First Reading is a weekly internal publication I helped design for members of the Louisiana House of Representatives as a Public Information officer during the 2010 legislative session.

1. Louisiana House of Representatives
Jim Tucker, Speaker
Joel Robideaux, Speaker Pro Tempore
Alfred Speer, Clerk
First Reading
Published by the
Office of Public Information
Office (225) 342-9795
Fax (225) 219-4380
Visit Our Website
April 8, 2010
Robideaux Elected Speaker Pro Tem
Welcome, Representative
Ledricka Thierry!
O
ne of the first orders of
businessaftertheconvening
of the 2010 Regular Session
of the Louisiana Legislature was the
election of a new speaker pro tempore.
The office had been vacant since Karen
Carter Peterson was sworn in to the
Senate seat vacated by Cheryl Gray,
who resigned in December.
JoelRobideauxisthefirstIndependent
to serve in a leadership position in the
Louisiana House of Representatives. He has served District 45 since 2004.
Representative Robideaux is a CPA who earned his undergraduate degree from the
University of Southwestern Louisiana and his master’s degree from Louisiana State
University. He currently serves as a member of the House Retirement Committee,
the House Ways and Means Committee, and the Joint Legislative Committee on
Capital Outlay. He is also a member of the Louisiana Rural Caucus and the Acadiana
Delegation.
A
lso on Monday, Clerk of the
House Alfred “Butch” Speer
administered the oath of office
to Representative Thierry as her family
looked on.
Representative Thierry was elected
last August to represent House District
40 with 62% of the vote. She replaced
former representative Elbert Guillory,
who was elected to the state Senate.
The first female to represent the district
intheLouisianaHouseofRepresentatives,
Thierry is a lifelong resident of St. Landry Parish. She earned a bachelor of science degree in
secondary education from Southern University and received her law degree from Southern
University Law Center. A licensed attorney, she owns Thierry Insurance Agency and
Thierry and Associates Law Firm. After graduation from law school, she opened a free tax
preparation IRS Vista site in St. Landry Parish.
Representative Thierry says she is a proud wife, mother, and business owner. She is
married to Travis Thierry. During her campaign, she identified her priorities as improving
education and infrastructure and reducing crime.

2. Louisiana House of Representatives | First Reading
Page 2
Candidates For Two House Seats
Seek Election May 1
District 63 Candidates
Addison Honore Lanus
RobichauxHornbrook Moreno Perry
Milligan Slaughter
A
primary election will be held May 1 to fill two vacancies in the House: House District 63, created by
the death of Rep. Avon Honey last month, and House District 93, vacated recently by former Speaker
Pro Tem Karen Carter Peterson. A runoff election would be held May 29.
The five candidates seeking election to the House District 63 seat are Ulysses “Bones” Addison (D), Dalton
Honore (D), Dadrius “D20” Lanus (No Party), Mark Milligan (D), and James E. Slaughter (D). The 63rd
House District includes the area of north Baton Rouge.
Candidates seeking election to fill the House District 93 seat are Louis Charbonnet III (D), Rhodesia Jackson
Douglas (D), Carlos Hornbrook (D), Helena Moreno (D), James Perry (D), and Thomas Robichaux (D). The
93rd House District includes areas of the Garden District, the Central Business District, the French Quarter,
Mid-City, and the 7th Ward.
District 93 Candidates
Not Pictured: Louis Charbonnet III & Rhodesia Jackson Douglas

3. Page 3
First Reading | Louisiana House of Representatives
Libby Guidry, Stephanie Hoppmeyer, Kelly Cameron,
Linda Crowe, and Darnell Songy of Junior Auxiliary of
Slidell accepted a proclamation today honoring National
Junior Auxiliary Week, April 4–10, 2010, in the state of
Louisiana. Representative Kevin Pearson authored the
resolution.
Junior Auxiliary is a women’s nonprofit charitable orga-
nization dedicated to community service with emphasis
on education and child welfare.
Legislator Of The Year
State Representative Chris Roy, Jr., has been named
“State Representative of the Year” by the Louisiana Or-
thopaedic Association.
The State Representative of the Year award will be pre-
sented to Representative Roy April 9, 2010, at the LOA
Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The LOA's goals are
“to encourage, develop, and increase the knowledge of
orthopaedic surgery while promoting high moral and
ethical standards together with fellowship and good will
among our current and future members.”
Congratulations Representative Roy!
National Junior
Auxiliary Week
Both the House and Senate voted unanimously to
elect Daryl Purpera legislative auditor this Tuesday.
The Special Recommendation Commission had recom-
mended Mr. Purpera from among five candidates for the
position.
As first assistant to the legislative auditor, Purpera had
served as interim auditor since Steve Theriot’s resignation
last November. Purpera had been with the auditor’s office
since 1985 and previously worked as an auditor for the
Louisiana Dept. of Agriculture. A graduate of LSU, he
is a member of the American Institute of Certified Pub-
lic Accountants (AICPA), the Louisiana Society of CPAs
(LCPA), and the Association of Certified Fraud Exam-
iners. In August 2009, he was appointed to the AICPA
State and Local Government Expert Panel. He also serves
on the LCPA’s Accounting and Auditing Standards Com-
mittee and the Government Accounting and Auditing
Committee.
The Louisiana Constitution requires the auditor be
elected by a majority of the elected members of each
house. The auditor is legally required to be a duly quali-
fied elector and a licensed certified public accountant.
Purpera Elected
Legislative Auditor
Have you seen the House’s new media page,Open House?
Open House features a blog and links to the House’s Fa-
cebook, YouTube, and Picasa pages with more to come.
Become a fan of the House on Facebook to find out
what’s going on today at the capitol. Content will be
posted continually throughout the session and beyond.

4. Page 4
Louisiana House of Representatives | First Reading
The honorees are:
Business: Robelynn H. Abadie—Abadie Financial Services, LLC—Baton Rouge
Culinary Arts: Chef Elizabeth Dickson—Bossier Parish Community College—Bossier City
Education: Laura F. Lindsay, Ph.D.—School of Mass Communications, Louisiana State University—Baton Rouge
Law & Justice: Andree D. Mattix—Orleans District Attorney’s Office—New Orleans
Volunteerism & Civic Involvement: Frances B. Bennett—Baton Rouge
Young High School Woman of Excellence (ages 14 to 18) and Scholarship Recipient: Rachelle Ammond—Pope John
Paul II Catholic High School—Slidell
Young Woman of Excellence (ages 18 to 23) and Scholarship Recipient: Whitney Dawn Breaux—E.J. Ourso College
of Business, Louisiana State University—Baton Rouge
Women of Excellence Award Winners Announced
T
he Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus Foun-
dation is pleased to announce its 2010 Women of
Excellence Awards’ recipients.
The Women of Excellence Awards and the Louisiana
Legislative Women’s Caucus Foundation Scholarships will
be presented at the Women of Excellence Awards Gala
on Wednesday, May 19, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. at the Baton
Rouge Marriott.
Mignon Faget will be the guest speaker at the event.
Migon Faget is a renowned jewelry designer from New
Orleans who has been designing jewelry for more than 40
years. Diane Deaton with WAFB 9 News will serve as the
mistress of ceremonies.
The Women’s Caucus created the Women of Excellence
Awards in 2008 to recognize and honor extraordinary
women of outstanding professional excellence across the
state for their achievements and contributions. The winners
of the Young High School Woman of Excellence Award
(ages 14 to 18) and the Young Woman of Excellence Award
(ages 18 to 23) will also be awarded the newly established
Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus Foundation Schol-
arship, worth $1,000 to each recipient.
Members Out & About
Representative Chris Hazel served as the keynote
speaker for the Louisiana Probation and Parole Officer
Association’sAnnualMeetingheldonMarch18,2010,at
the Paragon Casino and Resort in Marksville, Louisiana.
Rep.HazelattendedintheabsenceofChairmanWooten,
who was recuperating from heart surgery.
Every year, the Archdiocese of New Orleans celebrates
LearningHealthyNutritionWeek.Thisyear,Representative
Talbot participated by serving lunch to the students at St.
Matthew the Apostle School in River Ridge and by having
lunch with the students at Archbishop Chapelle High
School in Metairie. RepresentativeTalbot’s office also served
lunch to the students at St. Rita School in Harahan.

5. DIDYOU KNOW?
Page 5
First Reading | Louisiana House of Representatives
~Folgerswillexpanditstwocoffee
production facilities in Orleans
Parish and its distribution center
in St. Tammany Parish, creating
120 new direct jobs at an average
annual salary of $42,000 plus
benefits and approximately 381
new indirect jobs. The New
Orleans facility is Folger’s largest
production facility.
~Computer Programs and
Systems Inc. has opened its new
operations in Monroe and will
hire 100 people over the next
four years, creating an expected
50 additional indirect jobs.
~Bruce Foods Corp. plans to
expand one of its two plants in
the state. The company should
create 43 new direct jobs and
approximately 115 new indirect
jobs by 2014.
Louisiana:
Making
Progress
~Colorado State University’s Tropi-
cal Meteorology Project predicts an
above-average 2010 season for tropi-
cal storms and hurricanes in the Ca-
ribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. The
forecast projects 15 named tropical
storms with eight becoming hur-
ricanes, four of them Category 3 or
higher. The average Atlantic hurricane
season includes 10 named storms—six
hurricanes, two Category 3 or higher.
~The New Orleans metro area had
the lowest unemployment rate in the
country (6.5%) in February among
all metropolitan areas with a Census
2000 population of 1 million or more,
according to the U.S. Department of
Labor.
~In the latest issue of Trade & Industry
Development magazine, four of Louisi-
ana’s business development projects in
2009 received awards for corporate in-
vestment and community investment.
The four awards (for SNF Holding
Co., V-Vehicle Co., ConAgra Foods
Lamb Weston, and Foster Farms)
earned Louisiana a ranking of second
best in the U.S.