By LEONARD GRAY / L’Observateur / June 2, 1999

LUTCHER – Shintech may be gone from St. James Parish, but the companyhopes to leave behind a positive legacy with the establishment of the St.

James Parish Educational Foundation.

St. James Parish President Dale Hymel Jr. announced Wednesday theestablishment of the fund, made possible by a quarter-million-dollar donation from the plastics plant, which relocated upriver to Plaquemine following a lengthy battle with local environmentalists and state and federal permitting agencies.

At the time Shintech left St. James Parish, company officials pledged theywould provide funding for educational and job training efforts.

“Even though they’re not in St. James Parish, they wanted to honor theircommitment,” Hymel said. “They could’ve easily forgotten about us.”The foundation will be run by a 12-person advisory panel of St. JamesParish residents, including Hymel, District 5 Councilman Oliver Cooper, St.

James NAACP Chapter President Grayling Brown, Gladys Maddie, Carol Gaudin, Dick and Susan Mason of Shintech and Cyndi Wise of Shintech.

Three other members are yet to be named.

Income earned on the so-called “endowment portion” of $85,000 will be used and made available for education and community development activities in the parish. Income and principal of the so-called “spend-down” portion of $165,000 will be used over a six-year period, $30,000 in the first three years and $25,000 in the remaining years to likewise support such activities in the parish.

The panel will be responsible for identifying educational and community development projects and recommending such projects for funding.

The fund’s financial records will be maintained by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, a non-profit professional community development organization.

“We are very grateful to Shintech for establishing the endowed fund which will be used to support educational and community development in St.

James Parish,” Hymel added.

He continued: “This is an exciting opportunity for our growing parish as we approach the 21st Century. We intend to use the fund’s resourceswisely to invest in the residents of our parish, hopefully make their lives and the conditions around them better. The creation of this fund isindicative of the kind of company Shintech is, a company that really knows what it means to be a good corporate citizen.”Cooper added, “I look forward to serving on this committee and helping create some new opportunities for the young men and women of this parish.”Mason, the company’s controller, commented: “Based on the friendships we developed and the support we received in St. James Parish, this fund is theleast we can do in return for those friendships and support.”

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