Plaquemines Association of Business and Industry members and guests filled one of the many dinning rooms on Carnival Cruise Line's Triumph. Lunch was provided as a Carnival representative spoke about the benefits of using a travel agent to book a voyage. Vacation Makers' Kathy Lavalla organized the PABI lunch and tour.

The Triumph cruise ship played host to the most recent Plaquemines Association of Business and Industry meeting.

Members of PABI were taken aboard the vessel, owned by Carnival Cruise Lines, and toured the theater, nightclub, restaurants and bars built into the hub of the Triumph.
One such spot, the piano bar, was sea themed and the walls were covered in oyster shells that were shipped from Plaquemines Parish to Italy for decorating. While in Italy, it was unknown the Triumph would end up in the Port of New Orleans.

Kathy Lavalla, of Vacation Makers travel agency in Belle Chasse, arranged the PABI luncheon, and joined the group on board to answer any questions about booking a cruise.

Following lunch, PABI was free to explore the boat and relax on the Lido deck until 3 p.m., shortly before the Triumph was scheduled to take off for its destination.
Several announcements were made throughout the meeting:

Plaquemines Parish President Billy Nungesser will give his State of the Parish address at the next PABI event, to be held on March 23 at 11:30 a.m. at Woodland Plantation.

FEMA funding has been approved for the construction of a hospital in Port Sulphur.

A survey about the needs of businesses in the parish was conducted on PABI’s website and more than 60 responses were received. A report on the results will be released in the near future.

The census results in Louisiana revealed the state population has only grown by about 400,000 people, thus forcing the removal of one congressional seat and dropping the total to six. The contingency to create a coastal congressional district to represent those parishes bordering the Gulf Coast was mentioned.