Why We Do It
- September 9th, 2010 /
Once in a while life offers up a truly humbling moment. Last week I had the pleasure of seeing this piece in Portfolio magazine proclaiming me “The New King of New Orleans.” While it is truly a treat to read an acknowledgment of all of the things we are working hard to accomplish, I was most touched by this email I received. I’m posting it with her permission. A good reminder of why we’re working so hard. Thanks Renée.
Chris: I just read the article on you in the Portfolio Today e-newsletter & want to say Thank You. As a native of La, I get such pleasure seeing people like you who aren’t from La help my wonderful state. See, I love Louisiana and I make sure everyone in my current state of Texas knows it. I have not conformed to a Cowboys or UT fan … I stay true to my roots and have always been proud to be from Louisiana. Being in Dallas when Katrina/Rita hit was one of the hardest things for me. All I could do was watch every devastating moment on CNN and hope that everyone I knew was okay, including family. No matter how hard I would cry when I watched CNN nightly, I couldn’t stop watching. My home state was devastated. More importantly it was hitting parts where I grew up. I grew up in Houma, going to Grand Isle and New Orleans frequently. My mom went to school at Loyola and my parents met while both living in NOLA. The Camellia Grill is their favorite restaurant … as children we hated it because we were forced to eat there every month when we went to NOLA! Now, I appreciate it and am just glad it is still there.
Louisiana is often a state that gets the wrong attention and is often overlooked. It’s really hard for “us” to see other states devastated and tended to so quickly; yet our state suffers and suffers and it feels as if not much is done. When people like you move to La and do what you do, it makes all the difference in the world. I only wish I was in a position that I could do that myself. My 7 year hiatus in Texas has been much longer than I’ve wanted, but I know I’ll be able to give back to La somehow, someway.
So, thank you from the very bottom of my heart. You’ll never know how much people like you mean to Louisiana natives like me.
Let’s Geaux Saints!
Renée
- categories: Entrepreneurship, New Orleans /
