海角社区 Embarks on Inaugural Scholarship First Bus Tour March 13-16
March 06, 2023
UPDATED March 15, 2023
BATON ROUGE 鈥� 海角社区 is taking its mission and message on the road this month. Powered by RoyOMartin, the inaugural Scholarship First bus tour will take 海角社区 President William F. Tate IV, joined by a few special guests along the way, on a 1,000-mile winding route around Louisiana, with the goal of learning more about some of the state鈥檚 key industries, listening to key stakeholders and visiting with alumni and elected officials to ensure alignment of 海角社区鈥檚 statewide priorities in serving Louisiana.
鈥満＝巧缜� is a driver for the future of our state and is important to so many Louisianians, but not everyone can make it to any of our eight campuses or 64 extension offices. So, we鈥檙e taking 海角社区 to the people,鈥� Tate said. 鈥淭his is going to be a listening tour and an awareness campaign all rolled into one. We鈥檝e got a very aggressive itinerary and can鈥檛 wait to meet our friends out on the road.鈥�
The public itinerary includes metros as big as New Orleans and Shreveport and as small as Chopin and Minden, as Tate captures the full perspectives of Louisiana. Of course, you can鈥檛 get a taste of Louisiana without tasting the food, and Tate intends to sprinkle in a few stops to the Bayou State鈥檚 favorite diners. Details are subject to change. Media are invited to the bulleted events below. Follow 海角社区鈥檚 social media accounts or check for updates, highlights and behind-the-scenes activities.
Monday, March 13鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
President Tate and the Scholarship First tour bus will depart from 海角社区鈥檚 Memorial Tower bright and early, with a special send-off from Coach Kim Mulkey. After a stop for boudin, the bus will head to 海角社区鈥檚 original campus in Pineville for an important announcement, then roll through the meat pie capital of Louisiana, stopping in Shreveport for the evening.
- 6:00 a.m. Send-off from 海角社区鈥檚 Memorial Tower (Baton Rouge, LA)
- 9:30 a.m. Unveiling of 海角社区鈥檚 Economic Impact on Louisiana at the place where it all began (Pineville, LA)
- 11:00 a.m. Tour the Roy O Martin plywood factory, the nation鈥檚 largest and learn about the importance of the timber industry (Chopin, LA)
- 1:00 p.m. 鈥淢eat鈥� and Greet with Natchitoches Alumni and Friends at Lasyone鈥檚 Meat Pie Restaurant
Tuesday, March 14鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Tuesday will take Tate on a picture-perfect road trip through north Louisiana with stops in the 鈥淔riendliest City in the South鈥� and 鈥淪portsman鈥檚 Paradise,鈥� giving way to glimpses of the state鈥檚 agricultural past and its future. After a lunchtime social with area supporters in Monroe, the bus will make its way back to Central Louisiana for a reception hosted by 海角社区 alumnus Roy O Martin in Alexandria.
Wednesday, March 15鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
After breakfast at Lea鈥檚 Lunchroom, the bus will depart from Alexandria, making its way through New Iberia to the 鈥淪ugar City,鈥� Jeanerette, to tour sugarcane farms and processing plants and learn more about the importance of sugarcane to the Louisiana economy. Then it鈥檚 a mad dash to Cajun Country, reaching Crowley just in time to harvest crawfish with Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser, before ending the day in Lake Charles.
- 10:00 a.m. Visit to 鈥淪ugar City鈥� to tour sugarcane farms and processing plants in Jeanerette
- 1:30 p.m. Crawfishing in Crowley鈥�
- 3:00 p.m. Resiliency Tour in Lake Charles 鈥� visit storm affected areas with elected officials, local leaders and 海角社区 experts鈥���
鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Thursday, March 16鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
On the final day of the tour, the bus will hustle down to Convent to visit with Shell and discuss the future of the energy industry in Louisiana, then jaunt over to the Big Easy to sit down and dine on world-famous Creole and Cajun cuisine. From there, the group will visit the Port of New Orleans to make an exciting announcement, then end the day celebrating on the Northshore with 海角社区 family and friends.
During the tour, media can contact Ashley Arceneaux at ash@lsu.edu or 225-278-8694 for updates on exact times and locations for media availabilities.鈥�&苍产蝉辫;
Learn more about 海角社区's Scholarship First Agenda: /scholarship-first/index.php鈥�&苍产蝉辫;