Discover Lafayette

By: Jan Swift
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  • The Gateway to South Louisiana
    Discover Lafayette©
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Social Sciences Travel Writing & Commentary
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Episodes
  • Ari Dolegowski – BioPerformance Therapist

    Ari Dolegowski – BioPerformance Therapist
    Jan 3 2025
    Ari Dolegowski, a BioPerformance Therapist who offers transformative massage sessions with a tailored approach rooted in Physical Therapy and Eastern medicine, joins Discover Lafayette to share his philosophy on living a well-rounded and healthy life. He studied both Eastern and Western modalities of therapy in Thailand, Costa Rica, and New York City, to form an integrative approach to treatment and to better understand human nature. Ari played pro soccer in Chile, Tel Aviv and the U. S. and maintains a consistently active lifestyle, biking whenever he can in lieu of starting up a car. He also maintains a Tai Chi practice which ensures full body power and optimal alignment. Tai Chi is a moving meditation in the form of a series of gentle exercises that create harmony between the mind and body. The ultimate purpose is to cultivate our inner life energy (qi) to flow smoothly and powerfully through the body, a spiritual experience as much as a physical one. Ari will be offering classes in Tai Chi this year. Ari's work focuses on optimizing the body's natural abilities, through physical therapy and massage treatments to encourage clients to achieve peak physical and mental states. One thing many of us fail to do is stretch enough and he offers "Stretched Out," a modality of massage with a lineage of Thai Massage, TaiChi, Yoga Therapy, and Western joint mobilization. "Imagine having a stretch, a trigger point release, and increased blood flow all at one time," Ari says. His practice also includes cranio-sacral massage, a gentle yet effective way to ease tension and promote relaxation, and can help relieve headaches, reduce stress and improve overall well-being. Local athletes call on Ari for deep tissue massage sessions to treat musculoskeletal issues such as sprains and sports injuries; this form of massage helps break up scar tissue that forms following an injury and reduces tension in muscle and tissue. Ari offers consistent messaging on lifestyle, health, and wellness. "It all starts with us, our choices, our movement, and our intention to live a good life. Bio means life and performance considers honest personal health choices that can revolutionize your own path to developing awareness of the body and in the mind in order to lead an overall healthier and happier lifestyle." Ari's background working for an Eastern-Western physical therapy clinic gave him a way to look at the body in different ways than the Western lifestyle. "Environmental issues, not just lead in the water but anything outside that we bring in on ourselves, whether it's family or the news or politics, is a culmination of everything that we do. Then one thing can trigger pain, whether it is an unfortunate bike accident, being yelled at, a TV show that upsets you or the news....all of a sudden you have sharp pain in your neck and you don't know why. People look for one thing to blame, and just want to fix it. Is it acupuncture? Meditation? A cortisone shot or a chiropractor? It might need to be all, depending on how tightly wound up you are or your physical and emotional pain." At times, Ari works with people who may have unrealistic goals who have pushed themselves too far and incur an injury, taking on physical exercise that their body is not ready for. "The body just says 'whoa.' You know, if you're just looking to be healthy, maybe you need to go out and walk really fast a few times a week, rather than taking on running when you have never exercised. Because that's really hard on the body." "You should be able to do your job and then offset it with what you do when you're not working. If you sit all day, you should be in good enough shape that you can sit, stand, maybe go for a walk, do a quick stretch and not worry about that too much. 'Am I sitting ergonomically? Is my desk high enough?' I think it's what you do outside of your job or your career that helps with that. Perhaps you just have a simple 20 minute a day or every ...
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    50 mins
  • Paul Hilliard – Reflections Back on Life in Wisconsin, WWII, Oil Industry and Philanthropy

    Paul Hilliard – Reflections Back on Life in Wisconsin, WWII, Oil Industry and Philanthropy
    Dec 27 2024
    Paul Hilliard, President of Badger Oil Corporation, has led a wonderful life of generosity and love of community that provides a humbling lesson in being a good steward of God’s resources. At 99 years of age, he is sharp and insightful, a true testament to his wisdom and vitality. Paul was 17 when he enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps during his Senior year in high school in February 1943, quitting school when he received permission from his mother to join the war effort. He trained to be a gunner, handling machine guns in the back of Douglas SBD Dauntless (Scout Bomber by Douglas Aircraft) planes in air missions conducted in the Pacific Theatre of Operations. SBD was jokingly referred to as “Slow But Deadly.” He flew 45 combat missions and was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in addition to receiving the Air Medal with six bronze stars. Following his service, Hilliard earned his law degree from the University of Texas before beginning a career in the oil and gas industry. He credits the GI Bill for the opportunities it afforded him and so many other servicemen who would not have otherwise been able to obtain an education. Hilliard exemplifies the selfless spirit and pride of our WWII generation of heroes, as well as the successful ingenuity of a veteran oil and gas entrepreneur. Known for his self-effacing wit and ability to achieve in spite of a hardscrabble upbringing in Wisconsin, Hilliard has been a successful independent operator and owner of Badger Oil Corporation since 1955 and has seen fit to use his success in business to help others in need. Awarded the Civic Cup in 2003 and the esteemed national Horatio Alger Award in 2009, Paul has also been active in statewide associations working to improve the oil and gas industry, business, and civic endeavors. Paul has also been active in statewide associations working to improve the oil and gas industry, business, and civic endeavors. In 2015, he received the Circle of Honor Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation. UL Press released Dauntless: Paul Hilliard in WWII and a Transformed America in 2023. Written by Rob Citino with Ken Stickney and Lori Ochsner, the book documents some of the most fascinating decades in American history: the impact of World War II, the importance of post-war social and economic changes, and the development of the oil industry from the 1950s to today. “Dauntless is a compelling narrative tracing Paul Hilliard’s life experiences during the Great Depression, from farm life in Wisconsin’s Dust Bowl to his distinguished service as a Marine in World War II, his education through law school, and a long and successful business in the oil fields. Paul’s lifelong philanthropy and his passion for education and the lessons of WWII make him an inspiration. His life is the Horatio Alger story. He is, and always be, one of my heroes.”—Boysie Bollinger Paul has been a generous benefactor in causes to help at-risk children learn to read so that they can overcome poverty as he did. He and his late wife, Lulu, provided $5 million dollars in seed money to start the Paul and Lulu Hilliard Art Museum at UL – Lafayette. Paul has served as a National WWII Museum trustee, and he and his wife, Madlyn, have been two of the Museum’s most active advocates and supporters. They have provided transformative support for several Museum initiatives, including acquisition and restoration of artifacts, collection of oral histories, and education programs. In September 2018, Hilliard accepted the position of Board Chair of the museum, focusing on the completion of the its $400 million campus expansion. For more information, visit https://www.nationalww2museum.org, a treasure trove of thousands of oral histories and hundreds of thousands of photos depicting the WWII experience. Paul ended the interview by sharing his gratitude for being born in the United States of America. He spoke of a favorite quote by Cicero: “Gratitude...
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    53 mins
  • Zoosiana’s Director – Matt Oldenburg

    Zoosiana’s Director – Matt Oldenburg
    Dec 20 2024
    Matt Oldenburg, Director of Zoosiana, is our guest today. The zoo has been a family passion for years, as it was originally purchased by Matt's father, George Oldenburg, in 2002, after a successful banking career. George transitioned into zoo ownership to pursue his love for animals. Over the years, Matt took on a leadership role, managing the zoo's operations and its expansive collection of over 1,000 animals spanning 150 species.​ Never dreaming he would run the zoo, Matt majored in wildlife biology, as well as marketing and management. While his schooling came in handy, running a zoo is a field of study that you learn on the job. Matt Oldenburg at Zoosiana. Zoosiana, one of the few privately owned and accredited zoos in the U.S., is known for its education and memory-making opportunities, community engagement, and family-friendly attractions. It features animal shows, a petting zoo, a Louisiana swamp exhibit, and unique animals like golden-striped Bengal tigers, giraffes, exotic birds, and much, much more. Incredibly, the zoo welcmes over 150,000 visitors annually.​ Zoosiana is open 9 to 5 daily, seven days a week, weather permitting, except for major holidays and hurricanes. The zoo will be 33 years old in 2025, and getting to that stage where it can become a legacy for our local families and visitors alike. Matt says, "The children who have visited Zoosiana through the years bring their own children and maybe their grandchildren, and make lasting memories. Perhaps taking a family photo by the same live oak tree that they took a photo in front of 20 or 30 years earlier. I think that's a very special attribute. It adds to our efforts to connect the community with the zoo. Ownership has never been front of mind for us. We believe that we are the stewards of the zoo and of the animals on behalf of Acadiana's children. Everything we do there is for the children, to be an education-based program and make an opportunity to create a lifelong memory of connecting you with an animal on some level." Zoosiana is located at 5601 Hwy 90 E Broussard, LA 70518, on a 45-acre piece of property in Broussard at the corner of Ambassador Caffery and Highway 90. It is privately owned and self-sustaining and with no outside funding coming into the zoo. "There was no life plan to land at the zoo. We never had unusual pets growing up, just a dog and a cat. But, I was excited about the zoo from day one with dad. Not every day has been fun or easy. But I think very quickly I realized that if I could pick one thing in life, I would probably pick what I am doing at the zoo." The zoo is busiest in the springtime and in the comfortable October season. "With a thousand animals to care for each day, no two days are alike," says Matt. "We go through quite a bit of food and, and we order our produce, fruits and veggies from the same vendors that restaurants and cafeterias here in Lafayette order from. Its not second choice. So it's fresh produce and fresh vegetables of of a quality that you would be happy to have on your own dinner plate." Matt further stated, "We've got an animal care team who do a phenomenal job of providing the daily care and maintenance, which include feeding, cleaning, health checks, and monitoring. Enrichment is a very big part of what we do. We want to make sure our animals have a stimulating environment that they're able to utilize and practice their natural behaviors. It could be leaping from one perch to the next or figuring out a puzzle feeder of some kind. We do enrichment with smells, olfactory sound, and visual." Zoosiana has particular meal plans for their various animals, and a recipe book for the different meals that lists everything that the animals can have and cannot have. With so many different omnivores, herbivores, and carnivores, you can imagine the varying diets from species to species. Matt says, "It's thousands of pounds of food a week. We've got dry grain.
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    51 mins

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