First Person – Kim Montie  Cameron Parish Port, Harbor and Terminal District, executive director

A native of Nacogdoches, Texas, Kim Montie was born and raised in an extended family of farmers and entrepreneurs. “Work ethics and a servant’s heart were instilled in me at a very young age,” says Montie. “My sister and I were taught that it takes effort and hard work to be successful in life no matter what path you pursue.” In high school, Montie was active in FFA, 4-H, sports, and rodeo. She attended Texas A & M State University for two years on a 4-H Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo scholarship and completed her education at Stephen F. Austin State University, graduating with honors and earning a bachelor’s degree in animal science and minor in biology. 

After college, Montie worked in pharmaceutical sales, then as a regional fund raiser for the American Heart Association, and later, as a career and technology teacher at Grand Lake High School for almost 20 years. Two years ago, she was hired as the director of the Cameron Parish Port. “My nontraditional career path is one of the qualities that serves me best in my position today,” she says. “This is my passion; this is where I am meant to be!” 

Montie has lived in Cameron Parish with her husband Mike, a Creole native, for over thirty years. Thrive magazine recently caught up with Montie, where she shared her love and dedication to the southwest corner of Louisiana. 

Describe your role as Cameron Port’s executive director. I’m primarily tasked with economic development. I work with existing industry and businesses, while seeking new opportunities to diversify our economic impact throughout the parish. We’re traditionally an energy parish – our economy had been oilfield based, but as offshore oil business declined, the parish saw an influx of liquified natural gas (LNG) import business which quickly turned to LNG export. Cameron Parish is currently home to three of the nation’s seven LNG export facilities, and all three are in the permitting phase for expansion. Another potential LNG project is awaiting only the Department of Energy permit to export before beginning construction. Although these LNG facilities are critical to our economy in Cameron, my goal and the goal of the Port Board is to diversify our economy as well. 

In your two years at the Port, what are some changes you’ve seen and facilitated? I’ve facilitated the set-up and opening of our Alternative Oyster Culture (AOC) Park, which offers area residents another opportunity to earn a living on our bountiful waters. I’ve also facilitated the purchase of two key pieces of property for the Port – one will be developed into a Port Security Facility and the other will be bulkheaded and dredged to bring more diversity to our portfolio of businesses to produce tax dollars in the hopes of being able to roll millages back for our residents. Additionally, I see a niche to market Cameron Parish’s beauty and bounty through the tourism industry as an overlooked economic driver.  

What do you love about your job? I don’t see what I do as a job, but as a mission. I take pride in seeing positive changes for our residents and parish. I enjoy thinking outside the box, meeting people and forming relationships to move the parish forward, and I strive to inspire others in the parish to see the opportunities we’re presented to accomplish things we’ve never been able to accomplish before. 

What are the challenges? Cameron Parish’s greatest challenges are insurance, building regulations, slowing coastal erosion, and future hurricanes. These challenges are not for the faint of heart, but with our exemplary parish leadership and industry partners we can work through these challenges and create a more resilient parish. 

What are your plans/goals for the Port moving forward? My goal is to make Cameron Parish a desired destination for both industry and tourists which in turn creates jobs and a better quality of life for all Cameron Parish residents. 

Beyond the Port, what are your impressions of Cameron Parish in terms of hurricane recovery and environmental stability? As in Calcasieu parish, ongoing recovery from the 2020 hurricanes has been slow. The difference in how we recover in Cameron Parish and the changes we make moving forward, however, affect not only Cameron Parish, but the entire region of SWLA. Cameron Parish serves as a buffer between the Gulf of Mexico and the economic drivers of the region to our north. The measures Cameron Parish takes, for example, the extremely successful shoreline protection project, will not only save our coastline from approximately 310 ft/year of erosion, but will safeguard the marshes, lessening the harsh effects of hurricanes to Calcasieu, Jeff Davis, Beauregard, and Allen parishes as well. Calcasieu Parish has been an important partner in helping with grant funding for the shoreline protection project off the coast of the Rockefeller Refuge. In my time at the Port, I’ve witnessed superior efforts of the region to partner in shoreline protection and watershed drainage issues. These positive changes and efforts unify us as a region and are key to moving future projects forward.  

How do you spend your free time? I’m learning how to live as an empty nester. I’ve always been an involved mom, never missing any event my girls were involved in, whether gymnastics, piano, rodeo, livestock shows, or basketball. It’s been an adjustment, but a nice slow-down. I have a miniature Australian Shepherd that now takes more of my lap-time than my girls. I love to read and watch women’s college basketball on television and attend occasional LSU women’s games. I anticipate peaceful visits with my parents in Nacogdoches, and I love plants and yard work. I serve on the SWLA Economic Development Workgroup Committee, help at the local schools, and volunteer with Cameron Parish Lions Club projects. 

What are your hopes for Cameron Parish? I hope to catch a break from future hurricanes and for our newly appointed insurance commissioner to implement positive changes in our state’s insurance program that would lower insurance costs for our region, enabling residents the opportunity to return to Cameron Parish. Also, with lower insurances, business and industry can more easily locate here, creating more jobs and enabling our youth to stay here to live and work. My family and I have weathered four hurricanes here and I would never consider leaving. Cameron Parish residents are the most unique of all its bountiful resources!