By David Vitrano
L’Observateur

GARYVILLE – The ground may have been a little soggy, but the rains held out for an evening of fellowship as the River Region Chamber of Commerce held its annual crawfish boil last week.
The event drew a large contingent of local officials, including St. James Parish President Timmy Roussel along with members of the St. James Parish Council, St. Charles Parish President V.J. St. Pierre, state Sen. Gary Smith and state Rep. Randal Gaines. The big raffle winners of the day were Ricky White, who won the 50/50 raffle, and St. John Theatre, which took home the $2,000 grand prize.
After being held in St. Charles Parish for the past few years, this year’s event was moved to the Marathon recreation building in Garyville near San Francisco Plantation.
Chamber Executive Director Chassity McComack said she was happy about the move.
“We need to be cognizant that this is a regional chamber,” said McComack.
The move, however, came more out of necessity than anything.
“We were challenged in finding a chair this year,” said McComack.
Luckily, Melanie Bazile stepped up to the plate.
“My friend John (Harmon) had been looking to relinquish his title,” said Bazile. “We had a shortened time frame, but it really fell together nicely.”
Bazile said she was intent on having the boil in St. John Parish this year.
“We wanted the tri-parish area to know we are able to host an event like this,” she said.
Bazile said volunteers from Marathon and Valero helped pull off the event.
Because of the shortened time frame in putting together the event, both sponsorships and ticket sales lagged this year, according to McComack. About 380 people attended this year’s event compared to the 600 who attended last year.
McComack said the Chamber usually seeks to raise about $20,000 with the event.
“It’s going to be tight,” she said.
Chamber Chair Mike Palamone said despite whatever the final tally came out to be he considers the event a success.
“The best part about it is we work all day, and we come here, and we kind of let our hair down,” said Palamone. “Having everybody here together, it’s what it’s about.”
Palamone did say, however, that the Chamber will evaluate the event in hindsight to determine what was done well and what could be done better in the future.
“We need to take a look in the mirror every now and then,” he said.
One of the events Palamone has already brought some changes to is the annual Parish Presidents Forum, being held Thursday morning at Ormond Plantation. Unlike in previous years where the event consisted of little more than prepared speeches from the officials, this year’s event will feature the three parish leaders speaking on the same topic as well as parish-specific questions from the local business community.