Going over his professional life and ability to keep jobs in this region to his incredible civic and volunteer work and giving back as a philanthropist, one phrase described Johnny Indest perfectly.

“Unbeatable treasure.”

New Iberia’s unbeatable treasure, John L. “Johnny” Indest, has been named the 2023 Daily Iberian Citizen of the Year. He will be honored during the 20 under 40 Citizen of the Year event at the Cade Community Center on Friday, April 14 at 6 p.m. Sponsorship opportunities and tickets are now available.

One of Indest’s biggest accomplishments was keeping his company, LHC Group, Inc., locally.

FOUNDING A COMMUNITY

To understand why he said no to more money and moving the company out of the area, you have to understand his roots.

His ancestor, Frederick Louis Duperier was the incorporator of New Iberia. He grew up on Indest Street. The third of seven children, his parents, Roy and Joyce Indest instilled an ethic of hard-work into Johnny.

He learned at a young age the community was built on helping others. The same values as his wife, Cathy, who also earned the title of Citizen of the Year.

Indest not only received a Master’s degree from the University of St. Francis in health services, but he is a registered nurse. He understands every corner of health care. In 1994, Indest started Homebound Care Inc., a regional home health provider based in Lafayette. Like Hospice, it was a way to care for those who wanted to be in their homes.

“I’ve always had a heart for those most in need … I am a registered nurse. You have to have a heart to help people,” Indest said.

THE BEGINNING

Homebound Care had $200,000 in revenue. And it grew. They went public in 2005 and suddenly had $2.5 billion in revenue.

That’s when Wall Street told Indest to move out of Acadiana. Leave Louisiana. One firm even had an issue with Indest hiring women in management positions. So he fired the firm.

And he wouldn’t leave Louisiana.

“We are rooted here,” Indest explained. “If I decided to leave, I would have to leave my family behind including my wife and children!

“We tend to stay here. I love the area, I enjoy the area,” he continued. “We were able to build a company where we could find employees to stay in the Acadiana area. When we recruited people and they came here, they realized this is a pretty neat place to live.”

It wasn’t easy at first. They didn’t have the capital to grow and couldn’t get loans. A man in Houston took a chance and gave them initial money. They took off from there.

They sold it to United Healthcare, the largest health agency in the nation. Now the LHC Group, Indest was the president and chief operating officer. The governor appointed him to the Louisiana Task Force on Ethics and he testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Subcommittee on healthcare issues.

“Not bad for just a few crazy cajun people,” Indest says with a laugh.

He fought off the sharks trying to move the company.

“We didn’t want to listen to people not from here, not you are beholden to the analysts,” Indest said. “They tried to tell us, ‘A company with your vision, we understand where you want to go, but you can’t do it in Cajun Country. You can’t find the expertise and the number to do that.’ We told them, ‘Bull!’ They wanted us to go to Nashville, which is a major hub for healthcare. We told them no. We are firmly committed to that. When it came to a certain expertise we needed, we knew we could recruit them and bring them to the area.”

CLEAN CAJUN LIVING

Indest and his partners brought in some of the top healthcare executives from Kentucky and New Orleans.

The tables were now turned. Indest would travel the country and others were jealous of his neck of the woods.

“In my capacity with my job, I traveled a whole lot around the country, I learned we have a beautiful country with incredible people and cultures,” Indest said. “But people really wanted to know about the Cajun culture and the food. They wanted to know about our festivals. It was something I was always very proud of.”

He also came home with a lighter suitcase. That’s because he always traveled with Tabasco ties.

A few years ago when I was traveling, Tabasco was making and manufacturing Tabasco neckties for men,” Indest said. “I don’t know how many times I had to give up my tie to a man or a woman! They were so in love with Cajun culture.”

A NEW FULL-TIME JOB

Indest finally retired in 2010 at the age of 60.

He still serves on the board of directors and as a special advisor to CEO Keith Meyers with the LHC Group. Today, LHC Group offers quality, value-based healthcare to patients primarily within the comfort and privacy of their home or place of residence. They have 29,000 employees in 37 states reaching 68 percent of the U.S. population aged 65 and older. LHC Group is the preferred in-home healthcare partner for more than 400 leading hospitals around the country. They are recognized for finding ways to adapt, overcome obstacles, and improve service in a healthcare system that is always changing. They also have improved the quality of life in the United States by transforming the delivery of healthcare services.

For the past 13 years, Johnny and Cathy Indest have worked just as hard as any CEO in America. However, they now work on improving the lives of residents in New Iberia and the region. Whether it’s arts and culture or helping hard-working families make ends meet, pay bills, put meals on the table, they are there.

Ray Escuriex proudly nominated Johnny Indest for the Daily Iberian Citizen of the Year.

“Johnny is active in, and monetarily supports Beneath the Balconies, symphony concerts, Books Along the Teche, Shadows on the Teche, church activities, Dancing with the Stars and helps needy families with educational grants for them to continue their education,” Escuriex said. “He is there for the IPAL Theater, Dish Declouet Service Center, Bayou Teche Museum and many other things when there is a need.

“Johnny and his wife, Cathy, are truly an unbeatable treasure for New Iberia and Iberia Parish,” Escuriex added.

In June of 2019, Indest was named executive director of the Disch-DeClouet Social Service Center.

At that time, he said, “I have always had a calling from Jesus to serve those most in need. I vividly recall the beginning of the Social Service Center more than 43 years ago. Father Disch and Mike and Bev Firmin started it and I greatly admired the work it did. This was continued and enhanced by Paul and Shirley DeClouet. Upon my retirement, when asked what I would do with my time, I told anyone inquiring that I would spend some of my time serving the poor and needy of Iberia Parish.”

The Disch-DeClouet Social Service Center is a non-profit, faith-based organization which provides emergency assistance with no waiting period to the people of Iberia Parish with utility bills, rent, clothing, food, medicine, dental, burial assistance and others. It is open Monday through Thursday and can assist up to 30 clients a day. It is staffed by approximately 35 dedicated volunteers. The center is funded primarily through individual donations, and also receives funds from the United Way of Iberia and several New Iberia churches.

Indest is proud they center helps 400 families a month.

“I went from full-time in health care to full-time into what I call a ministry. I am doing whatever I can for the poor and needy of Iberia Parish,” Indest said. “The people of Iberia Parish are extremely generous. We not only find those in need with places to live, we help them with clothes, help them with food and we also find funding to help with electric bills and other bills. We don’t give them cash but we pay to a local utility to help them get along with their needs.

“Our social service center has been there for 47 years now and as far as I know, no one has been charged,” Indest continued. “We have no payroll at the center. About 85 to 90 cents of every dollar is returned to our clients and we are very proud of that. Hopefully we can stay that way for a very long time. Our volunteers are so generous. In many, many ways, we are the ones who are blessed to do the work the Lord allows us to do. And with our clients, each day we pray for our donors.”

Like his days as a CEO, what makes Johnny Indest so successful is his ability to listen to people and solve problems without having to spend money. The Bible and kind words of encouragement has been a motivational tool. There are some people who are homeless or without jobs. But some have jobs, are getting jobs and turning their fortunes around.

“One thing we do is just listen to their issues. Try to find other health sources around the area,” Indest said. “We pray with them, we listen to them. Some of them have unbelievably difficult stories. So we do whatever we can with a good heart. It can be difficult when someone is a victim of their own inability to help themselves, but that’s not for us to judge. When you come into our center, we will take you and help you. You are God’s children and we will do whatever it takes to help them.

“Matthew 25, we read that and pray about that often (In the Bible, it’s the book explaining how the church should help others in need). We want to do more and there is more we can do,” Indest added.

As he finished another day of “work” at the center, he said with a laugh, “I am 71 and I am one of the younger volunteers.”

FAMILY MATTERS

Johnny Indest’s grandchildren do not know him as one of the best CEO’s in the nation. But they do know him as someone who cares about the community and they love to help.

John and Cathy have two daughters, Christine Indest McCrory (David) and Jennifer Indest Minvielle (Provost) and a son, Zachary Indest (Ann-Carol).

Their children are Johnny’s new employees as CEO of the volunteer division of the family. The grandchildren, John David (10th grade), Jack (8th grade), William (11th grade), Jacob (9th grade), Bennett (6th grade), John (5th grade), Mary Margaret (4th grade), Coerte (first grade), Ben (age 4) and Drew (age 2) are all helping.

“My family has been No. 1,” Johnny Indest says. “”They support us financially and with materials. I can’t tell you how many times in a week or month I pick up my grandchildren and take them to the Center to help me bring groceries around, bring things to homes. They sponsor families at Christmas.

The grandchildren have carried furniture into a home when a family did not have a couch or bed. They had to step on certain parts of the porch as there were missing floor boards. They watch their grandfather help residents improve their lives.

“They have learned we are all blessed, we are all not blessed in the same way,” Indest said.

In his nomination, Escuriex said, “What New Iberia needs is more super dedicated volunteers. What are super volunteers? That is answered by naming one special person, Johnny Indest. Johnny is New iberia’s hidden treasure because his accomplishments are mostly in the background and he does not seek personal recognition.”

Indest graduated from Catholic High in New Iberia and also attended University of Louisiana where he received his first degree in science before moving on to St. Frances. He was honored with the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award in 2021.

When asked to sum up his career and volunteer lifestyle, Johnny Indest thanks others.

“My wife, Cathy, is a former Citizen of the Year and she has another important focus with the culture of Iberia Parish,” he said. “We support each other’s efforts. My family means everything to me. Everything I have asked from them, they have been 100 percent supportive.”

(A look at who will be honored at the 20 Under 40 event and how to get tickets and sponsorships, click HERE)