Blake Chatelain named ‘Cenla-ian of Year’

Blake Chatelain grew up on a farm outside of Bunkie. He became an influential banker and civic leader in Alexandria, where he is president of Red River Bank.

Now he can add “Cenla-ian of the Year” to his impressive resume.

Cenla Focus magazine bestowed the honor on Chatelain last month, stating his “outstanding business achievements, civic contributions and ongoing dedication to our community” as reasons for this selection.

“I am proud to be an Avoyelles Parish native,” Chatelain said. “I tell everyone that all roads lead to Bunkie. Wherever I go around the state, I am always able to make a Bunkie connection.”

ALL ABOUT BLAKE

Chatelain is the son of Ronnie and Faye Chatelain, who are both retired now -- Ronnie from Cleco’s St. Landry plant and Faye as a school teacher.

The Chatelains lived -- the his parents still do -- between Bunkie and St. Landry.

“I had a Bunkie address and that is where we went for grocery shopping, to see the doctor, etc.,” Chatelain said.

Blake spent much of his youth on his grandfather Noah Chatelain’s farm near Hessmer.

Bunkie is still the family home. His sister, retired Avoyelles Parish School District educator Debbie Bain, lives in Bunkie.

Chatelain is a 1981 graduate of Bayou Chicot High School, which is just a few miles south of Bunkie in neighboring Evangeline Parish.

“My mother taught school there, so that’s where I went,” Chatelain said. “I went to Bunkie Elementary for two years, but when my mother went to work at Bayou Chicot I went there.”

He attended LSUA and completed his degree at LSU in Baton Rouge in 1985 in finance.

His first job was with Hibernia Bank in Alexandria in January 1986. He later worked for First Commerce Corp., which owned Rapides Bank.

Bank One bought First Commerce and Chase bought Bank One.

He left Bank One in June 1998 to start Red River Bank. Red River Bank was incorporated on July 29, 1998 and opened for business on Jan. 14, 1999 with Chatelain as president/CEO.

At 34, he was the oldest member of the Red River management team. It was a new bank with young leaders in a field that had seen large nationwide financial giants replacing the local hometown banks.

Chatelain said Red River Bank’s 20th anniversary “is a time to celebrate, but also to reflect on how blessed we are and to say ‘Thank you’ to the communities that have been so good to us.”

Chatelain expanded his bank north to Shreveport/Bossier in 2005 and south to Baton Rouge in 2010.

In between those years, RRB opened a branch in Marksville in 2008. The bank recently opened a branch in Lake Charles and will soon open one in Covington.

Red River also recently made its initial public offering of stock and is listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, which he said will benefit the company and its shareholders.

KEEP CUSTOMERS CLOSE

Chatelain is not one of those high-finance types who hide away in an ivory tower office where they can look down on all the “little people.”

He occupies the same office he moved into in 1999 -- right out there in the front lobby -- where he can see and be seen by the customers that are the key to the bank’s success.

“It reminds me of why we’re here and why we do what we do,” Chatelain said. He said meeting the customers is the most enjoyable and rewarding part of his work day. He said he will never give up his 20-year-old office for bigger, nicer and more isolated digs because “this keeps me connected with the customers.”

In addition to his role as a banker and business leader, Chatelain has also been involved in numerous civic organizations, including United Way, Red Cross, Caring People’s Free Pharmacy and the Rotary Club.

He also serves as chairman of the Central Louisiana Economic Development Alliance (CLEDA).

“I wish I could say there was good economic news on the horizon for this area, but the truth is there does not seem to be a lot of positive activity looking at Louisiana,” Chatelain said. “At this time, CLEDA is focusing on trying to help our local companies grow and expand. The fact is, most new jobs come from sustaining what you have than from recruiting new industries.”

When he was at LSUA, Chatelain was the president of the Baptist Student Union. Today, he is a deacon at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria and a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors since 2008.

In what free time he manages to find, he flies his plane, reads a lot of books and enjoys hunting and fishing.

He and his wife Belle have four adult sons and two grandchildren.

Chatelain said that when he began Red River Bank, he never really thought about where it would be in 20 years. Now, all he knows about the future is that he plans for Red River to continue growing, hopefully to become a “Community super-bank” with a statewide reach.

As far as this latest honor by Cenla Focus, Chatelain said it is “a humbling recognition. I feel honored and appreciative. I know that this recognition would not have been possible without a lot of support from a lot of people -- at the bank, in the community and in my family.”