Congratulations to Lennie Fields, First Vice Chairperson and Quarter Two Member Engagement Champion for the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce in 2021! The Chamber’s Board is divided into teams who compete to spread the word about the Chamber to businesses, and Fields is setting the trend for her fellow board members by encouraging three new businesses to join the Chamber; Bryant Medical Group, Giggles and Grins Family Dentistry, and ENT of Acadiana!

Leading up to her appointment to the Chamber’s Board of Director’s by the Nominating Committee, Fields was always involved in community events and networking opportunities. When asked to facilitate a roundtable discussion for women’s leadership (which is now known as the Annual Inspire Event), Fields jumped right in and has been a driving force within the Chamber ever since. Janet Faulk-Gonzales, Chamber CEO, describes Fields as good at bringing people together and creating discussion. “She is inspiring, upbeat, and a little competitive, and that makes her an awesome leader,” says Faulk-Gonzales.

Besides her dedication to the Chamber, Fields is also a part of the Rotary Club in New Iberia and is a leader within her own workplace- iBERIABANK. Fields says that when a business is engaged with their Chamber of Commerce, it means economic stability and resilience for the community at large. “When COVID hit, the Chamber was a large part of our community’s resiliency and ability to tackle what was coming. The way I see it, when you’re a business owner and you’re looking for a place to open a new venture, a strong Chamber, a community-oriented Chamber, is important to deciding where to place your investment,” says Fields.

Fields has been a major part of the Chamber for nearly a decade. Whether she is advocating for the Chamber out in the community or within her own work, Fields is a prime example of a true Chamber Ambassador.

Read the announcement on our website >

New Name Celebration

April 13th, 2021

30 Year Anniversary

April 27th, 2021

Grand Opening

April 28th, 2021

Grand Re-Opening

May 11th, 2021

New Business

June 17th, 2021

Grand-A-Versary

June 23rd, 2021

The in-person 31^st Annual World Championship Gumbo CookOff will celebrate the theme “The Wizard of Roux Returns”! We are bringing all the magic that took place virtually last year, to Bouligny Plaza for an in-person event this October 9^th & 10^th.

In Quarter Two, we launched the 2021 Poster Contest for the 31st Annual World Championship Gumbo CookOff. The winner will receive $500 and the original artwork will be auctioned at the 2022 Annual Banquet! With an overwhelming amount of submissions and support from the community, our Gumbo Committee certainly has their work cut out for them.

We reached over 7,713 community members with announcements about the Poster Contest.

Your Chamber is partnering with the Louisiana Small Business Development Center (LSBDC) to bring free virtual workshops to business owners. These workshops cover an incredible range of information that's relevant and timely. Thus far, we have promoted over 120 workshops through our website and weekly email updates. View upcoming trainings on the Chamber's website by clicking here.

In quarter two we sent 13 emails containing over 90 announcements and having a reach of 3,822 community members!

Continued our successful Positively Iberia! Program

Positively Iberia!, currently in its second season, premiered a new collaborative media effort with The Daily Iberian mid-second quarter. At least once a month, Teche Life reporter Ellen Fucich will sit in on the panel and expand the radio interview to a feature in the following Sunday Iberian. The inaugural story featured Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco’s brother, Erroll, and daughter Monique Boulet (who joined the panel live from the private dining room of the Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge) for a more personal look at what it was like growing up with the Governor. Two additional collaborative features followed, including a spotlight on outgoing GICC CEO Janet Faulk-Gonzales and a Father’s Day tribute to daughters following in their dad’s business footsteps with Haley Miller/Miller Management-McDonald’s and Angie Judice Broussard/Baskin-Robbins.

In all, Positively Iberia! produced 13 programs with 32 guests in the second quarter equaling nearly 500 minutes of positive airtime and facilitated 3 Section A feature stories in the Daily Iberian.

Other guest panels in the second quarter included: in April, a revisit on local mental health resources; in May, a celebration of Asian American/Pacific Islander Awareness Month; and in June, a spotlight on the Town of Delcambre, along with many interviews on the resurging post-pandemic events of the spring.

Airing on KANE 107.5FM/AM1240 during the 10 o’clock hour of Teche Matters every Thursday, the segment features local, regional and state guests that impact our parish’s profile. This initiative of the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce is underwritten by the First National Bank of Jeanerette. If you miss the live program on Thursday morning, a peak behind the curtain video of the radio panel is posted to Facebook (@positivelyiberia) every Thursday afternoon.