From the Lake to the River…MSWIT FAM Bus Tour of Kenner Attendees Hit The Jackpot!!!
MSWIT Members…
While we know it’s not easy to get away from your desk for a whole day, the bus load of members who were able to attend would agree that we all had such an amazing day full of activities and surprises that many of us just didn’t know about the fabulous City of Kenner!
MSWIT member, Carolyn Barrett, Executive Director of Visit Kenner, did such an awesome job in showcasing a huge part of what Kenner has to offer! Being a resident of Kenner for the past 20 years, it tickled me so much to keep hearing “I had no idea” throughout the day. And that’s the core reason MSWIT has offered these road field trips for the past 5 years.
The fabulous itinerary began at the Pontchartrain Convention & Civic Center where Messina’s Catering (their caterer for 3 decades) provided coffee, an assortment of delicious pastries and an amazing fresh fruit display. We were welcomed by Kevin Baroni, General Manager of this spectacular facility, as well as their Sales Coordinator, MSWIT member Genell LeBoeuf and Messina’s Director of Sales, MSWIT member Maggie Zschiedrich.
We then boarded the Hotard Coach with our tour guide Carolyn giving us updates about Laketown as we cruised past the very impressive Coconut Beach Volleyball Complex then made our way to the beautiful Chateau Country Club where there were more great refreshments. In addition to hearing from Alyssa Sprunk, Director of Events with so many options at this beautiful facility, we all had the great privilege of hearing a special presentation from Jefferson Parish Councilwoman District 4 Arita Bohanan regarding the new 18,000 seat amphitheater that will be open in Laketown by 2027.
As we continued our 5 mile journey to Rivertown with Carolyn giving more details about her great city, we quickly arrived at the foot of the Williams Blvd. and the Mississippi River at LaSalle’s Landing. We learned all about some huge upgrades in the works for easy access to view the vessel traffic along the river. We then walked passed the historic Clancy House steps away from Heritage Park which often works in tangent with wedding parties getting married at the adorable St. Mary’s Church which can seat 50 guests.
We walk a few more steps arriving at the Rivertown Theatre and greeted by the Managing Director, Kelly Fouchi, who gave us an overall amazing summary of what it takes to run a community theatre and then treated to a very VIP backstage tour of the facility while the stage crew was building the set for their next show…even though the current show is still performing. OMG…so impressive!
We then walked a few more steps and entered the Kenner Planetarium & Science Center…where we were greeted by Heidi Glorioso who has been there since day 1 and we were literally blown away experiencing a life size replica of the NASA Space Station along with their incredible museum of artifacts and exhibits.
We took a break to enjoy a delicious spread of great food provided by Gendusa’s Italian Eatery (located across the street) where we were welcomed by Kenner’s Mayor Michael Glaser, along with City Councilwomen Dee Dunn and Kristi McKinney.
Then we stepped into the courtyard to be treated by Wrenworks Art Studio owner, Renee Yeaton with our very own opportunity to hand paint a selection of souvenir magnets which was so therapeutic. While these dried, we went back into the Planetarium’s Mega Dome Cinema and enjoyed a surprise laser show set to Elton John’s most popular hits!
We loaded the bus to head back north to Veterans Hwy. turning right for about 5 blocks to GAME ON Social Hub where we had a brief presentation by the owner Davor Franicevich, General Manager, Ricky Dillard and our very own MSWIT President, Director of Sales, Christy Dillard. We were treated to 30 minutes of doing whatever games we wanted to play…including a 7 minute laser tag session with at least half our attendees. A few of us did manage to get the AX to stick on the Ax Throwing bullseye board. This whole place is fun for kids but even more fun for Adults!
Then we boarded the bus one more time to head to the new land based Treasure Chest Casino located in Laketown at Williams Blvd. and Lake Pontchartrain where we were welcomed by General Manager Kim Etland, Director of Sales, Rodney Miller and Sales Manager, Lauren Livermore. There was a reception set up for us in the lobby of the beautiful banquet facility which can seat 400 people for a meal! Everyone enjoyed their choice of beverages along with passed hot and cold hors d’oeuvres!
What an incredible day! Whether any members who decided to stay a while and play won, I think we can all agree that each of us hit the JACKPOT on our very special day Visiting Kenner!
Thanks again, Carolyn Barrett…and of course her “unpaid intern”, Tunney! It was a GREAT FAM TOUR!
Bobbi Mannino
MSWIT Membership Manager
Kenner Contact List:
Pontchartrain Center:
Pontchartrain Convention & Civic Center
Genell LeBoeuf, Sales Coordinator
4545 Williams Blvd. | Kenner, LA 70065
PH: 504.465.9985 | DL: 504.468.6659 | FX: 504.468.6692
www.pontchartraincenter.com
Chateau Country Club:
ALYSSA SPRUNK
Director of Events
Phone: 504.467.1351
Email: events@chateaugcc.com
3600 Chateau Blvd
Kenner LA 70065
www.chateaugcc.com
Rivertown Theater for the Performing Arts:
Kelly Fouchi
kelly@rivertowntheaters.com
www.rivertowntheaters.com
504-461-9475
Kenner Planetarium and Science Center:
Heidi R. Glorioso
Assistant to the Mayor
2020 Fourth Street
Kenner, LA 70062
504-468-7231
www.kenner.la.us
Wrenworks Art Studio:
Renee Yeaton
wrenworksartstudio@gmail.com
2120 Fourth Street
Kenner, LA 70062
504-370-9736
Gendusa’s Italian Eatery
Troy Gendusa
(504) 305-5305
Treasure Chest Casino:
Lauren Livermore
laurenlivermore@boydgaming.com
504-443-8069
Arita Bohanan
Jefferson Parish Councilwoman District 4
O: (504)736-6622 or (504)736-6621
arita@jeffparish.net
Chelle Maxwell
The Clancy House
504-737-6435
Theclancyhouse1922@gmail.com
1922 Reverend Wilson Drive
Kenner, LA 70062