Is aiming to be being smart, fit, and happy too much to ask? Not if you ask Stephanie’s guests on this edition of Out to Lunch. What we’d all like to know is, how do you get there? Well, step one is, you start today. Right now.
Smart
In today’s complex, high-tech, polarized and post-pandemic era, it does indeed, as someone famously once said, take a village to raise a child. You as a parent cannot do it alone. Raising balanced, productive little people requires not only concerned caregivers but a robust school system and a variety of other programs that address emotional, physical and psychological needs.
Dr. Sito Narcisse, Superintendent of East Baton Rouge Parish Schools
Dr. Sito Narcisse is Superintendent of East Baton Rouge Parish Schools, which has more than 45,000 students. Since taking over at the helm of the system in January 2021, Sito has rolled out an ambitious new strategic plan aimed at improving student achievement and creating a dual enrollment program that will help make more Baton Rouge students ready for college.
Sito comes to EBR Schools with more than a decade as a school system administrator. Before coming to Baton Rouge he served in key leadership positions in the District of Columbia, Metro Nashville, Prince George Co. Maryland and Montgomery. Dr. Narcisse grew up in New York the child of Haitian parents. His first language was Haitian Creole and he learned English as a second language in school.
Fit
Nely Ward and Jennifer Macha Hebert are founders of Basic Fitness, a lifestyle brand with a focus on health and wellness that offers a variety of services that include individual endurance raining, preseason team fitness coaching and nutrition coaching/guidance. They believe that healthy is happy, and work to bring that mentality to our clients and our communities.
Jennifer Macha Hebert
Nely Ward
Basic Fitness is particularly focused on youth sports, where Nely and Jennifer have noticed that young athletes are being coached out of sports at an early age, while advanced players don’t have the access to sport- specific training. That’s why they are currently developing a digital platform/app that focuses on athletic training and team management for the youth sports market that will deliver sports specific and age-appropriate athletic training for middle and high school athletes as well as those in the travel/tournament/competitive arena.
Nely and Jennifer know something about sports. Nely is a nutritionist and 3-time Ironman who has competed in numerous marathons. Jennifer is a 4-time ironman competitor and marketing expert.
Stephanie Riegel Out to Lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard
Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. Photos by Erik Otts. And there’s more lunch-table conversation about Baton Rouge’s unique education option where you can graduate with a pilot’s license.