CityLife May 2017 | The Voices
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Beauty, beauty everywhere MAGNIFICENCE
I landed in New York about 12 hours before Winter Storm Stella was expected to arrive in the city, packing with her somewhere between 12 to 20 inches of snow. I hunkered down in my Times Square hotel room that evening and expected to awaken to a snowpocalypse in the morning.

Where all things begin MOTHER’S DAY
Whether by natural birth or adoption, our mothers are the center of our universe when we come into this world. She puts in sleepless nights to feed us, to soothe us, to make everything all right. She gives up time for herself and transfers those minutes and hours to make our life the best it can be.

A stitch in time saves nine Chill out!
The question is, are you spending more on cooling costs by not having an annual tune-up of your heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system? If you aren’t, there’s a good chance you’re spending upward of 25 percent more on your monthly energy bill, according to All Out AC and Heating in Richmond, Texas.

What goes into your foods?
Have you seen the viral video of the fast food burger that doesn’t rot, or looked at an ingredient list a foot long with words only a chemist could pronounce? If you are familiar with processed foods, these two examples are prime reasons why they get a bad reputation.

Avoiding the PAPER PILE-UP
Junk mail and catalogs are like door-to-door salespeople. Occasionally you’re interested in what they are selling, but more often than not, you are annoyed at the intrusion. The difference is that you can be as rude as you like to junk mail and catalogs, but they just keep coming.

Craving crustaceans SHRIMPTASTIC
One of the blessings of living in Louisiana is our access to fresh Gulf seafood. While crawfish, crab and oysters have their prime seasons, my perennial favorite is shrimp. In this state of bliss known for our culinary arts, large, succulent, perfectly cooked shrimp is still harder to find than you might think.

THE ‘GASP’ FACTOR
We are hired for our vision, ability to pull rooms together from differing styles and uniqueness of items. We rely heavily on our “eye,” instincts and, specifically, what we refer to as the “Gasp Factor.” This is exactly what it sounds like. It is us actually making a small, or in rarer cases, a loud, audible gasp.

DINING DELICIOUS with Chef John
It makes you warm on the inside. It takes you back in time with just a sniff. It makes you remember a moment, a parent, a grandparent or perhaps the whole family. What is it? It’s comfort foods! What exactly is a comfort food? Well, simply put, it’s food that is usually uncomplicated, easy to prepare and typically stimulates fond memories.

my perspective of nostalgia COMFORT FOOD
DIRECTIONS 1. Cut each breast in half, season with salt and pepper and place between two sheets of plastic wrap or inside a gallon Ziploc bag. With a meat mallet, gently pound until each breast is about as thick as your little finger. Dredge in flour. In a shallow dish, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon water.

GREATER TOGETHER
Our region is blessed with many strong women. Whether as a mother, a wife, a working professional, a volunteer or a community leader – or all of these – like our featured Woman in Business, Paula Hickman. As executive director of The Community Foundation of Northwest Louisiana, Paula wears many hats and all of them seem to suit her very nicely.

GERI ROBERTS COPE
“We want it relaxed -very inviting, and fresh each time a shopper enters,” Cope said. “We want The Place to be a destination for girlfriends to share a unique shopping experience or a husband and his wife to feel comfortable while we politely assist..

ANDREA REMEDIES
Andrea Remedies is a professional woman who is working hard to rise through the ranks at State Farm Insurance. She has worked for the company for 12 years, starting out in a small agency in East Texas, now part of their Agent Aspirant Program, where State Farm trains and grooms aspiring agents.

DIONNE O’NEIL & TERRI ZACHA
Alternatively, the team has opened up a satellite location also in the Pierremont Mall, which caters to brides on a moderate budget or tight timeline.

HOLLY YOUNG
Finally, I decided why not be my own boss? Conveniently, a space became available right next to a fabric store in the Shreve City Shopping Center.

KIM WALTON
While Walton was counting numbers, she was also learning — and dreaming. Learning about the business that began in 1976, and dreaming about the day she and Jon would become part-owners. Jon already worked at Stuart’s, overseeing the company’s copier division.

LAUREN LEBLANC
Lauren has an education degree and taught fifth graders, before running a fitness center and teaching classes for 12 years. In November 2013 Lauren opened her own studio on Line Avenue and combined her love for teaching and her passion for fitness into one of the best fitness studios in town.

DONESA WALKER
Donesa Walker has spent literally a lifetime in education. As owner/director of LearningRx in Shreveport, she continues her passion as a teacher. With extensive specialty training, she is armed with the tools needed to help both kids and adults in developing their core cognitive skills the brain uses to think, read, learn, remember and pay attention.

KRIS HOLLAND
At Events by Kris Holland, Kris finds her greatest job satisfaction is bringing the ideas of her clients to fruition. “I find such satisfaction in seeing the pleasure and surprise on the faces of my clients and their families and friends. When I see their happiness, it makes me happy, and only then do I consider the occasion a success,” Kris said.

MARISA ROBERSON
Marisa Roberson is the Founder/President of Female Entrepreneurs, The Movement, Inc., a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization, a network to empower professional and entrepreneurial women through education and events in the NWLA community! She also is a Consultant of Marisa Roberson & Co.

DONNA PHILLIPS & ABBY SATTERHWAITE
Conveniently located on Youree Drive in Shreveport, we have been referred to as the "Galleria of Fine Linen Apparel.” Our style appeals to all ages, soft flowing layers or not, we have something for everyone..

TERRI MATHEWS, CMD
A decade later, Gumbeaux is still doing “a little bit of everything”. At its core, Gumbeaux provides lighting, audio and visual support for events—everything from Christmas in the Sky, to the Louisiana Peach Festival, to concerts at DiamondJacks Casino and Resort.

Catherine Lewis Hobbs
The Lewis family of Lewis Gifts has been a part of Shreveport, Louisiana’s retail community for over 75 years. The small shop that began as a pharmacy back in the 1920s and was transformed into a gift shop in 1985 grew so much that the family ultimately found a new home and a new 12,000 foot showroom at 5807 Youree Drive in 2008.

BARBIE PAGE, CARLINE PROCELL
When friends Carline Procell and Barbie Page traveled to Pensacola, Florida, for a beach getaway, they did not expect to return home with a business plan. The pair ventured into a shop carrying olive oil by Veronica Foods, allowing Procell to taste fresh olive oil for the first time.

JENNIFER DEASON
"The past five years working with the faculty, staff and students at St. John Berchmans School have been a wonderful experience,” said Deason. “I love being a part of this school and community and am grateful to continue to work with our excellent staff and teachers to educate our students.

KATHERINE E. GILMER & SARAH GIGLIO
Katherine Gilmer and Sarah Giglio, of Gilmer & Giglio, LLC, have made some big changes in the last 6 months.

Mastering a new art Darrell Chitty
A native of Houma, down in the heart of south Louisiana Cajun country, Chitty’s father owned a thriving oil transport business. This success led him to the development of a ship yard and along the way, to Darrell Chitty actually building boats.

Derby Day
While creating and organizing the first Shreveport Derby Day, organizer Matt Snyder of PinPoint Local Marketing didn’t realize it would later become a staple of the event scene. He crunched the event’s budget numbers the week before Derby Day and they were $16,000 in the hole.

Le Tour des Jardins PICTURE PERFECT
Every year flowers bloom marking the return of spring, and for the Northwest Louisiana Master Gardeners that means the return of their annual fund-raiser, Le Tour des Jardins. This year’s spring garden tour will take guests through seven beautiful gardens throughout Shreveport.

Using yoga to elevate clients’ lives NIKKI RICHARDSON
“Yoga is a form of self-healing. It affords you the tools to heal yourself,” says Nikki Richardson, registered yoga teacher and owner of Body and Soul Yoga Studio at 3321 Youree Drive in Shreveport. Richardson herself represents validation of the life-enhancing rewards and benefits of her chosen profession.

Our state’s hostess MISS LOUISIANA JUSTINE KER
SCHOLARSHIP ... SERVICE ... STYLE ... SUCCESS. These four foundational attributes form a set of standards established by the Miss America Organization for young women throughout the country who participate in its pageant system on local, state and national levels.

Custom jewelry from the heart KATHIE KRIELOW
Artist Kathie Krielow pours her heart and soul into the jewelry she makes. Even when inspiration hits at 2 a.m., she is eager to go to her studio and create. Now her hand-crafted jewelry will be featured at Nader’s Gallery in a show entitled, “Art Endures.

Making a successful family business JEANNE CONWAY
Inside the Thrifty Peanut Book and Media Warehouse, there are books, books, books and more books ... as far as the eye can see. Every nook and cranny of the twostory building in south Shreveport is filled to overflowing with books of every size and shape, old and new, from every imaginable genre.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR May
AGENDA.

CORK Festival
CORK, a wine festival and fund-raiser hosted annually by the Red River Revel at Festival Plaza in downtown Shreveport, was a huge success with more than 1,600 attending the sold-out event. Divine food from local restaurants like Cloud 9 Cafe and Tejas kept the wine connoisseurs tasting and sipping and enjoying the day.

Best in Sheaux
Furry fashionistas hit the runway for the 8th annual live runway dog show presented by Robinson’s Rescue. Best In Sheaux has canines and their owners strutting their stuff as the different breeds “walk” the runway and compete for the Best In Sheaux title.

Bossier Women
The Commission for Women of Bossier City hosted its annual Inspiring Women Week, March 15-22. The organization was established in 1986 to serve as an advocacy group for women in the Bossier City area.

St. Patrick’s Day
Finian’s Rainbow was the spring fund-raiser presented by Shreveport Little Theatre Guild on St. Patrick’s Day at the Woman’s Department Club. The club was filled with shamrocks, rainbows, leprechauns, hats and pots of gold. More than 50 merchants participated in a magical silent auction that used pens topped with green carnations.

Game of Throws
The Randle T. Moore Center played host for the Krewe of Highland’s Bal Masque: Game of Throws. In addition to staging a tableau on the steps of the manor, this year a catwalk was added, and guests all had an up-close look at the royalty as they were presented.