[StBernard] Stewart Enterprises raises hope in St. Bernard Parish

[Westley Annis]

Stewart Enterprises raises hope in St. Bernard Parish 
by Terry O'Connor 
03/26/2007  
  
Yard signs sprouting like mushrooms throughout Da' Parish let a visitor know
Gawd's Country will not stay dead. 

Unfortunately, it's also a signal of how recovery lags in St. Bernard
Parish, where only about 25,000 people have returned of the nearly 60,000
residents pre-Katrina. Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish, which were
littered with thousands of such signs in the weeks after the disaster, have
long since reclassified such vital post-cataclysm advertising as illegal
debris. 

A more promising signal of the recovery is a business that also refused to
roll over and play dead: Stewart Enterprises is putting the finishing
touches on a $2.4-million restoration of its funeral home in Chalmette and
held its first post-Katrina service last Wednesday. 

It was a long 19 months in coming. 

The 10- to 12-foot storm surge after the levees broke post-Katrina blasted
all the windows out in Stewart's 18,000-square-foot funeral home on West
Virtue Avenue - save one. The stained glass window in the heart of the
facility miraculously withstood the elements and is fully restored. 

Robert Maclary, area vice president of Stewart's Western Division, Southern
Region, was called on after the storm to help restore order. The 51-year-old
Elkton, Md., native said he didn't know what to expect when called on. 

"I knew it would be bad," he said. "But the scope of it is hard to
understand." 

Maclary said the Chalmette facility will likely handle roughly half of the
425 funeral services it did pre-Katrina. But it's going to be just as busy
thanks to a community outreach program aimed at filling some of the gaps in
services now available in St. Bernard. 

"We're turning the lights on (symbolically)," Maclary said of the
traditional muted ambiance in the average funeral home. He said community
meetings could be held in the funeral home, which has ample space, and even
wedding receptions if someone wanted to be married in Da' Parish and
couldn't find space. Stewart's meeting rooms can be had just for asking
right now although eventually a rental price will be established if demand
grows intense. 

Stewart has already done a great deal for the economy by choosing to keep
its headquarters here when dozens of other organizations fled including
roughly 11 of 23 publicly traded companies. 

Why would Stewart choose to stay when others claimed moves were forced by
stockholder considerations? 

"From my standpoint, I thought why not?" Maclary said. "We're part of this
community. What better way to help? I don't think there was ever a question
in my mind we would." 


Top private companies 

There's a reason private companies are called private. They don't have to
divulge anything about their operations to the public. 

CityBusiness is grateful every year for those companies that eschew privacy
considerations in the interest of participating in the Top 100 Private
Company issue, which this year had greater participation than ever before.
It also had greater capitalization than ever before at a record $8.9 billion
in total revenues. 

Unfortunately, every year some qualified companies are omitted from our Top
100 Private Companies issue, including some that opt not to take part. Some
prefer not to disclose a disappointing year. Other simply missed the chance
to participate - and they let us know about it. 

This year, for example, Robbie Vitrano's Trumpet Advertising would have
ranked No. 88 in the Top 100 with gross revenues of about $10.8 million. 

Trumpet is the second-largest ad agency by a significant degree in New
Orleans, Vitrano said, with $30 million in billings, 48 percent growth and
net income up 300 percent since 2003. 

Vitrano's disclosures of gross revenues contrast with that of some of his
competitors, who I fear are simply reporting billings as revenues. That
inflationary tactic distorts the list, unfortunately, and we are contacting
those businesses to ensure the distinction is made clear next year. 

Any business owner who wants to be included in the Private Company list or
any of the nearly 100 lists published each year by CityBusiness can ask for
a questionnaire at any time. 

Vitrano is one of the straight shooters in town and CityBusiness salutes his
operations, which landed top-notch accounts with the New Orleans
Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau and the New Orleans Hornets. His
participation and those of all the businesses who made the Top 100, or tried
to, helps readers understand where the vitality of our economy comes from.
We thank all of you for that.. 

Editor Terry O'Connor can be reached at terry.oconnor at nopg.com or 293-9231.