Old Fashioned Barbecue to honor Lucien Flournoy

Juan A. Navejar Jr.

The late Lucien Flournoy was an entrepreneur extraordinaire. Not only was Lucien a great businessman but a great contributor to our community.
It is because of his commitment that the Old Fashioned Barbecue organized by the Alice Chamber of Commerce and the Jim Wells County Master Planners were very successful. After a seven year hiatus, the Alice Chamber of Commerce re-introduced the Old Fashioned Barbecue to much success last year.
“We felt it was time to honor such a great philanthropist like Mr. Flournoy and rename the event to the 2012 Lucien Flournoy Old Fashioned Barbecue,” Alice Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Juan Navejar said. “The event is being spearheaded by Chamber members Kevin Downes, Sue Murdoch, Paul Rycroft and myself with Kevin serving as the event chairperson.”
Lucien was a great supporter of the Alice Chamber of Commerce. He was instrumental in getting this event off the ground and a time-honored tradition just be invited to the event. Aside being the great businessman in the oil industry, he was a local icon in many Alice clubs and organizations. He contributed his creativity to a wide variety of organizations including: Alice as the Mayor, Boy Scouts, Women’s Shelter, Texas Aeronautics Commission, TAMUK, Texas Economic Development Committee, Texas Governor’s Interstate Oil Compact Committee, and CP&L as a Member of their respective Governing Bodies.
“The committee’s goal is to return this event to is previous grandeur with local businesses being the backbone for its support and sponsorship,” Downes said. “By inviting a series of quality speakers that are addressing issues important to South Texas we can create a forum for discussion and problem solving.”
The barbecue is an exclusive event made possible by various sponsors who may invite up to 16 guests to the invitation-only event. This year’s barbecue will be held at the Jim Wells County Fairground Merchant’s Building on Thursday, October 11, 2012. The guest speaker is Barry Smitherman who is a fourth generation Texan with a distinguished career in finance and has served the people of Texas as a prosecutor, as Chairman of the Public Utility Commission, and now as the elected Chairman of the Railroad Commission.
Smitherman currently serves on the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission, the Southern States Energy Board, the Coastal Land Advisory Board, the Visiting Committee of the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas, and the UT Law School Center for Global Energy.
For more information about being a sponsor for the event, contact the Chamber at 361-664-3454.