The St. Bernard and Plaquemines Community Foundations combined their resources to give the initial matching funds in the amount of $83,000 to create the Seedco Financial Southeast Louisiana Fisheries Assistance Center. This center houses technical and financial resources targeted to the needs of commercial fishermen and individuals in related businesses such as dock workers and processors. With participation from nonprofit and governmental partners and industry associations, local commercial fishermen now have a place to go and apply for financial aid in the form of grants and low-interest loans and receive assistance with business planning, marketing and business development and workforce support.

The Southeast Louisiana Fisheries Assistance Center is operated by the highly respected national nonprofit Seedco Financial, " said Marco Cocito-Monoc, who is the Director of Rural and Regional Initiatives for GNOF. "This center will help make Southeast Louisiana's struggling commercial fishing industry more globally competitive and financially rewarding for those hard-working families who are responsible for 78 percent of all Gulf Coast commercial landings (the second largest in the United States) and for bringing to market over half of the monetary value of seafood sold domestically," said Monoc.

To school kids, Plaquemines Parish is the “big toe of Louisiana's boot” protruding into the Gulf of Mexico. Others know it for the Bird’s Foot Delta, a three-toed split where the Mississippi River finally deposits sediment from the heartland into the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi River bisects the parish on the last leg of its 2,350 mile journey. Plaquemines Parish was the first area French explorers Iberville and Bienville surveyed on their historic voyage in 1699.

On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck on the west bank of Plaquemines Parish. The 20-foot storm surge hit the southern coastline and gradually inundated the entire parish as it moved northward. A month later, Hurricane Rita’s three-foot storm surge caused more damage to the already weakened levees in Plaquemines Parish, resulting in more flooding. The parish population has dropped from about 28,000 before the storm to 20,000 today.

In 2006, the Board of Directors for the Greater New Orleans Foundation voted to form the Plaquemines Community Foundation. The PCF was created as a catalyst to help the parish rebound from the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The PCF’s mission is to improve the quality of life for all citizens of the parish, now and in the future. The PCF will do that through strategic grant-making to invest in strong leadership and systemic change. The PCF board will identify current and emerging needs in the parish and will help address those needs through grants. In this way, local leaders can pinpoint the areas of greatest need.

GNOF will seed the PCF with $100,000 per year for five years. Ten percent of that amount will be set aside as an endowment. In addition, the PCF will also foster relationships with donors to help build permanent endowments for the parish. It will serve as a flexible and cost-effective vehicle for philanthropists to invest in their community.

The Plaquemine Community Foundation is an affiliate of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. In the same way that GNOF serves the 13-parish region as a whole, the PCF serves Plaquemines Parish exclusively.

An affiliate community foundation is a fund or collection of funds established under the umbrella of a “lead” community foundation. The affiliate foundation covers a specific geographic sub-area and is governed by people from that area.

The relationship is mutually beneficial. It allows GNOF and PCF to split some tasks, share some and help each other in several ways. PCF benefits in particular by having access to GNOF’s financial and administrative support. But PCF remains an independent public charity. PCF organizes its own volunteer board, sets its own grant-making priorities and makes those grants in the parish.

The PCF board members are:

Judy S. Hodnett -- Chair
A resident of Belle Chasse, Ms. Hodnett is co-owner of Take 1 Video. She previously worked for 28 years at the Delta Bank & Trust Company. Ms. Hodnett served as a Plaquemines Parish District 3 council member from 1995 to 2002.

John A. Tesvich – Vice Chair
A native of Port Sulphur, Mr. Tesvich is co-owner and President of AmeriPure Oyster Company and Port Sulphur Fisheries Inc. Over the past 30 years, he has been involved in oyster farming, processing and marketing Louisiana oysters nationwide.

Melvina J. Sias – Secretary
A resident of Belle Chasse, Ms. Sias is the Personnel Director and Assistant to the Superintendent of the Plaqueminds Parish School Board.

Lynn Cooper – Treasurer
A lifetime resident of Buras, Ms. Cooper is a Realtor Lender at Regions Bank. She is also an active member of the Rotary Club of South Plaquemines.

Betsy A. Brien
Ms. Brien is Public Affairs Director for ConocoPhillips Alliance Refinery.

Michael Butler
A resident of Belle Chasse, Mr. Butler is the owner of Venice Marina. As a major employer and attraction in the area, the Venice Marina offers offshore and inland fishing expeditions with charter boats and professional guides.

Philip F. Cossich, Jr.
Mr. Cossich is an attorney at Cossich, Sumich & Parsiola LLC in Belle Chasse. As a board member of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, Mr. Cossich will serve as the GNOF’s representative to the Plaquemines Community Foundation. He is also a trustee of the Academy of the sacred Heart and a former trustee of Isidore Newman School.

James “Jim” F. Gasquet, III
Mr. Gasquet is an attorney in private practice in Belle Chasse. He is a member of the Plaquemines Parish Bar Association, South Plaquemines Rotary Club and Knights of Columbus.

Connie Lincoln
A resident of Buras, Ms. Lincoln is owner and manager of the Port Sulphur Ace Hardware Store. She is a member of the Plaquemines Hospital Board and a member of Trinity United Methodist Church.

Lynn Perkins Perez
Ms. Perez is a resident of Braithwaite, where she is a practicing attorney at Perez & Perez.

Perry A. Triche
Mr. Triche has 26 years of service at TECO Bulk Terminal, where he currently serves as Manager of Regulatory Affairs, Risk Management and Training. He is currently serving on the Leadership Community of the United Way of Plaquemines Parish.