Loyd Bourgeois Jr

“Growing up, I had the typical south-Louisiana experience. I learned to swim before I could walk when I was thrown from the boat while fishing down in Lafitte (I do not know anyone who did not learn to swim that way). I used to know French may che. I raised alligators taken from the nest after wrestling mom for fun. And I used to have this great Cajun accent when I was the waterboy for the football team.

My name is Loyd Bourgeois. And while that is not exactly my life story, it is close. Okay. Maybe not. But this is:

I am a native-Louisianan, growing up in a small town in St. Charles Parish named Bayou Gauche. I am a Catholic family man with three beautiful children and a loving wife. I have an engineering degree from LSU and graduated cum laude from Tulane Law School. I am a member of the Board of Directors of the United Way of St. Charles.

I love Louisiana despite its faults and am proud to be a part of New Orleans recovery. I am a Tiger die-hard, a Saints believer, and a Pelicans fan.

I prefer fish to steak and love spending time on the water. I know that boiling shrimp is an art, much more so than boiling crawfish or crabs. I love a good gumbo (which I know tastes better the day after it was cooked). I have really eaten nutria. I like my Redfish grilled on the halfshell and know that flounder are the best eating fish around these parts, except for Sac-a-lait.

I prefer Abita beer, Miller Lite, and Crown & 7, but enjoy a good wine, too. A great margarita is never frozen. A great snowball is.

I am Louisiana.”