As we were reminded during hurricane Ida, Louisiana is home to critical infrastructure that serves not only the region but the entire country. Ports and petrochemical plants line the Mississippi River from the Gulf past Baton Rouge. They are vital assets that keep life humming along, and in this digital age they are increasingly interconnected - and reliant on technology to function. Which means they – and we – are vulnerable to threats from cyber attacks. Very few people within a 500mile radius of downtown Baton Rouge know this more than Jeff Moulton. Jeff is President and CEO of Stephenson Technologies Corporation, a nonprofit applied research and development corporation that does cyber research and development, and also provides cybersecurity services for clients in the federal government, commercial and energy sectors. Jeff is also President and Chairman of the Board of a related entity, Stephenson Stellar Corporation, which helps provide next generation cybersecurity solutions for space systems. Jeff is doing a lot of cutting edge and highly classified work for some very impressive clients. He has in-depth experience within the intelligence communities assessing and defining corporate-level and globally deployable network security solutions. He also participates in numerous national and international cyber forums. For a bit of contextual background: Jeff is a native of Pennsylvania, who spent 24 years in the Air Force, before moving into his career in cybersecurity.  Jay Hardman is Executive Director of the Port of Greater Baton Rouge. The port is located in Port Allen on the west side of the Mississippi River and sits at the junction of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at its northernmost point. The Port of Greater Baton Rouge is the 8th largest in the world in terms of annual tonnage, and handles a variety of bulk and breakbulk cargoes for domestic and international markets in, primarily, the agricultural, forestry and petrochemical sectors. Jay has been with the port since 1999 and was named Executive Director in 2006. In his years at the helm he has overseen $45 million in infrastructure improvements, has been involved in enhancing port security measures, and designing and developing new economic development projects.  Out to Lunch Baton Rouge is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can see photos this show by Erick Otts at our website. And check out this lunchtime conversation about Baton Rouge's little known link to space and the mission to Mars. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's Baton Rouge: Out to Lunch

Cyber Port

How many kids have gazed up into the sky and pondered what it’s like to be an astronaut or space traveler? How many adults, for that matter? There’s something about outer space, which we get a glimpse of through the night sky, that excites the 10 year old watching Star Wars in all of us. But, deep space doesn't have any connection to Baton Rouge, does it? Yes, Luke, it does! Bob Fudickar is Executive Director of the LSU National Center for Advanced Manufacturing, which, among other things, is building the rocket NASA is sending astronauts to Mars. The center is located at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, and is home to  partnership between NASA, the state of Louisiana, LSU, UNO and the UNO Research and Technology Foundation. It was originally formed in 1999, and is a state of the art research and production center focused on applying advanced manufacturing technologies to lightweight composite and metallic materials in support of the NASA space program and adjacent industries. Bob Fudickar has spent his career in business and technology in south Louisiana, including stints at Arthur Andersen, General Electrics and NASA. Serena Pandos is Executive Director of the Louisiana Art and Science Museum, which among other things, gets a lot of kids thinking about going to Mars, and elsewhere in space. That’s because the LASM is home to the Irene Pennington Planetarium, a 60-foot domed theater that is one of the most sophisticated multimedia presentation venues in the country.    And the LASM is about more than just the planetarium. It is has a permanent collection of American and European art, Louisiana modern and contemporary art, photography and exhibitions on ancient Egypt, the solar system and the universe. It's not unusual for people living in small Louisiana towns to think they're the center of the universe. Think for example of Crowley that bills itself as "The Rice Capital of the World" or Ville Platte's self-bestowed title as "The Smoked Meat Capital of the World."  Here in Baton Rouge, with our contribution to conquering space and going to Mars, we have a legitimate claim to our place as the actual center of the universe! Out to Lunch Baton Rouge is recorded over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can see photos from this show by Erik Otts at our website. And, believe it or not, there are other companies in Baton Rouge in the space industry. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From Baton Rouge to Mars

Our Cajun Creole heritage in south Louisiana is famous all over the world. People come here for food, music, and historic architecture they can t get anywhere else. And for those who can't get here, or who want a taste of Louisiana once they get back home, we have some crafty entrepreneurs who have figured out how to capture our local culture, bottle it or box it and export it to folks outside Louisiana. Primo Troy Primeaux is the co owner of Primo's Peppers. It's a company that grows several varieties of organic hot peppers which it then sells to specialty food manufacturers not only in south Louisiana but across the country for use in products like hot sauces, spice blends and even coffees. Primo also uses its peppers in its own line, Farmer's Daughter pepper jellies, made by Troy s wife and business partner, Kara Farmer. If you're a part of the international cult of pepper-heads, which is quite a sizeable group, you will recognize Troy, or at least his name, as the grower of The Primo, the world's hottest pepper. A pepper's heat is measured in "Scovilles." A jalapeno pepper is around 5,000 Scovilles. Troy's Primo Pepper is  a mind-blowing, record-busting1.5m Scovilles. Yes, that's right, 300 times hotter than a jalapeno, Cajun Crate Tara Guidry is another entrepreneur who is turning up the Cajun heat and has figured out how to capitalize on Louisiana culture. Tara Guidry is owner of Cajun Crate. Cajun Crate is a monthly subscription that delivers specially curated boxes filled with Louisiana made products. Each box contains a different array of homegrown Cajun products like coffee, beignet mix, jambalaya, etouffe sauce, and much more. (And go ahead and click on these links: even if you're born and raised in Louisiana you're going to discover some gems you didn't know about.) Cajun Crate partners with chefs and tastemakers from Louisiana to find the best products from around the state that to deliver to subscribers. There are hyper-local gems known only to inhabitants of small Louisiana towns who are getting a break into a national market thanks to being included in Tara's Cajun Crate. Out to Lunch Baton Rouge is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You  can see photos from this show by Ken Stewart at our website. And meet another Lafayette entrepreneur who's making waves, Lauren Bercier. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Primo Cajun Crate

In the age of Internet shopping, retail is an increasingly difficult way to make a living. When shoppers don't care if you're local and, no matter where they live, want current fashion and accessories at a fair price, how does a local business compete? Scott Berg says it starts with service. Scott has other strategies too, and proven successes to back them up. Scott is Baton Rouge Market President of Lee Michaels Fine Jewelry, including a Pandora franchise in the Mall of Louisiana. Scott was just a two-year-old when his father, Lee Michael Berg, opened the first Lee Michaels in Cortana Mall in 1978. Today Scott and his dad work closely together, and Scott's 15 year old has some design ideas of her own. Scott's daughter could learn clothing design and manufacture with Andrea Eastin. Andrea's company, Fair Fit, is a boutique fashion design studio with classes that teach people of all ages and both genders to sew, design and customize our own clothing. And you might be surprised to learn that a good number of Baton Rouge men are sitting down designing and sewing their own clothes. We often talk about Baton Rouge developing its own signature style these days. Scott Berg and Andrea Eastin are part of that emerging independent style. Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can see photos from this by Ken Stewart at our website. Here's more lunchtime conversation about local couture. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Needles and Diamonds

Water is essential for life on earth and indeed water covers two-thirds of our planet. We literally cannot live with out it.  But living with it, managing it, trying to control it and make it do what we want it to do is an ever present challenge - especially in South Louisiana where we are surrounded by lakes, rivers, bayous and a Gulf that is eating away at our battered coastline and inching closer to our our inland areas.  Scott Nesbitt is a wetlands ecologist and the owner of Natural Resource Professionals, a consulting firm that provides regulatory expertise to municipalities, industrial interests and developers within South Louisiana. The firm’s regulatory expertise includes conducting all surveys and site studies required to identify jurisdictional wetlands and secure the necessary permits from the US Army Corps of Engineers. Scott is also an investor in and manager of the Spanish Lake Mitigation bank, which helps drain much of Ascension and Iberville parishes. Scott has been in the business since 1987,  when the US Army Corps of Engineers officially recognized wetlands as a regulated “Waters of the US”. Since that time, he has gained widespread experience as a technical and regulatory wetland specialist.  Ken Rust is owner of Enterprise Aquatics, a Baton Rouge based company that specializes in water and water management in several distinct ways. Enterprise Aquatics has two subsidiaries: One, Louisiana Pond Management, manages ponds and lakes, large and small, for aesthetics, water quality, and sport fish production.  The other is a new company  Small Scale Aquaponics, which specializes in water based food production, including aquaculture, aquaponics, and hydroponics.  Ken Rust is a native of Louisiana and a graduate of LSU with a degree in aquaculture and fisheries. He has been in the water business for more than two decades.  Out to Lunch Baton Rouge is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard in Baton Rouge. You can see photos from this show by Erik Otts at our website. And here's more lunchtime conversation about Baton Rouge's ongoing struggles with water. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Water Water Everywhere

Louisiana faces so many challenges. One in five residents lives below the federal poverty level and nearly half the population is considered  working poor. Our health outcomes are among the worst in the nation and so are our schools. How do we change policies to help everybody in the state? And what will it take to turn our schools around?  Ashley Shelton has answers to these questions. Ashley is founder, president and CEO of the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, a statewide 501(c)3 organization in Louisiana that uses a broad-based strategy of community organizing, issue advocacy, and civic action to give underserved populations a voice in the halls of power. They specialize in in focusing on workers' rights, community health and criminal justice reform.  Ashley has led several  nonprofit advocacy organizations over the years, where she has made a significant impact on policy at the state and local level. She also served as executive vice president at the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, which was created to help improve the quality of life for all Louisianans after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Prior to that, Ashley served as Director of Grant-making at the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, one of the most impactful organizations in this region.  Chris Meyer is CEO of New Schools for Baton Rouge, an organization that was created by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation in 2010 to help attract and grow the most successful non-profit-run public charter schools to Baton Rouge. In the years since, New Schools has helped attract two-dozen high-performing charter schools that are on track to serving half of public school students in Baton Rouge. Under Chris’ leadership, the organization has raised and deployed more than $70m in its first two Excellence Funds, and spurred more than $150 million in new school facility investments. Chris began his educational career at Teach for America, where he taught social studies at a public school in New Orleans. After Hurricane Katrina, Chris led over 200 students who had evacuated to a rural parish to achieve significant academic gains. More recently, he served as deputy superintendent of the Louisiana Recovery School District and, prior to that, as Director of Policy in the Louisiana Department of Education.  Out to Lunch Baton Rouge is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Erik Otts at our website. Here's more conversation about mentorship and education in Baton Rouge. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Power to the People and Their Kids

Have you ever pondered the awesome power of the Internet and wondered, “How can I use this tool to come up with something that will revolutionize a certain sector of the economy?” If you were born before the internet era, like a lot of us, you probably have. And you probably haven’t been able to come up with anything. Which is what separates you, and the rest of us, from Stephanie’s two guests on this edition of Out to Lunch Baton Rouge. Stephanie Hoskins created Debtle. It’s a cloud-based platform that enables organizations and individuals to easily and efficiently negotiate and settle overdue invoices and bad debt accounts, in a transparent and frictionless manner. This may just be as significant an invention as the fountain of youth or a perpetual motion machine! How does Debtle do it? Essentially, it lets the cloud-based software do the negotiating in a transparent process that takes the uncomfortable personal stuff out of these situations. Stephanie Hoskins co-founded the company in 2019. Her career in corporate finance and strategy spans over a decade and she has three degrees in finance, including a Ph D from LSU. She is passionate about financial inclusion, volunteering, and her family – which includes her co-founder and husband, Houston. Barret Blondeau is founder and owner of Falaya. It’s a DIY real estate listing platform that enables buyers and sellers to handle an entire transaction – from the listing to negotiating the contract on their own. Say goodbye to your real estate broker. Falaya automates the listing input, property disclosure, scheduling and contract negotiations processes – and it will even refer consumers to an expert if one is needed. Barret knows real estate from the perspective of a broker – he worked as one for several years before founding Falaya in 2018. In the years since, it has grown and also raised the ire of some competitors out there who were threatened enough to force Falaya – which used to be called something else – to change their name. Barret is a native of Baton Rouge who earned his business degree and MBA from LSU. Photos by Jill Lafleur. And here’s more Baton Rouge tech talk with the creators of Twistlock and Vinformatix. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Yes You Can Make Money Online RR formerly NO Debt No Broker

Although we live in a digital world today, most of us – both at home and at work – have too many pieces of paper still stored in file cabinets, boxes, and in piles that we have promised ourselves we’ll go through one day soon. But, as we all know, “one day doesn’t” always come. And that’s a problem that not only puts us at risk for information theft, but also clouds our ability to organize our finances, and our lives.   Jay Babb has a solution for you. Jay is the owner of Secure Shredding and Recycling, a local company that provides document destruction and shredding services on site at your office or home, as well as at its plant-based facilities in North Baton Rouge and, since 2019, Lake Charles.   Jay founded the company in 2009 and has grown it over the years. Today they shred some 250 tons of paper per month for clients that include government offices, businesses and individuals. As its name suggests, Secure Shredding and Recycling recycles all that paper it shreds, into alternative fiber products. So the company is protecting the environment while also protecting its clients from information theft. Jay has a background in information management and was involved in several successful ventures before founding Secure Shredding and Recycling, which was listed in 2019 on the LSU 100 list of fastest-growing Tiger-owned business.  Ryan Greene also has a hate/hate relationship with paper. Ryan is founder of I Hate Receipts, a new app that, as its name suggests, enables users to snap pictures of their paper receipts and store them in a secure, cloud-based “vault,” where they can be easily accessed, tagged and categorized. Once digitized, the data in your I hate Receipts account can be used in several ways. It can help you better understand your purchase history and manage how and where you spend money. The app can also be used to electronically submit receipts for reimbursement, cutting down on the time and hassle that employees spend filling out expense reports for employers. Ryan, who is a commercial real estate broker, conceived of the idea for the app while walking through the Atlanta airport in 2018, saw a kiosk that offered a scanning feature for paper receipts and thought, there must be a better way.  “There’s gotta be a better way” is the mindset that drives many successful startups, if not all of them. It wasn’t all that terribly long ago that Apple started out as a simple idea: to build a better computer than the then dominant IBM PC. So it’s worth paying attention to our local entrepreneurs as they grow their businesses. You never know where the next big thing is going to come from. It just might be Baton Rouge.  Photos from this show by Jill Lafleur are at our website. And check out Stephanie’s conversation with ex LSU and NFL quarterback Matt Flynn about his startup, MyHy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Goodbye Paper

It’s not unusual on Out to Lunch to have a guest who’s a star in their own world. Someone who’s well known and highly regarded in a particular field. It’s much less common for Stephanie to have lunch with someone who’s a real star. Someone whose face and name is known nationwide. Matt Flynn was a football player who first found fame as a quarterback for the LSU Tigers. Unless you’ve been living under a rock or just moved here, you’ll know that in 2008 Matt led LSU to a BCS National Championship, and to the number one rank in national polls. Matt went on to the NFL where he was on the Green Bay Packers team that won the superbowl in 2011, and he played for a number of other teams in the NFL, including the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. Typically, star athletes who graduate from professional sports go on to be a spokesperson for a product, or buy into a local business like a bar where their name and face appears on the awning, but that’s about the extent of their involvement in business. That is not Matt Flynn’s story. Matt has his sights set on the business equivalent of football stardom – the big leagues. Matt has founded a company called MyHy. MyHy makes a liquid electrolyte drink mix formula to keep you hydrated when you’re working out or working hard or just sweating a lot on a hot day. As a professional athlete, Matt’s interest in hydration is understandable, but there’s a big difference between enthusiasm and the scientific knowledge and business acumen required to take on the likes of Gatorade. To that end, Matt has partnered with nutrition experts and spent two years developing MyHy. MyHy uses clean, all-natural ingredients, no unnecessary sugars or flavors, and is formulated to match the user’s specific concentration of sweat, which means it  gives everyone the closest thing to a tailored hydration. You might think of it as smart hydration. Photos by Jill Lafleur. Check out Matt Flynn’s last visit to Out to Lunch, with his mom who introduces her candy company. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matt Flynn The Myhy Guy

Louisiana, for all its man-made foibles and imperfections, is blessed with a lot of lush greenery, natural wildlife, and a temperate climate that allows for outdoor recreation. We also take our great outdoors for granted, and as a result, have one of the worst environmental records in the country and a host of regulations to deal with it. Diane Baum is owner of Baum Environmental Group, a contract and consulting firm that specializes in helping commercial and governmental clients secure environmental permits dealing with things like storm-water runoff, while also providing services to make sure their clients stay in compliance. Baum helps its clients not only with the planning and the paperwork but also the technical work, silt fencing or hydroseeding, for instance. The company also helps companies determine their environmental risk, and helps commercial and residential customers design more eco-friendly buildings and homes. Diane is an engineer, who founded the firm in 1995 after leaving the Louisiana Department. of Environmental Quality with a vision of creating a firm that would help small businesses navigate the maze of environmental compliance regulations affordably. Scott Ricca is owner of Clegg’s Nursery, a locally owned garden center that has been something of an institution in Baton Rouge since its founding in 1955 by Scott Clegg. Over the years, the business grew, and in the 1980s, Clegg sold it to his son, Marshall Clegg, who in 1999 sold it two of its longtime managers – Tom Fennell and Scott. In the more than 20 years they’ve owned the nursery, Scott and Tom have continued to grow the business, which now has four locations. Clegg’s has also branched (if you’ll pardon the pun) into a wholesale growing operation, with the creation of a 40-thousand square foot green house that cultivates plants and flowers for local retailers to sell. Scott Ricca is a native of Baton Rouge, who got his degree in forestry and wildlife management at Louisiana Tech before returning to Baton Rouge and joining Clegg’s in the 1980s. Photos from this show by Jill Lafleur are at our website. And here’s more lunch table conversation about conserving our environment with Nicole Waguespack from Martin Ecosystems. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blooming in Baton Rouge

If you’ve been paying attention since the start of the pandemic, you might have noticed a lot more people riding bikes than usual. Indeed, with folks stuck at home, and many activities off limits during COVID-necessitated shutdowns, a lot of folks got back to doing one for the things that wasn’t forbidden and was actually fun : riding a bike. By one estimate, cycling in urban areas was up at least 25% in the first half of 2020, while trail riding increased 100%. Stores that sell bikes and cycling gear, still have waiting lists and backlogs. It’s a a good time to be in the bike business. James Newkirk is operations manager of Ride Gotcha by Bolt, an app-based electric bicycle rental company, that began operating in 2019 and has 500 GPS-enabled e-bikes and 50 mobility hubs across Baton Rouge. The local Baton Rouge operation is part of a national company, Gotcha, which operates its app-based mobile bike rental service in 25 states and over 50 cities. James is something of a natural to be heading the local service. He’s a native of Baton Rouge and has worked in bicycle shops and raced bicycles for most of his life. He also was a volunteer for the non-profit Front Yard Bikes, which we featured on this show a few months ago, and he managed the Front Yard Bikes shop before joining Gotcha in 2019.  Chuck Daniel is owner of Geaux Ride, a local company that rents glow-in-the-dark bicycles for nightly bike rides and bike tours of downtown Baton Rouge. The tours are a great way to get out and see the city and stay in shape and they're popular with groups looking for themed parties and events.  Out to Lunch Baton Rouge is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Chris Tricou at our website.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bike It BR

One of the most exciting and interesting aspects of entrepreneurship is that there are so many niches, fields and areas of specialty that didn’t exist as recently as just 20 years ago but today provide opportunities for the creative and ambitious to build entire lifestyles and careers. What’s also unique and special about these emerging fields is the way they blend entrepreneurship and business know-how with a higher mission – to help others or to help the environment or just to do things with an eye on making the world a better place. Influence Chenese Lewis is an entertainer, entrepreneur and multimedia success story, who is one of the original plus size influencers in the country. Chenese is a Baton Rouge native, who moved to L.A. to launch her career in the early 2000s and, not long thereafter, won a plus-sized beauty pageant. She went on to become a plus size model, and an advocate for women’s positive body image and self-esteem. Chenese was an influencer before most people even knew what that was. She launched the first podcast focused on plus sized women in 2008, before most people knew what podcasts were. In 2014, Chenese returned to Baton Rouge, where she is based today and continues to grow her company, hosting virtual events and making headlines in national publications. Outfits Paula LaFargue is founder and Designer of The Maybe Collection, a Baton Rouge small business that ethically makes comfortable, functional, beautiful women’s garments produced with minimal environmental impact for an accessible cost. Paula started the company in 2016, after spending 10 years designing clothes for nursing moms, children and utility workers – not all at the same time. She strives hard to have the smallest possible environmental impact in every aspect of The Maybe Collection – from the materials she sources, to internal operations, to packaging. Paula is a mother of two young children, and a native of Baton Rouge, who attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and cut her teeth in the fashion industry in New York then Chicago before returning home in 2009. Chenese Lewis and Paula LaFargue are not only assets to the Baton rouge business community, they’re also touching the lives of so many women around the country in important ways. You can learn more about Out to Lunch Baton Rouge at our website.  And here’s some more lunch table conversation about Baton Rouge influencers and retailers See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Outfits 'n Influence

We all lead such busy, distracted lives, and often forget to plan for those who will come after us and pick up where leave off. This is especially true in family-owned businesses, where you see things fall apart round about the third generation. But paving the way for the next generation also means educating today’s young people in newer, better and more targeted ways, so they will be prepared for a future in which they will be productive, engaged and successful. Camm Morton is an expert on this transition. Camm is President of VR Business Sales Baton Rouge, a business brokerage service that facilitates mergers and acquisitions. Camm is also a certified exit planner and family business advisor, who helps companies figure out their succession plans, which is no small thing. Camm brings a lot of business experience to the field. He spent much of his career in commercial real estate, where he developed and managed hotels, shopping centers and mixed use developments throughout the South the and Atlantic seaboard. He came to Baton Rouge in 2002 to head Commercial Properties Realty Trust, the BRAF’s real estate company. Nearly two decades later, Camm still calls the Capital Region home. Robert Webb is CEO of Helix Aviation Academy, a charter school opening in August 2021 at the Baton Rouge Airport that will help prepare high school students for a career in aviation. Robert is also CEO of the Helix Mentorship Steam Academy, a charter high school in downtown Baton Rouge that Robert founded in 2010 in an effort to close the achievement gap for students in grades 9-12 by focusing on STEAM-based learning – that’s Science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. Robert also has plans to open Helix Legal Academy which, like the aviation academy, will help prepare young people for a career in the legal field.  Out to Lunch Baton Rouge is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs On The Boulevard. You can see photos from this show by Chris Tricou at our website.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Next Gen

The country these days seems increasingly divided into two groups: those who  look to government for all the answers and those who believe the private sector can provide the solutions. But neither is able to address the many problems facing our communities today - which is where the nonprofit sector comes in. Perhaps at no time has the need for nonprofit organizations that help vulnerable and underserved populations been greater than it is today. And, as more people rely on them, they face ever greater challenges. George Bell is President and CEO of the Capital Area United Way, which serves 10 parishes through programs focused specifically on early childhood education, income stability, health and basic needs. George is a retired healthcare executive, originally from Thibodeaux, who took over at the agency in 2015, after a 30-year career in health care management with private physician practices including most recently, Baton Rouge General. George is also a community volunteer and a trumpet player, performing at his church, local schools and, even the Manship theater.  Vicki Ellis is Founder and Executive Director of Heritage Ranch, a Christian Children’s Home located on a sprawling 53-acre campus in Zachary outside of Baton Rouge. Heritage Ranch provides residential care, counseling, and educational and emotional support to boys between the ages of 10 and 18. Vicki founded Heritage Ranch in 2004. Initially, it provided its programming through the school systems in East Baton Rouge and West Feliciana parishes. In 2015, she opened the residential facility in Zachary, which is staffed by husband-and-wife teams, who model parenting for the at-risk students and help them improve peer communications and relationships, while providing life skills training and academic remediation. Vicki does all this while also raising five children! Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard in Baton Rouge. You can find photos from this show by Chris Tricou at our website. Talking of which, completely unrelated, but we just came across this show from 2017 and thought you might like to check it out - it's all about 3 Baton Rouge business women who have gotten their products and themselves on QVC.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Safety Net

The built environment and the way we design our buildings and green spaces help create our sense of place and determine our character as a community. But it’s not just as simple as putting down good plans on paper. It takes a comprehensive effort and commitment from everyone not only to design livable, smart, sustainable communities but to keep them clean. Green Jeffrey Carbo is a landscape architect with over 35 years of experience in professional practice, and the founding principal of CARBO Landscape Architecture in Baton Rouge and Alexandria. The range and scope of Jeff’s concerns include environmental conservation, the historical and cultural context of local and regional landscapes, and the attention to design detail in the numerous places and gardens that the firm has created. Jeff is a graduate of the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture and his firm’s projects have a unique design perspective that have influenced decision-makers to follow the themes of historic and cultural influences in design and construction detailing, with reference to the French, Spanish, Creole and American cultures Clean Kelly Hurtado is co-founder of the Louisiana Stormwater Coalition, a nonprofit organization established in 2021 with a mission of helping to clean up Baton Rouge’s polluted watershed, which is littered with bottles, cans, and trash. The organization is trying to help come up with a long-term program for stopping littler at its source and trapping it before it enters the creeks and bayous that make up the area’s watershed, which flows into the Gulf. Kelly is a Baton Rouge native and LSU graduate who has worked in philanthropy as a fundraiser for Our Lady of the Lake Foundation and, prior to that, as a publisher of InRegister magazine.  You can see photos from this show by JT O'Neal on our website. Out to Lunch is recorded over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. And you can check out more lunchtime conversation about Baton Rouge's green spaces and organic farming. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Clean Green

OUT TO LUNCH finds Baton Rouge Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel combining her hard news journalist skills and food background: conducting business over lunch. Baton Rouge has long had a storied history of politics being conducted over meals, now the Capital Region has an equivalent culinary home for business: Mansur's. Each week Stephanie holds court over lunch at Mansur's and invites members of the Baton Rouge business community to join her. You can also hear the show on WRKF 89.3FM.

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It's Baton Rouge: Out to Lunch

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