2019 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 231
BY SENATOR JOHNS
A RESOLUTION
To commend Shelley Johnson upon her retirement as executive director of the Lake
Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau.
WHEREAS, on April 30, 2019, Shelley Johnson retired after thirty-one years as
leader of the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau, where she
has served since 1988; and
WHEREAS, Shelley was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and educated at McNeese
State University and the San Francisco Hotel/Restaurant School; and
WHEREAS, she has grown the Lake Charles/Southwest Convention and Visitors
Bureau from a small bureau with a staff of four to a staff exceeding twenty-five full- and
part-time employees; and
WHEREAS, during her tenure, the bureau has been well-recognized with accolades
such as the Convention and Visitors Bureau of the Year in 1997, 2000, and 2015, by the
Southeast Tourism Society; and
WHEREAS, the bureau has also received the Louisiana Office of Tourism's
Convention and Visitors Bureau of the Year in 2008 and 2012, and Tourism Campaign of
the Year Award in 2012, and the Convention South's Annual Readers' Choice Award in 2016
and 2017; and
WHEREAS, she is the founding chairman of the National Scenic Byway Foundation
and a past presidential appointee to the White House Conference on Tourism; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, Shelley received the Lifetime Achievement Award by the
Louisiana Travel Association and The Beacon Award by the Southeast Tourism Society; and
WHEREAS, Shelley was also the recipient of the 2008 Southeast Tourism Society
Dorothy Hardman Award, the 1994 Louisiana Travel Industry Person of the Year, the Will
Mangham Tourism Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2019 Destinations International
Hall of Fame, and Destination Organization Leadership Award; and
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WHEREAS, Shelley has served on numerous boards and commissions in various
roles including as chairman and president of the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association,
president of the Louisiana Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus, chairman of the
Southeast Tourism Society, chairman of the National Scenic Byway Foundation, chairman
of the National Hurricane Museum and Science Center, and as a member of the Louisiana
Tourism Development Commission, the Louisiana Tourism Coastal Coalition Board, the
Creole Nature Trail National All American Road District Board of Commissioners, the
Imperial Calcasieu Museum Board of Directors, the Burton Coliseum Advisory Council, the
Liaison Lake Charles Civic Center Development Corporation, the Liaison West Calcasieu
Community Center Authority, and the National Marketing Committee of the National Scenic
Byways program; and
WHEREAS, perhaps one of Shelley's greatest achievements has centered on the great
outdoors with the promotion of the Creole Nature Trail that was officially designated in
1975; and
WHEREAS, the Creole Nature Trail roadway was named as a state scenic byway in
1993, a federal byway in 1996, and as an All-American Road in 2002; and
WHEREAS, Shelley has also overseen the Creole Nature Trail Adventure Point since
2015; and
WHEREAS, the Creole Nature Trail is known worldwide and is the number one
tourism attraction for international visitors to Southwest Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, Shelley Johnson has dedicated her life to the tourism industry and is
revered by all for her superlative achievements, for the enthusiasm she brings to every
project and initiative, and the positive and enduring impact she has had on Southwest
Louisiana and the entire state of Louisiana.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby commend and congratulate Shelley Johnson upon her retirement as executive
director of the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau; does
hereby recognize and record for posterity her thirty-one years of distinguished service to the
tourism industry in Louisiana; and does hereby extend best wishes to Shelley Johnson for
continued success and happiness in all of her future endeavors.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Shelley Johnson.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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