As this pandemic unfolds, we’re hearing about how it’s affecting the global economy. That might sound like an oxymoron because “the global economy” might feel far removed from our daily lives. But for all three of our guests on this edition of Out to Lunch Louisiana, it’s an integral part of their lives.

Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser – it’s staycation time again

As the state’s second-highest ranking elected official, Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser is responsible for our connection to the rest of the world through the offices of the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism.

Louisiana’s Tourist Global Economy

The reason people visit Louisiana is primarily to experience what for us is everyday life. Our food. Our music. Our outdoors. Our Southern Hospitality. And so, it’s fitting that in this state these elements of our life, grouped together in the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation & Tourism, under the leadership of the state’s second highest ranking elected official.

Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser may well have thought that when he was President of beleaguered Plaquemines Parish in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, he was fighting the biggest economic battle of your life. Now he’s in the position of leading the State in what is going to be an even more daunting recovery, of unprecedented and monumental importance.

Louisiana’s Fashion Global Economy

Ellie Schwing’s BENE Handbags & Scarves spans two Coronavirus hotspots – Italy and New Orleans

Ellie Schwing has a foot in two Coronavirus hotspots. New Orleans and Italy. Originally a New Orleanian, Ellie moved to Rome, in 2014. That’s where she founded and has grown a successful fashion business, BENE Handbags and Scarves.

BENE manufactures high end leather handbags and silk scarves that are Italian in style and quality, but retain a New Orleans sensibility, as a result both of Ellie’s background and her continued design collaboration with New Orleans artists.

Louisiana’s Oil Global Economy

MAP Oil Tools Ragen Borel – from Wuhan to Lafayette

In Acadiana, Ragen Borel has an oil and gas engineering and manufacturing business called MAP Oil Tools. MAP does business with oil producers around the world, and has more employees in China and Dubai than here in the U.S. Since Ragen was last a guest on Out to Lunch Acadiana, only a few short months ago, everything about the oil business and her business, has changed.

Photos by Jill Lafleur. Previous coverage of the Covid Economy is here.