How We Live
At St. James, how we live is as important to us as who we are and what we do. Living and working in south Louisiana, we take pride in protecting, developing and nurturing what is uniquely ours.
History and tradition permeate our world. With local roots extending almost 300 years we are used to seeing the legacy of our ancestors. We see the homes they built, the land they cleared, and the churches they built.
Family and fun are important values in south Louisiana and at St. James. We have three shifts so that our people have defined schedules and predictable time off for family. Even during busy time St. James employees know when they will be working and when they will be off. We all want to be able to enjoy the world God has provided.
Our annual company picnic is a family crawfish boil. The main event is a competitive crawfish cooking event. Teams of employees bring their secret
methods, crawfish boil, and a desire to have a good time. The company provides the crawfish , 1,200 pounds last year, and gives each team money to buy its secret ingredients. Our "big cajun" founder Don Dugas developed the scoring system which includes such rarefied criteria such as suckability, peelability, texture, taste, seasoning, presentation and special considerations for the judge such as cheesecake. Meanwhile, family members under the age of 14 compete with a dessert contest. Each year the annual tee shirt is selected from designs submitted by family and employees.
The Christmas party includes a lottery for the annual safety prize. Last year two employees won all-expense-paid vacations for their families. Every year that St. James goes without a lost time injury a truck is given away. Our chief welder Mr. Herman drives his Safety Truck to work every day.
Our employees also give back to the community through volunteer assistance to Romeville Elementary and local food drives. We also support the local 4-H Club activities.
From the schools in our Partners in Education program to the stately live oaks adorning River Road, to crawfish boils and family fun we love being a part of the parish for which we were named, St. James.