NEW ORLEANS – When the power goes out after a hurricane, a neighborhood restaurant can become much more than a place to eat. It can become a place to cool down, preserve food, charge a phone, share resources and help neighbors weather the storm.
That vision is at the heart of Get Lit, Stay Lit, the community resilience initiative of Feed the Second Line, led by Tinice “Tee” Boudreaux, who has been named this year’s recipient of the Community Sunlight Award by the Gulf States Renewable Energy Industries Association (GSREIA), a trade association representing companies across the renewable energy supply chain.
According to GSREIA, the award recognizes Boudreaux’s approach to making renewable energy a tool for hurricane preparedness, neighborhood resilience and economic opportunity.
Feed the Second Line is a nonprofit that works to preserve New Orleans culture by creating paid opportunities for Masking Indians, Baby Dolls, musicians and Social Aid & Pleasure Club members. The Get Lit, Stay Lit initiative works to equip restaurant partners with solar panels and battery storage, transforming local restaurants into potential community lifelines during power outages, such as those that can follow storms.
With solar and battery power, participating restaurants can help provide cooling centers, protect food from being lost, maintain access to essential services and coordinate mutual aid when traditional power and infrastructure are down.
“Community leadership is a strong signal that anyone can step up and make a difference,” said Boudreaux. “Get Lit, Stay Lit is about turning our neighborhood restaurants into places of resilience while creating real pathways into the clean-energy economy. I’m deeply honored that GSREIA is recognizing this work with the Community Sunlight Award.”
GSREIA leaders say Boudreaux represents the kind of community-rooted leadership needed to make renewable energy meaningful and accessible.
“Tinice Boudreaux is showing us what community resilience can look like when we put renewable energy in service of people,” said Monika Gerhart, GSREIA’s executive director. “Her work connects solar power to something every New Orleanian understands: looking out for your neighbors. She is creating a model where clean energy can provide life-saving support and local businesses can anchor community.”
