The Mentoring of Anne Falgout

April, 2015 by Nicole LaCour

Anne shows an incoming text to her 16 year old daughter, Emma.

“No, Mom,’ the teenager assesses. “Life is too short for stupid boys

and bad coffee.” Anne laughs as she heeds her advice.

Emma entered Anne’s life as she was beginning her senior year

in high school. So it’s not surprising that they are just as much

girlfriends as they are parent and child. “She’s my best friend. I

might not be her best friend. That would skew the order of the

universe.” Emma was not the first nor the last person to enter

Anne’s life and change it forever.

Mother of three, economic developer, community activist and

part time food blogger (and single), Anne Falgout was born with

ambition. But the secret to her success is her ability to recognize

the value of the people around her; to build on the experiences

and influence of smart, talented people and allow their gifts to

nurture and encourage her own. She is the product of drive,

discipline and intelligence married with a love of learning and an

openness to the wisdom of others.

Always driven, the A-student, the student counsel member,

the cheerleader, popular friend and board member, Anne is

disarmingly unassuming. At 33 she’s achieved more than many

will in their lives, yet it’s the words of those who urged her on that

she speaks of most: “You want to be a librarian? You have to come work for me,” Erik

Reutling, Lafayette Economic Development Authority’s (LEDA)

research director told Anne when her internship was up.

“We’re going to meet regularly and talk. I see something in you

that is not being realized.” Flo Meadows, Anne’s personal mentor

instructed her.

“You think you could write your blog for us once a week?”

the Daily Advertiser asked her when her monthly food blog

became popular.

“So we’ve made a pro and con list and we’ve decided you need to

take the job,” Anne’s friends informed her as she contemplated

leaving LEDA after 13 years to return to her hometown to work

for the Vermilion Parish Economic Development District.

“You’re not getting an A in my class,” David Thibodaux told

Anne, despite the fact that she had impressed him with 16

handwritten pages of analysis during English 115’s final exam.

Anne had entered the freshman class thinking, “I’m smart. I got

this.” Mr. Thibodaux showed her otherwise. “I realized that I

had so much to learn and these people were brilliant. It was a

humbling experience. I took the bull by the horns and made

school my job. I fell in love with the program and immersed

myself in literature.

Economic development was not the logical career path for an

English Lit major but what Anne loved about the academics of

literature served her perfectly at LEDA. “I like analyzing things

and writing about it; looking at it from all perspectives and

breaking down information. I have a knack for taking things that

are foreign to people and once I get it, then I can explain it.” And

that’s exactly what she did at LEDA.

She started as an intern when a friend, Tricia Gaspard Duhon, one

of many guardian angels Anne seems to attract, told her about

LEDA. “You should give it a try. It will look great on a résumé.”

A senior at ULL, she had her sights on being a librarian until Erik

Reutling convinced her to work at LEDA’s research department.

“I sunk my teeth into helping businesses grow. Through research

I showed people how to capitalize on their strengths, what their

niche might be and who their competition was. I did statistics all

day.” Her boss Gregg Gothreaux became one of her mentors as

he gave her increasingly challenging responsibilities. Soon she was

involved in manufacturing certification training, staff training,

client satisfaction and budgeting. Anne grew adept at working

both behind the scenes inside the structure of the organization

and at the front end, working directly with businesses and clients.

She was able to see full circle the process that LEDA provided to

local businesses and entrepreneurs.

At LEDA Anne discovered the secret to having time for creativity

and innovation. “We were so uptight, it set us free.” With her

team, Anne learned that routine, discipline and a methodical

management system resulted in so much efficiency that they were

left with the freedom to do more, to stretch and expand what they

thought was possible. When three major tech companies were

looking at Lafayette, Anne and her team devised creative ways to

sell Lafayette and Acadiana. “We had a motto, ‘If we can get them

here, we got them here.’ We hit a groove and we put together

packages that told our story in ways we hadn’t thought of before;

our public assets, the Lite Center, our fiber optic network, ULL

and most of all, our human capital and unique culture.”

Thriving in a demanding job wasn’t quite enough for Anne. “I felt

like I was becoming my job. I was forgetting the ‘If you can, do’

motto I was raised with.” She craved a more direct involvement in

the community. Then another guardian angel stepped in. Carlee

Alm-Labar was leaving the 705 board. “I don’t feel comfortable

leaving my post unless you take it over,” she told Anne. “When

Carlee tells you to do something, you do it,” is Anne’s mantra.

She fell in love with the 705, a group of young professionals

dedicated to community engagement and leadership. “It was like an

adult honor’s society. These were my people,” Anne said. Growing

up, Anne always wanted to be someone who made others look good,

a behind-the-scenes influence. With the 705 she discovered a new

idea. “Here was an organization that taught young professionals that

they could be the ones that look good. That they could strive with

the right amount of personal and professional development and

civic engagement, they could be the person who made the decisions.

I don’t know why I never felt that was possible before. But I heard

it loud and clear and I wanted to be a part of that movement, that

voice.” Anne moved from communications, to philanthropy

and programming until she was elected president-elect and is

now the president of the 705, one of many civic and community

organizations Anne participates in.

As a young, involved professional, Anne is inspired by the

initiative she sees in others. “The people of Lafayette are not

resting. They are not complacent about their community. They

are dedicated to making it ever better. It’s not enough to go

out and bring people to make change happen. We need to take

responsibility. We need to do it. I see that happening throughout

the city and parish. We’re not waiting for someone to come and

save us. We know we can do it ourselves.”

A full time job, three children, board meetings, socials, events,

planning sessions… When does she sleep? “My body only allows

me to sleep six hours a day,” she explained. “I go to bed around

midnight and wake up at six to start the ritual of getting the three

kids up for school.” Emma makes her coffee while she makes

Emma’s lunch and they catch up on the latest news from the world

of high school. Then Lola is next and she gets one-on-one time

with mom. Jack is the last one to get up and once he’s settled,

Anne begins her ritual of “going through 20 potential outfits to

wear and lunch preparation.” Then she and Jack watch funny

videos of a friend’s new baby while they wait at the bus stop.

Then Anne is off to her new job at the renamed, Vermilion Parish

Development Alliance or The Alliance. It was hard for her to leave LEDA

but even Gregg knew she needed to do more. LEDA was about objective data.

At The Alliance Anne is takinga more intimate approach

as she learns about localbusinesses and what their needs are.

A true homecoming for the Vermilion Catholic graduate, her new position will

allow her to move beyond research

and serve as a conduit for intelligent growth in Vermilion Parish.

Anne has hit the ground running with logo design, a new website

and a list of potential services, building the organization from the

ground up. Her challenge is to show the community that The

Alliance is not just a public entity but an advocate for business and

tourism as well. “We have some interesting traditions and great

home grown companies here. It’s about learning what is so special

about Vermilion Parish. I have to figure out what people need,

want, love and hate. I have to do it the only way I know how by

entrenching myself in the community, participating and going

out there and talking to people. This is a more intimate endeavor.

It has to be.”

As luck would have it, Anne’s new job allows her to work with

one of her oldest friends, Leah Richard who is working for the

Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Commission. “I don’t

remember a time when we didn’t know each other,” Leah said.

“Of all the friends I had, Anne was the one with the most

potential. She’s goofy and funny and sweet but she’s also brilliant,

one of the smartest people I know.”

In a world where leadership is often confused with ego, arrogance

or independence, Anne Falgout has found the secret to true leadership, though she might be the last person to admit it. This is the girl who

announced to her teachers as she began her

senior year of high school, “OK, so Friday

I’m having a baby but I’ll be back as soon as

I can. I’m a quick learner, so it’s going to be

ok.” Her energy and drive are apparent. But

her true leadership comes from the value she

places in others. Try to have a conversation

with Anne about her achievements and you

won’t be able to keep up with the list of

mentors, friends and influences she credits.

Ask any one of them and they will tell you

that Anne is the real mentor. “She’s an

inspirational influencer,” Flo Meadows said,

“a trust building team player with infectious

and joyous energy.”

“She could lead without the fear of failure,”

Zach Barker, past president of the 705 said.

“That’s what I tell others, ‘Find a place you

can fail,’” Anne said. “Find a place where you

have a voice, where you’re empowered to take

a stand and do good things.”

Anne has done just that and at 33, she’s just

getting started.

And she has a food blog too!

Despite Anne’s seemingly impossible

schedule she writes a weekly food

column for The Daily Advertiser. Ever

the A-student, when Anne decided to

cook, she didn’t just tinker, she became

obsessed; a food junkie, watching every

cooking show, learning to chop properly

at the expense of her fingers at times

and spending time in her favorite

restaurants’ kitchens.

Like many French-Cajun families, Anne

grew up with home cooking. Her mother

got up at 5am every morning to get a

jump start on lunch before going to work.

She ate at home every day and had a

meal on the table for Anne and her five

siblings every evening. But Anne didn’t

pick up her mom’s skills until later.

It was a folklore class with John Laudun

that sparked her interest in food. “We’re

going to explore folklore through food,”

she remembered him saying, “Take

a recipe you love and find out how it

started in your family.” So, Anne went to

her mom and said, “I need you to make

me Nanny Min’s chicken and dumplings

and tell me how it came to be.” Of

course, what poured out of Anne’s mom,

Kathie Terpening was more than how to

make dumplings from scratch. Stories

poured out and Anne discovered the

connection between food and family.

When she got married, Anne decided, “I

cannot make grilled chicken breast on

a George Foreman every night. I should

learn to cook.” So she began doing

what her mom and grandmother had

done before her. She moved away from

the little grill and started experimenting.

She discovered she was good at it.

“I have horrible eyesight but a good

sense of smell. My pallet became more

sophisticated and I could go into a

restaurant and taste things and learn the

aromas and flavors in food and replicate

them at home.” Cooking became a way

for her to make food interesting for her

kids and a creative outlet for a woman

who immerses herself with data and

research most of the day.

Then Facebook made her famous.

Well, Lafayette-famous. As she posted

recipes and pictures and stories from her

family’s cooking escapades, a following

grew. One day Ashley Berthelot with

L magazine asked her if she would

be up for a feature about her growing

Facebook following. That turned into a

monthly blog for The Daily Advertiser,

which turned into a monthly column,

which turned into a weekly column,

Chef Anne Specials. She continues the

column today, often writing her recipes

on her lunch break. Her tales of fish

tacos, mini quiches and black-eyed peas

are offered with anecdotes about life as

Anne Falgout.

“Helping people is my passion but the

best way I can show somebody I care

about them is cooking. It’s a tool for that

and I love it.”