On board: Two Baton Rouge executives are among five new members of the LSU Alumni Association Global Board of Directors, as approved during the organization’s annual meeting earlier this month. Elected to the board were Kevin Knobloch of Baton Rouge, managing director-investments with Wells Fargo; Matthew Juneau of Baton Rouge, senior vice president of corporate strategy and investor relations with Albemarle Corporation; Butch Oustalet of Gulfport, Mississippi, owner of Butch Oustalet Autoplex; Rick Richard of Lake Charles, chairman of Empire of the Seed and retired president and CEO of Columbia Gas; and Van Whitfield of Houston, chief operating officer and executive vice president of Cobalt International Energy Inc. Knobloch is the District 1 representative on the board, while the other four new members all hold at-large seats. All candidates were elected unanimously and will serve three-year terms beginning Jan. 1.
Harvest time: Approximately 15,662 Louisiana farmers who enrolled in new safety-net programs established by the 2014 Farm Bill will soon begin receiving financial assistance for the 2014 crop year, says USDA Louisiana Farm Service Agency Executive Director Craig A. McCain. The Shreveport Times reports the programs, known as Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage, are designed to protect against unexpected drops in crop prices or revenues due to market downturns. “These new safety-net programs provide help when price and revenues fall below normal, unlike the previous direct payments program that provided funds even in good years,” says McCain. Read the full story.
Touchdown: Nicholls State University and the Manning Passing Academy have signed a six-year contract extension to host the popular football skills camp on the Thibodaux campus through 2021, the university announced this morning. Nicholls has hosted the four-day summer football camp since 2005, annually attracting more than 1,000 high school athletes and over 100 coaches and counselors from the NFL, colleges and high schools across the country. High school quarterbacks, receivers, running backs and tight ends travel from all 50 states and around the world to learn football fundamentals from retired NFL quarterback Archie Manning and his three sons. Previously held each July, the 2016 Manning Passing Academy and future MPA camps will welcome campers June 23-26 to comply with NCAA recruiting regulations.
