Louisiana's Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser is promoting Louisiana commerce in France this week.
Nungesser and a delegation of local lawmakers arrived in Paris Sunday for a business trip expected to last through tomorrow.
Nungesser's office said travel costs for him and his staff were $22,643. Others who traveled paid $1,500 to participate and had to cover their own airfare, accommodations and transportation.
The lieutenant governor, unlike the governor, does not travel with a police security detail.
Staff included: Lt. Gov. Nungesser, Deputy Secretary Rennie Buras, Deputy Communications Director Jessica Ragusa, tourism assistant secretary Kyle Edmiston, International Salesperson Mike Projean, Director of Scenic Byways Doug Bourgeois and Jessilee Simien of the Vinton Welcome Center.
Also traveling with the group:
Gregor Trumel, Consul General de France en Louisiane
Senator Karen Carter Peterson, (D) District 5, New Orleans
Dana Peterson, Husband of Sen. Karen Carter Peterson
Senator J.P. Morrell, (D) District 3, New Orleans
Senator Dan Claitor, (R) District 16, Baton Rouge
Mrs. Sharmaine Claitor, Wife of Sen. Dan Claitor
Jill Kidder, Louisiana Tourism Promotion Association CEO
Tracy Browning, Ascension Parish Tourist Commission Executive Director
Joseph Dunn, Laura Plantation
Paul Arrigo, Visit Baton Rouge Executive Director
Tracey Francis, Visit Baton Rouge Destination Sales Manager
Kevin Kelly, Houmas House Plantation
Tanya Leader, St. Tammany Tourism & Convention Commission Sales & Services Manager
Kim Priez, New Orleans CVB Vice President of Tourism
Megan Rayburn, New Orleans Plantation Country Tourism Sales Manager
Eric Edwards, Livingston Parish CVB Executive Director
Sharon Stam Moran, West Baton Rouge Parish CVB Executive Director
Eugenie Mitchell, Lafayette Travel Vice President of Tourism Sales
Lynette Tanner, Frogmore Plantation
Carla Tate, Tangipahoa CVB Executive Director
Laurie Walsh, West Feliciana Parish Tourist Commission Executive Director
Fred Werquin, Travelhost South Louisiana
He's highlighting the Pelican State and its historical ties to France in interviews to French television, and is meeting with Louisiana business leaders and study-abroad scholars in Paris.
Nungesser is also expected to meet with the mayors of Paris and Lyon before returning to Baton Rouge.
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