Sharing Works

Louisiana governor on hand for
re-opening of community swimming pool (con't)

The Hackberry Recreation Center had been closed since Sept. 23, 2005, due to damage from Hurricane Rita. Known as the true “center” of Hackberry, the center is a vital part of the community, because it’s where the local children and their families spend their summers.

 

Volunteer help
Thanks to more than 50 employee volunteers from the company’s construction contractors, who turned out after work and on weekends, the center’s just about back in business.

 

Sempra Energy’s Cameron LNG pitched in, too, when it underwrote a community festival—the 1st Annual Hackberry Summer Splash—to kick off the re-opening of the center and the pool. More than 500 families from throughout the Cameron Parish enjoyed the free food and fun.
 
Sempra Energy also gave the center a $50,000 contribution to keep making repairs to the site.

 

“We couldn’t have repaired and re-opened this facility without the help of Cameron LNG and Sempra Energy,” says Dwayne Sanner, executive director of the center. “They have been unbelievable. Not only did the company provide a monetary contribution, but they also provided the manpower to make it all happen. We never dreamed that this facility could re-open by this summer.”

 

Building the future
“It meant a great deal to have Governor Blanco join us for this celebration and see the investment being made in Cameron Parish and southwest Louisiana,” says Neal Schmale, Sempra Energy’s president and chief operating officer.
 
“We are thrilled to be part of the fabric of this community,” says Darcel Hulse, president of Sempra LNG, the Sempra Energy subsidiary developing the Cameron LNG project. Joined by youth from Hackberry, he gave the governor a framed photo that included colorful hand prints from local children. He told the governor, “This gift memorializes the spirit and resiliency of this community, and represents the hands that will help build the future of this region.”