Frank Bonifay and Jim Ragland Conservationists who pursued the preservation of the Bluff Swamp. Partners for over 20 years now, Frank and Jim have tried to educate guests about the importance and necessity of the swamp habitat for both humans and wildlife. They were successful contractors; then they liquidated their company to purchase the entrance to Alligator Bayou and make it an attraction for visitors and locals alike.
They established Alligator Bayou Tours in 1997 and use a boat to show the world their back yard. The small "footstep" of the boat maintains the health and beauty of the swamp, and the attractions they have established (the alligator habitat, the snapping turtle habitat, and the tour) are located on only 14 acres of the 1,500 acres they protect.
Frank is the brains behind the design and layout of the fascinating exhibits - the alligator pits and the turtle pond. Frank's dreams have a way of turning into amazing reality. He designed the bulkhead, deck and walkway at the turtle pond by eye.
Jim sometimes shows an amazing lack of brains and hand feeds gators and snapping turtles.
Frank and Jim are the only guides on the tour and enjoy showing the swamp to appreciative audiences. Both can be found walking among alligators, snakes, turtles and mud!!
Jamie Brassett Manager of the myriad facets of Alligator Bayou, Jamie makes sure that all of the important details are polished. She books tours, plans and coordinates parties and field trips, plays mom for Boo and Echo (her babies) and all the other critters we rescue and use in education, cleans up after us all, inventories, decorates, scrubs pots, dumps gar bage, polishes proposals and reminds us all of what we have forgotten in the course of the day.
Jamie was a good friend that Jim and Frank convinced to step in and fortify the business (of course, the idea that she would be catching alligators, doing midnight canoe trips into the swamp, and "playing" outside all the time helped bring her on board).
She'll be the first one to tell you, though, that we don't let her out enough!! Jamie's dedication, tenacity and outgoing personality make her absolutely perfect for the position. She's at Alligator Bayou just about 7 days a week and as your party hostess you'll truly admire her attention to detail. Oh, she's still our best friend!
Mike Thomas "Chef" Mike is our "Kitchen MacGyver". When guests request a menu, Mike acts as shopper and chef. He creates a palette for the taste buds when he puts together everything from a courchon de lais to his VERY popular white chocolate bread pudding. His jambalaya has also become a standard for our catered events. We've seen Mike prepare a six-course gourmet meal for 2 and we've seen him make, blend, form, bread and fry over 1500 boudin balls for 400 guests (and Willie Nelson!!) while cooking 2 pigs, 400# of boiled shrimp, 150# of fried gator and 30 seafood-stuffed pork loins. Mike's diverse restaurant background has been his proving ground and now his consistent and delicious meals are making a statement here at Alligator Bayou. And we're always trying to find new challenges for Mike - he can also cook vegetarian and vegan with panache.
David "The Moose" Saltzberg Construction manager for many of the projects on-going at Alligator Bayou. David is a perfect example of serendipity - he picked our name out of the phone book to apply!! We couldn't manage without David's determination, strength, dedication, and brilliance - and his razor-sharp wit is, without a doubt, his most endearing quality.
He can sing Disney songs from memory, recites Monty Python dialogue, and loved Office Space (WHY?) He's one heck of a bartender, too. He's also Cypress's dad.
Jodie McKay Jodie is the newest addition to the crew. She's definitely come a long way from initially being scared of spiders and snakes. Jodie is really great with people and works until the job is done. She's also developing a quick tongue to keep up with all of us here (although she still looks at us like we're all nuts!) And Boo (the nutria) looks as though he might stop attacking her, so she must be a keeper!
Matthew Doucet Matthew is our newest employee and he will be with us for three months or so. Matthew helps us do what we do best and as an added bonus Matthew is a fiddler. His passion is with music. Having played the fiddle for seven years, his sound is amazing. His calling came to him during the process of building his own fiddle. When he leaves us he will apprentice the art of fiddle-making in Maine under the direction of Jon Cooper, who guided him in the making of this fiddle. After that two year process, who knows where he'll be. We wish Matthew the best of luck.
April/May 2004