Courson Nickel
Bud Courson
He has been singled out as “one of the hardest working” and “most effective people in state government” by Louisiana’s foremost political columnist John Maginnis. Bud Courson has served both a former Louisiana Governor and Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry. He served the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry for 18 years, rising to the position of Deputy Commissioner. In 1986, at the age of 27, Courson became First Assistant to the Commissioner, the youngest person in the nation to hold such a position. As Deputy Commissioner, he was second in command of one of the seven Louisiana governmental agencies headed by a statewide elected official. His administrative responsibilities included the day-to-day management of 1,200 employees and a budget of more than $100 million.