The BRBA will hold its March bar luncheon Thursday, March 4, 2010, at 11:45 a.m. at De La Ronde Hall. The guest speaker will be Hans J. Sternberg, chairman/CEO of Starmount Life Insurance and its affiliate AlwaysCare Benefits. He is also the co-author of the 2009 book We Were Merchants.

Sternberg’s family owned the Goudchaux’s/Maison Blanche, which was the largest department store in the United States. In 1992, because of the economic downturn, Sternberg sold the department store, ending a 200-year family tradition and turning his attention to his life insurance company.

In We Were Merchants, Sternberg tells the personal story behind Goudchaux’s/Maison Blanche, providing a captivating account of how his parents Erich and Lea fled from Nazi Germany to the U.S., embraced their new home and together, with their children, built Goudchaux’s into a Baton Rouge legend.

During the March luncheon, the BRBA Volunteer Committee and Volunteer Panel will be honored and recognized for its community projects and volunteer efforts.

The BRBA plans to hold door prize drawings each month during future luncheons. This month’s door prize will be donated by Aidan’s Irish Pub & Grub, opening soon at 11904 Coursey Blvd.

For more information regarding the luncheon please contact the BRBA at (225) 344-4803.