For as long as human beings have been on earth, we’ve been on the move. If you’re a Creationist, Adam and Eve were the first travelers when God told them to pack up their fig leaves and get out of The Garden of Eden.

If you’re an Evolutionist, geological finds support the theory that early humans wandered far and wide across the continents in search of food.

Today, millions of us are on the move. Either for absolutely no reason other than our own amusement, or a desire to hang out with other people who have the same occupation as us.

Amusing ourselves through travel or meeting up for business is a multi-billion dollar industry. Here in Acadiana, the person charged with making sure we get our share of those billions is Ben Berthelot. 

Since 2012 Ben has been the President and CEO of the Lafayette Visitors and Convention Commission.

If you’re a tourist in Acadiana, unless you’re coming for a music festival, you’re probably not visiting for any specific reason. We don’t have a spectacular national park like The Grand Canyon, or a man-made attraction, like Disney World. If you’re a tourist here you’re probably coming to experience the food, music, and ambience – or what we call “daily life.”

One of the daily life attractions in Acadiana are our quaint small towns and the culture within them. Like Eunice and it’s famous Liberty Theater. 

The person responsible for both the theater and the town is the Mayor of Eunice, Scott Fontenot.

Ben and Scott’s decisions and actions over the next few years are going to affect almost all of us in Lafayette and Eunice. This conversation is an insight into what they’re thinking and planning. 

Photos at Cafe Vermilionville by Lucius Fontenot.