The nominees are in for this year’s annual Evangeline Chamber Awards. Winners will be announced at the Evangeline Chamber Awards Banquet on Thursday, May 6, at the Chauncey Pitre Memorial Facility.
Nominated for Business of the Year are the following:
Boco’s Engine Service
Boco’s, which has been run by the Stromer family since 1932, was opened as an automobile repair shop by Harold V. Stromer Sr. Over the past 88 years, it has grown into a small engine sales and service business.
Boco’s has been a Honda dealer for over 50 years providing its customer with ATVS, motorcycles and power equipment. As a Snapper Dealer for over 60 years, customers have been provided with a variety of lawnmowers. Residents living in Ville Platte and surrounding communities have been offered Echo and Shindaiwa power equipment for the past 25 years.
The business is run by Chris Stromer, the third-generation family member and his wife, Phyllis, Harold V. Stromer, Jr., and his wife, JoEl. Boco’s employs two secretaries, Norma Ortego and Phyllis and two technicians, Mike Fontenot and Danny Manuel.
The family business supports the Knights of Columbus, DAV, 4-H, Ville Platte Volunteer Fire Department, the local schools and churches.
InVision Technical Solutions
InVision Technical Solutions is a veteran business owned by Damon Blanchard. It started in 2017 and was run out of his home for the first three years and now has an equipment yard/temporary office facility next to the Y-Not Stop in Vidrine. Damon recently purchased the former Guaranty Bank/JD Bank building in Vidrine to create a new office/showroom location and plan to have that office up and running by June of this year.
InVision Technical Solutions offers a variety of services including security/surveillance, electrical, audio/video, I.T, and HVAC. They do occasionally hire local subcontractors when demand exceeds their available work load. Currently they employ five full time staff members who all reside in the parish with a sixth expected to begin in May 2021. InVision is constantly looking for experienced, qualified tradesman to expand their team and plan to offer health insurance within the next year. Over the past five years the company’s gross sales has nearly doubled each year with this past year grossing near the $1 million mark.
InVision donates monetarily to many parish organizations including the Boggy Bayou Festival, parish schools, and youth recreational organizations. They are in the process of installing a new gate system at Crooked Creek Recreational Area and have donated a portion of the labor on this project.
Mercy Regional Medical Center
Mercy Regional Medical Center (MRMC) is a 48-bed acute care hospital in Ville Platte that serves approximately 40,000+ patients annually with a medical staff of physicians, nurses, and support staff. MRMC is one of the area’s largest employers with over 275 employees and the mission “Making Communities Healthier.”
During the pandemic, MRMC remained focused on healing the sick, offered hope to families, and implemented new COVID tasks with a positive attitude including drive-thru COVID testing and vaccinations.
MRMC is fully accredited by “The Joint Commission,” and provides a comprehensive array of inpatient, outpatient and emergency services including surgery, imaging, cardiology, lab, respiratory, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and rehab services. For the second year in a row, they have been awarded a top 5 Star Rating with CMS, Medicare’s rankings. This puts Mercy at the top rankings of all hospitals in the U. S. with respect to patient safety and overall patient experience.
MRMC supports and sponsors local events, festivals, and organizations including but not limited to the Evangeline Chamber of Commerce, Evangeline Parish schools & sports, parish nursing homes, veterans, Ville Platte Rotary, The Arts Council, Catholic Daughters, Evangeline Parish Dixie Youth and Girls Softball, Chateau des Amis, Village de Memoire, and Savoy Heights.
New Horizons of
Mamou
New Horizons has been open since 1989 helping those with behavioral disturbances and those in need of detox services. Their team of professionals identify and treat mental illness using a multidisciplinary treatment approach, which ensures each individual receives a treatment plan formulated just for them. The company has provided many jobs for the people of Evangeline Parish and the 27-bed facility requires a staff of 46 employees daily.
T-Boy’s Slaughter
House
T-Boy’s Slaughter House was established in 1995 on the outskirts of Mamou by Paul “T-Boy” and Laurie Berzas in order to provide the community with fresh and smoked meats, specialty Cajun products, custom slaughtering, and of course, his now famous boudin and cracklin’s, all with warm, friendly customer service.
Over the past 26 years, the work family at T-Boy’s has grown to include around 40 employees of all ages, including high school and college students. T-Boy’s Slaughter House proudly supports the communities in Evangeline Parish by sponsoring numerous organizations and groups. They have also committed to preserving the Cajun culture and traditions by serving as an important chicken-chasing stop for the annual Mamou Courir de Mardi Gras and Children’s Mardi Gras. They are attracting tourism as a stopping point on the Cajun Boudin Trail and Boudin for Peace tours, and are working with the youth through 4-H and FFA groups in order to preserve the local agricultural industry.
Paul Berzas and “T-Boy’s” were featured in several magazines, won the Lafayette boudin contest six years in a row, and were awarded 1st Place and People’s choice awards. They were also featured on the television shows
Man Fire Food and Man’s Greatest Food on the Cooking Channel.
Top Cop Driving
Academy
Top Cop Driving Academy in Ville Platte and Mamou provides real-world driving scenarios and 21st-century classroom instructions to teens and adults. It employs four full-time, well-vetted professionals from the community and is owned by Brian James Ardoin, a retired Marine Corps veteran and Louisiana State Trooper.
This five-year business has a stellar reputation and was recognized as a candidate for the Better Business Bureau. Top Cop donates and sponsors schools, teachers, students, emergency responders, and community members across our parish and beyond, and each year donates free courses to families in need.
Recently, Top Cop has expanded to a new location in the Vidrine/Reddell area and has established a headquarter facility while continuing to serve customers in Evangeline, Allen, Acadia, St. Landry, and Lafayette Parishes. It provides basic complimentary Notary Service to customers and paid services on a case-by-case basis. Top Cop Driving Academy’s vision is to make Evangeline Parish and the surrounding area safer one driver at a time.
Nominees for Business Person of the Year are as follows:
Paul “T-Boy”
Berzas
Paul “T-Boy” Berzas is a lifelong resident of Mamou and the owner of T-Boy’s Slaughter House, T-Boy’s Boudin and Cracklins, and T-Boy’s Cajun Seasonings. He grew up working on his family’s farm and worked in small engine retail before becoming a butcher and founding his own slaughterhouse and meat market.
He was named “Honorary Fireman” after his service in the Mamou Voluntary Fire Department, is a former member of the Parish Council at St. Ann Catholic Church, and is currently serving as Evangeline Parish’s Solid Waste Commissioner.
T-Boy also serves as a mentor for his young employees taking the time to teach them the importance of fulfilling responsibilities and guiding them through significant tasks on their way to adulthood. He has received many awards on behalf of his business, including numerous People’s Choice Awards at the Lafayette Boudin Cook-off, and has been featured on the Cooking Channel.
Dr. Armand Coreil
Dr. Armand B. Coreil III, practiced Veterinary Medicine at Coreil Veterinary Clinic from 1984 to 2019. In addition to his professional commitment, he has taken part in many organizations. He served as president of the Sacred Heart Parent Teacher Organization and was Chairman of the Mercy Reginal Medical Center Board. Dr. Coreil also served as a member of the Sacred Heart Booster Board, as Vice Chairman of the Sacred Heart Foundation, on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Alumni Association Board, and on the Ville Platte Chamber Board. He has been involved with Sacred Heart Church as a Eucharist Minister.
Dr. Brandon
Fontenot
Dr. Brandon Fontenot has owned five local businesses including Fontenot Healthcare, Medical Services Unlimited, Professional Medical Supply, Ville Platte Medical Offices, and James B Fontenot Farms.
At a young age Dr. Brandon worked on his father’s farm and then at American Security Bank. After moving back to Ville Platte in 2006, he opened Fontenot Healthcare and has worked in multiple hospitals from Oakdale to Jackson to Charity Hospital in New Orleans since graduating from medical school in 2002. Dr. Brandon’s current hospital affiliations include Mercy Regional Medical Center, Savoy Medical Center, Oakdale Community Hospital, and Bunkie General Medical Center.
He was Valedictorian 1994 at Sacred Heart, AOA in med school - honors program for top 25% of class, Chief Resident of Internal Medicine program at Earl K Long in 2005, Chief of Staff Mercy Regional Medical Center 2007-2014 and 2019-present, and the recipient of the Lifepoint Hospitals Physician Leadership award 2012.
Brandon’s community involvement includes membership in the Chamber of Commerce since 2006, serving on the Mercy Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees, at Heritage Manor Medical Director, participating in a charity basketball team for 2 years against Harlem Ambassadors, coaching recreational softball from 2012 - present, head coaching Ville Platte Allstars - FASA World Series Champions 2020, serving on the Ville Platte Girls Recreational Softball Board 2017-2020, and a member Sacred Heart School Foundation Board. He is also a member of the Louisiana State Medical Association 2005-present.
The remainder of the nominees for Business Innovation of the Year, Young Business Person of the Year, Woman of the Year, along with Man of the Year will be in the Thursday, April 29, edition of the Ville Platte Gazette.
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