Gene Bouillion, the executive director of the Port of Orange, has announced he is retiring next year. He has held the job for 20 and a half years.
Bouillion said he is serving on search committee with two members of the port board to find his replacement. He plans to work until March 1, but will stay longer if needed to help train his replacement.
Bouillion had a career in rice exports shipping before taking the job at the Port of Orange. He said when he interviewed for the job, he foresaw that the local port would become barge-oriented because of draft limitations in the Sabine River as ships were getting bigger.
Now, the port has a thriving barge business. During his tenure, the port has attracted Bludworth Marine and Sienna Marine. The companies service, build, and repair barges. Bouillion said each company has 75 to 100 employees.
Orange “is not a shipping port. We’re an industrial port,” he said.
Port Commissioner Keith Wallace said, “I’ve worked with him for over 16 years. Gene’s loyalty, honesty and integrity are unmatched. He has been such a great asset to not only The Port of Orange but the County as a whole . It will be difficult to replace him.”
Hurricane Harvey affected Bouillion’s decision to retire. His house in the Hillbrook subdivision flooded. He’s been living in an apartment in Lake Charles since then. But he and his wife, Cheri, decided to buy a house in Cypress, Texas. “We’re about five blocks from three grandchildren,” he said.
Cheri Bouillion has been living there and enjoying the grandkids riding their bikes to visit, he said. The couple has four grandchildren and two step-grandchildren.
-Margaret Toal, KOGT-
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