We had the pleasure this past week to welcome many of our friends from Baton Rouge here to the I-20 corridor! We began by welcoming Governor John Bel Edwards and First Lady Donna to the Tech football game on Saturday.  They joined us for a pre-game reception at our house and then stayed to watch the Bulldogs defeat the Rice Owls at The Joe on Saturday evening. Board of Regents Commissioner Joe Rallo visited Monroe, Ruston and Shreveport on Monday and Tuesday, for meetings with community, political and academic leaders. The Commissioner provided a 2017 Update of the Elevate Louisiana Plan and the recent progress that has been made as well as a discussion with faculty, staff and community members on the issues facing higher education. I was pleased to join in on all of the meetings and enjoyed interacting with the Commissioner and our colleagues. On Wednesday, the Board of Regents had their official meeting at Squire Creek. Rick Gallot (GSU), Nick Bruno (ULM), Dennis Epps (LA Delta CC) and I each had the opportunity to provide a campus overview to the Regents before they officially began their meeting. I believe that it is beneficial for our Boards to come up to our campuses periodically so they can get a better understanding of what our campuses offer to our communities and the State of Louisiana. On Thursday, after some meetings in the office, I headed over to Monroe again to speak with the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) Emerging Leaders Council. I was pleased to join Congressman Ralph Abraham, Senator Mike Walsworth, and NLEP president Scott Martinez on a panel providing an overview of the I-20 Corridor to these young leaders of our State. Kathy and I enjoyed going to the Stone Theatre to watch our Tech School of the Performing Arts students perform in the play Tartuffe. And we also saw the Bulldog Dunkin’ Dogs play an exhibition game at the TAC. It is wonderful being in a community where all of these kinds of entertainment opportunities exist! Hope you enjoy a few of my favorite pics for the week.