Lagniappe (LAHN-yap) - A "small gift given to a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase, such as a 13th beignet when buying a dozen.  The word is used in Trinidad and Tobago, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, the gulf coast of Alabama and southeastern Texas."

 

BIOGRAPHY I've hardly ever met a microphone that didn't like me I am a public speaker, broadcaster and writer who was born, raised and educated in New Orleans, Louisiana. For 7 1/2 years I had the pleasure of working for Monster's Making It Count Programs.  MIC does free presentations about education and career success at high schools and colleges across America.  I did almost 1,250 presentations for over a quarter of a million students in 28 states.  Dang. I discovered my gift of gab in 1987.  That was when I made the great decision to join the St. Augustine Speech & Debate team.  I took to it like a fish to water and won numerous awards, including back-to-back National Forensic League district championships in Humerous Interpretation.  Go figure. A face for radio . . . I started my media career in radio in the Clear Channel Radio of New Orleans promotions department in 1993.  In 1996 I went on air to produce the "C.J. & Company" morning show and to also serve as a swing man at R&B and Hip Hop powerhouse, Q93.  Ever since 2000 I have worked the air waves of FM 98, WYLD, the market's Urban Adult Contemporary powerhouse.  Now, I co-produce FM 98's talk show, "Sunday Journal" and I also produce Q93's "Real Talk". I have fallen in love with interviewing folks!  I've had the pleasure of speaking to such luminaries as: Danny Glover Susan Taylor U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott Dr. Cornel West Jeffrey Osborne U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters Kem Mother Love Stan Verrett Lou Gossett, Jr. India.Arie Maurice White Joe Clair Donna Brazile I have even shown my ugly mug on local TV. It was 1988 when a young Eddie Francis worked at WWL TV as a production assistant.  Much later I produced and hosted two shows on New Orleans Access Television.  In December of 2005 I did periodic appearances on WDSU TV with education updates as the Crescent City recovered from Hurricane Katrina. Got ants in my pants I have also done stints as a freelance journalist, an actor and a comedian.  I wrote for the Louisiana Weekly and Data News Weely, and I maintain a blog. Where am I now? You can now catch me at Southern University at New Orleans where I serve as Interim Director of Public Relations.

 

IN THE MEDIA The Eddie Francis Podcast: Check out radio interviews and commentary from yours truly, courtesy of 98.5 WYLD! "HBCUs Seek Normalcy After Gustav" (Diverse: Issues in Higher Education) "Jim Belfon: A New Yorker Who Considers Photography a Healing Art for New Orleans" (Art Voices magazine) "Teams benefit from sports synergy" ("Point of View" in The Times-Picayune) "College Athletics in New Orleans Struggle to Rebound Post-Hurricane Katrina" (Diverse: Issues in Higher Education) "Brains, brawn liberate drains: Grass-roots group is taking initiative on New Orleans streets" (The Times-Picayune) Emceeing a banquet commemorating the 9/11 disasters "Monster's Making It Count and Native New Orleanian, Eddie Francis, tells his survival story"