NEW ORLEANS, La. – Gayle Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans, was the keynote speaker at the Jefferson Chamber 2025 Annual Meeting held this morning at the Alario Center. The meeting, one in every of the Chamber’s largest networking and social events, also included the presentation of the Chamber’s top awards and the passing of the gavel to the brand new President of the Chamber.
Speakers at the event also included Jefferson Chamber President Ruth Lawson; Beth Walker, CEO of Ochsner Health; 2024 Jefferson Chamber President Ryan Rodrigue, vp of Hub International; and David Payton, executive director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Initiative.
Then three awards were presented. Marcel Lashover of One Stop Financial Group was named the 2024 Ambassador of the Year, Michael Flowers of @ Work Personnel received the Emerging Leader Award, and Johnny Damiano of Adams and Reese received the President’s Award.
Rodrigue then introduced Nora Vaden Holmes, owner of Nora Vaden Holmes Insurance Agency in State Farm, because the chamber’s 2025 president.
Lawson then introduced Benson, who delivered a speech – after a disappointing season for the New Orleans Saints – that aptly focused on the concepts of success and failure.
“I define success as competing to be the best at everything we do,” she said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t have to mean winning the championship every year. Unexpected circumstances arise that cannot always be overcome – injuries, bad calls, supply shortages, to name a few, can always impact success, and I am a realist when it comes to these challenges. Sometimes these challenges are so significant that they cannot be overcome in a particular season, quarter or year.”
Benson also addressed not directly the firing of Saints head coach Dennis Allen in November.
“The reality is that failure creates opportunities for something much better,” she said. “Sometimes this means that when we don’t win, we have to make difficult decisions and make changes that are personally heartbreaking. I had to fire people I greatly respect who worked as hard as they could to win without success, but I had to be honest with myself and make these painful decisions because my ultimate responsibility lies with our fans and my employees.”
Finally, Benson noted a few of her business accomplishments over the past yr — including the acquisition of several dealerships, including Porche of New Orleans in Metairie, for which she said she’s going to construct a brand new, state-of-the-art facility, in addition to several collision centers.
“We have also invested in several commercial real estate investments and are actively pursuing innovative investment opportunities through Benson Capital Partners. While I cannot go into specifics, I can assure you that there are several other developments on the horizon in Jefferson Parish that we are looking forward to hearing about this year.”
