Six Louisiana men, five of them with Acadiana ties, were inducted into the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame Saturday during a banquet at the Cajundome Convention Center.
Raymond “Coach Blanco, Ron Gomez and Acadian Companies Chairman & CEO Richard Zuschlag, all of Lafayette, were inducted, along with the late Marion Edwards of Broussard; former Lt. Gov. Paul Hardy, a Lafayette native who is now an attorney in Baton Rouge; and Judge Edwin Lombard of New Orleans.
“When I look at my fellow honorees, I’m struck by the many different paths each of us took to get here. But one thing is very consistent. They all were dedicated to people of Louisiana and spent many years making our state a better place to work and live,” Zuschlag said during his remarks at the induction banquet.
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame opened in 1993 and is based in Winnfield, the birthplace of governors Huey P. Long, Earl K. Long and O.K. Allen. It honors special individuals who have significantly impacted Louisiana politics. Each year a slate of honorees are celebrated for their unique contributions to a political landscape like no other. Exhibits for each of this year’s inductees are in place in the museum, spotlighting their histories and prominence in Louisiana.
