Kevin Couhig
| Kevin Couhig | |
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| Born | Kevin Hearsey Couhig October 2, 1951 |
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Kevin Hearsey Couhig (born October 2, 1951) is an American entrepreneur, soccer coach, businessman, venture capitalist, Republican political activist and the first elected President[1] of West Feliciana Parish.
He is the Chairman of the Board of PreSonus Audio Electronics, CEO of Source Capital LLC [2]and President of West Feliciana Parish in Louisiana.
Education and Family[edit]
Couhig was born in Baptist Hospital in New Orleans to Robert Emmet “Bob” Couhig, Sr. (1916-2014), and the former Marcelle “Nootsie” Reese (1919-1985).
Nootsie was first married to Sam A. Leblanc, Jr. by whom she bore two children, Sam A. LeBlanc, III and Marcelle L. Hickey. Nootsie, then living in Donaldsonville in Ascension Parish, married Bob after the death of her first husband, Sam Leblanc, II. She and Robert had four children together, Robert E. Couhig, Jr, Owen Couhig Kemp, Kevin H. Couhig and Mark St. John Couhig all of Bob and Nootsie’s children are entrepreneurs and currently reside in West Feliciana Parish.
Bob Couhig came to New Orleans from Massachusetts after World War II where he served as a medic in the U.S. Army. For his service in Germany he was awarded the Purple Heart. He was hired by the Orkin Company to manage two area pest control offices and became the top executive of a four-state territory. In that position, he moved Orkin central office from New Orleans to Baton Rouge in 1958 at which time he also purchased Asphodel Plantation and moved the family to the Felicianas. Bob and Nootsie purchased and renovated Fairview Plantation in West Feliciana Parish in 1962 where Nootsie operated a restaurant and gift shop. After a brief relocation to Atlanta, the family returned to Asphodel where they subsequently developed one of the first bed and breakfasts in the state. When fully developed, Asphodel village included overnight accommodations and a restaurant and gift shop. Marcelle was the driving force behind this development while Bob formed Couhig Pest-Away Company, based in Baton Rouge, which he operated until he was in his middle eighties.
From 1958 Couhig attended and eventually graduated from St. Francisville High School in 1969. He attended Georgetown University and received his B.S.B.A. in 1973.
Couhig married Candace Jones of St. Francisville in 1971. They remained married until 1995 when they were divorced. They have three sons, Peter Marcus Couhig, Patrick Hearsey Couhig and Brendan Fitzgibbons Couhig. Peter Couhig is married to Finney Heidel of Oxford, Mississippi and they have three children, Anna Reese, James Emmet “Buster” and Marcus Alexander “Mac.” Brendan “Fitz” Couhig is married to Jennifer Doherty of Boston, Ma. and they reside in Arlington, WA.
Couhig subsequently married Shannon Wren of Baton Rouge in 1999 from whom he was divorced in 2012.
Business and Public Service Career[edit]
Immediately after graduation, Couhig worked for Couhig Pestaway for three years, learning from Bob Couhig about managing people and business to produce results for customers and employees thru a commitment to hard work, ethical practices and fair treatment. During this period, Bob suffered several health setbacks which elevated Couhig to manage Couhig Pestaway operations at a very early age. Also during this period, Couhig managed numerous local, legislative, congressional political campaigns and one statewide Presidential campaign.
In 1977 he was hired as an economic development specialist by the State of Louisiana working to bring industry to the state as a salesman. In 1978 he was promoted to Financial Incentives Director of Louisiana’s economic development agency, The Office of Commerce & Industry. He is credited with implementing a local readiness program (Ready Cities), the nation’s first state level Enterprise Zone Program. He was appointed Assistant Secretary of Commerce to lead the State of Louisiana’s economic development programs in 1981. As Assistant Secretary Couhig was credited with numerous innovative programs to help develop small business and entrepreneurship in Louisiana. He was the lead author of the Certified Capital Companies Program which enabled Louisiana to rapidly grow the amount of venture capital available to small business throughout the state. Couhig was re-appointed Assistant Secretary by newly elected Governor Edwin Edwards and served in that position the until he resigned in 1985.
Couhig and partner Doug Wilkinson founded Bankers Mortgage Service Company, an innovative remote mortgage origination business which grew rapidly and was purchased By Banc One in 1987. Couhig subsequently founded The Louisiana Seed Capital Corporation (subsequently renamed Source Capital LLC) to raise and manage venture capital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Since its inception Source Capital has made equity investments and mezzanine and SBA loans to small businesses in the Gulf South. The Company began First BIDCO which became the largest SBA lender in Louisiana prior to its sale to Fidelity Bank in Baton Rouge. Notable Source investments include U.S. Agencies, Resource Environmental Solutions, First BIDCO, Enhanced Capital Partners, Tipitina’s, Sogo Live, and PreSonus Audio Electronics.
To date, Source invested or lent capital to over one hundred businesses and produced an outstanding return to its investors which included the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce and the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. Additional investors included numerous insurance companies and pension funds.
Couhig continues to serve as the CEO of Source Capital which is relatively inactive in the investment arena, focusing on existing portfolio investments. He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of PreSonus Audio, a global company in the audio electronics business developing and producing software and hardware products for the live sound and recording industries.
Soccer[edit]
In the early 1980s Couhig started the United Cup Soccer tournament in Baton Rouge which remains one of the largest sports related tourism events in Baton Rouge each fall. In addition, he served as Chairman of the Baton Rouge United Soccer Club and was a long-time coach of both Club and high school teams. Couhig was named NSCAA Coach of the Year for the ten state Region Six after winning both high school and Club State titles in 1990. Couhig is a lifelong supporter of Liverpool Football Club.
Political Career[edit]
Couhig has been active in Louisiana politics since 1973 when he began serving as a campaign volunteer and manager for various legislative and congressional campaigns, primarily for Democrats. Couhig managed the campaigns of his brother Rob Couhig who ran against Corrine Claiborne “Lindy” Boggs in 1980 and for the open seat in a special election to fill the seat of Bob Livingston who resigned from office while serving as Speaker of the House. Couhig’s half-brother Sam LeBlanc was served two terms in the Louisiana Legislature from 1972 thru 1980. Sam LeBlanc and Rob Couhig both ran unsuccessful campaigns for Mayor of New Orleans.
Couhig left the Democratic party after serving as statewide campaign director for the election of President Jimmy Carter and has been an ardent Republican since that time.
Couhig was elected in 2013 as the first President of West Feliciana Parish coming within 41 votes of winning in the first primary over four challengers. In the runoff election he defeated fellow Republican Tom McVea, the former District 62 state representative and one-time police juror, to claim the new position.
Couhig’s election signaled the shift from a Police Jury to a Home Rule Charter form of Government. Under the new West Feliciana Parish Charter, four single member districts and one at large member constitute the new Council - replacing a seven-member police jury at the end of Couhig’s first term. The following two years could best be described as acrimonious as many of the police jurors and much of the political establishment resisted the conversion to a new form of government.
Couhig was challenged in his reelection bid in 2015 by Council President Merrick “Ricky” Lambert but won an additional four-year term with 55% of the vote.[3]
References[edit]
- ↑ sward@theadvocate.com, Steven Ward. "Couhig becomes first West Feliciana Parish president". The Advocate. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
- ↑ "Source Capital Corporation: Private Company Information - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2017-12-14.
- ↑ shardy@theadvocate.com, Steve Hardy. "Kevin Couhig, West Feliciana's first parish president, wins re-election". The Advocate. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
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