Roger Odgen, Liberty Bank lauded for community work | News
In a packed downtown ballroom this week, Junior Achievement of Greater New Orleans honored a cadre of local business leaders who have embraced the spirit of entrepreneurship and served as role models for the region’s future leaders.
Among the honorees were real estate developer, civic leader and philanthropist Roger Ogden, who received the Junior Achievement Lifetime Achievement Award; and Liberty Bank & Trust, which was given the Oscar J. Tolmas Charitable Trust Business of The Year award.
During the Thursday night gala, which featured dinner for hundreds of attendees in the Empire Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, six local business leaders were also honored as the 2024 class of the Junior Achievement Hall of Fame. It marked the 40th year for the naming of the leadership class.
This year’s Hall of Fame class consists of:
- Kim M. Boyle, vice managing partner of the New Orleans law firm Phelps Dunbar, LLC.
- Ryan Burks, president of RYCARS Construction, LLC.
- Michelle Douglas, founding CEO of Hynes Charter School Corporation.
- Greg Feirn, CEO at LCMC Health.
- Lee Giorgio, co-founder, CEO and president of Select Properties.
- Bill Hammack, who built successful ventures in printing, graphic arts, publishing, internet technology, hospitality, and construction.
Established by Junior Achievement in 1984, the Hall of Fame members exemplify professional excellence along with a deep commitment to community development, mentorship, and nurturing future leaders, according to the organization.
“Each of you are incredible assets to our community,” said Gregory Rusovich, CEO of Transoceanic Development, 2024 Hall of Fame chair and emcee of the gala.
Junior Achievement President Larry Washington highlighted the success of the organization in reaching 40,000 students over the past year. One of those students, Shaw High School sophomore Bakari Johnson, gave an account of how the organization helped spur his interest in entrepreneurship.
Later in the evening, local real estate magnates James Maurin and Darryl Berger appeared at the podium to announce Ogden as the Lifetime Achievement Award winner for 2024.
Maurin recalled how he and Ogden, who were friends in their days as LSU students, partnered early in their careers to develop shopping malls, “something we knew nothing about,” he said.
But through hard work, perseverance, and an entrepreneurial drive, he said they became successful.
Berger characterized Ogden, with whom he has worked with on real estate ventures, a “superb businessman” who has a keen sense for “seeing what others don’t see” in real estate and business.
The contributions of Liberty Bank were also highlighted at the gala. Liberty is one of the country’s largest Black-owned banks, with over $1 billion in assets and branches in 11 states.
Alden McDonald, who was the bank’s president for 50 years, talked about how Norman C. Francis, Liberty Bank’s chairman and the longtime president of Xavier University, brought him from an obscure position at International City Bank into a position with Liberty.
McDonald, part of the first Junior Achievement Hall of Fame class in 1984, credited the bank’s staff and other business leaders who were willing to work together to achieve the greater good for the community.
“Our growth, our success could not have been achieved without everyone pitching in,” he said.
