Mr. Mike Veron – Chairman and Organizer

Mr. Veron was born in and a current resident of Lake Charles with advanced degrees at Tulane (where he received B.A. and J.D. degrees in 1972 and 1974) and Harvard (where he received LL.M. in 1976).  

Upon returning to Lake Charles in 1976, he began practicing law and has continued to do so since that time.  He is presently a partner at Veron, Bice, Palermo & Wilson, where he specializes in commercial litigation.

Mike has been active in his home town community.  He is a long time member of the Lake Charles Country Club.  He also served as the Chairman for the St. Louis Catholic High School Capital Campaign, which raised $3.4 million for capital improvements to the area’s only Catholic high school.  At the same time, Mike took the lead in getting city and parish governments to give recognition to the area’s most famous native son, heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey.  He has also authored several books and novels.

When Mike was a partner at a previous law firm, the firm helped charter a federal bank.  He was one of the original shareholders.  He has since sold his stock. 

Mr. Tom A. Flanagan – Chairman Emeritus and Organizer

Mr. Flanagan was born and raised in Houston Texas.  He graduated from Rice University with a degree in mechanical engineering and obtained a MBA in statistics from the University of Texas, Austin.

Mr. Flanagan has 47 years of experience in banking and was an organizer, President and CEO of Lakeside National Bank in Lake Charles for 37 years.  Since his retirement in 1995, Tom has invested in various commercial businesses.

Mr. Flanagan has served on numerous community committees and was President of the Lake Charles Chamber of Commerce, President of the United Way, Campaign Chairman for the United Way and Citizen of the year in Lake Charles.  He also served on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, New Orleans Branch.  Tom presently serves as Vice Chairman of SCORE in Lake Charles.

Mr. Andrew Vanchiere – Vice Chairman and Organizer

Mr. Vanchiere was born in and a current resident of Lake Charles, Mr. Vanchiere attended LSU and pursued general business before leaving to pursue experience in the hospitality industry.  That pursuit resulted in operating a catering business in Lake Charles for seven years.  Mr. Vanchiere is currently working in commercial real estate development.  He manages a multimillion dollar portfolio of commercial real estate.

Mr. Vanchiere has served as Chairman of the Family Foundation of Southwest Louisiana, president of the local chapter of the American Heart Association and a member of several other community development boards.
 

Mr. Joe Thomas – Director and Organizer

Mr. Thomas was born and raised in Lake Charles.  He has attended McNeese State University and Oklahoma State University and has a degree in mechanical engineering from OSU.  Joe served in the U.S. Air Force and retired as a Lt. Colonel.

Mr. Thomas founded Resin Systems and remains chairman.
 

Senator Willie Mount – Director and Organizer

A native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Senator Mount  is married to Benjamin Mount, Attorney.  She graduated from Lake Charles High School and holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration from McNeese State University.

Senator Mount is serving her third term in the State Senate and chairs the Health and Welfare Committee.  She is a member of the Transportation, Legislative Audit Advisory and Judiciary C Committees. She also serves on the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, Select Committee on Women and Children, Select Committee on Coastal Restoration & Flood Control, Child Poverty Prevention Council, NCSL Health Committee, Southern Growth Policies Board and is an interim member of the Senate Committee on Finance. She previously served as Chairwoman of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee, as vice-chair of the Education Committee and was a member of the following committees:  Senate Select Committee on Consumer Affairs, Judiciary B, State Technology Advisory, Millennium Port, Dyslexia Study Committee, Reading Leadership Team, Joint Legislative Juvenile Justice, School Finance Review, Commission on French, and the Commission on Best Practices in School Discipline.
Senator Mount is a former Mayor of Lake Charles and business owner.   Mount has been very active in a variety of civic and community betterment projects.  She is Past President of the Louisiana Conference of Mayors and served on the Executive Boards of the Louisiana Municipal Association and Council for a Better Louisiana.  Mount also serves on the McNeese State University Foundation Board, the Christus St. Patrick Board of Counselors and the Alzheimer’s Association State Board.  She previously served on the United Way Community Foundation, Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana Board and the United Methodist Foundation."
 

Mr. Robert Piper – Director and Organizer

Mr. Piper was president and CEO from 2000 to 2005 of US Unwired, Inc., a publicly traded wireless personal communications (PCS) company with, at its peak, approximately $500 million in annual revenue, 500,000 customers and 1,000 employees. He assisted in various hurricane relief efforts in the latter part of 2005 and since 2006 has been the executive administrator for Our Lady Queen of Heaven Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
 

Mr. Bill Roberts – Director

Mr. Roberts was born in Louisiana and raised in Lake Charles.  He attended McNeese State University.  He is a graduate of the Banking School of the South.

Mr. Roberts has 30 years of experience in a local bank and served on the board as well as chairman of the Audit committee.  He also served on the loan and other bank committees.  Bill is currently working in a CPA firm as the Firm Administrator.

 

Mr. David Trahan – Director and Organizer

Mr. Trahan is a Louisiana native and grew up in Lafayette.  He has been residing in Lake Charles for the past 35 years.  David attended USL (now ULL of Lafayette) but left to work at the family’s clothing business in Lake Charles.  Mr. Trahan has continued the family business and is the current owner.  He has also analyzed and invested in commercial real estate for the last 30 years.

Mr. Trahan served as a director for a state chartered bank in Lake Charles for 12 years and participated in the director’s loan committee.  He resigned to pursue the charter for Lakeside.
 

Mr. Willie Staats – Director

Dr. William F. Staats is a member of the faculty at the Graduate School of Banking at LSU. He is also a member of the faculty of the LSU Executive Program, and he serves on the faculty of several state banking schools as well as the American Bankers Association Graduate School of Compliance Management. Dr. Staats is a director of the Farm Credit Bank of Texas, a $13.5 billion agricultural lending network. In addition, Dr. Staats is chairman of the board of SevenOaks Capital Associates, LLC, a working capital finance company serving the trucking industry nationwide. He also serves as chairman of Platinum Healthcare Staffing, Inc., which provides medical professionals to hospitals throughout southern California. He is vice chairman of the Audit Committee of the Farm Credit System. Also, he is on the board of Money Management International, a non-profit organization providing personal credit and financial counseling and education from more than 100 offices across the nation as well as via telephone and the internet.

Dr. Staats was founder of New Braunfels National Bank in New Braunfels, Texas, and served as vice chairman of the board of directors. Dr. Staats also was named by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to the board of the nation's first bridge bank. He was an original director of Staats, Falkenberg & Partners, an Austin-based advertising and public relations company.

For 30 years, Dr. Staats held the position of The Hermann Moyse, Jr., Distinguished Professor and Louisiana Bankers Association Chair of Banking at Louisiana State University. Also, he served as director of the Bankers School for Supervisory Training.

Before joining the faculty at LSU, Dr. Staats was vice president and corporate secretary of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. He has been a member of the faculty at Rice University and at The University of Texas where he received his doctorate degree. His undergraduate degree is from Texas Lutheran University, where he currently serves as a member of the Board of Regents.

Dr. Staats has published many articles in banking and finance, and he is very active on the speaking circuit, making presentations throughout the nation. He has done extensive work as an expert witness in banking cases in several states. In addition, Dr. Staats has written seven books and monographs: Money and Banking, published by the American Bankers Association; Key Concepts of Financial Management for Bankers, Second Edition, and Bank Director's Guide to Controlling Credit Risk, published by the Graduate School of Banking at LSU; Effectiveness of Bank Boards of Directors: Evidence and Prescriptions; Key Concepts of Financial Management for Business Success; and Key Concepts of Financial Management for Credit Unions. He is co-author of How Chuck Taylor Got What He Wanted (And How You Can, Too!), now in its fourth edition, which is designed to teach the financial facts of life to young adults.