2022 Civic Cup winner Lenny Lemoine helped create Moncus Park, AMIkids and Bastion

When Lenny Lemoine and his older brother moved their construction business to Lafayette from Avoyelles Parish, the community embraced and supported them.

That open-arm welcome pushed Lemoine to give back to the community that recognized his capabilities.

Lemoine, the CEO of The Lemoine Company, LLC, has been recognized for his philanthropic achievements as the 2022 Lafayette Civic Cup award winner. He is the 90threcipient and will be honored Tuesday during a banquet at the Petroleum Club.

"It was just unbelievable how the community supported us. Some places who you are matters more than what you did. That was not our experience in Lafayette," he said. "I always just felt an obligation to make a difference one way or another."

Since moving to Lafayette in the 1980s, Lemoine was one of the people who laid the groundwork for the creation of Moncus Park, started an Acadiana program of AMIkids, a development program for children, and gave the initial funding for Bastion, a New Orleans living community for veterans with traumatic brain injuries

The Lafayette Civic Cup, an event of the Community Foundation of Acadiana, has been awarded yearly since 1933.

Inspired to give to Lafayette

Lemoine grew up as one of seven children in Cottonport, Louisiana, south of Marksville. His father owned a small retail lumberyard and hardware store, which Lemoine and his older brother Tim Lemoine joined after graduating from Louisiana State University respectively.

The brothers sold the lumberyard company in 1979 and used their earnings to start a construction company that would later become The Lemoine Company, LLC. The company relocated from Cottonport in 1983 to Lafayette, which the brothers saw as a "promising place," Lenny Lemoine said.

Lemoine met his wife Christine while he was living in Cottonport. They connected through mutual friends, dated for about four years and have now been married for nearly 37 years. They have two children, Ryan and Caroline.

Living and working in Lafayette, Lemoine met and was inspired by others who have dedicated themselves to the community.

"People give back and not just money, but time," the 66-year-old said. "You follow the people before you and so many people that I respect have given back so much. And many of them gave us opportunities as builders and I felt compelled to replicate, in some way, what they've done."

2021 Civic Cup winner:Service comes naturally for 2021 Civic Cup winner Barry Berthelot

2020 Civic Cup winner:2020 Lafayette Civic Cup recipient Fred Prejean has long history of helping people help themselves

Lemoine was involved with the Community Foundation of Lafayette, which worked with former Lafayette Mayor-President Joey Durel and University of Louisiana at Lafayette President Joseph Savoie and other community leaders to develop the former 100-acre horse farm property on Johnston Street into a park.

From there, Lafayette Central Park, Inc., a non-profit park conservancy, developed the master plan and now operates Moncus Park.

"From the instant the land became available, I knew in my heart that it could be something great," Lemoine said. "That it would be something that people would look back on for generations and that it would be an amenity."

Lemoine, a successful and savvy businessman, was one of the best people to help lead Moncus Park through its first phase, said Elizabeth "E.B." Brooks, who served as the park's executive director until last year and was one of the founders of Moncus Park.

"He brought that talent, that skill set, that expertise to the park project from day one," she said. "Being able to lend his credibility and his wide-known community betterment to a project like Moncus Park just brought it to a completely different level."

Lemoine and others who worked on the project wanted it to be a world-class, passive park where people could come to exercise or escape from the daily grind, he said.

While there were thousands of donors, hundreds of volunteers and other board members who dedicated hours to developing Moncus Park, Lemoine was one of the leaders who spearheaded it through to its success, Brooks said.

"Having a leader like Lenny who is so well known, so well connected, absolutely admired and revered for what he gets involved in and having him as our co-chairman for nearly nine years," she said, "it wouldn't have happened if it hadn't have been for the credibility that he brought to the project."

It took years and hours of work to evolve it from an empty swath of land to what it is today — an accessible park with a jogging trail, pond, dog park, treehouse, splash pad, veterans' memorial and amphitheater — and will continue to grow into.

"It was much harder to do than any of us envisioned," Lemoine said. "I'm one of these guys who fears failure and I would often think, 'what if we open this thing and we can't sustain it?'"

But there were two moments when Lemoine, who serves as one of the co-chairs on the park's board of directors, knew it would accomplish its mission. The first was seeing the dog park the day after it opened, watching dog owners and their pets joyfully use the space.

Then at last year's gala, which had more than 400 attendees, Lemoine knew the park had the backing of the community.

"That night I felt like it was sustainable, it'll continue to grow, it will continue to have a greater impact,' he said. "I felt like that night I saw a different crowd. I saw a lot of young people bidding on items and excited about it.

"That's really what has to happen. It's that next generation and the next generation that has to take ownership and love it."

'Taking care of his community became his passion': Philanthropist James 'Jim' Moncus dies

'Opportunity beyond what I ever dreamed'

Lemoine also helped start an Acadiana program of AMIkids, a non-profit residential program for adjudicated boys ages 14-18 that helps them develop life skills and discover their potential.

At the time, there was only a program in Baton Rouge. Lemoine thought youth in Acadiana would be better served with their own program. He said the idea initially received some push back but in 2008, AMIkids Acadiana opened in Branch, Louisiana, and has helped more than 600 boys over the years.

"We teach them life skills and put a father in their life from a structure standpoint," he said. "It's done great things."

Lemoine and his wife Christine also helped fund Bastion in New Orleans. The couple, whose son was in the U.S. Army, met ​Dylan Tête. A veteran, Tête understood the issue of military service members suffering from traumatic brain injuries they received while enlisted.

"The only way they could get well is to regain their dignity," Lemoine said. And another way they would regain their dignity is if you put them living in a village together."

Tête created Bastion, which is home to 58 families who use the community to connect, find purpose and transition out of military life.

Giving back to the community through projects like Moncus Park, AMIkids and Bastion, is a way for Lemoine to reciprocate the support he's received from others.

"At a point, I felt like I was over-blessed," the 66-year-old said. "God provided me with opportunity beyond what I ever dreamed."

Tickets for the banquet honoring Lemoine are available at www.cfacadiana.org/civiccup.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: 2022 Civic Cup winner Lenny Lemoine helps create Moncus Park, AMIkids