The phone call started off about the 50th anniversary of CODOFIL — Council for the Development of French in Louisiana — but with Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser it turned into a romp across tourism and all things related.
A mention of the Louisiana Pie Peddlers, who have been at the Experience Louisiana Festival at LSUE, elicited, “Every time I go around the state I’m amazed and pleasantly surprised at some of the unique things we have or I learn something new about history ... I’m blessed to have the best job on the world,” Nungesser said.
Nungesser opened the second Experience Louisiana Festival in 2016 and also got a taste of the fried pies concocted by Judy Harmon and Harold Schexsnayder, of Opelousas.
But for the phone call, the topic was CODOFIL.
“The people involved in the CODOFIL program are so passionate about children, learning the French culture, language, heritage and implementing that in schools,” he said.
French langauge immersion programs are in 11 parishes and reach about 4,000 students, he said.
‘The doors of the world open for them in job opportunities that a guy like me that never learned a second language never would have. And, to see that opportunity for our children from Louisiana inspires me to get involved and to continue to support it,” he said.
The lieutenant governor’s job description also includes tourism and Nungesser is quick to point out the French language is a draw for French-speaking tourists especially from Canada.
The food and music are among the top reasons Canadians enjoy Louisiana, he said, but there is another one.
In a trip to Canada, Nungesser said he found “...everybody had a story about the way we treat people.”
At Randal’s in Carencro, seniors from Canada learned to zydeco dance. A tour guide told Nungesser, “It was the best trip of their lifetime.”
In Crowley, a couple eating bread pudding loved it and the waitress brought the chef out to write the recipe on a napkin.
“The lady said that doesn’t happen anywhere else we send people. You all treat people like family. They come home with a story and memories they don’t get anywhere else.”
The state tourism folks just introduced a new slogan, “Feed Your Soul ” and maybe that’s visions of fried pies, bread pudding, zydeco dancing, and French voices in song.
Visitors arrive as strangers and leave with “warm, fuzzy feelings they don’t get anywhere else,” Nungesser said.
Since becoming lieutenant governor Nungesser has pushed for tourists to be enticed to leave the state’s largest cities to visit rural areas.
There is a tour of the state’s equine industry.
Another tour in the works is all about movies.
“I’ve got to believe people come to Louisiana to see where movies are shot like “Steel Magnolia: and where people got shot like Bonnie and Clyde.”
Nungesser urges caution in getting rid of the tax credits for TV and movie production.
“Every time they say New Orleans NCIS that has some value to my job. I just don’t know what it is. So, before we throw the baby out with the bath water on the tax credits for the films because dollar for dollar it probably doesn’t make good business sense ... we need to look at everything in a bigger picture,” he said.
Nungesser said a study is under way to determine the value of those Louisiana mentions on television and movies.
