Cameron Parish
Tourist Commission
P.O. Box 388,
Cameron, LA 70631
Ph (337)775-5718
Fax (337)775-5567
www.visitcameronparish.org
Minutes
The Cameron Parish Tourist Commission met in Regular Session on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, at the Cameron Parish Library, located at 10200 Gulf Hwy. in Grand Lake, La. The meeting was called to order at 1:30 p.m. with Chairman, Stephanie Rodrigue, presiding. The Prayer was led by Ms. Nunez and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Ms. Johnson.
Commissioners Present: Stephanie Rodrigue, Chairman; Tunie Dunaway, Vice Chairman; Carolyn Miller, Treasurer; Patty Boudreaux, Secretary; Mary Johnson, JoAnn Nunez and JoeAnn Labove.
Absent: N/A
Guests: N/A
Approval of Minutes: Upon motion by Ms. Dunaway, seconded by Ms. Labove, and carried, the Minutes of January 6, 2023 and the Minutes of January 26, 2023 were approved as presented.
Treasurer’s Report: Ms. Miller presented the financial reports of December 2022 and January 2023. Ms. Miller will inquire as to the commission’s input of budget figures for 2023 as well as the charge for Insurance not shown for 2022. Ms. Boudreaux presented consolidated and comparison worksheets created from the financials. Upon motion by Ms. Johnson, seconded by Ms. Boudreaux, and carried, the financials were approved as presented, a copy of which is attached hereto and made a part thereof.
Payment of Bills: N/A
Correspondence: Ms. Rodrigue mentioned that all correspondence for the commission is held on a board at the Cameron Parish Police Jury office per Mary Carroll. Items will be picked up by commissioners and presented at our regular meetings.
Old Business:
Occupational Taxes: Ms. Boudreaux presented a current listing of all businesses with current Occupational Licenses as of February 22, 2023. Ms. Boudreaux also updated the commission with answers she received from various questions to Ms. Wendy Harrington regarding the implementation of procedures and enforcement of non-payment of occupancy taxes by Hotel-Motel-RV Park Owners. Ms. Miller will follow-up with Kayla Johnson to obtain a current report of collections.
Website: Ms. Rodrigue mentioned that several items sent to Derek Williams has been posted to the Cameron Parish Tourism Facebook page.
Tent: Ms. Boudreaux submitted a proof for the logo on the tent, as well as the flaps. The backdrop and skirt sides will allow for versatility of photo panels, as well as the addition of panels while using existing frames. Upon motion by Ms. Nunez, seconded by Ms. Dunaway, and carried, the commissioners approved the purchase of the tent, backdrop and two (2) skirt sides with photos on every side, photos to be determined.
TripChat: Commissioners agreed upon various points-of-interest within the parish so that the company can begin adding content to the App for traveler use. Once complete, advertising of the App will ensue and businesses will be encouraged to participate by purchasing advertisement on the App.
New Business:
Election of Officers: Ms. Rodrigue opened the floor for nomination of officers for the 2023 calendar year. The following nominations were presented:
Upon motion by Ms. Boudreaux, seconded by Ms. Miller, and carried, the nomination of Ms. Stephanie Rodrigue to continue to serve as Chairman was accepted and approved.
Upon motion by Ms. Dunaway, seconded by Ms. Johnson, and carried, the nomination of Ms. Carolyn Miller to serve as Vice Chairman was accepted and approved.
Upon motion by Ms. Dunaway, seconded by Ms. Labove, and carried, the nomination of Ms. Patty Boudreaux to continue to serve as Secretary was accepted and approved.
Upon motion by Ms. Dunaway, seconded by Ms. Boudreaux, and carried, the nomination of Ms. Mary Johnson to serve as Treasurer was accepted and approved.
Ms. Boudreaux will submit a list of the new officers to the Cameron Parish Police Jury for an update to their website, as well as Dev Dept for an update to the visitcameronparish.org website.
LOS Birders: Ms. Boudreaux presented a request from the Louisiana Ornithological Society to provide a bagged-meal from Brown’s Grocery in Hackberry to attendees at their evening meeting on Friday, April 28, 2023 at the Hackberry Community Center at a cost of $7.99 per meal. Upon motion by Ms. Labove, seconded by Ms. Boudreaux, and carried, a maximum of 70 meals were approved for the birding visitors to Cameron Parish.
Sesquicentennial: Ms. Rodrigue discussed the setup at the multi-purpose building for the reveal of the time capsule and food vendors. The Cameron Lions Club will provide a USB flash drive as a souvenir to attendees which will contain all contents, including video of the opening of the time capsule. The tourist commission will have a table at the event which will be held on Wednesday, March 15, 2023 following the police jury meeting at 3:00 p.m. with a repeat at 6:00 p.m. From that point, the artifacts will be displayed at each Cameron Parish library. Upon motion by Ms. Johnson, seconded by Ms. Miller, and carried, the purchase of 1,000 unique 16 oz. Koozies with full-color logo and tag line “Celebrating Cameron Parish – 153 years strong” was approved for purchase.
Promotional Items: Upon motion by Ms. Labove, seconded by Ms. Miller and carried, the purchase of 1,000 standard-size koozies was approved to replace depleted inventory. Ms. Boudreaux will obtain pricing for smaller capacity totes, as well as post-it-note booklets.
Ms. Boudreaux presented a request from Sandra DeShields Ford of Southwest Missionary Baptist Association for promotional items for 60 people registered for the Annual Music Ministry Workshop to be held on Saturday, March 11, 2023 in Jennings, La. Upon motion by Ms. Miller, seconded by Ms. Nunez and carried, the request was approved as presented.
Ms. Boudreaux presented a request to provide water and koozies at the 2nd Annual Crab Fest in Holly Beach on Saturday, June 10, 2023 during the sand sculpture lessons on the beach. Upon motion by Ms. Miller, seconded by Ms. Boudreaux and carried, the request was approved as presented.
Other New Business: Ms. Rodrigue invited the commissioners to participate in the “Good Government Program” administered by the Attorney General’s office on Monday, March 13, 2023 at the Cameron Parish School Board office, which will cover such topics as AG Opinions, Public Bid Law, Public Records Law, and Open Meetings Law. Attendees must pre-register.
Ms. Rodrigue presented a request for a letter of support for a usage-driven site designation within the Foreign Trade Zone 291 for Venture Global Calcasieu Pass terminal site in Cameron. This refers to the gas portion for a period of 10 years and would only apply should the company switch from an export to an import facility. Upon motion by Ms. Miller, seconded by Ms. Boudreaux and carried, the request was approved as presented.
Ms. Rodrigue presented an offer by Haynie & Associates through the Louisiana Travel Association to offer to provide governmental affairs services to members of the Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau at a discounted rate of $4,000 annually. After some discussion, although the offer was supported by Ms. Rodrigue and Ms. Boudreaux, the request was denied due to lack of support.
Reports from Commissioners: Ms. Labove mentioned that the Grand Opening for the Cameron Parish Library in Hackberry will be held on Monday, March 6, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. at 613 Main Street. Members were urged to attend. Ms. Labove will try to attend and bring promotional items.
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. at the Cameron Parish Library in Grand Lake, La.
Upon motion by Ms. Dunaway, seconded by Ms. Johnson, and carried, the meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.
APPROVED BY:
STEPHANIE RODRIGUE,
CHAIRMAN
ATTEST BY:
PATTY BOUDREAUX,
SECRETARY
RUN: Apr. 13 (A 34)