Evangeline Chamber of Commerce Civic Awards Banquet August 27, 2019 The Ville Platte Civic Center was packed with chamber members along with families and friends of the nominees Tuesday night to pay tribute to honored citizens of the parish. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Renee Brown was the emcee. New Ville Platte Chamber of Commerce President Peter Strawitz and Vice-President Dr. Gwen Fontenot both spoke about their plans and goals for the new year. The guest speaker was Supt. Of Schools Darwan Lazard who made a presentation on the progress being made in our Evangeline Parish Public School System , which is the largest employer in the parish. Here is the list of winners from the event: Man of the Year-James Craig Pitre of Mamou; Woman of the year- Connie Lamke of Ville Platte; Farmer of the Year- Farrell Joe Costanza of Grand Prairie who farms some 4,000 acres of land; Business Person of the Year- Tie- Gene Burge, Chief Executive Officer of Savoy Medical Center of Mamou and Jay Gielow of Café Evangeline in Ville Platte; Business Person of the Year under 40- Ross Lafleur of Kary'sRoux in Ville Platte ; Business of the Year- Tie- Savoy Cancer Center of Mamou and Butler Tree Service of Turkey Creek; and selected as the Economic Development Person or organization of the Year- The Evangeline Parish Foundation. Congratulations to the winners and all of the nominees.