Each year, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office grants hundreds of thousands of patents to people who embody what we sometimes refer to as “American ingenuity”. These are folks who are creative problem-solvers, capable of out-of-the box thinking that leads to innovation. From Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs, American ingenuity has resulted in a host of innovations and inventions that most of us now take for granted. I’m thinking of course of modern electricity and personal computers but also smartphones and, let’s face it, Artificial Intelligence. Our healthcare system has benefitted from American ingenuity too. In the last 50 years, medical advances in diagnostics and imaging, and biotechnology and genetics, have revolutionized healthcare, leading to improved treatments, enhanced patient experience, better public health, and greater efficiency and cost savings. Perhaps the most obvious benefit of American ingenuity in healthcare is that Americans — and people living around the globe — are just living longer, healthier lives. Amy's lunch guests, Dr. Blake Williamson and Dr. Lawrence Salone, are both contributing to this universal progress with their individual insight and innovation. Dr. Blake Williamson is the President and Managing Partner of Williamson Eye Center, a vertically integrated ophthalmology practice, combining optometry and ophthalmology to provide comprehensive eye care—from pediatrics to retirement age. Founded more than 80 years ago by Blake’s grandfather, Williamson Eye Center has grown significantly over the past decade, operating one of the highest-volume eye surgery centers in Louisiana. The center is often among the first practices in the world to access new eye-care technologies. For instance, Dr. Williamson was the first surgeon in the world to implant the Odyssey lens, a breakthrough cataract implant. After serving in the military, including a deployment in Iraq, Dr. Lawrence Salone returned to Baton Rouge where he became acutely aware of the lack of accessible mental health services and the high rates of suicide among service members. In 2012, Dr. Salone launched Post Trauma Institute, a Louisiana-based mental health organization offering integrated psychiatric services under one umbrella, including medication management, psychological testing, therapy, and substance abuse treatment. An early adopter of virtual mental health care, PTI has been offering telehealth services since 2014, well before telehealth became mainstream. Today, PTI employs five prescribers and seven therapists, offering services to veterans, National Guard members, and reservists, as well as a growing roster of employers concerned about absenteeism, burnout, and productivity. the U.S. healthcare system is rapidly changing, driven by escalating costs, technological integration, and evolving policies affecting insurance. Despite these challenges, your approach to innovation will ensure your respective practices continue to provide affordable and accessible healthcare to our Baton Rouge community. For a mid size city in the south, the presence of PTI and the Williamson Eye Center are two of the reasons we're punching way above our weight in healthcare here in Baton Rouge. Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recent brides and their fathers who paid for the wedding won’t be surprised to learn that the average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is between $30,000 and $36,000, depending on the couple's choices, incuding the wedding location and number of guests. One of the major costs of any wedding is photography. In an image-driven society where pics of the most mundane activities are posted online for public consumption, capturing the biggest day of many women’s lives in pictures is often complicated. Along with conflicting emotions about body image, and the stress of a major financial investment, unlike the informal pictures of a birthday or a vacation, wedding photos capture a rite of passage and who doesn’t want to look their best for posterity? Wedding photographer Katelyn Craven of Butterflies of Hope Photography knows how to ensure that the money is well spent. Butterflies of Hope Photography is a family-owned photography studio founded by Katelyn’s mother, Heather Banker. Working out of their Prairieville studio, Katelyn leads all wedding photography under her own brand, Butterflies of Hope by Katelyn, and frequently travels across South Louisiana— from Baton Rouge to New Orleans, Lafayette and St. Francisville—for weddings and engagements. During the pandemic, many brides were either postponing big-ticket weddings or opting for smaller backyard unions at home. As a result, couples have become more aware of the environmental impact of their special day. Invitation cards, welcome bags, and other plastic props and tchotchkes that were once trendy but too often discarded are now passe for the environmentally-friendly couple. Wedding bouquets and flowers aren’t immune to the trend either, with planners noting fewer boutonnieres and more pocket squares for the groom and groomsmen. But what of the bride and her maids? Inspired by her own disappointing experience with a wedding florist, Lauren Bercier co-founded Something Borrowed Blooms, a rental service featuring premium silk floral collections that couples can rent for about 70% less than fresh flowers. What started with a dozen weddings a month has grown to more than 2,000 weddings per month during peak season, with over 55,000 weddings fulfilled to date. Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There are a lot of things to plan for when moving to a new city: renting a UHaul, forwarding personal mail, driving the most efficient route to a new job. But few people plan for or even consider what perhaps is the most important aspect to a successful transition to a new city: making friends. Making new friends is hard in any city but especially so in small towns and cities where friends have known each other since grade school, raised children together, or gone to the same church for decades. In communities like Baton Rouge, friends are built-in to a rich life often centered around family. Making friends is further complicated by our obsession with our digital devices. Go to most any place, including a restaurant or bar where you might expect to meet someone, and you’ll notice people’s heads bent towards their phones, scrolling past social media posts and videos. Today, “friends” are often people you’ve never met IRL. Still, there are reasons and even places where a newcomer can meet friends with whom to have an in-person conversation. Stephanie Hansen of Les Amis Bake Shoppe and James Hyfield of Red Stick Reads own two such businesses in Baton Rouge. Following in the footsteps of her aunt and grandmother and using family recipes, Stephanie Hansen opened Les Amis Bake Shoppe in August 2013 with the help and support of her mom. What started as a weekend operation baking and selling cupcakes has grown over the last ten years into a retail shop and a commercial supplier specializing in French macarons and made-to-order cakes, selling wholesale to restaurants, hotels and venues like L’Auberge Casino. Les Amis, which is French for "the friends" increases its own circle of friends and customers with a move from Coursey Boulevard to Downtown Baton Rouge where it welcomes locals, newcomers, and tourists alike with their slogan "Where Good Friends Meet." If, by no fault of your own, you find yourself downtown at Les Amis without company but in need of companionship, then what goes better with a slice of cake than a good book? After years of working in management in food service at Whole Foods, James Hyfield yearned for a different career. He had always enjoyed reading, so with his wife Tere, James started small with a pop-up at the Mid City Makers Market that combined his love for books and his experience in food service. Prior to Covid, James and Tere ran eight to nine pop-ups around the city before in 2019 they opened their Red Stick Reads brick and mortar store on Eugene St., now located in a renovated warehouse off Government Street, near the Baton Rouge Music Studios. Today, Red Stick Reads bills itself as a gift shop designed as a bookstore where you can meet book-loving friends at weekly storytime events, author talks, and poetry readings. Some of our most vivid childhood memories are of birthday parties with multi-tiered, frosted cake with candles, small gifts wrapped in bright paper, and a gaggle of our closest friends. If we’re lucky, those same friends have celebrated other, equally memorable milestones with us over many years. But, if not, businesses like Les Amis Bake Shoppe, Red Stick Reads, and even Out to Lunch offer opportunities to make new friends and create lasting memories. Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Would you be surprised to learn that the top five degrees in demand in the US are in healthcare, technology, engineering, business, and mathematics? Probably not. But as AI is introduced into nearly every facet of the workplace, college admission managers and HR directors are increasingly pointing to the importance of soft skills, the personal attributes and interpersonal abilities that define how you interact with others in the workplace. In the workplace of the future, they say, employers will seek out employees who demonstrate superb communication, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities. Yet, our nation’s best colleges and universities don’t offer degrees in active listening or collaboration, do they? So what is an incoming freshman to do? My two lunch guests,Travis Noote of Boomerang Comedy Club, and Terence Delaine of NO Show Comedy, would say take a class in improv. Or explore stand up. Travis Noote fell in love with comedy in 2013 and became a devotee to improv, a form of live theatre in which the plot, characters, and dialogue are made up spontaneously by the performers at the moment of performance. Travis took improv classes in South Carolina, Atlanta, and Savannah before moving to Baton Rouge to be closer to family. As he’d done in other cities, Travis signed up for and was taking classes at the Latco theatre, which he learned was going to dissolve soon. So, acting a bit on a whim and with a good deal of spontaneity, in 2022 Travis took the reins of the Latco venue and founded The Boomerang Comedy Theater, effectively turning a hobby into a 9-5 job. If you are further in your comedic studies and perhaps pine for larger audiences on the West Coast, then Terence Delaine of NO Show Comedy is your man. No Show is a live production company operating in Los Angeles and Louisiana, hosting a monthly show at Squeaky Pete's in downtown Baton Rouge, as well as frequent shows at The Station. A native of Lake Charles, Terence has degrees in political science and public administration and a full-time job at the United Way. He's been working as a stand up comic for more than a decade. Terence recorded a comedy special album that will soon be released on all streaming sites, including YouTube. Living in Louisiana, when it comes to entertainment we often think of Baton Rouge as playing second fiddle to New Orleans. Well, that's the role people put Chicago in for years, in relation to New York City. But it might be worth pointing out that some of the nation's most famous and memorable comics, like Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Steve Carell, Chris Farley, Tina Fey, Bill Murray, Catherine O’Hara, and Joan Rivers got their start at Chicago’s Second City, which recently celebrated 65 years of business. It will be interesting to see who comes out of the Baton Rouge comedy scene in the next 5 or 6 years. Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine if you had a few thousand dollars to spend however you wanted? What would you do? A few of my friends might put a down payment on a house. Others would take a long-dreamed about vacation. Or buy an expensive piece of art. Most would give some money to their favorite charity. Yes, Americans certainly are generous with their money. In 2023, individuals gave $374 billion dollars, representing 67% of total giving, according to Giving USA. Americans gave to organizations and grantmaking foundations working in human services, health, education, environment, and the arts, financially supporting an array of causes and programs essential to the social fabric of our communities. But by far, Americans gave to religious institutions and organizations: the churches, synagogues, and mosques that offer spiritual guidance and solace – a community of the faithful. Chris Spencer knows something about the importance of supporting your parish church. As CEO and President of the United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana, Chris manages nearly $250 million on behalf of churches and philanthropists in the state, using his background in banking to help Methodist churches manage their investments and help donors with planned and legacy giving. The spiritual can be found in nature, too, and in different art movements, including Surrealism, Symbolism, and Spiritualism, a 19th-century movement that directly influenced modern art. Cana Brumfield began her exploration of art at a young age. Inspired by her mother, an art therapist and teacher, Cana grew up taking art classes and going to art camps. In 2024, Cana began selling her art to the public under the brand name Luna Leaf Studio. Incorporating upcycled materials, Cana’s art evokes a childlike love and wonder for nature and the environment by incorporating whimsical aspects of design. Her work can be found at local art markets, including Brickyard South and The Magical Spring market at the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge. Art and religion have long shared an inseparable bond. From ancient cave paintings and illuminated medieval manuscripts to grand cathedrals and temple sculptures, art has historically functioned as a visual language of faith. And, all along, but perhaps today more than ever, art and religion both rely to some extent on a foundation of finance. Which is what brings Chris and Cana together over lunch on a show about business in Baton Rouge! Out to Lunch is recorded live over lunch at Mansurs on the Boulevard. You can find photos from this show by Ian Ledo and Miranda Albarez at itsbatonrouge.com.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.