre-K 2 

through 

7 

3 year 

olds 

through 

7 

18 

months 

to 4 

years 

Average 

class 

size 

Business 

Affiliation 

Student mix 

18 Episcopal 

coed 

17 nondenominational 

coed 

23 Catholic, Christian 

Brothers 

all male 

22 Catholic 

all female 


coed 

25 Catholic 

coed 

20 Catholic 

coed 


coed 

25 Catholic 

coed 

12 Lutheran 

coed 

Year 

founded 

Top administrator 

Title 

Web site 

1984 John Morvant 

headmaster 

www.christepiscopalschool.org 

1983 Kathryn LeBlanc 

president 

www.cedarwoodschool.com 

1911 Brother Raymond Bulliard 

principal 

www.stpauls.com 

1903 Marguerite Celestin 

president 

www.ssacad.com 

1978 L. Joe Shorter 

head of school 

www.northlakechristian.org 

1980 Richard Berkowitz 

principal 

www.pjp.org 

1987 Fr. Charles Latour 

principal 

www.hannanhigh.org 

1996 Kyle France 

director 

www.kehoe-francens.com 

1890 Frank Smith 

headmaster 

www.ourladyofthelakeschool.org 

1992 Debby Nelson 

director 

www.myholytrinity.org/ 

school_main.htm

North Shore private schools 

(ranked by annual tuition) 

School 

Address 

St. Peter Catholic 

School 

130 E. 

Temperance St. 

Covington 70433 

St. Margaret Mary 

1050-A Robert 

Blvd. 

Slidell 70458 

Our Lady of 

Lourdes School 

345 Westchester 

Blvd. 

Slidell 70458 

First Baptist 

Christian School 

4141 Pontchartrain 

Drive 

Slidell 70458 

Lake Castle 

Private School 

235 Highway 21 

Madisonville 70447 

Phone 

Fax 

Tuition 

Fees 

892-1831 

898-2185 $3,685 

$465 

643-4612 

643-4659 $3,475 

$465 

643-3230 

645-0648 $3,350 

registration 

$150; Clarion 

Herald $15; 

nonsupport 

$300 

643-3725 

641-9205 $3,280 

$425 

845-3559 

845-3537 

$3,000 

$610-$710 

Bring your team to visit the NOLA Zephyrs’ 

Field of Dreams 

Private use of Zephyr Field for your organization: 

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�� 

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Call for more information now! 

504-734-5155 

Total 

enrollment 

No. faculty Grades 

taught 

735 

55 

750 

40 

555 

33 

255 

17 

600 

42 

The Zephyrs offer 

several ticket 

packages: 

The Zephyrs offer 

several ticket 

packages: 

FULL SEASON TICKETS 

FIREWORKS 

WEEKEND WARRIOR 

CORPORATE 

GROUP RATES 

FULL SEASON TICKETS 

FIREWORKS 

WEEKEND WARRIOR 

CORPORATE 

GROUP RATES 

Come for yourself! 

www.zephyrsbaseball.com 

504-734-5155 

6000 Airline Dr. 

Metairie, La. 70003 

Pre-K 4 

through 

7 

Pre-K 4 

through 

8 

Pre-K 

through 

8 

1 

through 

12 

Pre-K 

through 

8 

Average 

class 

size 

Business 

• Tax Planning & Preparation 

• Business Valuations 

• IRS Representation 

• Business Planning & Consultation 

• Financial Statement Preparation 

“ 

Affiliation 

Student mix 

WND Catholic 

coed 

26 Catholic 

coed 

25 Roman Catholic 

coed 

23 Southern Baptist 

coed 


coed 

Year 

founded 

Let’s get started now! Give us a 

call to schedule an appointment 

for your initial review... and 

enjoy the confidence of 

tax preparation that’s both 

professional and personal. 

“ 


Title 

Web site 

1843 Melody Barousse 

principal 

stpetercov.org 

1966 Bobby Ohler 

principal 

www.saintmm.org 

1929 Robert Kiefer 

principal 

www.ollonline.com 

1989 Mona Nelson 

administrator 

www.fbcslidell.org 

1995 Barry Butera 

principal 

www.lakecastle.com 

The above information was provided by the schools. Any additions or corrections should be mailed on school letterhead to Research, North Shore Report, 111 Veterans Blvd., Suite 1440, 

Metairie LA, 70005. 

Toni McCord, CPA, CVA 

3925 N. I-10 Service Road • Suite 215 • Metairie, LA • 504.888.8333 

#4 Sanctuary Boulevard • Suite 304 • Mandeville, LA • 985.727.7797 

www.tmccordcpa.com 


985-727-7275 • 235 St. Ann Dr. • Suite 2 • Mandeville 


You Can Live Pain Free! 

SOUTHERN PAIN CENTER 

MARK S. DENNIS, M.D. 

Diplomate, American Board of Anesthesiology 

We Treat Many Different 

Types of Pain 

including but not limited to 

• Neck & Arm Pain 

• Backaches & Headaches 

• Arthritis & Bursitis 

• Leg & Foot Pain 

• Nerve Pain 

• Fibromyalgia 

Business 

North Shore two-year colleges and four-year 

universities 

(listed in order of enrollment) 

Name 

Address 

Southeastern Louisiana 

University 

SLU P.O. Box 10752 

Hammond 70402 

University of Phoenix, 

Louisiana Campus 

1001 Ochsner Blvd., Suite 

100 

Covington 70433 

Northshore Technical 

College 

1710 Sullivan Drive 

Bogalusa 70427 

Delgado Community 

College 

207 E. Lockwood St., 

Covington 70433; 

320 Howze Beach Road 

I-10 Service Road, Slidell 

70461 

Saint Joseph Seminary 

College 

75376 River Road 

St. Benedict 70457 


Title 

John L. Crain 

president 

Brent S. Lyons 

state vice president 

and director 

William S. 

Wainwright 

regional director/ 

dean 

Ron D. Wright 

chancellor 

Rev. Gregory Boquet 

Jude Lupinetti 

president and rector 

Total 

enrollment Annual 

tuition Internet address Academic specialties 

15,160 $2,546 www.selu.edu biological science, business, 

education, engineering technology, 

nursing and health sciences, global 

development, computer sciences, 

supply chain management, liberal 

arts 

6,800 $8,280 www.phoenix.edu/ 

louisiana 

arts and sciences, business and 

management, criminal justice and 

security, education, human 

services, nursing and health care, 

psychology, technology 

3,744 $1,068 NorthshoreCollege.edu health occupations, drafting and 

design, transportation, construction 

trades, manufacturing trades, 

mining industry, human services, 

corrections, business and 

information technology 

2,370 $1,690 www.dcc.edu allied health, business, computer 

technology, education, fine arts, 

general education, horticulture 

83 $12,250 www.sjasc.com philosophy, theology, liberal arts 

Enrollment and tuition information is provided by the Louisiana Board of Regents and the colleges and universities themselves. Any additions or corrections should be sent on school 

letterhead to Research, New Orleans CityBusiness, 111 Veterans Blvd., Suite 1440, Metairie 70005

Window Shopping 

Layers of Fall 

Return to the routine of fall in style. Adjust to 

earlier waking hours and cooler evenings with 

simple monochrome basics that easily layer 

By Ariella Cohen 


ZIP IT! 

The crawfish zip-up is a perennial classic for 

the whole family. This lightweight zip-up will 

keep you comfortable as temperatures drop. 

Perlis Clothing, Mandeville 

$70 

674-1711 

AT EASE 

Go military with this distressed 

denim skirt. Wear with bare 

legs in those steamy September 

days and pair with bright 

leggings as the weather cools. 

Blue Roof Denim, Mandeville 

$135 

624-4680 

FOOTLOOSE 

Be green this school year with organic cotton Sidewalk 

Surfers. Slip-ons make for easy style on the run. 

Massey’s Professional Outfitters, Covington 

$34.99 

809-7544 CLIP ART 

Make school special with ultra-adorable handmade hair 

barrettes — different pairs to match your little girl’s mood. 

Sugar Cane Kids, Mandeville 

$7 a pair 

674-5590 

MIGHT AS 

WELL JUMP 

For that date night when the kids are 

with the babysitter. Sporty, sassy 

jumpsuits are in again this season. 

Pair with heels and call it a night. 

Eros, Mandeville 

$94 

727-0034 


By Christine Fontana 


For diners desiring a tropical twist in 

their kitchens, Caribbean flavors 

can transport those thoughts of 

sunny, breezy days in the sun and 

sand with palm trees swaying and 

cold drinks in hand. Jeff Vincent, 

co-owner of Jerk’s Island Grill in Covington, 

offers a perfect island experience right at home 

with these Caribbean-inspired recipes. 

“Iggy’s Pirate Punch will instantly give you 

that Ahhh feeling you want with a rum drink,” 

Vincent says of Jerk’s quintessential Caribbean 

drink, developed with a mixologist and named 

for the restaurant’s iguana mascot. “This is 

truly for people who love visiting the Caribbean 

and Gulf Shores and that area. The coconut 

rum really delivers that desired tropical flavor.” 

A signature cocktail at Jerk’s, this rum punch 


Off the Menu 

gets its blue hue from a Blue Curacao floater. 

“And making this drink with real juices 

gives it great fruit flavor without being cloyingly 

sweet,” Vincent adds. 

For more tropical flair, garnish the cocktail 

with a wet bamboo skewer laced with an 

orange slice, a piece of pineapple and a 

maraschino cherry. 

Jerk’s version of guacamole is a totally 

refreshing dish, made with ripe mangoes and 

velvety avocados, and Vincent has heard many 

a patron rave about it. 

“Habanero sauce gives it some bite and 

heat, and the avocados pair well with the sweet 

mango,” Vincent says. 

The avocado meat is scooped out and a 

good level of chunkiness is the desired consistency 

for this guacamole. 

“Be careful to not overblend it, Vincent 

says. “You want to fold together, not puree, the 

ingredients.” 


Tropical blast 

Make waves with cool, Caribbean flavor in your own kitchen 

And not only does this scrumptious snack 

rightfully belong on chips, it’s fantastic on sandwiches, 

wraps and roti (flat Indian bread). 

Montego Bay Shrimp makes a nice presentation 

on skewers and the assembly prep 

work can be done in advance. Vincent suggests 

using large, deveined shrimp with tails 

on for this recipe. 

“Seafood picks up flavor fast when marinated 

for an hour, but marinate the shrimp between 

three and four hours for a more intense, garlicky 

flavor,” says Vincent, who recommends using 

raw, not blanched garlic for a robust taste. 

“The challenge and caution with grilling 

shrimp is not to overcook them,” he says. 

“Turn shrimp once on the grill and look for a 

pink color and they’re done.” 

The finishing touch is a coat of vibrant 

mango chili glaze on the shrimp during 

grilling, another coat before serving and a side 

of the glaze for dipping.•

MONTEGO BAY SHRIMP 

Serves 3-4 

Chipotle marinade: 

5/8 pound garlic, raw not blanched 

16 ounces peanut oil 

1/4 cup canned chipotle peppers in adobo liquid included 

Combine the oil and the chipotle peppers in a food processor until pieces are 1/8inch 

to 1/4-inch in size. Add garlic and mix well. Place in a slow cooker set on low 

and cook overnight. Makes about three cups of marinade and can be refrigerated 

for up to five days. 

Mango Chili Glaze: 

1 habanero pepper, stem and seeds removed and minced 

1 cup mango juice 

1 tablespoon rice with vinegar 

1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes 

1/4 cup fish or shrimp stock 

1/4 cup honey 

Combine habanero, mango juice, vinegar, chili flakes and fish sauce in a small 

saucepot. Let reduce and thicken over medium heat. Remove from heat and 

whisk in honey. 

Montego Bay Shrimp: 

Large tail-on shrimp 21-25 count 

1/2 cup chipotle marinade per pound of shrimp 

Salt and pepper 

Place shrimp in mixing bowl. Salt and pepper shrimp. Stir chipotle marinade well and 

add to the bowl. Tumble shrimp with chipotle marinade to coat the shrimp thoroughly. 

Skewer shrimp and allow marinade to season shrimp for one hour before grilling. 

Place on hot grill and cover for about two minutes; look for dark scores and the tails 

to turn pink. Flip skewers and generously coat shrimp with mango chili glaze. Finish 

cooking. Coat both side of shrimp with mango chili glaze once more before serving. 

Serve with side of mango chili glaze for additional dipping and a lime wedge. 

IGGY’S PIRATE PUNCH 

Serves 1 

1 1/4 ounces Cruzan light rum 

1 1/4 ounces Cruzan coconut rum 

2 ounces orange juice 

2 ounces pineapple juice 

Blue Curacao floater 

Combine all ingredients except the Blue Curacao in a 16-ounce glass filled with 

ice. Shake and top with a splash of Blue Curacao. Garnish with fresh pineapple 

and a cherry. 

TROPICAL GUACAMOLE 

Serves 2 (appetizer) 

2 avocados 

1/2 tablespoon lime juice 

1 1/2 tablespoons Jerk’s Island Grill habanero sauce 

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil 

1/2 cup diced mango 

1/2 cup diced tomato 

1/4 cup diced onion 

1/4 cup chopped cilantro 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon pepper 

Place all ingredients except the avocado into a mixing bowl. Using a pastry cutter, 

stir the ingredients in the bowl to evenly distribute. Add the avocado (Haas 

avocados preferred) and chop roughly with the cutter. Fold the avocado in with 

the other ingredients until blended but not pureed. Refrigerate until ready to 

serve. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips. 

— Recipes courtesy of Jerk’s Island Grill 


By Suzy Kessenich 


Five-month-old William Estop rolls with the tide in his nursery 

put together cleverly by his mother, Julie Estop. Both parents, 

Julie and Chris, are avid fans of University of Alabama in 

Tuscaloosa, and they are letting their true colors show in their 

infant son’s Mandeville nursery. 

“I thought it would be fun to see how crimson red and 

houndstooth would come together as a theme for our son’s 


Julie Estop and baby 

William relax in the slider 

rocker surrounded by a 

playful theme of elephants, 

crimson and houndstooth. 

Favorite Spaces 

Baby Bama Booster 

A crimson-themed nursery reveals 

a Mandeville couple’s true colors 

nursery,” Julie says. “I am quite pleased with the results for 

William’s room. The elephants and houndstooth actually 

worked pretty well in the scheme of things.” 

Julie was inventive with her application of red gingham and 

houndstooth-print fabrics for a grouping of framed elephant cutouts 

and finished with crimson red frames. Carrying on the fabric element, 

a fabric cutout of “WILL” is anchored over the crib with red 

ribbon bows. The addition of red and white toile fabric used as a 

valance and a black and white gingham dust ruffle mixed with black 

and white houndstooth turned out to be a precious combination. 

PHOTOS BY RUSSELL PINTADO

Home 

T r e n d s 

5 tips for creating a playful, designer 

nursery your child can grow into 

1. Get more value and longevity from your baby’s furniture with a crib that converts to a toddler bed then to a day bed. 

2. Animals are natural in a baby’s room, but college mascots can really make a fun statement. Plus, a child can grow 

into the theme past infancy. 

3. Get a personalized designer look for less by creating decoupage and cutout framed pieces using the child’s name. 

4. Mix classic elements with the unexpected. Toile is a an elegant fabric design that adds flair and sophistication to 

any room, but is especially interesting when incorporated with masculine themes such as sports teams. 

5. Create a cohesive look by using different fabrics and prints with an ongoing color scheme, such as mixing gingham 

with houndstooth in black and white. 

Julie and baby William spend quiet moments seated in the 

slider rocker with a throw pillow in red piped houndstooth and 

matching comforter. The room is accented with red shag area 

rugs over wood floors. A carved wooden elephant and lamp 

with a red shade on the night table adds to the theme. Animal 

themes are a natural fit for a baby room’s décor, and college 

mascots often are a fun way to incorporate them. 

DESIGN TIP 

Create a cohesive look by combining 

different fabrics and prints in the same 

color scheme, such as mixing toile 

with houndstooth in black and white. 

The nursery furniture by Munier is solid cherry wood built so 

William can grow into it with a toddler bed then later a day bed. 

The changing table is a chest of drawers topped with creamy dotted 

Swiss fabric covering the changing pad. 

“We are delighted with the outcome of Will’s room, surrounding 

him with the crimson tide motif,” Julie beams. “We 

hope a new Bama fan has been born. Roll tide!”• 


Your Health 

1327 W. Causeway Approach 


985.727.2834 OR 1.800.375.0198 

Fax: 985-727-2894 

joevizzini@assetonellc.com 

www.wealthplanning4u.com 


�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

�� 

Securities offered through Girard Securities, Inc., member FINRA/ SIPC. 

Investment advisory services offered through Asset One, LLC, a registered 

investment advisor not affiliated with Girard Securities, Inc. 

Glaring Error 

Patients don’t always connect 

vision problems to computer use 

By Diana Chandler 


It’s not unusual to spend the morning connecting 

with Facebook friends, tweeting 

about the latest craze and reading the headlines 

online, all before going to the office and 

checking e-mails and typing on the computer 

most of the day. 

All this technological connectivity can have 

unwanted physical side effects: trouble focusing 

on the words on the screen, dry and tired 

eyes, headaches, neck aches and backaches. 

There’s a term for all that — computer 

vision syndrome — and you may have it. But 

don’t panic. CVS can be corrected and it 

won’t permanently harm your vision, 

optometrists say. 

Up to 90 percent of people who work on 

computers have a corresponding vision complaint, 

says Dr. Patrick Adema of Adema Vision 

Clinic in Mandeville. CVS symptoms include 

eye strain, headaches, blurred near vision, dry 

eyes and poor posture as a result of spending 

long hours staring at the computer screen. 

The best way to prevent CVS, Adema 

says, is a thorough eye examination to check 

for eye refraction errors, muscle balance, 

focusing problems and eye health issues such 

as dry eyes. 

“Then, having the doctor prescribe the 

best glasses for the computer, vision therapy, 

artificial tears if needed,” Adema says. “And 

discuss ergonomic issues." 

Using computer screens causes problems 

unrelated to reading from a printed page 

because the letters on a screen are not as precisely 

defined, we stare and blink less, and 

workstations, if not properly positioned, alter 

our vision and posture, according to the 

American Optometric Association. 

Adema treats CVS with vision therapy and 

computer glasses when needed. But not everyone 

who walks in the office with computerrelated 

complaints needs such a fix, he says. 

“Most patients walking in who work on the 

computer probably have some form of complaint,” 

Adema says. “It’s just a matter of how 

much of a complaint does it create for you. It 

does no permanent damage to the eye.” 

Most patients don’t automatically connect 

their vision problems to the computer, 

Adema has found. If the problem is severe

SCREEN TEST 

Doctors recommend 

these techniques for 

preventing computer 

vision syndrome: 

• Have your vision 

checked regularly. 

• Look away from the computer 

screen for 20 seconds every 20 minutes. 

• Place the computer screen 4 inches to 5 inches 

below eye level and 20 to 28 inches from your eyes. 

• Adjust your desk to prevent glare from windows 

or other light sources. 

• Reduce room lighting to match the computer 

screen. 

• Blink frequently to moisten the front surface of 

the eyes. 

Source: The American Optometric Association 

enough for patients to make the connection, 

he says, patients usually have an underlying 

vision problem that has gone untreated. 

Adema says that while working on computers 

won’t worsen the far-sightedness that 

comes with normal aging of the eyes, known 

as presbyopia, there is evidence that daily 

computer use can speed the onset of nearsightedness 

among children if they’re already 

predisposed to the condition. 

Allowing children to use computers two and 

three hours at a time can cause them to develop 

nearsightedness sooner, Adema says. He recommends 

parents protect their children by getting 

them regular eye exams, limiting them to 

30-minute to one-hour intervals on the computer 

and placing the screen between 16 inches 

and 24 inches away from the child’s eyes. 

“The main problem,” Adema says, “is our 

way of life is dealing with computers. You 

can’t avoid it.” 

CVS treatment is often determined by the 

patient’s age and vision problems. People 

younger than 40 with normal vision may need 

therapeutic exercises to condition the eyes for 

computer use. People older than 40 who already 

use reading glasses for presbyopia may be dealing 

with a range of vision problems, Adema says. 

While their current glasses may help them read 

everything within a 16-inch vision range, their 

computer may actually be 20 inches away and 

outside their range of clear vision. 

Doctors might prescribe computer glasses, 

which essentially are reading glasses with a 

different vision range, tints and coatings, to 

patients with bi-focal problems because they 

have a shorter range of vision. 

Contact lens wearers of all ages will experience 

dry eyes and blurred vision with computer 

use and should use artificial tears and 

rewetting wipes, Adema says. 

He recommends preventing CVS by having 

regular eye exams, using better lighting and 

glare reduction screen covers, and adjusting the 

depth of the computer screen from the eye. 

“The biggest thing is taking a rest break,” 

Adema says.• 

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By Jennifer Larino 

Staff Writer 

jennifer.larino@nopg.com 


Taking the 

Electronic Technician Craig 

Wilde inspects printed circuit 

boards in the prototype lab at 

Globalstar Inc. in Covington. 

Initiative 

QUALITY OF LIFE AND A LUCRATIVE DIGITAL MEDIA 

QUALITY OF LIFE AND A LUCRATIVE DIGITAL MEDIA 

INCENTIVE — INSIDE GLOBALSTAR’S BIG MOVE 

TO COVINGTON AND WHY IT MAY HAVE LEFT THE 

DOOR OPEN FOR MORE COMPANIES TO FOLLOW 


Taking the 

Initiative 

As CEO of Silicon Valley communications 

technology firm Globalstar Inc., Peter 

Dalton has visited much of the United 

States and worked with businesses across the 

world. But he’s always kept a slice of southeast 

Louisiana close to home. 

Though Dalton is originally from New 

Jersey and has lived in California for decades, 

it was a 1997 trip along the Mississippi River 

that he says inspired the Antebellum-style 

porches and columns that he designed for his 

California ranch home. 

“You don’t find that very much in 

California,” Dalton says. 

But it wasn’t until a December 2009 acquisition 

that his penchant for Louisiana resurfaced 

in his business decisions at Globalstar. 

At the time, Dalton says, the company was 

wrapping up an $18 million deal to buy 

Covington-based Axonn, a satellite asset-tracking 

and messaging products developer and a 

key supplier for Globalstar for 10 years. After 

the acquisition, Dalton and Globalstar leadership 

had to decide how and where to expand 

the company while keeping a team of about 30 

highly skilled Axonn engineers who were root- 

�� 

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ed in Covington, he says. 

Though it has been a hub 

of engineering talent long 

before Globalstar was founded 

there in 2003, Silicon 

Valley was becoming a costly 

place of doing business and 

distant from project hubs in 

New York and Washington, 

D.C., Dalton says. 

The company considered 

moves to cities such as Dallas 

and Atlanta before Louisiana 

economic development leaders 

stepped in and started 

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selling the North Shore’s quality of life, 

expansive commercial space and fertile economic 

tax incentives in January. After a few 

months of talks, the state’s lucrative digital 

interactive media tax credit and the quality of 

the local work force sealed the deal, he says. 

“We learned the North Shore and pretty 

much the entire New Orleans area had, not only 

with (Axonn) but elsewhere, a very high-caliber 

resident engineering talent and that the schools 

were focusing on engineering in both computer 

�� 

�� 

TOUCHING 

DOWN 

Communications technology 

firm Globalstar Inc. announced 

July 13 that it will move its 

headquarters from Silicon 

Valley to the former Wink Cos. 

building in Covington at the 

intersection of Interstate 12 

and U.S. Highway 190. 

490 

Jobs Globalstar Inc. expects 

to create at its Covington 

headquarters by 2018 

$26.1 million 

Amount Globalstar will 

generate in new state tax 

revenue once it relocates 

Source: North Shore Report 

staff research 

science and program engineering,” 

Dalton says. 

Globalstar will relocate its 

headquarters from Milipitas, 

Calif. to Covington by the 

end of the year, moving 30 

employees with them and 

creating more than 150 new 

jobs by the end of 2011. 

The company expects to 

employ more than 450 people 

at the Covington headquarters 

by 2018. 

For North Shore economic 

development leaders, 

the numbers are just starting to sink in. 

“This is the quickest economic development 

deal we’ve ever been involved in,” says 

Brenda Reine-Bertus, executive director of 

the St. Tammany Economic Development 

Foundation. 

STEDF toured North Shore office parks 

with the company for much of this year, leading 

to its selection of the former Wink Cos. 

building near the intersection of Interstate 12 

and U.S. Highway 190. The perks of living 

Hammond Office 

600 SW Railroad Ave 

Hammond, LA 70403 

(985) 429-9899 

Mandeville Office 

4892 Hwy 22 


(985) 246-1000 

www.fcb-la.com 

Local People You Can Trust 

��

outside of the costly Silicon Valley area were 

quickly realized, Reine-Bertus says. 

“We had great school systems and coming 

from California you can only imagine the 

type of homes we had available were impressive,” 

Reine-Bertus says. 

On top of lifestyle perks, Louisiana 

Economic Development Secretary Stephen 

Moret says targeted economic development 

initiatives introduced throughout the courting 

process drove Globalstar’s decision. 

Original talks centered on keeping Axonn 

jobs on the North Shore by encouraging the 

company to base research and development 

operations in Covington. 

“We were talking about the addition of 50 

to 60 jobs and we were excited about that at 

the time,” Moret says. “Then we found out 

that it was conducting a confidential site 

selection to consider relocation.” 

Moret says Louisiana edged ahead of sites 

in six states and Canada with its digital media 

incentive program. The program offers a 25 

percent tax credit for production expenditures 

related to software development. 

Brian Beck, Globalstar vice president and 

general manager, talks with Brenda Reine-Bertus, 

executive director of St. Tammany Economic 

Development Foundation, in front of a map 

showing the company’s projects worldwide. 

�� 

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For Globalstar, which designs its own 

satellite communications software, the tax 

credit alone was a large plus. 

“The benefits of the digital media credit fall 

right to our bottom line,” Dalton says. “For any 

company, that’s a significant statement.” 

But for many companies, even lucrative 

tax credits are overshadowed by millions of 

dollars in moving expenses needed to locate 

here, Moret says. 

“In general, companies can quickly grasp 

the long-term opportunity for cost advantages 

but sometimes the cost to make the 

move represents the obstacles,” he says. 

On top of offering work force development 

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and recruitment services, LED will shell out 

$4.4 million in relocation costs for the company 

to move equipment and personnel. The 

money will come from a state fund that maintains 

about $15 million specifically for site 

selection deals, Moret says. 

“And we’ll earn that back and more over 

time,” Moret says. “In this case, this project in 

the first 10 years will generate $26.1 million 

in new (state) tax revenue. That doesn’t 

include another $8.2 million locally.” 

Matt Rookard, senior vice president of business 

development at Greater New Orleans 

Inc., says without proactive legislation such as 

tax incentives, recruitment and retention funding, 

the Globalstars of the world 

would overlook what Louisiana 

has to offer. 

“It just kind of shows how 

some of that bubbles up to the 

top,” Rookard says. 

He adds that the move is likely 

to feed increased interest in 

the North Shore and southeast 

Louisiana as a prime location to 

do business as they survey 

Globalstar’s experience. 

“They don’t have to dip their 

toe anymore because someone’s 

already done it,” Rookard says.• 

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SUCCESS 

ON TAP 

HOW HEINER BRAU MICROBREWERY MASTERED 

A NEW LABEL AND THE ART OF MARKETING 

WITH THE NORTH SHORE-CENTRIC 

COVINGTON BREWHOUSE LINE 


By Deborah Burst 


New Orleans once was home to a rich 

heritage of German brewmasters, working 

with names such as Fabacher, Dixie, 

Falstaff and Jax. Many have disappeared along 

with their German brewers. 

Today, only 1 percent of the country’s brewmasters 

are German, including Henryk 

“Heiner” Orlik, who has returned the art of 

German brewing to Covington’s historic district 

with the Heiner Brau Microbrewery. 

Inside a late 19th century hardware store on 

Lockwood Street, Orlik has mastered a new 

label, Covington Brewhouse, dedicated to the 

local brewing traditions of craft beer. As it turns 

out, the craft brewer also seems to have mastered 

the art of marketing. 

When Heiner Brau Microbrewery opened in the summer of 2005, nine copper tanks were set 

among an assortment of brewery artifacts fashioned in a museum format. Today, the artifacts are 

more of a backdrop for the brewing operation, making room for six additional tanks that are part 

of an operation that brews 10 different beers. 

Under the Heiner Brau label, the microbrewery produces three year-round beers — Kölsch, 

Maerzen and the popular Strawberry Ale — along with four seasonal brews, including a special 


See SUCCESS ON TAP, page 40

Inset: German brewmaster 

Henryk Orlik stands amid 

cases of Festbier, Heiner 

Brau’s popular Octoberfest 

beer, in the historic downtown 

Covington microbrewery. 


SUCCESS 

ON TAP 


Octoberfest beer between September and 

November. The brewery also has worked with 

some New Orleans-area chefs to develop custom 

brews that are available on their menus and 

used in some of their food preparations. 

Covington Brewhouse was introduced in 

March in what the brewery calls a rebirth of 

old-style German brewing, its contribution to 

the nationwide craft beer renaissance. 

The Covington collection features the 

Pontchartrain Pilsner, a lighter beer that 

complements local flavors, such as seafood 

dishes, and, as the tag line says, is as 

“refreshing as a gentle lake breeze.” Bayou 

Bock, a more full-bodied lager, boasts a 

sweet, malty aroma in a golden color styled 

against the Bavarian Heller Maibock, one of 

Orlik’s favorite European brews. 

Sales figures throughout the North Shore 

for the Covington Brewhouse label are 400 

percent higher than sales of other Heiner Brau 

products, says marketing manager Frank 

LeCourt, but the Covington collection has not 

tapped sales of original Heiner Brau products. 

“We’re on track for 2010 to increase production 

by 65 (percent) to 75 percent compared 

to 2009,” LaCourt says. 

The Covington Brewhouse label was the 

brainchild of Rob Mingo, principal owner of 

the microbrewery, while LeCourt developed 

the names. LeCourt uses sales numbers to 

determine what to brew, how much and 

when. Orlik manages the creative and technical 

side of the brewery. 

The introduction of the North Shore-centric 

Covington Brewhouse has proved to be 

key to introducing the microbrewery and its 

products to the local audience. 

LeCourt, who’s been in the food and bev- 

Henryk Orlik holds 

a foaming glass of Kolsch, 

one of Heiner Brau’s original 

year-round brews. 

erage industry for 30 years, says Louisianans go out of their way to support local products. 

Orlik sees that firsthand at beer tastings, where 

people ask for the local brews. 

“They are surprised at how good it tastes,” 

Orlik says. “You can have the greatest name 

and best package, but if the product’s not 

good, they’re not going to buy it again.” 

OKTOBERFEST 2010! 

The Heiner Brau Oktoberfest will move this 

year from the microbrewery grounds to the 

Covington Trailhead across the street. The 

festival will take place Oct. 8-9 and the menu 

will include German-style food with four draft 

beers: Pontchartrain Pilsner, Bayou Boch, 

Festbier and Strawberry Ale. 

Heiner Brau Brewery 

226 Lockwood St. 

Covington 

www.heinerbrau.com 

Another significant move for the microbrewery 

that influenced sales was a new distribution 

partner, Champagne Beverage, headquartered 

in Covington. Chris Russo, brand 

development manager, says the Pontchartrain 

Pilsner and Bayou Bock are an easy sell because 

of a three-tiered plan for success. 

“Henryk brewed a good beer, people enjoy 

it and you have a great distribution plan,” Russo 

says, adding that more than 25 draft taps of the 

new brews had been sold as of June. “The local 

niche is what people are looking for; they want 

to keep their money in this area.” 

Russo notes that craft brands in general 

have doubled in growth over the past three 

years. That trend combined with a locally 

brewed and branded label, and the growth of 

St. Tammany Parish, creates a greater demand 

PHOTO BY DEBORAH BURST

Hudson Folse, warehouse/packaging manager, 

stacks cases of freshly bottled Festbier. 

for the Covington Brewhouse beers. He said 

Champagne responds with placement in local 

and nationally owned supermarkets such as 

Winn-Dixie and Albertsons. 

“Managers are so willing to put it on their 

floor because it’s from their backyard,” Russo 

says. “I’ve been putting it up in local produce 

and seafood sections.” 

Launching the Covington Brewhouse label 

is like starting a new business for the five-yearold 

Heiner Brau Microbrewery, says LaCourt, 

and although the potential for growth is there, 

it’s hard to develop a timeline. 

“We know where we want to go, we have 

hopes for future expansion and there’s the possibility 

we will outgrow our current site,” he says. 

“We have visions of moving to a more commercial 

location and possibly taking it into a brewpub 

type thing. At this point, it’s just dreams.”• 

PILSNER PALATE 

In developing the Covington Brewhouse 

recipe, the Heiner Brau Microbewery team 

was looking for something lighter and more 

appealing to the American palate. 

“A creation between a European-style pilsner 

and an American premium pilsner,” says 

German brewmaster Henryk Orlik. 

“Something easier for a person coming from 

Miller or Coors to a craft beer.” 

Pilsner is lighter than the Kölsch, but 

bolder than most of the American beers. 

However, Orlik admits color plays a prominent 

role when Americans choose a beer. 

“The pilsner has a lighter golden color, so 

you automatically think it’s a light beer, so 

you try it,” Orlik explains. “You discover it has 

a body, a taste … more than water … so 

easy to fall in love with the beer.” 

— Deborah Burst 

�� 

Phyllis Montalbano, Loan Originator - Northshore 

Phone: 985-624-7085 

Fax: 985-624-7095 

Email: pmontalbano@guarantysb.com 

Pamela Buchtel-Hussey, Loan Originator - Southshore 

Phone: 504-841-6108 

Fax: 504-841-6118 

Email: pbuchtel@guarantysb.com 

Angele Belk, Loan Originator - Northshore 

Phone: 985-624-7082 

Fax: 985-624-7092 

Email: abelk@guarantysb.com 

�� 

Main Office: 

3798 Veterans Blvd. 

Metairie, LA 70002 

Phone: (504) 457-6220 

Fax: (504) 457-6227 

Mandeville Office: 

2111 N. Causeway Blvd. 


Phone: (985) 626-6229 

Fax: (985) 624-5032 

�� 

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Mid City Office: 

3915 Canal St. 

New Orleans, LA 70119 

Phone: (504) 483-7146 

Fax: (504) 483-8097 

Elmwood Office: 

5700 Citrus Blvd., Suite K 

Harahan, LA 70123 

Phone: (504) 736-5140 

Fax: (504) 733-8176 

Westbank Office: 

1800 Manhattan Blvd. 

Harvey, LA 70058 

Phone: (504) 361-3391 

Fax: (504) 361-7480 

�� 


Sunny Outlook 

After a partly cloudy courtship 

businesses hope St. Tammany will 

finally take a shine to solar power 

By David Muller 

Staff Writer 

david.muller@nopg.com 


Solar N Stuff office manager 

Dianne Falgout Long discusses 

the solar-based products the 

Covington store sells and installs. 


Sunny Outlook 

Solar power has been arriving in St. 

Tammany Parish over the past few 

years, but at a rate far slower than 

the speed of light. 

A few local businesses are trying to 

change this in the face of barriers that include 

funding, forests and the age of homes. 

“The biggest hold back in St. Tammany 

Parish is money, and another thing is the trees,” 

says Robert Farbe, owner of Farbe’s Electric. 

CHILDREN’S C H I L D R E N’S HOSPITAL H O S P I TA L NNEONATAL E O N ATA L IINTENSIVE N T E N S I V E CCARE A R E UUNIT N I T 

ESKEW+DUMEZ+RIPPLE, E S K E W+D U M E Z+R I P P L E, DESIGN D E S I G N 


“They don’t want to get rid of their trees.” 

Farbe, whose Lacombe-based business 

installs solar panel power-generating systems, 

says there are alternatives to tapping 

into solar power through roof-mounted systems 

but they are usually much costlier. 

A basic system is a big investment in the 

first place. They cost about $25,000, but 

federal and state tax credits can put 80 percent 

of the investment back in the home- 

construction 

design 

engineering 

steel 

millwork 

service 

owner’s hands. 

Fabre says installing a solar power system 

doesn’t pay off immediately — it can 

take up to three to five years — but there is 

a payoff. 

“Generally you’re going to be saving 

20,000 watts a day no matter what you use 

on the 4,000-watt system,” Fabre says, citing 

a typical setup. 

There are cheaper, less sophisticated 

ways to benefit from the sun’s energy, and 

one-year-old Solar N Stuff has set up shop 

on U.S. Highway 190 in Covington to capitalize 

on them. 

Tina Thomas, a bio-psychologist and 

bed and breakfast owner in Abita Springs, 

launched the business after taking a trip to 

California a few years back to visit a relative, 

where she immediately took a shine to the 

solar tube lighting used in the home. The 

tubular fixtures use reflection to send direct 

sunlight down a cylinder and into a home. 

It was a priority upon returning to 

Louisiana to install one at her own house. 

At the time, there were no solar tube light 

distributors in the state, so she had to order 

one from Vista, Calif.-based Solatube. 

She liked it, so she ordered another. And 

then another. 

“I ended up putting in seven solar 

tubes,” she says. 

Louisiana gets plenty of warmth, but 

contrary to what some believe, it is nowhere 

near the sunniest state in the union. 

According to the National Atmospheric and 

Oceanic Administration’s climate data, 

New Orleans has 57 percent of possible 

sunshine per year, putting it on par with 

Baltimore and Portland, Maine. 

The two other cities cited in the NAOA 

data were Lake Charles, which fared better at 

72 percent, and Shreveport, which registered 

a 63 percent of annual possible sunshine. 

“The biggest hold back in 

St. Tammany Parish is 

money, and another thing is 

the trees. They don’t want to 

get rid of their trees.” 

ROBERT FARBE 

owner of Farbe’s Electric 

on why solar power is not more 

prevalent on the North Shore

The Solatube Daylighting System features tubular 

fixtures that reflect sunlight through a cylinder 

into a home. 

By comparison, Western and desert towns 

such as Las Vegas, Phoenix and Yuma, Ariz., 

are the sunniest places; they are all in the mid- 

80s-to-90-percent range. 

Still, St. Tammany Parish’s woods and 

ample land area are reasons Thomas 

expects Solar N Stuff to do well here. 

“I think people are more environmentally 

aware on the North Shore,” Thomas says. 

“People move to the North Shore to be a 

part of the nature.” 

Aside from tubular lights, the company 

also sells solar-powered attic fans and hot 

water heaters. Price tags of these products 

range in the high hundreds to low thousands 

of dollars. 

Despite what some contractors say, the 

smaller tube lights, attic fans and water 

heaters do not qualify for tax credits, says 

Patrick Kelly, a spokesman for the federal 

government’s Energy Star program. 

“They would have to integrate into the 

house’s electric system, and they don’t do 

that,” he says. 

Solar N Stuff has no immediate desire to 

move into the large solar electrical systems, 

which generate power. 

“We’d rather be experts in what we do 

now,” Thomas says. 

C&S Supply appears to have been slightly 

ahead of the curve on the North Shore, becoming 

a distributor of Solatube products in 2006. 

But sales to the North Shore have been spotty, 

while demand seems to be greater on the 

South Shore, says owner Carl Conforto. He 

suspects this may have to do more with the age 

of homes on each side of the lake. 

“The North Shore is relatively new,” 

Conforto says. “Construction is new, and 

these houses emit a lot of light. Windows 

that go floor to ceiling are more common.” 

Conversely, he says, “that’s why there’s a 

draw over in New Orleans, in the Metairie 

area, houses are older.” 

Conforto says he has installed a few singular 

solar panels, not entire systems, in St. 

Tammany Parish and trees were not much of 

an issue beyond some minor cosmetic work. 

investing in america. 

At AT&T, we strive to strengthen our 

communities by providing good jobs, 

donating our time and talents, supporting 

the underserved and promoting educational 

programs and organizations that create 

opportunities for all. 

“We usually just tell people, ‘Cut that 

branch right there and you’re good to go,’ ” 

Conforto says. 

As a roofer, he says he sees his solar 

panel business as an ideal complement to 

what he does, and one that will only become 

more profitable in the future. 

“You got to go with the trend, and I 

think that’s going to be the thing of the 

future,” he says.• 

© 2010 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T and the AT&T logo are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property. 

att.com 



Your business & lifestyle magazine 

...when only �� will do! 

The North Shore is ��... so is ��! 

To get the �� from your �� 

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Where Passion 

Becomes Genius. 

www.lsu.edu/gold

T h e p e o p l e o f S t . T a m m a n y 

Community shots 

COURTESY OF CHAPEL CREEK 

Chapel Creek, a new residential development, held its ribbon cutting ceremony May 13 at 

200 Chapel Creek Place, Mandeville. From left: (front row) Christian Gautreaux, Deborah 

Trahan, Mandeville Mayor Donald J. Villere, Kristi Clark, Paige Graham, Stephanie Bedford 

and Laura Meyers. (back row) Jaclyn Raymond, Dani Mattek, Debbie Bornello, Debbie 

Younger and Brian Zoerner. 

COURTESY OF HABITAT FOR HUMANITY ST. TAMMANY WEST 

Florida Marine Transporters donated $50,000 from its annual golf tournament to Habitat for 

Humanity. From left: Jason Belcher, chief financial officer of Florida Marine Transporters, 

and Jeffery St. Romain, president and CEO of Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West. 

People 

Accounting 

LaPorte Sehrt Romig Hand CPAs in Covington announced Melissa 

Stanga was promoted from staff auditor to senior auditor. 

Awards 

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC recognized 

Mark Mercante as its Mandeville Pro Bono Attorney of the Year. 

The United Way named St. Tammany Parish 

President Kevin Davis the 2009 United Way 

Hidden Hero for St. Tammany Parish. 

LeAnne Cantrell, Gary Fayard, Melissa 

Hodgson and Dorothy Maloney are among 61 

Louisianians nominated for the 2010 Angel 

Award sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue 

Shield of Louisiana. 

Banking 

Metairie Bank promoted 

Charlene Forshee to assistant 

vice president of loan operations 

and James McBride to banking 

officer and assistant collection 

manager. 

First Bank and Trust named 

Chris Blossman vice president 

and business development offi- 

cer of the North Park Branch in Covington and 

Peter Link executive vice president and loan 

portfolio manager. 

The Louisiana Bankers Association named 

Reginald Smith Jr., president and CEO of 

Metairie Bank and Trust, chairman-elect to its 

2010-11 board of directors. W. David Crumhorn, 

president of St. Tammany Homestead Association, 

and Michael Nolan, chairman, president and CEO 

of Fifth District Savings Bank, will serve as the southeast region representatives. 

Education 

The Chris Duhon Stand Tall Foundation awarded scholarships to Adam Beasley 

of Fontainebleau High School, Michael Edward Braud of Slidell 

High School, Brittany Anna Bruhl of Covington High School, Bradley Thomas 

Hewitt of Northshore High School and Mary Ann Zar of Salmen High School. 

Health care 

Slidell Memorial Hospital named 

Dr. Ratnaker Pernenkil chief of 

staff, Dr. Janine Parker chief of 

staff-elect and Dr. Richelle 

Legnon secretary and treasurer 

as its 2010 medical staff officers. 

Dr. Daniel Tveit was named a 

member-at-large and Dr. Clinton 

Sharp the hospital’s board repre- 

Charlene 

Forshee 

Peter Link 

Melissa Stanga 

sentative. Department chairs are Dr. H. Elizabeth Stevenson, pediatrics; Dr. Ingrid 

Roskos, OB/GYN; Dr. Robert Shafor, surgery; and Dr. Marie Mahoney, medicine. 

Department vice chairs are Dr. Madhuri Dixit, pediatrics; Dr. Melissa Smith, OB/GYN; 

Dr. Heather Bronaugh, surgery; and Dr. James Griffee, medicine. Committee workgroup/chairs 

are Dr. M. Faith Joubert, P&T/IP workgroup; Dr. Agustin Suarez, cancer 

activities; Dr. H. Patrick Ragland, ethics; Dr. Elizabeth McBurney, library/CME; Dr. 

Kraig deLanzac, medical staff QA; and Dr. Janine Parker, critical care. 

St. Tammany Parish Hospital employees Mandie Head and Barbara Myers 

Oakes earned the certified professional coder designation and Amanda Walsh 

Send us your people news 

Mark Mercante Kevin Davis 

James McBride Chris Blossman 

Reginald Smith 

Jr. 

Mandie Head Barbara 

Myers Oakes 

Amanda Walsh 

See AROUND THE PARISH, page 48 

North Shore Report welcomes submissions for Around the Parish. To be considered for 

inclusion in a coming issue, information must be received six weeks to the anticipated 

publication date, which is the first day of the issue month. Submissions, including 

photographs, are published subject to space availability. Photos submitted by e-mail 

should be in color and in .jpg format. Black-and-white photos will not be published. 

Please e-mail all submissions to Jennifer Nall at jennifer.nall@nopg.com, 

or call (504) 293-9203 for more information. 

All photo attachments and submissions must include the subject’s name. 


AROUND THE PARISH, continued from page 47 

People cotinued 

earned the certified professional coder-apprentice designation. Employee Luis Marquez 

maintained certification as a critical care registered nurse for 20 years. 

Law 

The Louisiana Bar 

Foundation named 

Page McClendon, 

judge in the 1st 

Circuit Court of 

Appeals, a fellow. 

The Louisiana Lacrecia Cade 

Association of 

Black Women Attorneys named 

Lacrecia Cade president, Tara 

Mason president-elect, Arlene 

Knighten vice president, Eboni 

Townsend vice president for technology, 

Michelle Beaty Gullage 

secretary, Adrejia Boutte historian, 

Raashand Hamilton treasurer and 

Chauntis Jenkins parliamentarian 

to its board of directors. 

Maritime 

Tidewater Inc. named Deborah Willingham vice president and chief human 

resources officer. 

Marketing 

The Louisiana Society for Hospital 

Public Relations and Marketing 

named Rhonda Alfred president, 

Christine Albert president-elect 

and Nicole Hidalgo past-president 

of its 2010-11 board of directors. 

Members at large include Kelli 

Broocks, Kathy DeRouen, Charla 

Ducote, Jon Hirsch, Terri 

McNorton and Melanie Zaffuto. 

The New Orleans Chapter of the American Marketing 

Association named Kelley Troia vice president of programming for 

the North Shore. 

Nonprofits 

Habitat for Humanity St. Tammany West named Jeffery St. Romain 

president and CEO. 

The West St. Tammany YMCA named Amanda McInnis senior 

program director. 

FYI 

Openings 

Bistro de la Reine, 2306 Front St., Suite 21, Slidell. 

The Abita Springs Park & Ride facility, Highway 36, Abita Springs. 

Shakes Frozen Custard, 1331 N. Highway 190, Covington. 

Chapel Creek, a new residential development, 200 Chapel Creek Place, Mandeville. 

Olivier Couture bridal boutique, The Shops at Chenier, 1901 Highway 190, Mandeville. 

The CCC Miramon Center, 2515 Carey St., Slidell. 

Northshore Church, 310 Kensington Blvd., Slidell. 

The Slidell Animal Shelter, 2700 Terrace Ave., Slidell. 

Lagniappe Food & Spirits, 1503 Gause Blvd., Suite 105, Slidell. 


Tara Mason 

Michelle Beaty 

Gullage 

Rhonda Alfred 

Arlene Knighten 

Adrejia Boutte 

Christine 

Albert 

Eboni Townsend 

Chauntis 

Jenkins 

Melanie Zaffuto 

Jeffery 

St. Romain 

Real estate 

Danny Lyons, ERA Stirling 

Properties sales associate in 

the Mandeville office, earned 

the Certified Distressed 

Property Expert designation. 

Restaurants 

The Louisiana Restaurant 

Danny Lyons Sean Malone 

Association named Sean Malone, chief operating officer of 

Serranos Salsa Company, and Nick Deluzain, owner of Benedict’s 

Restaurant and Catering, to the LRA’s state board of directors. 

Transportation 

The New Orleans Aviation Board named Iftikar Ahmad director of 

aviation for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. 

Community shots 

Nick Deluzain 

Iftikar Ahmad 

COURTESY OF ST. TAMMANY WEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 

The St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce participated in a four-parish “North Shore 

Focus” event. Representatives from Livingston, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington 

chambers and the Southeastern Louisiana University Alumni Association gathered at the 

state Capitol in April to bring a unified voice to legislators. From left: Lacey Toledano, St. 

Tammany West Chamber; Michele Aycock, Hammond Chamber; Brian Abels, Livingston 

Chamber; Kathy Pittman, Southeastern University Alumni Association; Linda Crain, Franklinton 

Chamber; April Wehrs, Ponchatoula Chamber; and Jack Stewart, Livingston Chamber. 

Moving 

North Oaks Neurology Clinic relocated to 16033 Doctors’ Blvd. across from North Oaks 

Medical Center in Hammond. 

Re/Max Real Estate Partners relocated to 710 Brownswitch Road, Suite 3, Slidell. 

Business notables 

St. Tammany Parish Hospital earned the Gold Level Louisiana Hospital Quality Award for 

2009 at the annual Louisiana Health Care Quality Summit. 

A groundbreaking ceremony was held June 29 for the Greenbriar Community Care 

Center at 505 Robert Blvd., Slidell. 

Miscellaneous 

The St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce is accepting nominations for the Small 

Business Advisory Council’s 9th Annual Business Appreciation Awards. To download a 

form, visit www.sttammanychamber.org. All nominations must be received by Oct. 8.

Stirling performance 

Stirling Properties honored its top commercial 

agents from the New Orleans and Covington 

teams March 24 at its Commercial Division 

Award Ceremony. 

Emerald Award: Adjusted Gross 

Commission of $500,000+ 

and Most Transactions 

Rhonda Sharkawy –New Orleans 

Platinum Award: Adjusted 

Gross Commission of 

$200,000-$349,999 

Beezie Landry – Covington 

Will Barrois – Covington 

Chris Abadie – New Orleans 

John Arthurs – New Orleans 

Gold Award: Adjusted 

Gross Commission of 

$150,000-$249,999 

Lee de la Houssaye – Covington 

Bronze Award: Adjusted 

Gross Commission 

of $75,000-$99,999 

Amy Farnsworth – New Orleans 

Gaines Seaman – New Orleans 

Rick Skelding – New Orleans 

Well-deserved recognition 

St. Tammany Parish Hospital honored St. 

Tammany Hospital Guild, Hospice, Meals at 

Home and independent volunteers for their 

dedicated service at its annual Volunteer 

Awards Luncheon April 29. A total of 160 

volunteers were recognized with service 

awards for hours volunteered in 2009. 

Guild volunteers: 

500 to 599 Hours: Ruth Anthon, Henry Deist and 

Jewell Lorio 

400 to 499 Hours: John Copeland, Clare Drinkard, 

Michael Elliott, Betty McCormick, Juan Ortiz, Elliot 

Peralta, Phyllis Peralta and Maxine Resweber 

300 to 399 Hours: Gail Achary, Claire Bauer, 

Audrey Cooper, Ann Copeland, Patricia Reno and 

Lucille Thompson 

Top three Hospice volunteers: 

Ella Rose Carden for 669 hours, Kim Favaloro 

with 147 hours and Lucy Keefe with 215 hours 

Hospice volunteers giving 50 

or more hours: 

Charlotte Binnings, Mary Ann Brannon, Bill Gallop, 

Marisol Garcia, Dannie Goodwin, Bonnie Johnson, 

Joyce McHenry, Roselyn Rush, May Sammons, 

Barbara Stamps, Ann Torcson and Yvonne Whitson 

Arriving daily on your computer! 

FREE 

Daily Update 

Register today 

www.neworleanscitybusiness.com/dailyupdate.cfm 


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w o r d 

with John Crosby, Crosby Development president, local hero 

By Craig Guillot 


Age: 58 

Family: wife, Cathy; adult children, John III, Andrew, Christine 

Education: bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, Tulane University 

Hometown: New Orleans 

M 

andeville resident John Crosby became a local 

hero April 19 when he jumped into Lake 

Pontchartrain to help a despondent man who 

had jumped from the Causeway Bridge near mile marker 

13. Crosby treaded water with the jumper for more than 

seven minutes before police arrived to lift them both from 

the lake. Crosby, president of Crosby Development, took 

a few moments to tell North Shore Report readers more 

about what happened that day. 

How did you come upon the scene? 

I normally don’t even travel the Causeway but I brought a 

friend to the airport that morning. I was about halfway 

over the bridge when I saw a car stopped in the left lane. 

I slowed down and as I got close, a guy ran out the passenger 

side door and jumped off the bridge. 

What was going through your head 

at the time? 

Your first thought is that it isn’t even happening. I pulled 

in front of the car, walked to the side and saw him. He 

really wasn’t moving around much and his head kept 

going underwater. I couldn’t just sit there and watch this 

guy go down. It would have haunted me forever. 

So you jumped in? 

Yeah, I took my shoes off, put my phone down and jumped 

in about 10 feet on the side of him. I swam up behind him, 

put him in a headlock and treaded water for about seven 

minutes until the police got there. My father had done a 

similar thing in 1953 when he saved a man in the river. 

You must be a good swimmer. 

Yes, I knew I was in shape to do it and could tread water 

for a long time. I cycle about 100 to 150 miles per week. 

We were at mile 13 so there was no land or anything to 

swim to. I knew we’d have to wait to be hoisted out. 

Were you scared or concerned 

at any point? 

Not really. He was pretty much out of it so holding him 

wasn’t a concern. I was trying to talk to him but he just 

didn’t respond or say anything. The water was very 

cold and towards the end I started to shiver uncontrollably. 

When they got me out, they took off all my 

clothes and put me in the back of a police car with the 

heater on to warm me up. 

Would you do it again? 

I think so, depending on the circumstances. If it would 

have been at night in high winds, I’m not sure, but it was 

a calm day. Or, if he had been making an effort to help 

himself, I might not have jumped in. The guy needed help 

and I knew I could help him. 

Have you since had any contact 

with the man? 

No. His mother and sister did call me a couple days later to 

thank me. They gave me a little background on what he 

was dealing with. I just said to tell him that he has a second 

chance and not to waste it. You feel like you’ve really done 

something to help someone and I hope that if someone in 

my family needs help someday, someone will be there. 

Some people asked why I risked myself to help a 

man who (presumably) wanted to kill himself. I’ve actually 

had two friends that have had suicides in their family 

and they said they wish someone would have been there 

when they made that decision. That meant more to me 

than anything.•

HOW 

FAR 

W 

OULD 

Y 

OUTRAVVEL 

F FOR 

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business news - Deborah Burst

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