The keynote speaker for the Celebrate Lafayette event will be Gary P. Luquette. Mr. Luquette is President of Chevron North America Exploration and Production Company. He assumed this position in April 2006 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Mr. Luquette began his Chevron career in 1978 as a design and construction engineer. Prior to his current position, he was the president and managing director of Chevron Upstream Europe, headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland. Mr. Luquette has served with the corporation in Louisiana, California, Scotland and Sumatra, Indonesia throughout his 30-year career.

Chevron is a major player in deepwater exploration and production of energy resources in the Gulf of Mexico. Their recent announcement of a $32.7 billion capital and exploration budget for 2012 comes as the federal government conducts its first major oil and gas lease sale for exploration in the western Gulf of Mexico. Banquet attendees will learn of Chevron's plans for the Gulf of Mexico.

Jerome "Jerry” Greig of Fugro Chance will also be inducted as the 2012 Chamber Chairman. Jerry Greig serves as Chief Information Officer of Fugro Chance Inc., a member of the Fugro Group companies. Jerry, a Lafayette native, is a graduate of the University of Louisiana and Clemson University, and has held leadership positions of steadily increasing responsibilities within oil & gas and energy services companies in Houston and Lafayette. Jerry previously served on the Chamber board and executive committee, and returned to the board last year as Chair-Elect. Jerry's community involvement also includes past-Chairman of the United Way of Acadiana and past-Chairman of the St. Thomas More School Board.

In 2011, the Lafayette Chamber earned five-star accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and was named National Chamber of the Year by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives. The Chamber is one of only five Chambers in America to claim both in the history of the two programs of excellence.

Celebrate Lafayette will also recognize other successes in our community. Examples of why Lafayette can claim to be a Quality of Place for business: Lafayette Consolidated Government put CNG powered buses on the road as part of the city's advanced transportation system; a Lafayette Little League team took its game to the national level; the Lafayette Economic Development Authority scored big hits with the Halliburton Manufacturing facility and The Schumacher Group expansion projects; the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Commission lead the way in gaining Rand McNally's Best Food award in their Best of the Road competition; and, of course, we celebrate the winning season of UL Ragin' Cajuns Football!

"If you look at these recent Chamber successes and pair them with the many other recent community accomplishments and accolades you begin to realize that Lafayette is a great place. To feature our community under a "Celebrate Lafayette” Chamber Banquet theme seemed too good an opportunity to pass up” stated Greig. "We're especially pleased to have Gary Luquette, the President of Chevron North America Exploration and Production, on the Banquet program as our keynote speaker. His attendance is really a tribute to Chevron's commitment to our community, as well as the entire energy-based economy up and down the I-49 Energy Corridor,”.

Chairman-elect for 2012, Rob Eddy of The Pinnacle Group commented, "The Chamber has a long legacy of leading efforts and supporting efforts that improve the business environment and the community at large. I expect this year to be no different as significant issues and initiatives are reaching critical decision points. The annual chamber banquet is always a terrific kickoff to our year as this event draws a large audienceof members including business and community leaders and is a great networking opportunity.”

Tickets for the Annual Chamber Banquet are available online at lafchamber.org. Seating is limited so make your plans now to attend an evening of celebration, networking, and a preview of 2012.