Get to Know Your Elected Officials Series
by KAREN LAGRANGE COX
Milton resident Jeremy Hidalgo currently holds two elected positions within Lafayette Parish. He is serving his second non-consecutive term as a member of the Lafayette Parish School Board (LPSB) for District 9, for which he took office in January 2024. He was also elected in March 2024 to the Republican Parish Executive Committee (RPEC).
The RPEC districts are aligned with the Lafayette Parish Council districts. According to this website, the RPEC consists of Republican activists, volunteers for recruitment, and grassroots efforts for helping with local and municipal campaigning and voter registration drives.
His first term as an LPSB member was for five years due to legislation set forth by then-Representative Nancy Landy. Landry’s legislation was to align the LPSB terms with the gubernatorial elections.
His LPSB district serves the following schools: Milton Elementary/Middle School, Ernest Gallet Elementary, Green T. Lindon Elementary, Youngsville Middle, Southside High, and Martial F. Billeaud Elementary.
During Hidalgo’s first term on the LPSB, he helped secure $140 million for his district. This funding helped to secure the construction of Southside High, a major expansion of Milton Elementary/Middle and Martial Billeaud Elementary, and the replacement of metal buildings at Katherine Drexel Elementary (which was in his district during his first term).
With Southside lacking a stadium, Hidalgo helped to secure funding for a stadium for Southside High during his current term on the LPSB. The stadium is expected to be completed for the 2025/2026 school year.
In addition to holding elected public service positions, Hidalgo works as a political and government consultant through his company, Parish Strategy Group, and owns several small businesses.
One of his businesses is Southern Sport Nets, a sports netting business. Instead of participating in sports during high school, he worked. For five years, he worked in fisheries and research, where he learned about netting. Since then, he has spent the next twenty years in the fishing and sports netting industry, ultimately establishing Southern Sport Nets.
Hidalgo attributes his success to the late Gertrude Boudreaux, who served as his mentor, especially in the area of community service. He is actively involved in the Milton Civic Organization, the Broussard Chamber of Commerce, and the Youngsville Chamber of Commerce. Within a year of joining these organizations, he was appointed as a board member for all three.
In 2012, Hidalgo was awarded Youngsville Chamber of Commerce member of the year. He served on the chamber’s board from 2010 to July 2015 and became president in 2015.
Hidalgo served on the Broussard Chamber of Commerce’s board from 2011 to 2015. In 2015, he resigned from the board to accept the position of the chamber’s first President’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), which he held until 2019.
Hidalgo joined the Youngsville Police Reserve in 2016 and was previously involved with the Youngsville Lions Club. He has also completed the Youngsville, Lafayette, and Louisiana Leadership programs.
Raised in Milton, Hidalgo attended Milton Elementary/Middle School from kindergarten to 8th grade and graduated from Comeaux High School.
His wife, Natalie, is a teacher at Milton Elementary School. They have two teenage daughters, Emily and Regan. He enjoys traveling and going to the beach.
—
If any elected official serving Broussard or Youngsville, Louisiana, would like to participate in the Get to Know Your Elected Officials series, please email info@bylocalnews.com.
