Biz New Orleans November 2022

SUCCEEDING AT SUCCESSION HOW 3 DIFFERENT COMPANIES DID IT

YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE TOUGH CALLS DAVID SHERMAN — THE ATTORNEY THAT SET UP THE TEAM GLEASON FOUNDATION — OFFERS ADVICE TO FAMILY BUSINESSES LOOKING TO CONTINUE THEIR LEGACY.

NOVEMBER 2022

Must-Have Every family business needs this insurance P. 28

Cool Conversion A former ice warehouse is now HQ to Son of a Saint P. 56

FAMILY BUSINESS ISSUE

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NOVEMBER EVERY ISSUE

PERSPECTIVES

VOLUME 09 ISSUE 02

FROM THE LENS 60 WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT The story of Element Beverage Co. is one of hope, tragedy, resilience and success.

08 EDITOR’S NOTE 10 PUBLISHER’S NOTE 12 ON THE WEB 14 WORD ON THE STREET

64 NEW ORLEANS 500 Vance Vaucresson, president of Vaucresson Sausage Company

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MARITIME & PORTS A look at two family legacies in the New Orleans maritime industry

IN THE BIZ 18 DINING With gift-giving season on the horizon, consider something from this local culinary treasure.

20 TOURISM Promoting tourism one URL at a time 20 SPORTS New Orleans Saints need strong second half of season to fulfill expectations 24 ENTREPRENEUR Food, generosity, community service and entrepreneurism: so many of New Orleans’s best traits, are all coming together in a successful new enterprise.

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28 INSURANCE How can the right insurance help family businesses set their next generation up for success?

30 BANKING & FINANCE Top tips for family businesses 36 GUEST For family-owned businesses, valuations are best done early and often.

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GREAT WORKSPACES

Son of a Saint opens new Bayou St. John headquarters designed to help better serve fatherless young men in New Orleans

They Put the “Success” in Succession Planning

A look at how three very different local businesses were able to make the transition to a new generation.

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You Have to Make the Tough Calls

David Sherman — the attorney that set up the Team Gleason Foundation — offers advice to family businesses looking to continue their legacy.

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Publisher Todd Matherne EDITORIAL Managing Editor Kimberley Singletary Art Director Sarah George Digital Media Editor Kelly Massicot Associate News Editor Rich Collins

Staying Power

Perspective Writer Drew Hawkins Contributors Vanessa Brown Claiborne, Ashley McLellan, Chris Price, Jennifer Gibson Schecter, Melanie Warner Spencer, Poppy Tooker, Keith Twitchell ADVERTISING Sales Manager Caitlin Sistrunk (504) 830-7252 Caitlin@BizNewOrleans.com Senior Account Executive Jessica Jaycox (504) 830-7255 JessicaJ@BizNewOrleans.com Senior Account Executive Meghan Schmitt (504) 830-7246 Meghan@BizNewOrleans.com

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ur November issue is always our family business issue, and this year, in a kind of celebration of the Day of the Dead, or Dia de Los Muertos — which is actually a multi-day holiday traditionally celebrated by people of Mexican heritage on Nov. 1 and 2 — it seemed fitting to talk about succession planning… Plus, it happens to be one of the biggest issues affecting the longevity of a family-owned business.

In this issue we’re excited to share thoughts and tips on how to succeed in this often-tricky venture from a variety of sources, including a Q&A with the man responsible for making sure the legacy of a beloved New Orleans Saints player lives on and continues to make a difference, and a specialist in valuing businesses — a critical part of succession planning.

I also had the wonderful opportunity to talk to leaders of three very different family-run businesses who are all at different points in their succession story. It’s often reported that only about 30 to 40% of businesses make the successful transition to a second generation, so these businesses are beating the odds and, in one case, even planning for the future with their fourth generation. Each was kind enough to share what they have learned in the hopes of helping others navigate their own path.

Outside of succession planning, we’re also excited to share the stories of other local organizations with strong family ties, including Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse in LaPlace in our Dining

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column, a peek at the new headquarters of Son of a Saint in our “Great Workspaces,” and the tragic, but beautiful story of a family continuing the entrepreneurial dreams of their son in this month’s “Why Didn’t I Think of That?” And to finish it all off, there’s our Biz 500 person of the month, Vance Vaucresson, the third-generation head of Vaucresson Sausage, in operation in New Orleans’s 7th Ward since 1899.

New Orleans is full of so many wonderful stories of family businesses that have become staples in our community. If you have a story to share, we’d love to hear it. Feel free to reach out to editorial@bizneworleans.com.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours and thanks for reading!

Sponsored Content Coordinator/Copywriter Eliza Fillo

RENAISSANCE PUBLISHING MARKETING Coordinator Abbie Whatley PRODUCTION Manager Rosa Balaguer Arostegui Senior Designer Meghan Rooney CIRCULATION Subscriptions Jessica Armand Distribution John Holzer ADMINISTRATION Office Manager Mallary Wolfe VP of Sales and Marketing Kate Henry Chief Executive Officer Todd Matherne For subscriptions, call (504) 830-7231

2022 Gold Best Feature Gold Best Recurring Feature Silver Best Feature Layout 2021 Gold Magazine Design Gold Best Explanatory Journalism Gold Feature Design Silver Best Feature Bronze Best Use of Multimedia 2020 Silver Best Recurring Feature 2019 Gold Best Recurring Feature Gold Best Explanatory Journalism 2018 Gold Most Improved Publication Silver Best Recurring Feature 2017 Silver Best Recurring Feature Bronze Best Daily Email 2016 Bronze Best Feature Layout

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KIMBERLEY SINGLETARY Managing Editor Kimberley@BizNewOrleans.com

Biz New Orleans is published monthly

by Renaissance Publishing, LLC, 110 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005; (504) 828-1380.

Subscription rate: three year $49.95, no foreign subscriptions. Postage paid at Metairie, LA, and additional mailing entry offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Biz New Orleans, 110 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Suite 123, Metairie, LA 70005. Copyright 2022 Biz New Orleans. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the consent of the publisher. The trademark Biz New Orleans is registered. Biz New Orleans is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos and artwork, even if accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. The opinions expressed in Biz New Orleans are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the magazine or owner.

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PUBLISHER’S NOTE

SALES TEAM

So Thankful

Sales Manager (504) 830-7252 Caitlin@BizNewOrleans.com

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s we publish our annual family business issue this month, it makes me reflect on my own family and reminds me that November is an anniversary month for me personally and a month to be thankful.

This month, Andrea and I will celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary on Thanksgiving. We will celebrate this year’s anniversary with family at the dinner table as we have a lot to be thankful for.

We have three beautiful girls, all married to wonderful gentlemen, and really love being grandparents to Penelope and soon, baby Schmidt. If you know me, family has always come first. I treasure every moment together, and as my friends have children, I often remind them that parents get 18 summers. For 18 years, you can plan summer vacations and adventures. Then, as they go off to college or begin their adult life you lose that ability to gather everyone together so easily. Make the 18 summers count. Those memories stay with you and your children forever.

This month our daughter Malayne and her husband Jake — who live in San Diego — will also mark their fourth wedding anniversary.

They will celebrate this year with a new addition to their family in December. We are so excited to celebrate another grandchild in our family — even more to be thankful for.

And the granddaddy of anniversaries this year will be celebrated by my in-laws, Cotton and Phyllis, who will mark their 60th wedding anniversary this month. In 1983, when I met my

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Caitlin Sistrunk

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wife as a very young high schooler, they put the old-fashioned fear of the parents in me, and I have loved and respected them ever since. They have a deep love for each other and are inseparable. They are the couple that you love to talk with because they add humor to every situation and no matter what mood you are in, when you sit down with them you leave in a better place.

To mark this occasion, they have planned some travel with their two daughters and spouses, followed by an intimate family dinner.

I wish them a wonderful anniversary and many more to follow.

For Renaissance Publishing, this month we are publishing the 2023 edition of the New Orleans 500, and the team has once again done an excellent job of highlighting the most influential, involved and inspiring executives in the region. If you have not received your copy, visit BizNewOrleans.com for the latest edition.

This year, I encourage you to celebrate this month by thanking someone in your life that has moved you forward. You will feel great in the process.

Jessica Jaycox Senior Account Executive (504) 830-7255 JessicaJ@BizNewOrleans.com

Meghan Schmitt

TODD MATHERNE CEO and Publisher Renaissance Publishing

Senior Account Executive (504) 830-7246 Meghan@BizNewOrleans.com

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ON THE WEB BIZNEWORLEANS.COM

THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IS TALKING ON BIZNEWORLEANS.COM Catch all the latest news, plus original reporting, people on the move, videos, weekly podcast and blogs, digital editions of the magazines and daily Morning Biz and afternoon newsletters. If it’s important to business in southeast Louisiana, it’s at BizNewOrleans.com.

BIZ TALKS PODCAST

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We have taken a site with great bones and repurposed it into a working, world-class, multi-modal terminal with fully operating docks, working buildings and rail access at the site for the first time in half a century. Renaming the site to Avondale Global Gateway better represents what Avondale is now and will become as we continue our efforts.

Adam Anderson, CEO of T. Parker Host, in early October announcing the grand opening of the former Avondale Shipyards as Avondale Global Gateway, a logistics hub for intermodal commerce.

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”

Our future must be greener, more resilient, more inclusive, and most importantly, our future must meet the needs of tomorrow. So here we are at a defining moment.

Let’s seize this moment of clarity wrought by disasters and supply chain disruptions.

Let’s use this opportunity to speak with one voice.

Louisiana’s future rests in competing in a global market, so we must invest in a trade-based economy. We must invest in transformational projects.

Brandy D. Christian, CEO of the Port of New Orleans and the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad, speaking on Sept. 29 at the 2022 State of the Port. Her address highlighted successes across the port’s four lines of business — cruise, rail, industrial real estate and cargo — and the completion of several maritime infrastructure projects.

EPISODE 122

Dr. Michelle Collins Unveils Loyola-Ochsner Nursing Simulation Lab

Loyola University New Orleans celebrates a $1.9 million experiential learning space that allows nursing students to practice many medical procedures using robotic mannequins and other high-tech devices.

EPISODE 121

New Entrepreneur Program Partners Idea Village and St. Tammany Corporation

Entrepreneurs no longer have to cross the lake for guidance from The Idea Village with the launch of IDEAinstitute Northshore.

Jon Atkinson, CEO of The Idea Village, joins Chris Masingill, CEO of St. Tammany Corp., and Vincenzo Caronna, entrepreneur in residence and program manager of IDEAinstitute Northshore, to discuss this new venture.

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WORD ON THE STREET NEW ORLEANS 500 SURVEY

NEWS FROM THE TOP Each month, we ask the top business professionals featured in the New Orleans 500 to weigh in on issues impacting the New Orleans business community. Have an idea for a survey question for the New Orleans 500? Email rich@bizneworleans.com.

By the Book

Local execs share their favorite books and podcasts

BY RICH COLLINS

MARK LEWIS CEO Evolve Media AI

I enjoyed ‘The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph’ by Ryan Holiday.

We all have had many obstacles in life, especially these days, and this is a great book that makes sure that you find opportunity in obstacles rather than wallowing in them.”

CARLTON DUFRECHOU

BENJAMIN GOOTEE My favorite podcasts are ‘Dare to Lead’ with Brené Brown and ‘HBR IdeaCast.’ The best business or leadership books I have read lately have been ‘The Blueprint’ by Douglas Conant, ‘Power Moms’ by Joann Lublin, ‘Never Split the Difference’ by Christopher Voss and Tahl Raz, and ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear.

General Manager Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission

“The Count of Monte Cristo,” by Alexandre Dumas taught me early on the value of patience, hope and perseverance.

Kelli Walker Starrett, CEO, New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors

President Gootee Construction

I enjoy Ryan Holiday, Jim Collins, Malcolm Gladwell, Daniel Pink and Oren Klaff.

Some other good reads are ‘Extreme Ownership,’ ‘Never Split the Difference,’ and ‘Bluefishing.’ A great book with its own podcast is ‘The One Thing.’ Other podcasts I enjoy are ‘Front Row Dads’ and ‘Out to Lunch’ hosted

by New Orleans’ own Peter Ricchiuti. Some books and podcasts are more fun to listen to than others, but I always come away with more perspective and awareness.

MORE SUGGESTIONS

“The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King” by Rich Cohen — Peter Ricchiuti, finance professor, Tulane University

“The Daily” podcast — Greg Buisson, owner, Buisson Creative Strategies

A BOOK FOR ALL OCCASIONS Have a particular challenge you’re trying to solve? Local tech CEO Neel Sus, founder of Metairie-based software solutions company Susco, offers some of his favorite books that will help readers gain new insights

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CHALLENGE: “I’m in a senior leadership role and I suspect I have bad habits I need to break.”

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CHALLENGE: “I procrastinate and get stuck in analysis paralysis.”

CHALLENGE: “My ideas are great, but I’m not good at getting buy-in from others.”

“The 6 Types of Working Genius” by Patrick M. Lencioni — Thomas Richards, owner/ attorney, Team Title

FOR MORE THOUGHTS FROM LOCAL BUSINESS LEADERS ON THIS TOPIC, VISIT BIZNEWORLEANS.COM/500 AND SCROLL DOWN TO THE LATEST NEW ORLEANS 500 SURVEY

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IN THE BIZ

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DINING

SPORTS

ENTREPRENEUR

With gift-giving season on the horizon, consider something from this local culinary treasure

New Orleans Saints need strong second half of season to fulfill expectations

New Orleans’s best traits are all coming together in a successful new enterprise

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TOURISM Promoting tourism one URL at a time

IN THE BIZ DINING

POPPY TOOKER has spent her life devoted to the cultural essence that food brings to Louisiana, a topic she explores weekly on her NPR-affiliated radio show, Louisiana Eats! From farmers markets to the homes and restaurants where our culinary traditions are revered and renewed, Poppy lends the voice of an insider to interested readers everywhere.

Two Family Legacies Combine at Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse With gift-giving season on the horizon, consider something from this local culinary treasure

BY POPPY TOOKER

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I L LU S T R AT I O N BY PADDY MILLS

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o Jarred Zeringue, the purchase of Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse in LaPlace in 2016 was an act of cultural preservation.

Zeringue’s food is well known in the Crescent City, where for 15 years he operated the now shuttered French Quarter restaurant, Eat New Orleans. There, he utilized Wayne Jacob’s authentic Cajun meats in dishes like cracklin’ biscuits and tasso baked eggs.

Just off the main drag in LaPlace, Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse was established in 1950

by Nolan “Nat” Jacob and was the only place without rice, these unique items are a keto and Zeringue’s grandmother, Mama Bell, would buy paleo diet lover’s dream. her meats. The smokehouse passed through Inspired by a box filled with family recipes Jacob family for generations until Jarred and left by his grandmother, this past May Zeringue business partner Matthew Moreland purchased published a cookbook titled, “Southern and the business in 2016.

Smoked, Cajun Cooking Through the Seasons” While many improvements were made to — a delicious and intimate look into his family’s the property, Wayne Jacob’s original recipes culinary traditions. All the secrets to Mama and old-fashioned ways of doing things have Bell’s white bean and potato soup, turtle sauce remained. piquante and crawfish bisque are included, “The wood comes from my dad’s farm,” he along with advice about how to preserve said. “We split it and cure it before making the seasonal flavors through canning and freezing. fires. We do the butchering ourselves, stuffing The book is illustrated with fascinating family sausage in small batches before smoking, just as photos hailing from the late 1800s. While it’s always been done.” researching the family’s history at the LouiIn the andouille capitol of the world, the siana State Museum, Zeringue happened upon thick sticks of heavily smoked andouille from a cache of silver negatives that were discovWayne Jacob’s weigh a full pound or more each. ered in an attic in the 1980s. The images are Zeringue’s family heritage reflects the the work of professional photographer Olide blending of cultures found along the Mississippi Schexnayder, Zeringue’s grandmother’s first in Louisiana’s river parishes where his family cousin. Wearing formal attire typical of the 19th has lived, worked, and farmed since 1721. He century, his ancestors are depicted picnicking grew up in Vacherie, Louisiana, thinking of and fishing on the banks of the bayous in the himself as German, not Cajun. Different from summer. Rare ice floes can be seen on the the Cajuns who settled first in Nova Scotia, frozen Mississippi River as family members the Zeringues emigrated directly to Louisiana pose near Edgard in 1899. from Alsace, an area of France known for its When Zeringue was a child, his family held Germanic influence. a boucherie annually in early February. He has Zeringue expanded the store’s offerings to since revived the tradition, and those images include barbecue, beef jerky and hog’s head are included. The day of the family gathering, cheese. Jars of preserved figs, pepper jelly, relatives brought along photos of a 1950 fresh filé and dry roux line the store’s shelves. boucherie held at a cousin’s house. Much to A freezer case is filled with sausage-stuffed everyone’s surprise, Zeringue’s grandparents chicken breasts, pork loins and chops. Whole were in attendance that day, unmarried and on smoked ducks are available seasonally. Frozen their way to a date in Donaldsonville. quarts of favorites like red beans, chicken With the holiday season approaching, Wayne andouille and seafood gumbos are also ready Jacob’s Smokehouse is ready to provide catering, for home consumption. and gift baskets are also availFrom meatballs and spaghetti able. The restaurant’s legendary to butterbeans and shrimp served andouille is fully cooked and Catch Poppy with fried catfish, daily plate lunches available for shipping via Priority Tooker on her radio make Wayne Jacob’s a popular Mail nationwide. Add a copy of show, “Louisiana weekday spot. Not to be missed are “Southern and Smoked” for an Eats!” Saturdays the thinly sliced, fried andouille unforgettable gift redolent of at 3 p.m. and chips served with Creole mustard for Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse, a Mondays at 8 p.m. on WWNO 89.9 FM. dipping. Along with boudin available real Louisiana treasure! T

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IN THE BIZ TOURISM

JENNIFER GIBSON SCHECTER was once a tourist in New Orleans herself and is now proud to call NOLA home.

Pulling Back the Curtain Promoting tourism one URL at a time

BY JENNIFER GIBSON SCHECTER

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ouisiana is known as a top travel destination, but that reputation doesn’t build itself. Hundreds of professionals are working behind the scenes to share the story of our culture and to entice visitors to see Louisiana for the first time or the fifth.

One such person is Cathy Alfonso, content director at Miles Partnership, who oversees website content for the Louisiana Office of Tourism (LOT). Miles Partnership, a firm with over 300 employees worldwide, has been the contracted destination marketing firm for LOT for over 10 years; Alfonso recently joined the company. I spoke with her about her role and what it takes to promote Louisiana tourism.

How did you become interested in tourism?

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How does Miles Partnership support Louisiana Tourism?

Throughout our work with the Louisiana Office of Tourism (LOT), we’ve provided all six of our core services: strategic consulting, branding and creative, content creation and distribution, digital development and optimization, media planning and buying, and revenue generation and coop programs. Within my role, I focus predominantly on content creation/distribution and digital development and optimization. Our primary client in Louisiana is the Louisiana Office of Tourism, and through that contract we work with other offices that fall under the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism (DCRT) — for example, Louisiana State Parks, Louisiana State Museum and the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board.

As the content director for our Louisiana team, it’s my role to work alongside LOT to create effective digital content strategy. I serve as the main point of contact for their web needs and assist in creating and executing a vision for Louisiana Travel web content. I work hand-inhand with our content manager, who handles the Louisiana Travel social media channels.

After working to promote New Orleans and Baton Rouge, what are you most excited about in promoting Louisiana-wide tourism?

Louisiana is such an eclectic state. In one trip,

you can go from dancing in the French Quarter to kayaking through the Atchafalaya Basin or attending an LSU game and then exploring one of our 21 state parks. There’s certainly no shortage of content ideas in Louisiana, and I’m thrilled I get to play a role in telling that story.

What do you see as the biggest challenge in translating the Louisiana experience to web content?

I think the challenge with crafting any content is making it compelling to your audience. I think if you’ve traveled to Louisiana once, you instantly get it — the culture is immersive and one of a kind. In Louisiana, there are so many activities to tantalize even the pickiest of travelers. I think a big part of creating effective content is understanding the data behind it.

By relying on web analytics and assessing user interest, it points me in the direction of what a traveler is looking for and allows me to tell the story they’re looking for.

Why is creating fresh website content important? How frequently does new content get added to the main website and its subsidiary sites?

Our team is in daily communication with the LOT team regarding digital content projects.

We have user-generated content that feeds into the site, and we can change content as frequently as daily to seasonally—it really just depends on what is going on within the state.

We see about 10 million web visitors a year, with roughly 600,000 followers on Louisiana social media followers.

What is a Louisiana hidden gem you have discovered?

The End of the World in Delacroix, St. Bernard.

It’s the fishing community my husband grew up in. Atop the backdrop of shrimp boats and crab traps, there’s literally a sign that reads: “End of the World.” It’s pretty amazing. Some mornings I wake up and look at my to-do list and I just feel really lucky that this is my job. I love Louisiana, I love travel and I love storytelling. What more could I ask for in a career? T

I L LU S T R AT I O N BY PADDY MILLS

I got my start in the tourism industry in 2013 while still an undergrad at LSU. I was studying public relations at the time and landed a communications internship at New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau (NOCVB), now New Orleans & Company, where I interned for about a year. During my time at NOCVB, I placed pitches in national trade publications like Travel + Leisure and Meetings International and worked with a number of conventions and

journalists coming to New Orleans. As an avid traveler myself, I instantly loved the tourism industry—both my parents are from Honduras, and I grew up spending my summers there and traveling. When I started working on the backend of the tourism industry to promote New Orleans, I was instantly hooked.

From my time at NOCVB, I was referred to Visit Baton Rouge (VRB) where I interned briefly. I was hired following graduation ats the destination content manager, where my job was to focus on the VBR web content and industry partner relationships. My time at both destination marketing organizations taught me so much about Louisiana tourism and the economic impact it makes on our state.

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IN THE BIZ SPORTS

CHRIS PRICE is an award-winning journalist and public relations principal. When he’s not writing, he’s avid about music, the outdoors, and Saints, Ole Miss and Chelsea football.

Let’s Get Down to Business

New Orleans Saints need strong second half of season to fulfill expectations

BY CHRIS PRICE

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t the start of the New Orleans Saints’ 2022 season, I predicted that if they could remain healthy the team had enough talent to post a 12-5 or 11-6 record this year, qualify for the playoffs and compete for the division crown.

Expectations were high. Even though head coach Sean Payton retired in the offseason, there was hope for continuity when Dennis Allen was promoted to lead the team. With the majority of starters returning and some highly anticipated additions and injured players getting healthy in all three phases of the game, the Saints looked like they were in position to be a playoff-caliber team.

But if is a big word, and, through roughly the first half of the season, the ever-present injury bug has again taken a big bite out of the team’s well-laid plans.

The Saints finished 28th in the league in total offense in 2021 but appeared to be

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markedly better entering the season. So far this year, quarterback Jameis Winston, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 8 last year, has missed multiple games with fractured vertebrae, forcing the team to rely on backups Andy Dalton and Taysom Hill into action under center.

At the beginning of the season, it appeared the Saints wideouts could dominate, but former Pro Bowl receiver Michael Thomas — who returned from an ankle injury that caused him to miss last season — has missed multiple contests this year with a foot injury, free-agent signing Jarvis Landry has missed games with an ankle injury, and rookie Chris Olave left the Seattle game with a concussion. Deonte Harty, a receiver and returner, also left the Seahawks game with a turf toe injury.

Luckily, running back Alvin Kamara, who was looking at a six-game suspension at some point this season for allegedly assaulting a man in a Las Vegas casino during last season’s

Pro Bowl weekend, has had his court dates postponed until after the 2022 season, making him eligible this year.

The injuries, and an unexpected slow start, have, obviously, impacted the Saints’s ability to begin the season in the manner fans hoped for and expected. If New Orleans is to be a playoff team, Allen, assistant head coach/ special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi, offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael, and co-defensive coordinators Ryan Nielsen (defensive line) and Kris Richard (secondary) are going to have to manage injuries and backups getting a lot of playing time on offense.

That means the team will have to rely on its defense, which finished seventh in the league last year, as its bedrock.

This month, the Saints face arguably the toughest stretch of the season with games at home against the Ravens, on the road against the Steelers, at home against the Rams, and on the road in San Francisco. In the preseason, I expected a 2-2 performance, but that may have been over ambitious. A 1-3 record may be more on target.

The team’s December slate includes games at Tampa, the bye week, home against Atlanta, and on the road at Cleveland. They should win two of the three and still hold that line.

The team closes the season with two games in January — at Philly and home against the Panthers. I’m staying with my prediction that they’ll likely split these games.

At this point, I believe the Saints could end up anywhere from a 10-7 wild card team to a 6-11 club looking forward to a busy draft and free agency period.

Unfortunately for Saints fans, expectations haven’t met reality in 2022, but there is a lot of football yet to be played. If New Orleans expects to play in the postseason, it’s time to get down to business and have a strong second half of season. T

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IN THE BIZ ENTREPRENEUR

KEITH TWITCHELL spent 16 years running his own business before becoming president of the Committee for a Better New Orleans. He has observed, supported and participated in entrepreneurial ventures at the street, neighborhood, nonprofit, micro- and macro-business levels.

Feeding Businesses and People

I was 13 years old, collecting Mardi Gras beads after parades and selling them on eBay. I’ve Food, generosity, community service and entrepreneurism: been able to realize my dream, so I began asking, ‘How do I uplift others? How do I pave so many of New Orleans’s best traits are all coming the way for their success?’” together in a successful new enterprise.

When Hurricane Ida compounded the COVID-19 challenges for both businesses and residents, Cook saw an opportunity to support

BY KEITH T WITCHELL both through something that is truly at the New Orleans core: food. He conceived Meals Dressed with Love as a way to get nourishment to people in need, while bringing new business to restaurants struggling with diminished customer bases.

The basic premise of Meals Dressed with to food, technology and bio-science enterLove is simple: via its website, anyone anywhere t its best, entrepreneurism achieves prises. As the city emerges from the pandemic, can order gift cards and/or meals from particnumerous goals beyond simply the program is evolving from survival to, in ipating restaurants. However, the idea is not creating successful businesses. From Lawson’s words, “developing growth strategies to order for one’s self, but instead to order the building community to supporting for these businesses.” food for another person. other businesses, the benefits of “I’m always surprised at what organically “This could be a family member or a friend many enterprises accrue well beyond happens when you put the right people in the going through a difficult time,” Cook elaborated. their immediate founders. room,” observed Lawson, who said this was key “It could be a thank-you gift or even a holiday gift.”

Few new ventures manage to for Meals Dressed with Love.

Cook brought the concept to NOLABA, and spread the entrepreneurial wealth RCI had identified better food-delivery the partnership blossomed quickly. The allito the extent of the recently launched Meals options as vital to supporting restaurants in ance’s support enables restaurants to join the Dressed with Love. the corridors, which led to conversations with program free of charge, including installing In part, the impacts reflect the array of BypassLines. A local, Black-owned business their digital capacities. BypassLines provides partners involved in this initiative, providing with national reach and partners, BypassLines that technology and coordinates food delivery. both resources and context for it. The largest serves restaurants with everything from tech“Not only does it put me in front of new and of these is the New Orleans Business Alliance nology enhancements to shipping and delivery. potential customers,” said Sinnidra Taylor, (NOLABA), which provides funding through One initial focus of this collaboration was owner of participating restaurant Crazy Waffle its Resilient Corridors Initiative (RCI). This helping restaurants digitize their menus and Bar, “it helps me to advance our business values. program focuses on seven historically disadadd the capacity to accept online food orders.

Starting a business and keeping it going in New vantaged, underinvested neighborhoods around Also joining the conversation was Darren Orleans is harder than most cities, and this is one New Orleans, offering technical and marketing Cook, founder of My Mogul Media, a local more thing to help me sustain.” assistance to businesses within these areas. branding and marketing agency, also BlackTwo immediate growth targets for the venture “RCI was originally birthed as a COVID relief owned. Cook is a New Orleanian include adding the capacity to program,” explained Greg Lawson, senior through and through, having purchase meals for deserving vice-president for strategic neighborhood attended St. Augustine High strangers — most likely in partnerdevelopment at NOLABA. “We felt it was Keith Twitchell’s blog, School and Xavier University. ship with local nonprofit organizaimportant to sustain what businesses we have “Neighborhood “I’ve always been a natutions — and expanding the concept in these corridors.”

Biz,” appears ral-born entrepreneur,” he said. to Atlanta. From there, the ultimate Particular emphasis is given to businesses every Thursday at “I started my first business when BizNewOrleans.com. objective is to go national. T owned by women and people of color, and

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PERSPECTIVES

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28 INSURANCE

How can the right insurance help family businesses set their next generation up for success?

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BANKING & FINANCE

GUEST

Top tips for family businesses

For family-owned businesses, valuations are best done early and often.

MARITIME & PORTS A look at two family legacies in the New Orleans maritime industry

PERSPECTIVES INSURANCE

How can the right insurance help family businesses set their next generation up for success?

Annette Dowdle SVP & employee benefits consultant HUB

People take insurance for granted until it’s needed, and it’s then that it can change people’s lives for the better. For small businesses, having the right benefits and insurance for employees is important to not only protect and support their health, but also the health of future generations. Additionally, with great insurance in place, family businesses can attract and retain good talent. We at HUB create that package for them with a little bit of art as well as science, but it always comes back to the human element of it all — which is even more vital for family businesses.

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JOSE SUQUET The beauty of insurance is that there are so many mechanisms in which it can be used. One of the best things a family business can do to prepare for the next generation is invest in a key man policy. A key man policy is a form of a life insurance policy that names the business as the beneficiary once that valuable person passes away. The money can be invaluable when that leader or decision maker needs to be replaced and can be used for recruiting, training and salary needs.

Kristin Swanson Scott, VP of Operations, Swanson Insurance Agency

President and CEO Pan-American Life Insurance Group

WILL SMITH Advisor EH&B

When helping a business transfer ownership from one generation to the next, it is important to work closely with an estateplanning attorney, CPA, and insurance advisor to clearly identify the company’s objectives, value and funding methods for transfer. Life insurance is commonly used in buy/sell agreements to provide the liquidity needed upon death to purchase interest from the owner’s family/ successors. Disability and long-term care insurance also need to be considered and will help with business continuation should the owner have a disability or chronic condition. Succession planning also provides an opportunity for the business to evaluate the role of essential employees. Owners can utilize key man life and disability insurance to protect the business and incentivize employee retention.

According to the Family Business Institute, only 30% of family businesses survive to the next generation.

This is primarily because the family never put a business succession plan in place. What happens if the founder dies unexpectedly?

Does the business have the cash flow or a reserve that it can draw on to survive? What if the founder wants to retire? Does the next generation have the financial resources to purchase the business?

Life insurance can be used to address both issues efficiently, cost-effectively, and potentially income taxfree. It is an effective financial tool that every family business should consider.

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PERSPECTIVES BANKING + FINANCE

Top Tips for Family Businesses Local pros offer words of wisdom

BY DREW HAWKINS

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ever mix friendship and money” has long been a common piece of advice.

But what about family and money? For this, Biz asked a few local finance experts to share some of their best tips and advice.

STARTING OUT

If you’re thinking of starting a new business with family members, experts say it’s critical that everyone work together to outline each person’s roles and expectations so that all are on the same page and misunderstandings are avoided.

“After all, you’re still likely to be sharing a table with them at Thanksgiving!” said Patricia Besselman-Main, principal and financial planner at Besselman Wealth Planners Going in with a solid business idea and plan that’s flexible enough to allow for change can also help family businesses avoid potential conflict.

“I’d suggest being problem oriented,” said Jarrett Cohen, co-founder, principal and chief investment officer of JECohen.

“The most successful family businesses solve a problem and or address a need.

I’d also suggest being flexible to change because the business will unquestionably evolve over time.”

EXPANSION

When it comes to expanding your business, the biggest takeaways were to remain

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growth-oriented and take your time. An essential part of that planning is to look at the current state of your business. Assess your current staffing situation and make sure your business’s infrastructure can handle growth or expansion.

“Define in detail what your growth metrics should be and how long it should take to reach those goals,” said Jared Freeman, president and CEO at OnPath FCU. “Determine if you can create this growth or expansion within your current revenue structure and/or how additional debt could affect your business culture.”

Believe wholeheartedly in what your business will provide.

Purpose is the foundation for which the business must exist.

Seek out those who have been successful in similar endeavors and get their advice.

Understand that a large majority of family businesses fail. Find out why.

Co-Founder, Principal, and Chief Investment Officer JECohen

I’ve often heard, ‘If you’re not growing, you’re dying.’

Maintaining a growthoriented mindset is harder to do than it may seem.

When you do so, however, one tends to glean opportunities that others may overlook.

PATRICIA BESSELMANMAIN Principal and Financial Planner Besselman Wealth Planners

FINDING THE MONEY

As far as financing options go, there are a lot of options.

“Utilize those resources,” said Besselman-Main. “Our region has a vast array of organizations that are working to help small and family-owned businesses thrive, all you have to do is reach out to them!”

The Small Business Association (SBA) and local banks and credit unions can also be great resources.

“Local, community-based financial institutions have the ability to partner with local business in a more flexible way,” said Freeman.

But at the same time, beware of predatory companies.

“Private equity firms and investors can be vultures,” said Cohen. “In my experience family business owners tend to have less remorse when selling to a strategic versus a private equity outfit.”T

JARRETT COHEN

Jared Freeman, president & CEO, OnPath FCU

Before you make a big change, ask yourself if you will be overextended, or if you will have enough to cover your operating expenses until revenues increase. If not, make a plan that ensures you and your family are covered before taking the leap.

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PERSPECTIVES MARITIME + PORTS

DID YOU KNOW? The Mississippi River is the second-longest river in the United States and the fourth-longest in the world.

SMOOTH SAILING A look at two family legacies in the New Orleans maritime industry

BY DREW HAWKINS

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tanding on the banks of Bayou Lafourche, Donald G. Bollinger saw an opportunity.

It was 1946, and southern Louisiana was in the midst of an oilfield boom. Bollinger had learned how to be a machinist building oil barges to support the Allies in World War II and he decided to put his skills to use and start a machine shop, constructing barges and work boats, as well as fishing vessels—it’s still south Louisiana, after all.

Bollinger’s company would go on to earn a major government shipbuilding contract, constructing and delivering just over a dozen

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110-foot-long Island Class cutters to the U.S. Coast Guard. Because of the high level of quality and craftsmanship, as well as the company’s ability to reliably deliver on time and under budget, the government kept ordering more and more ships, and Bollinger Shipyards became a fixture in the New Orleans maritime industry.

In many ways, navigating the ins and outs of building a successful business is similar to navigating a river. There are many twists and turns along the way, but with the right course and a steady pilot, it can be smooth sailing.

In this instance, the river just happens to be 2,320 miles long and serves as one of the nation’s most critical economic lifelines.

When Bollinger got started, he knew the task was daunting, and like many of us when we’re faced with difficulty, he turned to the people he could trust most: family. He brought in his brothers — Ralph, a skilled mechanic, George, an expert welder, and Richard, a college graduate who would serve as the company’s president.

Starting and running a business with family members isn’t unique to Bollinger Shipyards or the maritime industry. Family businesses are the backbone of the American economy. That’s not hyperbole — 90% of all business ventures in the country are family-run, including 35% of all Fortune 500 companies.

Bollinger’s company would stay in family hands for generations. When Donald stepped down in 1985, his son, Boysie, became CEO. In the three decades that he ran the family business, he oversaw major deals and acquisitions that led to Bollinger Shipyards becoming the largest privately owned shipyard in the country.

In 2014 — after retiring from playing in the NFL and working as a welder, shipfitter, machinist, painter and project manager before taking on more administrative duties as a vice president and then as COO — Ben Bordelon, Boysie’s nephew and grandson of Donald Bollinger, took over as CEO. He became the third generation to run the company.

“Family means everything to me,” Bordelon said. “Something my grandfather instilled in me from an early age is that family is the most important thing in the world.”

Bordelon said that while the company is squarely rooted in history and tradition, he has his eyes set on the future.

“We have a lot of exciting projects on the horizon that will continue to push our industry forward and grow the footprint and offerings of Bollinger,” he said.

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“

Lots of our employees have fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, siblings, cousins and in-laws that work at Crescent Towing or Cooper Mooring. Family means so much to our business.

Ben Morvant, senior operations manager for Crescent Towing

”

When it comes to building successful companies in the maritime industry, the secret to success seems to be hard work and strong family values. At least that’s what worked for Bollinger and another family-owned maritime powerhouse, Cooper/T. Smith Corporation.

In many ways, Angus Royal Cooper’s story mirrors Donald Bollinger’s. They both saw opportunities to put their work ethic and skillsets to good use while working on the docks.

The son of Scottish immigrants, Cooper had 13 brothers and sisters. In 1905, after working as a stevedore — a manual laborer who loads and unloads ships — Cooper started his own

company, establishing a waterfront tradition that would be expanded by his sons and grandsons into the second-largest stevedoring company in the country.

The organization’s success would allow them to acquire and expand other companies, including Crescent Towing, a tugboat company that operates out of New Orleans, Mobile and Savannah.

But it wasn’t easy. When Angus’ son, Ervin, joined the family business, he also faced a daunting task. Seeking to expand the company to ports throughout the United States, he had to compete with the biggest maritime firms, an almost impossible task. But he did it with help from family.

His two sons, Angus II and David, made it their mission to grow the business across the world, and they succeeded. In turn, their sons, Angus III and David Jr., worked for the company after school and during summers and holidays as they grew up, learning the business from the ground up before joining the team as adults.

And it’s not just the Cooper family. The company values family working together in their operations.

“Lots of our employees have fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, siblings, cousins and in-laws that work at Crescent Towing or Cooper Mooring,” said Ben Morvant, senior operations manager for Crescent Towing.

“Family means so much to our business.”

Running a business is hard, and running a business in a region that faces natural disasters and feast-or-famine boons regularly is even tougher.

You need people you can depend on to make it work, so it’s no surprise that so many successful companies in the maritime industry were started by families and continue to be run by them.

It’s estimated that 90% of the world’s goods are transported by sea — roughly the same percentage of companies in the U.S. that are family-run. And because New Orleans lies at the mouth of the country’s largest river, with access to the world’s oceans, international shipping has historically been critical in the region’s economy.

With so much at stake, it’s good to know that the folks who work in the industry owe their success to and put their trust in family, the strongest of human connections.

“The maritime industry is the lifeblood of south Louisiana,” Bordelon said, “and we’re proud to be central to that for over the past three quarters of a century.” T

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PERSPECTIVE GUEST

VANESSA BROWN CLAIBORNE is president and CEO of Chaffe & Associates, Inc., the leading investment bank and trusted valuation authority in the Gulf South serving founder-led and family-owned businesses. Claiborne is a licensed CPA/ABV, accredited senior appraiser-business valuations and advises on mergers and acquisitions.

Know Your Worth For family-owned businesses, valuations are best done early and often.

BY VANESSA BROWN CLAIBORNE

A valuation requires a meticulous analysis of the business. The deliverable will include an analysis of trends in the business income, cash flow and balance sheet. The report will also present industry trends, economic factors that will affect the business, information on customers and competitors, management and employees, and the risks of and opportunities available to the business. The analysis will help identify the most important factors driving the company’s value. These factors can be measured and monitored relative to a company’s value on an ongoing basis.

NOT A DIY JOB

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tatistics show that the typical owner has 80% of their net worth tied to their business. That level of investment merits a studied approach.

In order to transition out of a business or into another one, the first step is to understand its value. Understanding a company’s resale value enables the owners to improve bargaining power during negotiations.

THINKING AHEAD

It is never too early to start planning for ownership transition of a business. Even if there are no plans to sell today, by understanding the main drivers of value, the owners will have an opportunity to increase the company’s value and selling price over time. A business valuation can assist the owners in evaluating and planning exit options, including gift or sale to family members, sale to employees, recapitalization using private equity or an outright sale of the business.

Valuing a business, though, is not always a straightforward process. To take advantage of

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tax minimization benefits related to estate and gift taxes, Louisiana capital gains tax exemption and charitable income tax deductions, owners must seek a qualified valuation. A valuation is also necessary for employee compensation strategies, such as stock options, stock appreciation rights and profits interests, as well as employee stock ownership plans.

WHAT’S INVOLVED

A credentialed valuation expert or an investment banker can assist owners in determining value. The process is discreet and confidential.

The company owners — or their professional advisors such as attorneys, CPAs and investment advisors — provide the basic information such as financial statements and legal documents. The process includes management interviews with the business owners (or key employees selected by the business owners) to review the company’s history, strategy and prospects. The valuation advisor will come prepared for the interview, having reviewed the company documents and thoroughly researched the industry.

A word of caution to business owners who believe they know how to value their company as a multiple of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization).

Even this formula with only two elements is complicated. There are numerous factors that determine the correct multiple — including economic conditions, market area, size, nature of revenue, customer or supplier concentration, growth prospects, financing availability and private equity expectations. There are also many ways to measure EBITDA, including last 12 months, an average of some historical period, a current run rate or an estimate of next year.

Determination of the multiple and EBITDA are always situation and company specific.

Using a third-party firm for valuation brings credibility to the price and leads to fewer disputes.

A business valuation will provide an impartial price with which to transact shares for long time business partners and their family members.

Multigeneration families can create an orderly way for shareholders to buy and sell shares.

An independent valuation conducted on a regular basis will identify value drivers and enable management to measure success or identify challenges and make course corrections. It can also highlight areas where revenues can be improved and expenses reduced, resulting in higher profits and improved cash flow. T

I L LU S T R AT I O N BY BEN TALLON

LUXURY R E A L E S TAT E

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE: All real estate advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Ace and the Louisiana Open Housing Act, which make it illegal to advertise any preference, limitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination. We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. For more information, call the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office at 1-800-273-5718.

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YOU HAVE TO MAKE THE TOUGH DAVID SHERMAN — THE ATTORNEY THAT SET UP THE TEAM GLEASON FOUNDATION — OFFERS HIS ADVICE TO FAMILY BUSINESSES LOOKING TO CONTINUE THEIR LEGACY.

BY

KE ITH T WITC H E LL

P O R T R A I T S BY

ADR I E N N E BAT TISTE LL A

H

4 0 P.

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M A L L F A M I L Y B U S I N E S S E S have plenty to worry about on a day-to-day basis, which makes planning for the future a serious challenge. But one thing about the future is that it always gets here, whether planned for or not, and few issues are trickier or more vital than business succession planning.

As a business founder and attorney, Founding Partner David Sherman of Chehardy, Sherman, Williams, Recile & Hayes is immersed in family business challenges every day.

During his 40-year career, Sherman has helped businesses and nonprofits literally from A to Z: the Audubon Foundation to the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. Sherman specializes in transactional work. He has a master’s degree in tax law from Boston University, and in addition to tax work and business transactions, he does a lot of estate planning.

One of Sherman’s ongoing high-profile clients is the Team Gleason Foundation. Sherman talked with Biz New Orleans about his background, his work, and how he helps family businesses sustain themselves across generations.

Tell us a little about the work of your firm.

Years ago, there was a personal injury firm called Gautier Murphy. Wendell Gautier was considered one of the finest personal injury lawyers in the country. Gautier Murphy had a wonderful personal injury practice, but they started getting concerned that the Legislature was going to cap personal injury lawyers’ fees. So, they decided to start a business section.

They recruited Lawrence Chehardy and me — we were best friends since law school — they recruited us to start a business section. It grew to the point where we started having conflicts between personal injury and business, so Lawrence and I started our own firm, along with four other lawyers. We’re now up to 40, 45, and do a whole array of work.

One of the things that makes us unique is we believe in specialization. Everyone in the firm has a niche and specializes. We do just about every type of legal work that a single firm can do. But one of the things that I think distinguishes us is that we really believe that it important to be involved in the community, to do our share of charity work, and we’ve done that since the firm’s inception.

Looking at the field of business succession planning, what are the issues a family business should consider? Why is this so important?

I think the most critical issue is succession planning, because you’ve got a generation that is running the business. What happens when they’re no longer able to run the business? You have two different issues. One issue is, you’ve got a generation running a family-owned business, but you have no one in any younger generation involved. The question becomes, “If I’m running a business, and no one in the family is involved, and I can no longer run it, is the business sold to a third party?” Do you sell it to your employees? There’s a whole array of issues when you have no one else in the business.

A bigger challenge, believe it or not, is when you’ve got a parent running a business, and some children are involved in running the business, and some aren’t. That’s a very difficult issue, because a lot of families believe “We’ve got to share everything equally, so all of our children have got to have an ownership interest in the business.” That, 10 out of 10 times — the ones who were working are going to feel like, “It’s our blood, sweat and tears making the business go. Our siblings

aren’t involved, why should we have to share the profits with them?” The siblings are going to feel like, “Well, this was an asset that our parents owned, so we should get our share.”

What I have preached to my clients is where you have that type of situation, leave the business to the children who are involved. If you’re fortunate enough to have other assets, balance things with other assets.

Why is it so important to do this type of planning ahead of time?

First of all, under Louisiana law, if you run a business, and you die without a will, it goes to all of your children equally, and that leads to the problems we just discussed. One of the keys in family-business planning is to have a will that lays everything out. A lot of family businesses I represent, the older generation has survived long enough to where they’ve been able to transfer the business while they’re alive, and make sure everything’s done smoothly. That’s always the best way to do it. But you’ve got to have a will in the event you are not able to complete that process.

When is the best time to begin this type of planning?

There’s no right time or wrong time, but what I have seen is when clients start approaching their 60s, that’s when they’ll want to sit down and talk about business planning. I don’t think it’s ever too early. Really the key is not how old the older generation is, the key is when the children get to the point where you’re comfortable starting the process.

What are some of the most common obstacles or challenges you come up against in helping family businesses with succession planning?

The biggest challenge is we all think we’re going to live forever. That’s the challenge with estate planning, to have somebody focus on sitting down and doing their will. Doing business planning is never anyone’s top priority. Their top priority is things that are happening now. Second-biggest challenge is where you have children who are in the business and children who are not in the business.

Every team must have its leader.

That’s exactly right.

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One of your most high-profile clients is Steve Gleason and the Gleason Foundation. How did you first become involved with them?

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There’s no right time or wrong time, but what I have seen is when clients start approaching their 60s, that’s when they’ll want to sit down and talk about business planning. I don’t think it’s ever too early. Really the key is not how old the older generation is, the key is when the children get to the point where you’re comfortable starting the process.

What is the one most important thing family business owners should know, or think about, in terms of succession planning?

It’s everything we’ve talked about, but the single most important point is to remember that someone is ultimately going to have to make the decision on continuing the business. So, when you have multiple children in the business, the tendency is to make them equal owners, but that often leads to irreconcilable issues and disputes. I think the most important issue is to pick the one person whom ultimately you have confidence in to make the final decision.

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A very close personal friend of mine, Tom Capella, who is the assessor in Jefferson Parish, is also probably one of Steve Gleason’s two or three closest friends. Tom is also an attorney, and he does general legal work for Steve. When Steve was diagnosed, the family wanted to set up the foundation and do estate planning, and Tom recommended me. I’ve done a lot of nonprofit work; I’ve set up a lot of nonprofits in this city. I met with Steve and Michel, and Michel’s father, Steve’s father-in-law, Paul Varisco, and we just hit it off. I was so moved at the meeting with Steve, Michelle and Paul Varisco that I ended up volunteering my services to set up the foundation. We all worked together and put together the foundation, which has been a huge success, thanks to Steve and Michel and Paul Varisco.

Tell us a little about the work involved in setting up the Gleason Foundation, as well as the ongoing work with it.

The first thing we had to do was set up the corporation, Team Gleason. We had to set up the entity, talk about managing the entity, who would be the leader of the team. At the time, nobody thought Steve was going live six more months, so we had to talk about all the succession planning. Second obstacle was that we then had to obtain tax-exempt status from the IRS, because we had to qualify as a charitable foundation. That way donors could deduct their contributions. It was absolutely a team effort, but everything worked out smoothly.

And then ongoing, if you’re a charitable foundation, one of the toughest things from an attorney’s standpoint is there are so many rules and regulations, dos and don’ts, that you almost have to monitor it on a weekly, if not daily, basis. The people running it don’t have the expertise to know, yes, we can write a check for this, no, we can’t write a check for that. That is the ongoing work, along with a lot of contractual work. Team Gleason is sought after by all kinds of businesses, enterprises, so there is a lot of transactional work there.

How do you help ensure the sustainability of the foundation and its work? (laughs) I don’t do a single thing in that regard, that’s Steve Gleason, and Michel Gleason, and Paul Varisco. Really Steve has created such an incredible awareness now of ALS, and he’s become such an icon, received the Medal of Honor, it’s just incredible. And his wife, Michel, is every bit as strong and as visionary as Steve is. So, I have no concerns about the sustainability. But it’s not a result of anything I’ve ever done.

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Do you have any last thoughts or advice you would give to someone about operating and sustaining a family business?

I think the key from my perspective is not overstaying your welcome. [I’m going to] stay as long as I can help to lead the firm, and as long as I can do my job, but I don’t want to be one of these attorneys or businesspeople who stays longer than he should and causes all kinds of conflict among the younger people. I want to turn over the reins when I should turn over the reins.

We’ve all seen people stay too long, and I just don’t want to be in that category. T

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DID YOU KNOW? David Sherman’s relationship with Steve Gleason is far from his only sports affiliation. Sherman is co-chair of the 2022 NCAA Men’s Final Four Local Organizing Committee and has worked closely with the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation for more than 20 years, serving as chairman of the board numerous times. He is also a past president of the University of New Orleans Athletic Association.

SUCCESSION PLANNING N THEY PUT THE

“SUCCESS” IN

A LOOK AT HOW THREE VERY DIFFERENT LOCAL BUSINESSES WERE ABLE TO MAKE THE TRANSITION TO A NEW GENERATION

BY KIM SINGLETARY PORTRAITS BY GREG MILES

early 90% of businesses in the United States

— and worldwide — are family owned. And for many of these businesses, the ultimate goal is to exist long past the founder’s lifetime and serve as a family legacy that brings wealth and success to generations to come.

The reality, however, is that only approximately 30-40% of family-owned businesses are successfully transferred to a second generation, and only about 13% make it to a third generation. Frequently cited among the top reasons for a family-owned company’s demise is a lack of succession planning.

A good succession plan clearly lays out how a company will be transferred to the next generation. It defines how ownership of the family business and assets will be divided, and who will

B IZ N E W ORL E AN S

As of July 14, 2022, Courtney HebertDavis — the eldest daughter of Bart’s Office Inc., founders Bart and Kathleen Thibodeaux — is the company’s new owner, along with her fiance, Bobby Woolley. HebertDavis’s daughter, Kaylie, currently serves as special accounts manager.

THINK OUTSIDE THE FAMILY. BART’S OFFICE, INC. A commercial moving and office installation com-

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pany, Bart’s Office, Inc., is a second-generation, family-owned company that includes 40 full-time employees and services the Gulf South area and beyond. Among its largest recent projects was working with the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport to move all its seating to its new location and complete some of the restaurant installations. Just a handful of the company’s other clients have included AT&T, Entergy, Catholic Charities, the City of New Orleans, Delgado, Louisiana State University, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Touro Infirmary, and the World Trade Center.

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serve in what role. Maybe most importantly, it is clearly communicated and agreed upon by all parties involved well before it is needed. The result is a plan that ensures continuity for the business, and its employees, and that protects the family’s wealth, and often its relationships.

Unfortunately, only about one-third (34%) of family-owned businesses report having a solid, documented and well communicated succession plan in place. Almost another third (31%) have no plan other than the owner’s will.

Every business, and every family, has its own unique strengths and issues, but these three local businesses have at least one thing in common, they have all successfully navigated the succession process and were willing to share the lessons they learned in hopes of helping others do the same.

B IZ N E W OR L E AN S N OV22

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A family with a command of heavy highway construction, the Commanders include (left to right) Cory, Kelly, Derek, Madeline and Christian.

The company was founded by New Orleans natives Bart and Kathleen Thibodeaux in 1978 as Bart’s Office Furniture Repairs. Bart had previously been installing office furniture for Dameron Pierson, a sales company in Metairie.

“My dad would be out on job sites and clients would ask him to fix furniture for them,” explained Courtney Hebert-Davis, the Thibodeauxs’ eldest daughter. “Since he had installed the furniture, he knew it well and he could repair it, so he did. Eventually, he went to his boss and suggested they offer repair as a service. They weren’t interested, but his boss said he’d refer any clients to him if he started his own business.

“So, he went to my grandfather for support, and my grandfather was angry at first. He actually used to love to tell us the story: My grandfather

worked for AT&T and assumed that my dad would do the same and basically thought, ‘What, this isn’t good enough for you? This is how I supported our family.’ He ended up agreeing to support my dad for a year, and he said by the end of that year my dad was making more money than he was.”

Assuming they would have a son to succeed them in the business, the Thibodeauxs actually had four daughters — Courtney, Ashley, Kasie and Alexie — whom their father was determined to instill with a strong work ethic.

“There are a lot of people who will shy away from hard work,” said Hebert-Davis, “but my father never allowed us to. And even though he did not have boys, he certainly didn’t treat us like we were incapable of doing things.”

BE FLEXIBLE AND PUT FAMILY FIRST. COMMAND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRIES

A woman-owned heavy highway contractor,

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Command Construction specializes in concrete paving, site-work, concrete barrier installation and sewer, water and drainage projects throughout Southeast Louisiana. The company has approximately 250 employees and completes 18-20 projects a year.

Among their current projects is the roadwork being done on Severn Avenue in Metairie adjacent to Lakeside Shopping Center. Past projects include the last phase of Earhart Boulevard, the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, and several projects on Highway 190.

Command Construction was founded in 2001 by Kelly and Derek Commander. A graduate of Tulane University’s civil engineering program, Derek had worked for multiple area construction companies, including Boh Bros., before he found himself at a crossroads.

“I got to the point in my career that to grow, I’d either be looking at moving out of town or starting my own business,” said Derek, “so we started a business.”

Command Construction’s first job was on Patricia Street in St. Bernard Parish for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

Over the years since, all three of the Commanders’ children have worked their way up in the business.

Their eldest son, Cory, earned an executive MBA from Louisiana State University and currently serves as the company’s controller. The couple’s youngest child, Christian, was only 7 years old when the company was founded. He received a degree in construction management from LSU and works as operations manager.

The middle of the three children, Madeline, followed in her father’s footsteps to earn a degree in civil engineering from LSU. Following graduation, she worked in Austin, Texas, for a while before returning home in 2017.

On Jan. 1, 2019 she formed her own company, Traffic Commander.

“When I started working with my family, I was interested in the customer interfacing safety and service business,” said Madeline. “I acquired the former traffic division of Command Construction and have established a presence, vision and culture all my own ... It works well for me because I’m highly independent, but we still get to work together.”

Traffic Commander specializes in traffic control services — work consisting of lane closures, flagging operations, selling, renting, and installing advanced

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In 2000, when his eldest child was only 22 years old, Bart underwent a liver transplant as a result of complications following a motorcycle accident. For the following almost two decades, until his death in 2019, he was too sick to run the family business.

Kathleen continued to run the office, while Ashley, their second-eldest, ran operations. The furniture repair business grew into furniture installation.

By 2010, all four sisters were working in the business. For seven years prior to her return, Hebert-Davis had owned a Planet Beach spray tan company on Metairie Road, which she grew and sold. When she decided to return to the family business, she said she aimed to use what she had learned to make a change.

“I wanted to run more like a corporation and less like a mom-and-pop operation,” she said. “At that time, the company was over 30 years old and we had about three people who worked for us full time.

My sisters and I started growing the company about 30% year-upon-year. It was a lot. We were flying by the seat of our pants.”

After their father’s death, three of the daughters began moving away from the company for various reasons, including Ashley, who started her own consulting firm.

“Everything [for the company] was always decided by vote, and that was getting harder and harder with not everyone there for the day-to-day,” said Hebert-Davis. “So about a year ago, my fiancé and I went to my sisters with the idea of buying them out.”

Getting everyone on board with the buyout, however, took a little time.

“It was not necessarily a cut-and-dried, easy process,” said Hebert-Davis. “There’s a lot of emotions that are involved in a family business, a lot of pride, and a lot of hard work by all parties.”

Hebert-Davis credits the success of the transition to two individuals: Keith Gillies, chief financial planner and managing principal at Wealth Solutions in LaPlace, and her fiancé, Bobby Woolley, who served as a sort of informal mediator.

“Bobby took care of all the negotiations,” she said. “You don’t want to have everybody in the room together because emotions can run higher when there’s more people feeding them. He talked to everyone individually about if they were willing to sell, and if so, what was their expectation of what they would receive during that sale… At the end of the day, the goal for all of us was just to be a family.”

After coming to agreements with every family member and about six months of legal paperwork, Hebert-Davis and Woolley became the owners of Bart’s Office, Inc., on July 14, 2022.

Two years ago, the first member of the family’s third generation — Hebert-Davis’ daughter, Kaylie — began work at the company. She currently serves as special accounts manager.

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(Left to right) Jasminne Navarre, D Joan Rhodes, Sandra R Duncan, Stephanie R Navarre, Willie Navarre and Kathleen Rhodes Astorga

warning signs, arrow boards, message boards, cones, barricades, temporary precast barriers and any work zone needs to make highway work safer for the traveling public and construction workers.

Kelly and Derek said the plan was always to pass the business on to their children in stages, but their timeline recently became accelerated.

“Up until a few years ago, we had an operations manager who was supposed to be the guy that would take over in the gap, someone who would handle things while the kids had a little more time to get more experience under their belts,” said Derek. “But three years ago, he had a massive stroke. He was only in his early 50s. That really lit a fire under us to get the kids up to speed much quicker.”

Now in their 60s, Kelly and Derek said they hope to start to step away from the company in the next few years.

“Part of the plan was helping Madeline to get established in her own company,” said Kelly, “and also helping our sons in the roles they currently hold to understand our business and be successful. We knew it was going to be a long-term process, but it needs to be to set them up to be even more successful than we’ve been. We’re engaging in that every day.”

Madeline said she feels fortunate that she and her siblings work so well together.

“All of our talents are really complementary — our background training, our personalities,” she

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Undertaking Company on Valence Street in Uptown New Orleans in 1884, there were no funeral homes that accepted Black people, so often the bodies of the deceased ended up being prepared in stables.

Rhodes’ company offered up a quality experience for the community he loved, and it is a passion he instilled in his son, Duplain W. Rhodes Jr. Together, the two grew the business, acquiring the side of the business of several insurance companies that catered to Black customers, and opening additional branches — one in Gretna, another in Uptown in the old Tivoli Theater, which he remodeled in 1969, and yet another in Baton Rouge.

The Rhodes family of companies now numbers eight, including two funeral homes (Duplain W. Rhodes, which has five locations in New Orleans, and Rhodes United Fidelity Funeral Home in Baton Rouge). The family also owns four development companies — Rhodes Commercial Development, D&R Real Estate, Rhodes Properties and Claiborne Corridor — as well as the Bohn Motor Company and Rhodes Life Insurance Agency.

“Every time my mom and dad acquired a location, they put in into a real estate company,” explained Kathleen Rhodes Astorga, one of five siblings who

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When Duplain W. Rhodes established The Rhodes

IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO PLAN FOR SUCCESS. RHODES FAMILY OF BUSINESSES

ran the business after their parents — Duplain W. Rhodes Jr. and Doris Millaud Rhodes — died in 1988 and 1989. Astorga’s sister, Edith RhodesGomes, died in 1994.

Astorga said she and her three remaining siblings — D. Joan Rhodes, Sandra Rhodes Duncan and Duplain W. Rhodes III — continued her father’s dedication to succession planning.

“My parents always talked to us about what would happen when they died, so we all were very clear long before it happened,” said Astorga. “When they died, we all inherited stock in the company.

After Hurricane Katrina, we all sat down with Edith’s two kids, Walter and Lisa, and asked if they wanted us to buy them out. They said yes, so we bought them out of the funeral homes. They are still stockholders in our life insurance agency and one of our property companies.”

At that time, the family also put in place buy/sell agreements, something they were grateful for when they suffered another loss last year, the unexpected death of their brother, Duplain W. Rhodes III. As a family that has spent over 130 years in the deathcare industry, Astorga said they know the importance of planning ahead and they don’t shy away from tough discussions.

“My parents were never afraid about talking about death,” she said. “They saw some of their peers in the industry run into trouble by avoiding those talks, so they believed in telling everyone while you’re alive what the plan is going to be. If someone’s going to fight, let them do it while you’re alive. And, more than anything, keep talking to each other. Keep the lines of communication open.”

Astorga said the succession planning work is an ongoing focus with the family’s fourth generation.

“There are 15 members of our fourth generation, most of which have worked in the business at some time or another in their adult lives,” she said. “Two are currently working full-time and five part-time. The rest have made themselves available for the training.”

The company’s succession training involves gathering the family together for regular educational sessions on both the business and future plans.

“Right now, we are doing a three-month series in October, November and December to go over what they own, including profits and losses, and open the floor to great ideas and strategy,” said Astorga.

“We also sometimes invite in other professionals to share their knowledge. We’ve had two attorneys in to explain buy/sell agreements and answer any questions, and two or three years ago we had an expert on conflict resolution. We’ve also had HR professionals, accountants and even other funeral-home owners with similar businesses.”

The Rhodes family’s love for planning, attention to detail and focus on collaboration and diversification has brought them successfully this far, and Astorga said she feels confident it will keep them going strong well into future generations. ■

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said. “As a team we really help fill the gaps, and we never take anything personally. It’s always just about the success of the business.”

When it comes to their best advice for other businesses going through a succession, Kelly, Derek and Madeline each had a different take.

“You have to compartmentalize,” said Kelly. “Try to leave the job at the job and remember that you’re a family. You have to make sure you still have fun times together — dinners, vacations — because if not, work can take over your whole life.”

“One thing I learned through the Tulane Family Business Center is that not every business can be passed down,” said Derek. “Trying to force a square peg into a round hole sometimes is the absolute worst thing you can do. Look at the dynamics of the people in the family and see if it’s even doable.

I know some companies that have split because of turmoil in the family and that’s not something I wanted to see in our situation. The family unit has to be intact first before you even consider a succession.”

“I would say to make sure you have loyal key personnel and non-family members in leadership roles,” said Madeline. “It helps balance the responsibilities.”

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FROM THE LENS

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GREAT WORKSPACES 60 WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?

The story of Element Beverage Co. is one of hope, tragedy, resilience and success.

64 NEW ORLEANS 500

Vance Vaucresson, president of Vaucresson Sausage Company

Son of a Saint opens new Bayou St. John headquarters designed to help better serve fatherless young men in New Orleans

FROM THE LENS GREAT WORKSPACES

SON OF A SAINT 2803 St. Philip Street // sonofasaint.org facebook.com/sonofasaintorg // @sonofasaintorg

NEW BEGINNINGS Son of a Saint opens new Bayou St. John headquarters designed to help better serve fatherless young men in New Orleans

BY MELANIE WARNER SPENCER

PH OTOS BY SARA ESSEX BRADLEY

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ivian “Sonny” Lee III founded the nonprofit Son of a Saint in 2021 in honor of his late father, New Orleans Saints defensive back Bivian Lee Jr., and his mother, Cynthia Lee. When Bivian Lee died, his young family — which included Sonny Lee’s then 5-year-old sister — had to learn how to navigate life without him. Cynthia Lee sought the help of mental health professionals to help her son learn how to work through the loss of his father and placed him in sports leagues. Those opportunities, and the resultant relationships, inspired Sonny Lee to

In June, Son of a Saint moved its headquarters to a state-of-the-art building on St. Phillip Street in the Bayou St. John neighborhood. It’s now housed in a converted, circa-1908 ice storage warehouse.

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create Son of a Saint to help other fatherless young men find similar support and services.

In June, the organization moved into stateof-the-art headquarters on St. Phillip Street in the Bayou St. John neighborhood. Son of a Saint Chief Operating Financial Officer Ola Adegboye recently answered a few questions about the organization and its new facility, a converted circa-1908 ice storage warehouse.

What were your goals for the design?

Ola Adegboye: What our organization has always needed was a building the boys could call home, where we knew they would feel safe and where our programming would be emboldened by the space itself. We knew the design had to be reflective of our core values and [had to] help give the boys a consistent environment to grow within as we continued to give them hope, vision and opportunity.

What was the biggest design challenge?

Adegboye: Son of a Saint provides a wide

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variety of programs and services for our boys, and these are constantly changing. We need spaces that can be set up for cooking classes, college prep, mental health sessions, training for large groups, as well as spaces where the boys can just feel at home and bond with their mentors or other mentees. This isn’t a common building type. The challenge for us here was to create a home that could facilitate all of this and also allow for the design to be flexible enough to accommodate any number of unknown potential activities in the future as the organization continues to find more ways to provide for the boys.

What is the standout feature of the design?

Matthew Buyer: The building was originally an ice warehouse built over 100 years ago, and some of the original features remain — such as a suspended trolley and rail system that used to transport large blocks of ice throughout the building. We liked the idea of highlighting the historic character of this building by

contrasting it with a more contemporary addition and interior renovation. We feel that contrast ultimately gave both the “new” and the “old” added meaning.

How would you describe Son of a Saint to someone unfamiliar with your work?

Adegboye: Each year, Son of a Saint selects a group of young fatherless boys ages 10 to 12 to join our program. Our goal is to graduate self-sufficient, independent thinkers who are leaders and give back to their community in the future.

How do you set yourselves apart from organizations doing similar work?

Adegboye: We do this by focusing on young men who are fatherless due to their father’s

“We need spaces that can be set up for cooking classes, college prep, mental health sessions and training for large groups, as well as spaces where the boys can just feel at home and bond with their mentors or other mentees,” said Son of a Saint Chief Operating Financial Officer Ola Adegboye.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES AT BIZNEWORLEANS.COM

death, incarceration, deportation or single motherhood. Our holistic approach, using a network of volunteers and partner agencies, enable us to address every boy’s individual and customized needs.

A positive environment is essential for the staff at Son of a Saint.

Chief Operating Financial Officer Ola Adegboye said, “We create a relaxed and comfortable environment, keep our building clean, safe and comfortable, and also show appreciation to our employees several times during the year by taking them on staff outings, staff retreats, holiday lunches, free meals.”

How do you promote a positive work atmosphere for the staff?

Adegboye: We understand the importance of having a positive work environment so we encourage collaboration and communication.

We create a relaxed and comfortable environment, keep our building clean, safe and comfortable, and also show appreciation to our employees several times during the year by taking them on staff outings, staff retreats, holiday lunches, free meals.

What are your biggest challenges?

Adegboye: Managing a team of 30-plus employees and making sure that everything continues to operate smoothly, like a fine-tuned automobile.

What goals are you looking to meet in the next 12 months?

Adegboye: Hiring more staff, plus building processes and systems to support the addition of more boys in the future.

Tell me something you think readers should know.

Adegboye: I wanted to create a building with technology that James Bond 007 would approve and be proud of. T

QUICK LOOK Years in Operation Founded in 2011 New Offices Opening June 2022

Square footage 15,846 square feet

Persons in charge Ola Adegboye, chief operating financial officer

Architecture Trapolin-Peer Architects: Matthew Buyer, project architect and Gabriel Virdure, associate Interior Design NANO and TrapolinPeer

Furnishings and art AOS Interior Environments

FROM THE LENS WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?

LEMONADE WITH A LEGACY The story of Element Beverage Co. is one of hope, tragedy, resilience and success.

BY ASHLEY MCLELLAN

PH OTOS BY EDMUND D. FOUNTAIN

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ELEMENT BEVERAGE CO. Drinkelement.us @DrinkElement

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New Orleans Element Beverage Co., available in more than 50 stores locally, is the freshest lemonade drink on the market, tapping into a market thirst for lemonade and fruit-infused drinks, sodas and mixers.

n 2016, inspired by a class trip to CocaCola in Atlanta, then-St. Augustine High School senior Devin Espadron took the first step to becoming an entrepreneur: He was inspired to create a product — in this case, a riff off his grandmother’s lemonade recipe.

“Devin, put a unique twist to his grandma’s recipe by adding pineapple juice,” explained his mother, and co-owner of Element Beverage Co., Keishia Deverney. “The demand for [what became] Element Pineapple Lemonade quickly overwhelmed Devin, who had begun selling his product in 1-gallon jars around town. He couldn’t keep up with the orders, and the homemade recipe only lasted seven days and needed to be refrigerated.”

Co-owners Keishia Deverney and David Espadron continue the work of their son, Devin, who launched the company in 2018.

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After talking to experts in the beverage industry, Espadron realized having his recipe professionally formulated would help solve some of his problems, so he located a company In New Jersey to help.

“Devin was advised to get his products shelfstable,” said Deverney. “[He] quickly realized with this process he could mass produce the lemonades and have his products retailed on store shelves very quickly. Brilliantly, prior to having his products manufactured, Devin had built the customer relationships he needed to get his products in local supermarkets, restaurants and convenient stores.”

Element Pineapple Lemonade hit store shelves in January 2018.

Espadron’s efforts to launch his own business came as a surprise to Deverney, who discovered her son’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering, and his relentless drive, to get the financial backing the company needed to get onto shelves.

“I can laugh about this today, but I was furious when I discovered Devin obtained a line of

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“

Parents usually leave legacies for their children. Our son left a legacy for his parents; this is the Element Story.

”

credit from three different credit card companies,” she said. “I honestly did not see the vision that Devin had for Element. I wanted Devin to go to college. With the three lines of credit totaling $75,000, I was very concerned about Devin being in debt, with no job and ruining his credit at the age of 19. Devin looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘I have a job — Element.

I have a multimillion-dollar company. I will not work for anyone. I will be able to pay the $75,000 back, stop worrying, Kiki. I got this.’ He kissed me on my forehead. I still remember our conversation sitting at the kitchen table. Devin utilized that $75,000 well. He grew Element into the company that it is today. The formula, bottling, labeling, branding, co-packing, the relationships with businesses in the community, is all Devin. Devin left an excellent blueprint for [his father] David and I to follow.”

Tragically, the budding entrepreneur would not live to see his company’s success. Espadron was shot multiple times and killed on November 19, 2019, while catching up with his friend and business partner, Danion Green, just steps from Audubon Park. He was 22 years old.

While an investigation into Espadron’s death is ongoing, his parents have continued the business in their son’s honor.

“David and I watched the passion, countless hours, energy and hard work Devin put into creating and branding Element,” Deverney said.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES AT BIZNEWORLEANS.COM

“Building Element was Devin’s life. [He] left detailed notes about the company. His notes were written as if he knew he would not be here, and the company’s vision must continue.

Element Beverage Company is our connection, respect for his work and love of Devin. We will continue his legacy as long as our abilities will allow. Parents usually leave legacies for their children. Our son left a legacy for his parents; this is the Element Story.”

The company now produces three lemonade flavors that are available in 50 stores across the Greater New Orleans area, including New Orleans, Metairie, Slidell, Plaquemines Parish and beyond. Headquartered at a facility in Harvey, Element currently has four employees.

The company recently partnered with Southern Eagle Beverage Distributors.

Element Beverage is hitting its stride as a wave of popularity for lemonade and lemon-flavored beverages is increasing among consumers. According to a June 2022 report by Beverage Industry, experts point to nostalgia as a key factor. “ G i v e n to d ay ’ s i n f l a t i o n a r y c l i m a te , consumers will likely reach for flavor profiles they know they will enjoy,” explains Anna Fabbri, food and drink analyst at Chicago-based Mintel. “The comfort and familiarity of lemon-

ade’s flavor allow consumers to explore new beverage products or categories without taking much risk in terms of taste.”

Lemonade-infused flavors have taken over alcoholic beverage sales, as well as energy drinks, sparkling water and kombucha.

Deverney has seen demand for Element’s lemonade and fruit beverages continue to grow, despite COVID-19 and the ensuing recession.

“Sales are great … In addition, we sell Devin’s homemade recipe in a cup topped with fresh fruits at the local food and music festivals.

Element also has an online store. We ship anywhere within the U.S. … Right now we are still learning, networking, and building customer relationships while growing slowly.”

It’s that community and business network that Espadron put together while building the brand that continues to impact the success and growth of Element today, according to Deverney.

“Devin networked in the community very well.

Today, people still come to me and say, ‘I met your son; we met and talked about advancing his business.’ This really puts a smile on my face. Devin was so passionate and focused about Element. He knew what he needed to take his company to the next level … I believe with God’s grace and Devin’s confidence embedded in my mind, Element will survive.” T

Element Beverage Co. recently partnered with Southern Eagle Beverage Distributors to help with distribution across the Greater New Orleans region, as well as continuing to be a featured beverage at local fairs, festivals and events throughout the area.

ANOTHER ELEMENT: OPERATION GIVE BACK The “Operation Give Back Foundation,” a 501c(3) nonprofit organization, was created by Keishia Deverney and David Espadron to honor Devin’s memory while raising funds and awareness of New Orleans youth entrepreneurship, specifically for those age 13-25. Its first event, the Element Beverage Festival, was held on Aug. 14, 2021, at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum and included local food vendors, youth craft vendors, health screenings, educational information, a performance from the St. Augustine High School Marching Band — Espadron’s alma mater — and a march for peace.

The foundation is looking for sponsors and resources for a second festival and to further the foundation’s goals of supporting the community and new and local businesses.

For more information: Drinkelement.us/ givebackfoundation

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FROM THE LENS NEW ORLEANS 500

DID YOU KNOW? In 1969, the Vaucresson Sausage Company started selling sausages at Jazz Fest. After almost 50 years, the company is one of the festival’s few remaining original vendors.

Vaucresson’s hot sausage links are an important part of many local recipes and restaurant menus, and the company is currently redeveloping its longtime home in the 7th Ward, where it has operated for more than a century.

Education: Morehouse College On the Horizon: We’re opening a cafe/deli to serve our community.

Hobby/Passion: Singing Hero: Dr. Calvin Mackie

Vance Vaucresson President of Vaucresson Sausage Company

Go-to Restaurant: Dooky Chase’s Hidden Gem: Ray’s on the Ave Nonprofit Cause: National Urban League Best Advice: If you don’t quit, you win.

What Do You Love About Your Job? Meeting and serving people

PH OTO BY ADRIENNE BAT TISTELLA

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ADDITIONAL Q+A ONLINE AT BIZNEWORLEANS.COM