Member Spotlight
Angela and keith Queenan
What are three words that describe the value our Community Foundation brings to Southwest Louisiana?
Lifting the Community
What is something you’ve learned that people or companies can do through the Foundation that you didn’t know or fully understand before your Board service?
That people can have a fund where only the investment returns are spent or a fund that can be totally spent down.
After getting involved as an annual member and volunteer with the Foundation, what motivated you to say yes to serving on the Board of Directors?
To get more deeply involved in some of the projects. Help to develop the projects and see it/them through to completion.
As A local business owner, why do you feel it is important to give back to our community?
I’ve seen what an individual or small group of individuals can do when they set their minds to it. If everyone does just one small thing or one small part of a project, it benefits the community as a whole. It is so important that we take care of the community where we live and it is up to us to make it a better place.
You’ve been a dedicated volunteer for many causes in SWLA. What is an example of a hands-on volunteering experience that really touched your heart?
When I volunteered with Room In The Inn, I transported homeless people from Abraham’s Tent to local churches and then sat with them while they ate and settled in for the evening. Their stories on why they were homeless and what they wanted to do with their lives were so varied and interesting. Some had no plans past that evening and others wanted so badly to change their situation and to get help that it broke my heart.
As a volunteer for the SWLA Youth Foundation, I go into the high schools to teach the Unfiltered Facts program. We talk about sensitive subjects such as relationship abuse, online solicitation, and mental health. As a community, we think that our high school students have a lot of information because they have the internet, but I can tell you that much of their information is incorrect. There are many things that they don’t consider detrimental because they haven’t learned to set boundaries for themselves or to trust their instincts. We never tell them to do a certain thing “to stay safe”, but the curriculum leads them to come to that conclusion for themselves. It is such a great feeling when they have that “A-Ha” moment and I know they’ve absorbed information that will positively impact their lives.
Tell us some of the projects the Foundation is involved in facilitating that you feel will be a positive impact in our region?
Projects like Bayou Greenbelt and Waterfront Development are going to make a positive impact by giving parish residents places to gather and activities to do together. Projects of that nature help to attract people to the area for tourism but also to keep our residents, especially young families, here on a permanent basis because they see what our region has to offer outside of working hours.
What makes you excited for the future of SWLA?
I see a lot of improvement plans being implemented by our non-profits and our government agencies. At times in the past, it seemed like we spent time gathering ideas and information and spent dollars to develop plans, but had difficulty implementing. Now I’m seeing community and government organizations work together to make things happen and get things done.