By: TONY MARKS
Associate Editor
The Ville Platte Chamber of Commerce grew by four as new members were accepted at the monthly meeting Wednesday. The meeting was also the last Chamber meeting at Main Street Pizza.
Upon request of Executive Director Camille Fontenot, the chamber accepted Miller Sports and Signs, The Hotel Cazan, The Grit House, and Clinical Pathology as members.
“The Grit House is excellent if y’all haven’t tried it yet,” Fontenot exclaimed. “They have breakfast, dinner, and supper. They have a buffet three times a day plus a working menu with sandwiches and fries, and their breakfast is out of this world. If you have two or more at a business, they will deliver. They are going to have an open house tasting event to go and see what they have.”
Fontenot announced that beginning next month the chamber meetings will be held at The Grit House. The first meeting at the new location will be August 16.
Kevin Broussard with new chamber member Clinical Pathology Laboratory said, “We’re excited about being a part of the chamber and being a part of the community.”
He then spoke about the services that are offered at Clinical Pathology which is located in the Ville Platte Medical Group. “CPL is a full service laboratory company, so when you go to the doctor and have lab work to be done, you’re welcome to come to our facility. We have the most up-to-date testing on the market and good turn around time.”
“We also have the best insurance coverage in town,” he continued. “We’re in network with all insurances, and we also have tremendous cash pay pricing for people who don’t have insurance or have really high deductible. If you pay at the time of service, you can get really cheap labs compared to some of our competitors.”
Broussard, also informed the chamber about an event coming to the area next fall. I’m a member of the Cajun Hunting Retriever Club,” he said. “We are going to be hosting an international brand which is a national dog event somewhere in Evangeline Parish. There will be people from all over the country coming with dog trucks, fueling up, eating in restaurants, and buying groceries. We did this in Esterwood in 2003, and it was a tremendous boost to the economy.”
Fontenot then updated the chamber on this year’s Tee-Cotton Bowl which will also bring people from all over the country to the parish. “We will have photographers coming down from everywhere,” she said. “We will have people from the NFL and SEC, and we’re going to have a parade. We got the fireworks people from the other side of Natchitoches. The fireworks are going to be beautiful because they’re going to be professional fireworks.”
“La Tasse de Cafe and Passe Partout are going to have their programs at the field,” she added. “We hope to get a lot of people at the field to pretend we’re all there at 4:30 in the morning.”
Fontenot also announced the chamber will have a new sign at its office on Main Street. “We are delighted that the new Investar Bank has given us their big electronic sign for the chamber,” she said. “They offered it to us with all the equipment that goes with it.”
In other business Fontenot reminded the chamber about 16-year-old Alyssa Carson who is coming to the main branch of the library on July 29 at 10:00 a.m. “She’s been involved with the true program of the astronauts, and she says she will go to Mars in 2033,” said Fontenot.
According to Fontenot, “All that together with the bed and breakfast, with people staying here, and with more businesses joining us, I think that’s all good for us in Ville Platte.”