Farm or Fortune Who Wins Jeff Davis ID Board Seat | Lake Charles News

Lake Charles Louisiana News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jul 12, 2026 · 1m

Jeff Davis Parish is set to pick its next Industrial Development Board member, with two standout candidates vying for the role: Cody Hayes, a seasoned rice and crawfish farmer with deep local roots and an agriculture business degree, and Gabe Fontenot, CEO of Hunt Reppelent, a fast-growing business veteran with corporate sales experience and major retail expansion under his belt. Both bring unique strengths—Hayes with rural conservation and agricultural insight, Fontenot with scalable business strategy and economic development leadership. The Police Jury will decide on July 8, with the winner…