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Lyle and Phyllis Mouton

Lyle and Phyllis Mouton – Two Lives, One Direction

There are families in Lafayette whose names carry more weight than the people who hold them realize, until someone sits down and asks the right questions. Lyle and Phyllis Mouton are one of those families. The...
Portrait of an elderly woman with short white hair, smiling, wearing a black blazer and pearl necklace against a dark backdrop.

Stella Chase – Continuing the Legacy of Dooky Chase

Some legacies are built in boardrooms. Others are built in kitchens. The legacy of the Chase family was built in both seasoned with faith, stirred with sacrifice, and served with an open door to anyone who walked through it. For over eight decades, Dooky Chase’s Restaurant on Orleans Avenue has stood not merely as a place to eat, but as proof that one family’s refusal to be diminished could nourish an entire city’s soul. Stella Chase did not set out to be a keeper of that flame. She was a teacher who had built her own life away from the hum of the kitchen. But legacy has a way of calling you home. When she returned to take her place beside her parents, she brought with her something the restaurant had always run on: quiet strength, deep faith, and an unwavering belief that food, at its highest purpose, is an act of love. Today, with five generations working side by side and two major national honors to their name, the story of Dooky Chase’s is no longer just a New Orleans story. It belongs to the world. And at the center of it all stands Stella Chase, steady, gracious, and absolutely certain that the best is still to come.
Aerial view of a palm-lined isthmus with houses, separating deep blue ocean on the left from a turquoise lagoon on the right.

Tuvalu – The World’s Smallest Paradise, Still Timeless

Somewhere between Hawaii and Australia, where the Pacific stretches so wide it seems to forget the rest of the world exists, nine slivers of coral rise barely above the waterline. This is Tuvalu, a nation so slender in places that a person standing at its centre can watch the ocean break on one side and the lagoon lie still as glass on the other, all within the same unhurried glance. There are no towering resorts here, no beach bars competing for attention, no queues forming for the next attraction. What Tuvalu offers instead is something increasingly rare in modern travel, an honest and unpolished window into Pacific island life, lived exactly as it has been for generations.
Two musicians playing accordions on stage at a Mardi Gras festival; left: smiling man in beige shirt with red accordion in front of a Courville Mardi Gras banner, right: energetic man in red shirt and sunglasses with a white accordion under a tent.

ACADIA PARISH- The accordion sound that connects two cultures

Jerry Prejean’s journey from a tight-knit community in Lafayette to becoming Acadiana Market President at First Horizon Bank is a testament to hard work, mentorship, and dedication to service. With a career spanning over 30 years in banking, he has played a pivotal role in economic development, financial literacy, and youth mentorship. His legacy is not just in finance but in bridging communities, fostering opportunities, and inspiring the next generation of leaders.
Jerry Prejean

Jerry Prejean – A Legacy of Leadership, Mentorship, and Community Impact

Jerry Prejean’s journey from a tight-knit community in Lafayette to becoming Acadiana Market President at First Horizon Bank is a testament to hard work, mentorship, and dedication to service. With a career spanning over 30 years in banking, he has played a pivotal role in economic development, financial literacy, and youth mentorship. His legacy is not just in finance but in bridging communities, fostering opportunities, and inspiring the next generation of leaders.
judge ulysses gene thibodeaux

Judge Ulysses Gene Thibodeaux – A Journey of Resilience and Reform

Judge Ulysses Gene Thibodeaux has left an indelible mark on Louisiana’s legal system, standing as a paragon of integrity and resilience. His career, marked by significant legal reforms and dedicated public service, offers a powerful narrative of hope and transformation in a landscape often challenged by inequality.
Dr Rahn Bailey

Dr. Rahn K. Bailey: Psychiatry, Purpose, and the Power of Storytelling

Dr. Rahn K. Bailey is a nationally recognized forensic psychiatrist whose career bridges the worlds of medicine, justice, and public health. Rooted in his Creole heritage, he has become a powerful advocate for mental health equity, violence prevention, and mentorship in the U.S. and globally.