[StBernard] Gambit Weekly Names LRA Chairman 2007 New Orleanian of the Year

[Westley Annis]

Gambit Weekly Names LRA Chairman 2007 New Orleanian of the Year

NEW ORLEANS (January 9, 2008)-This week the New Orleans magazine Gambit Weekly named Louisiana Recovery Authority Chairman (LRA) and Xavier University President Dr. Norman C. Francis its 2007 New Orleanian of the year. 

In this week's cover story, the publication stated, "Gambit Weekly has always had a single, simple criterion for choosing a New Orleanian of the Year: the winner must be someone who made a positive difference for New Orleans. In the case of Dr. Norman Francis, our 2007 winner has spent a lifetime meeting that standard.

"Norman Francis' commitment to New Orleans and to education has been palpable in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In 2007, as chairman of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, he shepherded critical state approval of the city's delayed recovery plan. He then guided the city's request for hundreds of millions of dollars through bureaucratic channels at both the state and federal levels.

"With Francis in the leadership chair, the LRA helped south Louisiana "particularly New Orleans "secure billions in badly needed federal recovery aid. The recovery process will take 10 years or more, but 2007 will be remembered as the year we realized it was going to happen after all." 

The article, which features Francis' work with the LRA and highlights his service as the nation's longest-serving college president, is available in its entirety online at www.bestofneworleans.com <http://keelson.eatel.net/websites/la.gov/action.cfm?md=communication&task=addClick&msg_ID=4858&ID=djj%3Ak%40mCl1mV&redirect=http://www.bestofneworleans.com> . 

Under Francis' leadership the Louisiana Recovery Authority has led Louisiana's recovery from the 1st and 3rd most catastrophic disasters in American history. With the mission of rebuilding Louisiana safer, stronger and smarter than it was before, the board has worked with the Governor, Legislature and Congressional Delegation to:

* Secure $13.4 billion in federal recovery aid to rebuild housing, infrastructure and economic development. 

* Convince President Bush and members of Congress to eliminate federal red tape and waive the 10 percent federal match, which cut a substantial amount of red tape and freed up an additional $775 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding for Louisiana's recovery. 

* Design a housing program to assist more than 150,000 eligible homeowners that suffered major or severe damage with rebuilding grants of up to $150,000. The Road Home, which is the largest housing rebuilding program in the nation's history, had awarded $5.4 billion to more than 90,000 homeowners to date. 

* Create other recovery programs to rebuild housing, infrastructure, businesses and Louisiana's workforce. As a result of these and other efforts, Louisiana has utilized money more rapidly than any state faced with a disaster in our nation's history, dispersing nearly $10 billion in federal rebuilding funds by the end of 2007.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, claiming 1,464 lives, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of these storms by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world. The LRA is a 33-member body which is coordinating across jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring integrity and effectiveness, and planning for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana. 

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