St. Tammany/West Notables talk traffic: Recent Episodes
Madisonville Toll Bridge
Notable business owners and elected leaders in and around Madisonville, LA weigh in on the effects of traffic in the area and possible solutions, both short-term and long-term.
Charlie touches on a host of important points about the proposed Madisonville Toll Bridge. Most notable is the idea of having a private company build and maintain the bridge with their capital in return for tolls. The concept is generally known as a Public-Private-Partnership (aka: P3s) where the private company uses its own money to build the bridge instead of traditional funding from the State of Louisiana.
This podcast episode was recorded and edited by Geaux Media, Covington, LA at The Abita Roasting Company in Madisonville, LA on Feb 06, 2023
Recorded January 04, 2022, at "The Abita Roasting Company", Madisonville, LAProduced by Geaux Media, Covington, LA
Maj. Hayes was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and comes from a long line of Delta cotton farmers. Along with his siblings, he inherited his family farm which his first cousin still actively farms today. As such, he is deeply rooted to the land. However, he is also a world traveler who has studied four foreign languages, lived in four different countries, and traveled on four different continents and in over 40 countries and foreign territories.
Maj. Hayes’s family has served in every war this country has ever fought and he kept up this tradition by deploying to Baghdad, Iraq from 2003-2004 and Kandahar, Afghanistan from 2010-2011. In addition to being an Army veteran, he is also a veteran of Capitol Hill where he worked in both Houses of Congress. During his time in Congress, he specialized in Agricultural, Military, Legal, Social, and Foreign Policy issues on the staffs of first Senator Tim Hutchinson of Arkansas and then-Congressman Lamar Smith of Texas.
Maj. Hayes is a graduate of Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, and the Univ. of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law. He owned and operated a solo-practice law firm in Natchez, Miss. for several years before going to work in the public sector.
He is an avid Civil War re-enactor, is active in his church, and especially enjoys his family, as well as genealogy, traveling, reading, writing, hunting, cooking, art, and antique cars.
Shane has a passion for people. Developing rock-solid relationships is his innate strong suit—within the team, vendor partners, and into all client relations across all sales channels (e-commerce, retail, and white labeling for institutional customers).
Prior to his time in the hemp industry, Shane was President and CEO of Doerr Furniture; his family’s 80+-year-old home furnishings business on the outskirts of the French Quarter of New Orleans.
As a former executive in the home furnishings industry, Shane is drawing on that experience to introduce hemp products and services to this category as well as many others.
Shane sees growth in the hemp industry reaching exponential numbers in the coming years and wants to take the lead in becoming an educational resource to consumers as well as others interested in joining this industry.
[Recorded, edited, and produced by Geaux Media, Covington, LA; Captured on DEC 27, 2021]
Mayor Mark Johnson is one of the most articulate elected officials we've seen in a while. He was gracious in taking time to contribute to the Madisonville Toll Bridge podcast series. He's Proactive and gets out in front of issues. He's in total command of his facts - always relevant and engaged with his audience. His remarks were candid and refreshing. In this podcast, he takes us on a guided tour of his recent efforts to get traffic issues squared away in Covington. Mark even shares his thoughts about new bridges over the Tchefuncte and the importance of having "skin in the game". He also gives us a brief tutorial on Napoleonic Law.
[Recorded, edited, and produced by Geaux Media, Covington, LA]
Ms. Gail Perry, long-time Madisonville resident, civic activist, historian, and proprietor of the B&B called "The Cottage on Pine Street". She has been involved in seeking a solution to the traffic issue in and around Madisonville.
[Recorded, edited, and produced by Geaux Media, Covington, LA]
Bonnie witnesses traffic issues first-hand in the Madisonville area. Hwy 21 runs right in front of her store. She shares her candid opinion about traffic in the Madisonville area. Her comments are passionate - but thoughtful and measured. Bonnie is not shy...
[Recorded, edited, and produced by Geaux Media, Covington, LA]
Sandy shares her experiences dealing with traffic on Hwy 22 and how it impacts her members, employees, and the citizens of St. Tammany West. She also has an interesting vision for the future.
[Recorded, edited, and produced by Geaux Media, Covington, LA]