Donna Carville named Grand Marshal for 2021 Acadian Festival parade
Longtime time community volunteer Donna Carville was named Grand Marshal for the 2021 International Acadian Festival parade, which will roll through the city Sunday, Oct. 24.
Donna Carville was born and raised in Plaquemine. She married a hometown boy and raised her family here.
During her career, Donna has taken part in numerous strategic initiatives and been actively involved in many trade/business associations and social services. She has been a member of numerous boards, including, the State Economic Development Council, LABI, LCA, LAMP, Iberville Chamber of Commerce, Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, LMOGA, LAMP, Capital Area United Way Board, CABL, among others.
After graduating from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry, she attended Kansas State University and Auburn University for post-graduate studies in chemistry and chemical engineering and received an MBA from Louisiana State University in 1996.
She joined Dow Chemical’s Plaquemine plant location in 1979 as a Research Chemist she held a variety of roles throughout Louisiana Operations. In 1995, she was named Leader of Responsible Care at Louisiana Operations at the very beginning of its program. After becoming the North America Logistics Regulatory and Safety Manager, she moved into Public and Governmental Affairs in 1998. This is the role where her talents shined the most.
She led a team of professionals dedicated to sustaining Dow’s reputation through active involvement with employees, contractors, state and local stakeholders. In 2007, Donna became solely dedicated to Governmental Affairs, where she led public policy efforts in Louisiana and coordinated with Dow’s other state, federal and international efforts.
During her career, Donna has taken part in numerous strategic initiatives and been actively involved in many trade/business associations and social services. She has been a member of numerous boards, including, the State Economic Development Council, LABI, LCA, LAMP, Iberville Chamber of Commerce, Greater Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce, LMOGA, LAMP, Capital Area United Way Board, CABL, among others.
She has been the recipient of many prestigious awards at Dow, as well as in the community, including the YWCA Woman of Achievement, Athena Award, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Award, Governor’s Environmental Leadership of the Year; and most recently the Pride of West Baton Rouge Award from the WBR Chamber of Commerce in March of 2009; and the Myron Falk Award from the YMCA in May of 2009.
Carville was instrumental in gathering funds for the Dow Westside YMCA. Along with securing Dow’s contribution, she worked many hours on her own time to make this a reality. Many early mornings you will find her there exercising, after attending daily mass.
The organization probably dearest to her heart is Habitat for Humanity of Greater Baton Rouge. Twenty-nine homes have been build on the West side with twenty-one of them right here in Plaquemine. She has worked very hard to secure land, permits, volunteers, meals, and supplies to give these families a chance to own a new home.
At St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church she has been a Eucharistic Minister, and Liturgical reader for many years, and is a member of the Catholic Daughters, working on numerous projects.