Fresh faces

Bradley Beychok

Age: 24

Why he’s worth watching: He’s a political consultant with a strong passion for politics. And who wouldn’t with a legacy of campaigning in his family.? “My grandfather did it. My father does it. So I guess I want to make politics the family business,” he says.

Cajun Country has Bradley Beychok to thank for the recent election of U.S. Rep. Charlie Melancon. Beychok was the driving force behind the Democratic candidate’s campaign, hiring and training the staff, managing communications and developing strategies that turned the Congressman’s razor-thin lead in the first election to a 20,000-vote margin of victory this time around. At only 24, this political consultant hopes in 2007 to help more Democrats “seize the opportunity and restore some civility and less partisanship to the process.”

—AMANDA JOHNSON

Doug Foval

Age: 45

Why he’s worth watching: He’s building an adventure sports facility called Red Rock Adventure Sports next door to his recently acquired Skate Galaxy on Jefferson Highway.

Foval bought Skate Galaxy, and he has bold plans to renovate the existing structure, updating the skating rink and laser tag rooms and expanding the facility to the adjoining three acres. The design details are still in the works, but Foval plans to bring a state-of-

the-art rock-climbing venue to Baton Rouge, the city’s first. It will include a number of climbing walls, at varying difficulty levels, as

well as an indoor skydiving wind tunnel and a Velcro jumping wall.

Construction is expected to begin in fall 2007.

—SARAH YOUNG

Robert Moreland

Age: 27

Why he’s worth watching: The intricate work of this young abstract artist already hangs in some of the more modern, trendy homes in Baton Rouge, and now even the not-so-trendy are beginning to catch on.

Robert Moreland is a rogue. The Baton Rouge native is self-taught—he had to be because quite frankly he is creating provocative wood and metal work and encaustic fabric hangings unlike anyone else. His art, especially the metalwork, is largely a worn-and-torn take on mod chic. His giant-sized pieces incorporate everything from found to finished wood, old organ pipes, weathered wiring and painted sheet metal, and they say all the things a blank wall can’t. His pieces are huge—many stretch 8 or 10 feet across. But Moreland wants more in 2007—larger work, larger commissions, a larger life. robertmoreland.com.

—JEFF ROEDEL

Ashley Heyer Casey

Age: 35

Why She’s Worth Watching: She is utilizing new media and integrative communication to foster leadership in Louisiana.

See something in Louisiana that you want to change? Talk to Ashley Heyer Casey. She’s working behind the scenes as a new media and new communications consultant to help the politically unsavvy serve the state. After Hurricane Katrina, Heyer Casey helped create Letters from New Orleans, an interactive Web page on blogspot.com that delivered citizen testimonials to Congress. Whether building Web sites for nonprofits or launching integrative media campaigns for up-and-coming gubernatorial candidates, Heyer Casey is on the cutting edge of new media innovation.

—KELSEY McCOY