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From the Editor:
Looking back, but moving forward...
by Stacey Paretti Rase
I arrived late to my daughters’ dance school, after sitting for thirty minutes in Covington’s narrowest parking lot—Highway 21. Frustrated, I longed for the good old days in St. Tammany when life in general, and traffic in particular, were simpler. Barreling through the door, I saw my husband’s cousin, another lifelong St. Tammany resident, who surely felt my pain. I loudly announced to her, “If you don’t remember shopping at the old TG&Y, then you should have to go back to where you came from!” The noise in the room came to a screeching halt. It seemed that the two of us were the only people in that crowded lobby who actually could remember the old TG&Y. It hit me then that my beloved St. Tammany was never going to be quite the same again. But then, something else occurred to me. When I was a child, we had to drive across the lake to do so many things that I now take for granted here—shopping at the mall, seeing medical specialists, dining at fine restaurants. I am grateful that our increased population has brought so much opportunity, but I hope and pray that we can strike that delicate balance between growth and overgrowth.
The answer to my prayers just might be the Northshore Community Foundation. This newly formed nonprofit aims to serve as a catalyst for thoughtful planning and revitalization for St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington and St. Helena parishes. It will help donors create a lasting legacy while fulfilling their philanthropic goals. It will also help direct funds to nonprofit organizations who can then implement programs that will have a lasting impact on the northshore. The organization is modeled after the highly successful Baton Rouge Area Foundation—the group responsible for the incredible revitalization of our capital city’s downtown. The foundation has invested over $1.4 billion in the city over the past eight years; in 16 years, its assets grew from $5 million to over $500 million.
It seems a huge understatement to merely say that we are fortunate that this group has turned its sights on the northshore community. Susan Bonnett, the new foundation’s president and CEO, says it was a natural next step. “Urban planners from all across the country have identified the northshore as being the future of Lousiana,” she notes. “In the next 10 to 20 years, this area is predicted to be the economic engine for our state. We need to keep the community organized and moving forward to ensure that we are prepared.”
I, for one, am encouraged. To learn more, contact Bonnett at (225) 593-1010.
Congratulations to Slidell’s Doris Hardie, winner of last issue’s Word Search!
