Home Care In Choudrant, LA

Can you name the largest bank headquartered in Louisiana? Not likely.

Origin Bank, headquartered in the village of Choudrant, will become the state's largest bank with $5.5 billion in assets when IberiaBank's merger with First Horizon is complete and its headquarters is moved from Lafayette to Memphis under the First Horizon name.

"Most people are going to be shocked," Origin Bank's Chief Executive Officer Drake Mills said, laughing.

Though the bank headquarters is located in Choudrant, with a population of fewer than 1,000 and one blinking traffic light, the corporate company headquarters is in the city of Ruston, home to a vibrant economy and Louisiana Tech University.

Mills said he promised his mentor and former CEO John Emory he wouldn't move the bank headquarters address, paying homage to the company's roots that got its start as the Bank of Choudrant more than a century ago in 1912.

Mills took the company public in the spring of 2018 and it now trades under the symbol OBNK.

"We've experienced pretty phenomenal growth — most of it organic," Mills said.

"It's a testament to the talent of our team and our culture," said Mills, citing bank President Lance Hall and others.

Origin Bank employs about 800 company wide with operations in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. More than 200 of those, including the company's executive team, are located at the corporate headquarters in Ruston.

"When I recruit other companies to Ruston I use Origin Bank as an example both as a point of pride and to show our city can provide an environment to support such a large company," Ruston Mayor Ronny Walker said.

"Drake's vision and his ability to execute it has been incredible, and we're excited the company has chosen to remain here and grow," Walker said.

Louisiana energy magnate James Davison is among the bank's largest stockholders.

"It's a big deal, and its success is one of the driving forces in my decision to develop Squire Creek in Choudrant," said Davison, whose Squire Creek golf club and surrounding residential area has become a signature development in the region.

The bank changed its name from the Bank of Choudrant to Community Trust Bank in 1986 and to Origin Bank in 2015 to elevate its brand as the company continued to expand beyond its founding borders with an eye toward going public.

Mills joined the bank in 1983 and rose to become its top executive in 2003.

"Becoming Louisiana's largest bank will make other companies and banks recognize us as a player as we continue to seek ways for smart, profitable growth," Mills said.

And having the headquarters of a public company located in Ruston maximizes the company's economic impact on the city and all of northern Louisiana, said North Louisiana Economic Partnership President Scott Martinez.

"Origin Bank is a leading economic driver along the I-20 corridor," Martinez said. "To have a company with such a broad reach centered in Ruston isn't just a feather in our cap, but it grows our economy.

"All of the decision makers are here," Martinez said. "That means anybody who wants to do business with the company has to come to Ruston and all of the profits from other states return to Louisiana to grow this economy."

Mills said future growth could come from acquisitions.

"We believe we have a model that will allow us to remain independent and grow to benefit our team, our customers, our shareholders and our community," he said.

More:Louisiana's Origin Bank rings bell on Nasdaq

More:Origin Bank names Lance Hall president

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1

By T. Scott Boatright

After coaching the Choudrant Aggies to a second straight Class B state baseball title to close out his career in the dugout last summer, Tony Antley figured his hardball accolades were about to come to an end.

And when he was officially inducted into the Louisiana Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in Lake Charles last month, he figured that would be about it.

But just like the wins Antley amassed over his 33-year coaching the Choudrant baseball team, those accolades just keep on coming.

The latest came on Wednesday when Antley learned he has been selected as one of only eight finalists for the 2022 Baseball Coach of the Year Award from the National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA).

Antley will attend the NHSCA Convention in Lincoln, Nebraska, from July 24-27, 2023, when and where the Coach of the Year will be named.

“It really is just as good being nominated whether it happens — whether I get it — or not,” Antley said. “I found out last summer that the (Louisiana High School Athletic Association) had nominated me as the state Coach of the Year through the national association to be their representative, but when they told me it would come from a small group of coaches from around the nation, I was just honored in that part that I was just recognized by our state and really didn’t think it would go any further than that.

“So when I got that information (Wednesday), I was just humbled, and a little floored, honestly, that I could even be considered with some of the top coaches in the country.”

A Choudrant legend with the high school’s baseball field named in his honor, Antley retired from coaching as six-time state champion after guiding Choudrant to Class B state titles in 1996, 2002, 2005, 2017, 2021 and 2022.

Antley won 679 games over his career and was also the three-time Class B state runner-up (2006, 2010, 2011). His resume also includes 23 district titles. He was also named district Coach of the Year 23 times and the state coach of the year five times.

After officially retiring from the CHS baseball program last summer, Antley didn’t serve his last day as the school’s principal until Feb. 3.

And after only two weeks, Antley said that being totally retired is still something he’s trying to get used to after only a couple of weeks.

“I’m still trying to get my feet on the ground with that bit,” Antley said. “It’s hard to just be ‘go, go, go’ and then all of a sudden realize that you don’t have to. I’ve had a lot of odds and ends jobs around home I’ve been trying to get done.

“But I’ve been able to enjoy some down time, too.”

Watching Choudrant sports teams will always be a part of Antley’s life and he’s said he looks forward to being able to do some with family as opposed to being out on the field with his players.

He was unable to be at the Ruston-Choudrant boys basketball game Thursday evening but said he does plan on going to the Aggies game against Simsboro on Saturday at West Ouachita with District 2-B bragging rights on the line after the teams closed out regular-season play tied atop the district.

“That’s the district championship at stake, so I am definitely going to go to that one.”

Education runs through the blood for newly-named Choudrant High School principal Chris Jones.

Jones comes from an educational upbringing. He married into an education background. And he has traveled the education road throughout his professional career.

It’s a passion for him.

Jones was announced as the new principal at Choudrant High School on Tuesday, serving as the successor to recently-retired Tony Antley on Tuesday.

It’s a new title for Jones, but it’s at a school that he is all too familiar with.

“I am genuinely humbled for this opportunity,” said Jones. “I served as the assistant principal for eight years under Tony, and I worked hard to build relationships with the children and the families in Choudrant. I want to serve them, and I want to see our kids become successful adults. Watching kids grow up from junior high and become successful is the most rewarding part of any educator’s job.”

Growing up, both of Jones’ parents were educators. His mother was a teacher and drove a mobile classroom to different schools to tutor students. His father served as the principal at Wossman High School for 22 years as well as a stint as principal at St. Frederick High School.

“I grew up watching him build relationships with kids, parents, and the community,” said Jones of his father. “He always put the best interest of children first and never counted the hours he worked.”

Jones’ wife Mindy is a speech therapist for Lincoln Parish Schools. Both of his children — son Michael is a junior and daughter Sadie is a freshman — attend Choudrant. It’s truly a family affair.

Jones emphasized what a special place he believes Choudrant is, mainly because of its people.

“We have a wonderful staff of veteran teachers that genuinely love children,” said Jones. “Lisa Bastion and Tony Antley set the bar really high for Choudrant High School as leaders, but they will tell you our teachers, families, students, and community make Choudrant such a special place. I believe Choudrant High School is the best school in Louisiana. I moved my family from Ouachita Parish to downtown Choudrant so they could attend Choudrant High School.

“My son was a part of two state championships in baseball, he played in the quarterfinals in basketball twice, and my daughter is just getting to get started in her high school career. When they leave here they will have the foundation needed to be successful in college, but the best part of CHS is knowing that every day my own children come to school they are taught by teachers that love them – teachers loving kids is the rule here, not the exception.”

Jones graduated from St. Frederick and earned his bachelors degree in business administration from Louisiana Tech in 2001 before working in a corporate environment for five years. He then decided to follow his passion — teaching and coaching.

He started with a stop at Calhoun Middle School from 2006 through 2015 while working on his master’s degree in education leadership and supervision from Tech (2011). He served a dual role as the LEAP Remediation Coordinator for Ouachita Parish School Board (2011-2015).

He joined the Choudrant High School family in 2015 and has served as assistant principal for the past eight years.

In his new role as principal, Jones said his vision for the school is centered around the students.

“Keeping kids first in all decisions,” said Jones. “Our focus will be keeping children safe, making sure they get a high quality education, providing them with quality electives, and making sure they are ready for college or career when they walk across the stage at graduation.”

So what are some goals Jones wants to accomplish early in his tenure as principal at Choudrant?

“I am excited about new opportunities,” he said. “We have been working on the master schedule, planning for our sixth graders to come to the high school next year, and we are really excited about getting these kids on our campus and acclimating them to our culture and what it means to be a Choudrant Aggie.

“I want to create an arts program for our students. I plan to start this as after school clubs with sponsors, but I want to offer opportunities for our children to participate in drama, art, and hopefully a drumline. We are going to continue our broadcasting class. I spoke with our athletic director, Ryan Smith, and hopefully we can add golf, e-Sports, and in the future volleyball if there is enough interest to sustain basketball and volleyball. I want to find a place for every kid to be a part of something where they can be successful.”

By T. Scott Boatright

They started life as young boys throwing baseballs to each other in family front yards.

Now they’re teammates vying for the Louisiana Class B state championship on Saturday.

The baseball ties that bind are strong in the Hennen family, as if they live in their own special “Field of Dreams,”:

That’s what two grandsons of V.A. Hennen are doing today — living their hardball dreams playing in front of the “Paw-pa” who was there long before they are now.

When the Choudrant Aggies play in the state title game against Elizabeth in Sulphur on Saturday morning, senior Luke Tassin and sophomore Landon Hennen will be playing their usual integral roles as Aggies.

But this duo are not only not tied together by the Aggie brotherhood … they share the same blood, too.

Tassin and Hennen are first cousins, and their ties to Choudrant High baseball run much deeper than that.

Grandfather V.A. Hennen was a standout Choudrant baseballer who later played under Barry Hinton at Louisiana Tech.

Tassin’s late father, Norman, who passed away after a long battle with cancer in February, coached Marion High School to a 2006 state championship and later guided Downsville to the 2016 title game.

The Aggie family resin and baseball blood doesn’t end there.

Hennen’s father Benny was a standout baseball for the Aggies who later went on to play as a Louisiana Tech Bulldog.

Coach Tony Antley’s entire Choudrant team are more like family than friends. But the concrete roots put in place by V.A. Hennen undoubtedly play a role in putting their family team within 21 outs of another state championship.

The Aggies will get their chance starting at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Class B state title game in Sulphur.

By T. Scott Boatright

The sounds of future success wafted through the air inside the Ruston High School Auditorium Wednesday afternoon.

That happened as five graduating RHS seniors signed scholarships to become part of the Louisiana Tech University Band.

Their hard work has provided them paid books and tuition along with the opportunity with the chance to pick up a little extra funding should they push to earn a band service award or by participating in a side group like Tech’s Concert Ensemble or the “Hoop Troop.”

Earning scholarships to join Tech’s Band of Pride, with band duties and intended major in parenthesis, were RHS graduates Abigail Terry (Color Guare/Accounting); Nicholas Palmer (Trumpet; Forestry); Brendan Hood (Percussion; Forestry); Bryton Breeding (Clarinet/Electrical Engineering) and Alexander Atassi (Percussion/Computer Science with a minor in Music).

Lacey Sanchez’s reign as Miss Louisiana 2014 comes to an end June 27 when her replacement will be crowned in Monroe. It’s been a long year for the Baton Rouge resident and former LSU and Southeastern Louisiana University pole-vaulter. The Advocate asked her to reflect on her year.

Your platform as Miss Louisiana was promoting physical activity in children. How did you promote that?

I did a really big school campaign throughout the state over the course of the year focusing on saying no to drugs and alcohol. That’s something that Miss Louisiana does every single year. But the way I incorporated my platform is that I used a lot of sports activities to get the message through to say no to drugs and alcohol. I would talk about my athletic background. I would even bring my broken poles from pole-vaulting to schools. The big thing we said was “you can’t unbreak the pole.” Once you make a decision, you can’t undo the decision that you make.

What were your favorite moments as Miss Louisiana?

Of course, I loved competing at the Miss America Pageant, and I think a special moment for me there was winning the non-finalist interview award because I am studying mass communications, working on my master’s in it, so to receive an award for that skill was very validating for me. Another thing that really stuck out in my mind is I got to run in a half-marathon for the Children’s Miracle Network hospitals. … It was all to raise money for kids, and it was very special because a lot of the girls from Miss America came out and supported me and cheered me on while I was doing that.

What was your funniest moment?

Kids are brutally honest. They’re not afraid to ask any question. I usually get, “Is your crown made of real diamonds?” I say, of course, “Yes, it is.” That is later followed up with, “Do you live in a castle?” “Of course, I live in a castle,” and I go on to tell them, “My hair is very long because I’m growing it out to be like Rapunzel.”

Did you visit parts of the state you’d never seen before?

Yes. I went to Columbia, Louisiana, for the Art Folk Festival. I also went way down south to Jeanerette for a fitness speech. I went to places I’d never experienced before, and I experienced culture that I didn’t realize, even as a lifelong native of Louisiana. I learned new things. I loved going to Natchitoches and experiencing the history of Natchitoches, seeing different plantations. It’s just been a wonderful experience. … It’s amazing how many different types of people are in our state, and especially the dialects, and the names of the schools and the different towns. They definitely taught me how to pronounce them correctly.

For instance?

I was emceeing the Louisiana Watermelon Festival and Pageant. It’s a preliminary for the Miss Louisiana Pageant, and there is a place called Choudrant, and it’s right outside of Ruston. I pronounced it CHOW-drant, and people from the audience were literally screaming, “It’s SHOO-drant!” Thank you. I’m definitely from south Louisiana.

What will you miss most about being Miss Louisiana?

The kids, for sure. … It’s amazing that you can put a crown on top of your head and kids will listen to anything you say. It’s wonderful. Parents should try it.

I really will miss the kids because they have taught me so much, especially working with Children’s Miracle Network. It amazes me how the young patients that may have a chronic illness and they’re in and out of the hospital all the time, they have a bittersweet wisdom because they’re so young, but they’re always teaching you lessons. They’ve probably been through something pretty hard to know things like that at such a young age. I’m thankful for those moments, and it puts my life into perspective, that the challenges I’m facing probably really aren’t that bad compared to what they’re having to deal with. It makes me thankful.

What will you miss least?

Probably all of the driving. I drive an awful lot. I’ve probably put 20,000 or 30,000 miles on my car this year, and driving gets a little boring.

What now?

In August, I am going back to school. I have a year left on my master’s in mass communication, and I’m going to start a dual program where I’m going to work on my master’s but start law school as well. I have a full plate ahead of me.