New Officers, Baton Rouge Port Commission

The board of commissioners for the Port of Greater Baton Rouge recently elected officers for 2009. Officers elected include Alvin Dragg, Ascension, president; Raymond Loup, West Baton Rouge, vice president; Jerald Juneau, East Baton Rouge, treasurer; and Larry Johnson, West Baton Rouge, secretary.

Dragg, who was elected president, represents Ascension Parish on the board of commissioners and has served two terms as president previously over the past two decades.  He is a life-long resident of Gonzales and is a former Entergy Corporation executive. Dragg has also served as a member of the Gonzales City Council for many years.

Loup, vice president, is a native of Brusly and is president of Rad-Ton Inc., a water and sewer excavation company that he founded in 1987. Prior to forming his own company, Loup was the director of West Baton Rouge Natural Gas and Water System. In addition, Loup is also one of the founding members of the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation Commission and served as its president from 1978 to 1979.

Juneau, treasurer, is the former deputy secretary-treasurer for the Louisiana teacher retirement system and is a retired US Army colonel.  Governor Jindal appointed him to the port commission on September 29, 2008.

Johnson, secretary, is a contractor.  He has served in a number of leadership positions on the commission including three terms as president.  He also previously served as a council member of the West Baton Rouge Parish Council and as its chairman for a number of years.

The Greater Baton Rouge Port Commission was established in 1952 by an act of the Louisiana Legislature and encompasses 85 miles of the Mississippi River. This policy-making body is led by 15 commissioners appointed by the governor to represent the four-parish region the port serves. The port is both a deep water and shallow draft port and also provides access to mid-America through the U.S. Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and the upper Mississippi River system.