Good evening ladies and gentlemen... and thank you all for taking part in this.. the SECOND Annual NOLA Voice Talent Awards.

These awards were introduced to recognize the outstanding commitment to the industry made by individuals to the benefit of the community.

And it is this commitment which is at the heart of the success that Louisiana has achieved in establishing itself as the NUMBER ONE state for the production of movies and television series. I congratulate all who are involved in this amazing success and I am honored that The NOLA Voice Talent Foundation has been able to play a small role in the development of this success.

The NOLA Voice Talent foundation was formed over five years ago as a means whereby I and others, could enjoy regular voice-over workshops in order to improve our craft.

Since then, the development of the Foundation has been staggering: we now have around 500 members, have produced five annual fund-raising productions (and are looking forward to presenting our sixth just next week), two hugely successful weekend seminars, a summer workshop for urban youth, and now two annual awards ceremonies - not to mention having mentored hundreds of performers in our weekly affordable voice-over workshops held in New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and expanding over the course of this past year into the Mississippi Gulf Coast.