Blake Chatelain’s Cenla ties run deep. He sits relaxed in the Alexandria lobby office he’s inhabited for the past two decades in order to stay close to the customers who mean so much to him, reflecting on his life and career that, to this point, have seen him grow from his youth on the farmlands of south Central Louisiana to the some of the most prestigious boardrooms in the state. His outstanding business achievements, civic contributions and ongoing dedication to our community have earned him recognition as 2019’s Cenla-ian of the Year.
Blake was born outside Bunkie, is the son of Ronnie and Faye Chatelain. Though Ronnie is retired from CLECO’s St. Landry plant and Faye is a retired school teacher, much of Blake’s childhood was spent on the farm. “I grew up on the farm,” he recalls. “My grandfather and my uncle farmed rice and soybeans, primarily.” The farm life suited him well and taught him the value of hard work. “I had a great childhood, growing up with my brother, sister and cousins working on the farm from a very early age.” As the father of four sons, Chatelain knows the importance of those kinds of early lessons. “At times, I feel guilty for not raising my own children in the country because it was just a great way to grow up,” he explains. Blake attended Bayou Chicot High School, graduating in 1981. “There are a few of us proud Bayou Chicot grads around, Mike Jenkins being one,” muses Chatelain. Jenkins was, himself, the 2014 Cenla-ian of the Year. Following his high school graduation, Chatelain enrolled at Louisiana State University of Alexandria.
“When I graduated, I had two job offers, one was to go to work for Piccadilly, actually,” he quips, “and the other was to go to work for Hibernia, which had just acquired Guaranty Bank.” His decision proved to be fortuitous and Blake returned to Central Louisiana to start work in January of 1986. Two years later, Hibernia dispatched Blake to Monroe to open a loan production office with an eye toward future expansion. After a few years in Monroe, the Chatelains returned to Cenla again in 1991. “I was recruited to join First Commerce Corporation, which owned Rapides Bank in Alexandria,” Blake recalls.
Chatelain’s belief that the community was ready to embrace a new, local bank was prescient. During the seven months of planning and preparation, the team was tasked with raising the necessary capital to begin operations. They were able to secure about $12.5 million in investment from the community. “At the time, it was the largest capital raise ever for a bank in Louisiana,” he recalls. Chatelain and his team set about the work of empanelling a board of directors and hiring the rest of the required staff in preparation for opening. Red River Bank officially commenced operations on January 14, 1999.
In any new endeavor, community support is key, but perhaps even more so is family support. Blake credits his father with instilling in him the drive to start something new. “My dad has always had an entrepreneurial spirit to him, and I think that part of business always intrigued me,” he says. Likewise, Belle’s support and contributions were both key. “She was encouraging of the idea from the start, even though it meant quitting a good job with four kids at home to take on the startup risk,” recalls Blake.
Chatelain has been at the helm of the bank as its president and chief executive officer from the beginning. In 1999, Blake was the oldest member of the Red River team at the ripe old age of 34. He’s overseen two decades of incredible growth and expansion. “January 2019 marks our twentieth year,” says Chatelain. “It’s been a busy twenty years, and we are celebrating the occasion. I think it’s important to always reflect on where you came from and that helps define where you’re going.” The way forward has followed the path of the bank’s namesake, traveling up the Red River into the Shreveport/Bossier market in 2005. Five years later, the bank expanded into the Baton Rouge market through acquisition. Most recently, Red River Bank opened its first location in Lake Charles with plans set to open a location in Covington. “We never want to lose sight of the entrepreneurial spirit that started the bank and keep that culture alive,” says Blake.
In addition to celebrating its 20th anniversary, Red River Bank made its initial public offering in 2019 and is now listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. “As we reflected on twenty years, we had about 550 shareholders who owned the bank, so it is fairly widely held,” Chatelain explains. “We felt like listing on the Nasdaq offered our shareholders liquidity, should they ever need it while also creating the opportunity for future acquisitions, should we choose that option.” It’s a path that Chatelain has been following since the beginning. “We have always tried, since day one, to run the bank as if we were going to be public one day,” he continues, “so that if we ever did so, it wouldn’t mean a lot of change for our employees or our customers.”
More than thirty years of hard work and dedication to the community has brought Blake’s life full circle in many respects. The former LSUA BSU president now serves as both a Deacon at his church and a member of the LSU Board of Supervisors. “I am grateful to have had the privilege of being a friend with Blake Chatelain for over 30 years,” says Dr. B. David Brooks, Senior Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria. “He places a high value on family, friends, and faith. His leadership is an asset to Calvary Baptist Church, our community, our state, and our world. He is a man of wisdom, vision, integrity, character, compassion, and humility. He brings out the best in others and empowers them to exercise their potential to the fullest.” Blake has served his alma mater for the last 11 years, having first been nominated by Gov. Bobby Jindal in 2008 as a representative of the 5th Congressional District. He was surprised when he first got the call. “I had never even thought about it and wasn’t looking for that kind of opportunity,” recalls Chatelain. “When I got the call, I was given about two hours to think about it,” he chuckles. Within those two hours, he accepted the challenge to represent the entire LSU system at the highest level. “I replaced Charlie Weems, who had done such a great job and was really a legend on the board. I was somewhat intimidated by the shoes I stepped into there,” he admits. Chatelain excelled in his new role. During his tenure on the Board, he has previously served as its chairman, chairman of the Athletics Committee for several years, and currently as chair of the Finance Committee. “When I think about public service, it’s certainly given me the opportunity to hopefully make a difference in an organization that really drives so much opportunity in across the state.” Nowhere is that impact felt more keenly than here at home. “Of course, here in Central Louisiana, LSUA is so important,” he says. “A university just brings so much to a community. The future of any community is going to be driven by our ability to retain our young people at home and to build the skills that are needed to help us continue to grow. LSUA is vital to Central Louisiana, and I think the growth that it’s shown over the past few years as it continues to transition to a vibrant four-year university is a testament to the value that it provides and our need for it.”