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International Rice Festival -
Honorees |
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2007
INTERNATIONAL RICE FESTIVAL PRESIDENT
Jeremy "Jay" Suire |
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Like most
life-long residents of Crowley, Jeremy “Jay” Suire,
J.D., has life-long ties to the rice industry. Reared
by an aunt who spent nearly 40 years as a french-speaking
receptionist/bookkeeper at local rice mills, Jay grew up
in a home where the primary source of income was the
rice industry and he has a deep appreciation for the
daily toils of the working men and women of our
community who have long kept the rice growing and the
mills running – feeding our local economy and the rest
of the world. Even today, a weathered old Eagle Rice
Mill employee time clock – a gift still stained by the
floodwaters of old – stands in the game room of Suire’s
home and serves as a constant reminder of the smell of
rice bran and the sound of the worn hardwood floors he
visited as a child at “Nan Dot’s office.” |
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Besides being a Crowley
native who looks forward each year to the autumnal
breezes that signal the approach of the International
Rice Festival, Jay has been an active participant in the
production of the state’s oldest and largest
agricultural event for nearly two decades – since the
very beginning of his radio career in 1987 under the
tutelage of the late Bill Williams and Shel Kanter. From
first broadcasting live coverage of festival events as a
young announcer for area radio stations, to ultimately
sharing the microphone as Master of Ceremonies for
parades, major stage events, and the Rice Festival
Queen’s Ball, Jay has become a familiar and entertaining
“voice of the Rice Festival.” Behind the scenes, Jay
has served for several years on the Rice Festival Board
of Directors and has proudly stood among the literally
dozens of volunteers who work each year to create a
festival that showcases the importance of rice as a
major world food staple and emphasizes the commodity's
storied historical role as a cornerstone of the world=s economy.
Jay graduated from Notre
Dame High School of Acadia Parish, received his Bachelor
of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University
of Southwestern Louisiana, and received his Juris
Doctorate from Tulane University School of Law. He is a
partner in the Glenn Armentor Law Corporation in
Lafayette, LA, where he limits his practice to the
representation of injured persons, consumers, and
families in cases involving negligent personal injury
and wrongful death.
A former radio personality
with a career spanning over a decade in the Acadiana
area, Jay has been privileged to exhibit his public
speaking and acting talents across America, most notably
by enthralling audiences in his critically-acclaimed
recurring role as former Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long
in the one-man play, “The Kingfish.” In addition to
maintaining a thriving law practice, he continues to be
a voiceover talent for radio commercials, civic
functions and other public events, and has even been
tapped to read books onto audio tape for visually
impaired students at UL-Lafayette. He is a fourth-term
elected Member-At-Large of the RPEC in Acadia Parish,
worked with the Louisiana staff of the White House
Advance Team for President Bush (41st) in 1992, and is
widely regarded as a rising young star on Louisiana’s
colorful legal and political scene.
Jay remains very involved in
various religious, professional and community
organizations. Jay is a member of
the Acadia Parish, Lafayette Parish, and Louisiana State
Bar Associations. He has served as state
chairman of the Louisiana Association for Justice - New
Lawyer Division and as Vice President of the Crowley
Town Club. He is currently the Co-Captain of the Krewe
of Town Revelers. He is a member of the St. Michael the
Archangel and Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Churches
in Crowley and is a Fourth Degree member of the Knights
of Columbus, having served as the youngest-ever Grand
Knight of Sacre’ Couer K. of C. Council 5499.
Passionate about his
heritage, his hometown of Crowley, and its
internationally vital rice industry, Jay is both honored
and humbled to serve as President of the 71st
International Rice Festival.
Jay Suire is married to the
former Laurie Anne Myers, who once served the Rice
Capital as “Miss Crowley” and who shares Jay’s passion
for their beloved hometown. They are the proud parents
of two sons, Grant Wilson Suire (4) and Harrison
Christopher Suire (2). |
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2007
INTERNATIONAL RICE FESTIVAL GRAND PARADE GRAND MARSHALL
Dave Petitjean |
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is one of the most respected
Cajun Humorists of all times. He has done much to
promote our Cajun heritage and at the same time bring
Cajun pride to our region. Because of Dave, Cajuns
throughout Louisiana have a great sense of pride and
accomplisment because we can easily laugh at ourselves.
Dave Petitjean, Jr. was born
January 11, 1928 in Rayne. His parents were Dave
Petitjean, Sr. and May Prejean. His father owned a rice
warehouse in Rayne. Petitjean graduated from Rayne High
School and then enlisted in the Navy. He played semi-pro
baseball and was also a hunting guide. When he returned
to the states after enlistment, he enrolled at SLI, now
UL-L, and received his BS degree in Agriculture in
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1950. He
began working for Olin Chemical Company selling
agricultural products.
He married Audrey
Ann Robicheaux of Crowley the year he graduated from
college. In 1950, we went to work for Delrico in Kaplan
selling rice seed and other agricultural products. In
1975, he went to work for Farm Bureau and after 25 years
of service, he retired in 2000.
Dave and Audrey
have two sons, George and Dave III, seven grandchildren
and seven great-grandchildren.
Dave Petitjean has
a gift for tickling your funny bone with warm fresh,
honest-to-goodness clean Cajun style humor. He recorded
his first album titled "My Frans" in 1961. His appeal is
wholesome, his delivery is sincere and he has a
delightful way of recounting the antics of his Cajun
friends.
He has entertained
in 42 states, recorded humor tapes, videos, CD’s and co-aurthored
the book "Cajun Humor." In 1985, he acted in his first
movie "Belezaire the Cajun" and since has appeared in 15
other movies, working with stars like Dennis Quaid, John
Goodman, Paul Newman, Ellen Barkin, Larry Hagman, Ned
Beatty, Robert Duval and Carroll O’Connor. On national
television, he has appeared on CBS This Morning and NBC
Sunday Morning. His humor has helped him open shows for
names like the Supremes, B.J. Thomas and George Jones.
Dave’s philosophy
is laugh, and the world laughs with you. Cry and you
will be alone. He who laughs, lasts. |
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2007
INTERNATIONAL RICE FESTIVAL HONOREE
Jimmy Hoppe,
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Jimmy and his wife Brenda
have been rice producers for over 40 years now; raising
rice, soybeans, wheat and milo on our family farm and
nearby acreage. Brenda is a registered nurse, serving as
Assistant Professor Nursing at McNeese State University.
They have two children; Steven and Caryl.
Jasmine 85 is Jimmy’s
domestically adapted Jasmine type rice. It was developed
to meet a specific market need of the Southeastern Asian
population that has immigrated to the United States. It
has become widely accepted by traditional rice consumers
as well as having characteristics that appeal to new
consumers. |
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It is a long
grain, aromatic specialty variety with a fragrant corn
or nutlike aroma and flavor. It’s grain type is long,
thin and is soft, moist and clingy when cooked. The
flavor and/or aromatic component comes from a naturally
occurring compound found in all rice as well as corn and
nuts. In aromatic rice it occurs at as much as ten times
greater concentration that in regular types of rice.
Its’ aromatic characteristic is pleasing when cooking
and its taste a special treat. Jimmy’s Jasmine Rice is
home grown and carefully handled to bring you a special
product that you can enjoy. |
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RICE FARMER
OF THE YEAR 2007
Richard B. Fontenot,
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was born into
agriculture, raised and nurtured by agriculture, and now
lives and breathes agriculture as his way of earning a
living every day of his life. His love for this way of
life is really shown in his support and promotion of all
aspects of Agriculture, as he has a deep love and
devotion to his chosen profession.
Richard married
Rhonda Miller 8 years ago, and they have been blessed
with a son who has just had his first birthday. Rhonda
is a school teacher, and enjoys Richard’s very active
and busy agricultural schedule working closely with him
on Farm Bureau organizational activities, and staying
very active in many of the organizations programs
herself.
Richard Fontenot
was born and raised on |
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the family farm,
which makes him fifth generation of
family to maintain and operate this farm. Throughout his
life, he has been involved with various aspects of
agriculture, from a young child working on the farm,
into school where he participated in 4-H and FFA
activities. While in school his love for agriculture
grew, as did his leadership skills, by participating as
an officer in 4-H and FFA, even holding offices in these
organizations on the state level. His love for livestock
as well as crops was also nurtured through these youth
programs, by participating in livestock shows, as well
as crop contests, exhibiting rice sheafs at the LA Rice
Festival in Crowley, LA, as well as at the LA State Fair
in Shreveport.
Richard Fontenot
received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture
Business, from LSU in 1991. While in college Richard was
very active in the Alha Gamma Roe, honorary ag
fraternity, as well as the Lamda Chi Alpha chapter of
Epsilon Zeta. His agricultural pursuits also led him to
be a member and officer of the Block and Bridle club on
campus. Also on weekends especially during planting and
harvest season the applicant would return home to assist
on the farm.
After receiving
his degree, he returned to the family farm to continue
his pursuit of making a living in agriculture. During
the first five years he continued to raise and manage
his small herd of cattle, acquired over his years of
showing and raising livestock in high school, and also
began to acquire additional crop acreage while working
as a laborer for the family farm operation. It was
always a goal of his to buy into his family’s farm, and
in 1996 with a loan from the bank he purchased his
grandfather’s share of the operation (50%). This
acquisition put him as a 50/50 partnership with his
father in the management and operation of the entire
farming operation.
Richard utilized
his agricultural training and education, by vertically
integrating the operation; both in crawfish and grain.
This was done
primarily through the addition of crawfish, and also
with the addition of wheat as a major fall crop added to
the operation. The soybean acreage was also expanded to
give more diversity to the farm and to spread the
inherent risks of the farming operation. He expanded the
farming operation to include a custom, precision land
leveling operation in addition to the regular farming
operations. To keep abreast of new information and
technologies available, the nominee has worked together
with the LSU AgCenter, as well as State Rice & Soybean
Producers groups and organizations for several years.
His service on the Louisiana Rice Research Board for 9
years has given him an inside view of how University
Research, such as the Rice Research Station, is
addressing the needs of rice producers, by identifying
these needs, and delegating research time, effort, and
dollars to assist with these problems.
A goal of
Richard’s was to become an advocate and trusted
spokesman for agriculture whether it is working and
developing the skills of others within his field or
promoting various business or commodity issues at all
levels. He has become a local contact person for all
agricultural and conservation issues and has been
involved on the state and national level with issues
dealing with policy development up to Farm Bill
legislation and action committees. |
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JR FARMER OF
THE YEAR 2006 John
Edward Hundley
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The 71st
International Rice Festival will recognize John Edward
Hundley as the 2007 Junior Farmer of the Year. John
Edward is the 18 year old son Michael and Katherine
Hundley, and is second of eight children. He is also the
grandson of the late C.J. and Annie Hensgens Hundley of
Mowata and Rose Marie Olinger John and the late Rep.
John N. John, Jr. of Crowley.
John Edward and
his family live on the family farm in Mowata. The family
farm consists of over 3,000 acres of rice, soybeans,
grain sorghum, wheat, and crawfish, which make up the
diversified efforts of this family operation. |
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Growing up on the
family farm allowed John Edward to learn early in life
the duties and responsibilities of a farmer. He was home
schooled throughout most of his elementary school years,
which allowed him to learn hands on the farming
operation and spend a lot of time helping his father on
the farm.
At age 10, John
Edward was the main cart driver during the harvesting
season. Although in the last few years his younger
brothers have taken over his cart driving duties, he now
helps operate the storage facility along with leveling
the rice and reading the samples. Each summer is filled
with red rice and weed pulling to assure the Hundleys of
quality seed rice. He is also responsible for managing
water, spraying levees and ditches, operating and
maintaining equipment. John Edward, while a senior in
high school, was able to participate in the Youth Loan
Program to fund his 1st rice crop through the USDA and
Farm Service Agency.
John Edward is a
member of St. Lawrence Catholic Church in Mowata where
he has been an altar server for the past 11 years. He
currently attends Louisiana State University at Eunice
where he is majoring in Agricultural Business. He is a
recipient of the Fritz Lang and Lee Berwick Agricultural
Scholarships. He is a 2007 graduate of Notre Dame High
School of Acadia Parish where he was a 2 year member of
FFA, a 4 year member of football and basketball teams,
and commissioned as a Eucharist Minister. John Edward
volunteered as a junior counselor at the Muscular
Dystrophy summer "Rainbow Camp" in Shreveport, LA. He is
a member of the Richard Volunteer Fire Department and as
assistant football coach for the Crowley Recreation
Department.
John Edward loves
to hunt and fish and his strong agricultural roots and
family dedication to farming is clearly evident in the
Hundley family. He is the 4th generation of rice growers
from the Mowata area. |
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2007
INTERNATIONAL RICE FESTIVAL GRAND
MARSHALL OF CHILDREN'S PARADE
Chad Monceaux,
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Grand Marshal for
the International Rice Festival Children’s Parade, says
"Educating and working with children has always been a
goal of mine." To be given this honor is very
overwhelming and makes all the hard work worth it.
The son of Terry
G. Monceaux & Barbara Simon Monceaux Chad is the proud
Father of Gage Monceaux. Chad is a life-long resident of
Crowley and graduate of Crowley High School.
Currently employed by the
City of Crowley Fire Department Chad holds the rank of
Captain, Fire Prevention Officer in charge of all public
education and serves as a member |
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of
the Honor Guard.
He is currently
the President of the Crowley Professional Firefighters
Association Local 1442. He began his career in fire
service 13 years ago where he was a volunteer for 6
years before he became a professional Firefighter. Chad
enjoys working with children of Acadia Parish, teaching
them the dangers of fire and the importance of fire
prevention. In the last four (4) years he has instructed
approximately 15,000 children in schools, clubs, and
various organizations. Chad has given up many days off
every month traveling to schools, clubs, and
organizations and witnesses to spread the word
of the dangers of
fire and the importance of preventing fire.
Assisting with
obtaining numerous grants to assist the Crowley Fire
Department with obtaining equipment for the help of
teaching fire prevention has been something Chad has
been involved in. In the last
5 years he has
acquired grants for the Fire Safety trailer, Pluggie and
a 10’ walk around Firefighter. This has been a wonderful
asset to Acadia Parish by helping to inform children
about fire safety.
Chad is an active
volunteer for MDA. For the last seven years he has been
assisting with the MDA Summer Camp, caring for children
ages 7-21. He has transported patients to yearly clinic
appointments, assisted with the Labor Day Telethon and
organized numerous fund raisers throughout the years.
When assistance is needed you can always call on Chad.
Chad has been a
Reserve Police Officer for seven years and is a part-
time dispatcher for Acadia Parish E-911. He is a Board
Member for Leadership EXCEL with the Crowley Chamber of
Commerce. He is a Child Passenger Safety Technician with
the Louisiana Passenger Safety Task Force. |
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2007 RICE
FESTIVAL PRESIDENT ELECT
Blane Faulk
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Born and raised in Crowley
Louisiana, in the heart of Cajun Country, Blane has a
great appreciation and understanding of what our rice
industry means not only to us, but our future. With a
father that started his career in the rice industry
working in a large mill in Crowley to a mother who grew
up on a farm in Higginbotham Louisiana near Church
Point, Blane has grown up with rice as a part of life
with these traditions dear to his heart. Today, with
many friends and family still farming rice, Blane
continues to praise the tradition, heritage, and
importance this industry is to this area. With recent
trips to the fields of South Louisiana for the
harvesting of rice with his family, he continues to
conclude that this industry is needed not only for food,
but for the livelihood of future generations to come. |
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With the amount of acres
being reduced each year for farming, he encourages
everyone to support the farmers who put their hearts and
souls in to what they do to benefit our food supply and
culture. There is a corner of Blane’s home dedicated to
the past farming era which includes an antique bulk
scale, rice thresher, rice sack and antique wooden
barrel. With the rice harvest season ending, the
successful rice crop celebration begins with the
International Rice Festival. He encourages you to enjoy
this grand festival, and as always, to eat more rice!
Blane is humbled and honored
to be your 2007 President-elect for the International
Rice Festival. Having served as a volunteer for over 15
years and on the Board of Directors for 5 years, he has
a real appreciation for the commitment and countless
hours that everyone puts in to host such a successful
festival. Each year, the festival grows not only in
size and activities, but in participation from people
wanting to become involved. Crowley hosts on a normal
festival weekend nearly 250,000 visitors. Being one of
the oldest agricultural festivals in the country, Blane
is proud to serve and be a part of such a unique
festival. Blane feels that this festival represents
many facets of life, industry, and heritage.
Blane works in the public
service sector of the parish for the Acadia Parish Clerk
of Court, Robert T. “Robby” Barousse, as his Chief
Deputy. He enjoys serving the public and helping to
protect the important records of our parish. With land
records being housed in the courthouse, he is dedicated
to assisting many of our area farmers with land deeds,
descriptions, plats, and leases which play a vital role
in the farming of land. He has been employed by the
Clerk of Court’s Office since January of 2000 and has
served on the Acadia Parish Planning Commission since
2004. Blane feels this commission is important to the
development and well-being of the Parish of Acadia for
not only economic development, but for the betterment of
the rural communities. He is involved in many
fundraisers for charity and public entities and he
thoroughly enjoys cooking and entertaining. Also known
to many as “Nighttrain”, given to him by his high school
history teacher Coach Richard Pizzolatto, he also enjoys
spending time with his friends and family and playing
golf.
Married to the former
Brittany Marie Billeuad of Lafayette, Louisiana, Blane
and his wife have a two year old son named Joshua Blane.
Living, working, and enjoying what south Louisiana has
to offer is appreciated by he and his family everyday.
After traveling to many parts of the United States and
abroad, home is where their hearts are. Blane feels
that the people of South Louisiana are the some of the
finest people in the world. From cajun music to cajun
cooking, and just good old hospitality, he states that,
“There’s no place I’d rather be than right here, right
now”.
His accolades and accomplishments
include:
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1989 graduate of Crowley High School
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Study in Drafting and Design from
Louisiana Technical College
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Numerous certifications in drafting,
design, and computer software
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Past Board Member for the Crowley
Town Club
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Member and treasurer for the Krewe
of Town Revelers
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Past usher for St. Michael’s
Catholic Church
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Past student mentor for Acadia
Parish
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Leadership Excel graduate
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Acadia Parish Elections Coordinator
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Board Member for the Acadia Parish
Planning Commission
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Louisiana certified Deputy Clerk of
Court
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Board Member for the International
Rice Festival
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Member of Farm Bureau
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Joint business owner with his wife
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2007
INTERNATIONAL RICE FESTIVAL VICE PRESIDENT
Janet Hebert,
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