Bayou Icon | Leading With Legacy

ARTICLE BY GEORGIANN POTTS
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELLY MOORE CLARK

Frank Elkins III, our August 2025 BayouIcon, honors his late father’s legacy by successfully leading their family’s beverage businesses while actively supporting local culture and community events.

Frank Elkins III is an accomplished businessman carrying on the businesses started by his father, Frank Elkins Jr. Their family wholesale beverage businesses – two beer distributorships in Monroe, Choice Brands Inc., and Venture Marketing Corp. in Alexandria – are ones that this proud son watched his father build from the ground up. Young Frank decided very early that working in the family business was what he wanted for his career. He wanted to follow his dad’s example and work hard to keep the family businesses going and growing. Even though his dad passed away 20 years ago, Frank still calls on the wisdom and experiences that his dad provided for him when he is considering business decisions. Frank is not all business, however, as he is an active supporter of local fun and entertainment in our community through annual sponsorships for such entities as the Celtic Festival, Chennault Aviation and Military Museum, the Dragon Boat Festival, Monroe Moccasins, Art Crawl, Ouachita Live, and St. Jude’s Fundraiser each Halloween. Because of both his outstanding business leadership and energetic community spirit, Frank Elkins III is our August 2025 BayouIcon.

When Frank Elkins III remembers his parents and his childhood, his thoughts invariably return to wonderful family gatherings punctuated by good fun, great food, and lots of lively conversation. Frank was born in Monroe in the Swartz area where his parents — Frank Elkins, Jr. and Christine Testa Elkins — provided a stable and wholesome environment in which their children thrived. Frank was the eldest of the three Elkins children in the household that included a younger sister, Chrissy Elkins Evans, and younger brother, Jeff Elkins.

Building a Life for the Family
Frank Jr. was born in Monticello, Arkansas, and grew up in Bastrop. His early childhood, according to his son, was relatively hard. Frank Jr. never knew his father and spent much of his childhood being reared by other families in the area. Even before he was old enough (he lied about his age in order to register for military service), Frank Jr. served in the Navy during the Korean War, stationed in the South Pacific near the Fiji Islands and Samoa.

When Frank Jr. first entered the beer business in Monroe in 1954, his partner was Charles Testa. It was through Charles that Frank Jr. met Charles’ daughter, Christine, his future wife. Christine was born in Waterproof, Louisiana. Both parents were of Italian descent (Testa and Forte) which meant that there was always delicious food in abundance and plenty of strong opinions. After Frank Jr. and Christine married, they spent many Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays at Christine’s parents’ home in Waterproof. Most of Christine’s family lived in Tensas Parish so there were aunts, uncles, and cousins nearby.

Frank remembers the joy of those holiday gatherings – especially Christmas. He describes a “typical” Christmas Day as beginning with early morning Christmas in their Swartz home and then traveling to Waterproof for the rest of the day.  “Kids – siblings and cousins – would usually end up in some sort of outdoor activity like touch football or wiffleball,” Frank says. There was a traditional afternoon family visit and catchup time when everyone gathered in the big parlor at my grandparents’ house. The dads would all disappear at some point after lunch to find vacant bedrooms for naps while everyone else was visiting.”

Growing Up Years
Because of Frank Jr.’s business demands in Monroe, the Elkins family didn’t travel much more than trips to Waterproof, but there was still much fun to be found. There were friends in the Swartz neighborhood to explore with and sports to be played. Frank’s mother had loved playing sports growing up. “That’s where I developed my competitive nature,” Frank says. Neither she nor Frank Jr. ever missed a ballgame or any of their children’s activities. Frank describes his parents as strict and demanding of their children but extremely loving and devoted to them.

Those holiday trips to Waterproof were always special. Frank’s great uncle, Louis Testa, owned a gas station on main street located right across the street from his grandparents’ home. “When we grandkids arrived for the holiday gathering, we walked over to that gas station and were allowed to select one candy item for free. It was so hard to decide because we always wanted more than one thing,” Frank remembers.

During the summers, the family stayed at home on Roland Drive. They would celebrate those holidays with an aunt, uncle, and cousins. His mother’s sister Agnes lived in Monroe with her husband, Richard McGivern, and their family. Cooking out, making homemade ice cream, playing softball in the yard, and fireworks made for happy times together.

Frank went to Swartz Elementary and Junior High and Ouachita Parish High School. He enjoyed Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, baseball, and band. The Scouts were appealing because he enjoyed exploring and learning “I was definitely not drawn to the uniforms but they were required,” Frank remembers. Band was an activity that his mother pushed him to do but that he enjoyed. He had learned to play the piano and trumpet as a child. The most enjoyment came from sports – primarily football and baseball. “I just liked competitive sports and being around my friends and coaches.” Frank says.

Frank freely admits that his goals in high school were simple — make good grades, enjoy time with friends, and stay out of trouble.  As he grew up, Frank’s coaches had a huge influence on him. He learned invaluable life lessons – how to be a good teammate, how to push himself to be the best he could be, and how to be a good sport whether winning or losing. “They lifted me up when I was struggling,” Frank explains. “I know it’s cliché but these basic lessons have really helped me later in life with both business and personal matters.” 

Career Preparation Began Early
Before Frank was about 10, his dad decided to teach him through experience something about how business works. Frank Jr. took an old beer truck to Spearsville  and bought a truckload of watermelons. The truck was positioned on the corner of Louisville Avenue and Breard Street – right across from the big Howard Brothers Discount Store.  Frank III was in charge of everything – displaying melons, merchandising, and sales – but his dad set the price. The price? Three dollars per melon. “Every morning, I would set up, split open and display a melon, and wait for customers to buy my “high quality” ‘Calhoun Sweets’,” Frank says. “After about a week, Howard Brother’s started selling melons in front of their building for 99 cents. I kept asking my father to let me lower the price but he refused by explaining how my watermelons were better than Howard Brother’s and I just needed to convince customers of this.” After about three weeks of not selling many watermelons, and realizing he was about to lose a lot of money on that truckload of watermelons, Frank Jr. told one of his longtime employees, Lt. Martin from Tallulah, to drive the truck home to Tallulah and sell them for whatever he could get. In return, Lt. Martin could keep half of the money.  Lt. Martin sold every watermelon for 50 cents over one weekend. “With that experience, I learned several valuable business lessons that have stuck with me all these years – salesmanship is important, pricing matters, competition creates change, and how to handle failure,” says Frank.

Frank knew early on that his career would be the wholesale beverage business. “I was exposed to the business at a very early age. I spent a lot of time running around the warehouse, climbing on pallets of beer/wine, and riding with the warehouse manager on a forklift while he was trying to do his job,” Frank explains. “I loved being around Dad at work because that’s where I could talk to him since he wasn’t home until late in the evening.” Frank watched his father work for years building the companies into successful businesses. “I saw how Dad had given up so much of his family time to make the businesses successful for all of us,” Frank says. “I just thought it was my job to get involved and help.” 

When he was about 13, Frank started working in the business helping unload railcars at the warehouse during the summers. The cases of beer and wine arrived by rail in those days and had to be physically hand stacked onto pallets and then moved into the warehouse. The temperature in the boxcars during the summer was extremely hot. “I would be up in that boxcar with a couple of other workers slinging 25 to30 pound cases one at a time until we had off-loaded more than 2,500 cases,” Frank says. “Not easy work, but it taught me to appreciate the value that our people bring to the company every single day.”

When time came for college, Frank enrolled at Northeast Louisiana University (now ULM) where he majored in Business Administration and minored in Marketing. He believed that this would be the right preparation for his career aspirations in the family business. While there, Frank especially enjoyed the marketing classes. He joined Pi Sigma Epsilon, a professional business fraternity that focused on all aspects of leadership, marketing, and organizational skills. Frank served as Chapter President for several years during which the NLU chapter was recognized as one of the leading chapters in America.

Following Dad’s Footsteps
Frank’s first official job with the family business involved marketing (special events, community involvement) and some work in forecasting and ordering product. He had already spent time working in the warehouse and sales departments during the summers. Frank readily admits that to be successful in a business such as his, you need to spend time in every aspect of the business to learn and appreciate the role everyone plays in that business.

Along the way there have been many memorable business moments, but perhaps none more memorable than the one involving Coors. Traditionally a company “out west,” Coors decided to expand east in the early 1980’s – and Louisiana was part of that expansion. Peter Coors came to Monroe and met with Frank Jr. and Frank III seeking a partnership for Northeast and Central Louisiana. After much thought Frank Jr. decided to turn down the offer to get their brands (for free) – becoming the only market in Louisiana to tell Coors “No.”“I was somewhat shocked at Dad’s decision because every distributor coveted getting Coors assigned to them. But I understood why he did what he did – he was as loyal as they come and wanted to stay focused on Miller Lite’s accelerated growth during those years,” Frank says. Ironically, about 20 years later in 2001 the Elkins family “purchased” the Coors brand in an acquisition of the local Coors distributorship. ‘This was my first time to be involved with an acquisition, and I really learned a lot,” Frank adds. “But mostly I learned it would have been much more profitable to have gotten the brands for free in 1983.” 

Now 65 and President and CEO of Choice Brands Inc. and Venture Marketing Corp, Frank can look back over his career and see the challenges as well as the successes. He admits that one of the most challenging aspects of his work has been dealing with the large number of suppliers (brands) that the company represents today. “We’ve gone from 3 or 4 suppliers (mainly breweries) and about 100 products to over 30 suppliers (including Miller/Coors, Red Bull, Heineken, Sazerac, Sam Adams, Yuengling) and more than 1500 products,” Frank explains. “There are a lot of logistical challenges that come with adding this many new products – so that’s a main consideration when we’re deciding to bring on new suppliers and products. The increased complexities on the companies are greater today than they’ve ever been – whether it be warehouse operations, or sales reps having the time to sell/merchandise new items, delivery drivers having to deliver and stock more products, and the challenges with inventory control for so many products. But in order to grow, we must find the right balance when determining whether or not to add new brands or suppliers. We turn down a lot of new suppliers that want to come to this market through us. Our team has done a good job over the years managing these decisions.”

One of the changes that Frank has seen is in beer marketing nationally. Like with other products, beer and beverage marketing has shifted dramatically from traditional media. Just like his father before him, Frank tends to think about the business even when he isn’t at work. “I’m a poster child for over-thinking.  I do struggle with separating work and pleasure – it’s been a challenge my entire career. There’s always been this voice in my head reminding me to “not screw up what our father built.”   

There are special benefits that come when others in the family work in the business. Frank’s younger sister and brother soon followed and joined the company.  Today the siblings have worked together almost every day for 40 years. Frank describes working with them as – “unique,” “important,” and “rewarding.” They share a mutual respect for each other and an appreciation for the contributions of each. The family business is now on the 4th generation with two nephews working there. 

Life Outside of Business
In 1987, Frank met Kathy Sewell through work. She owned and operated L.C. Scally’s and was a customer of Choice Brands. Frank and his dad would occasionally stop there for lunch. The two married and had 2 daughters together who are both in their early 30’s now. Their oldest daughter, Katie, lives in Baton Rouge and their youngest, Olivia, is married and lives in New Orleans. Though no longer married, Frank and Kathy have remained close friends, often spending Thanksgiving and Christmas together with their daughters. Frank loved watching his girls grow up.  Whether he was coaching or watching them in sports, attending dance recitals and gymnastics events, or watching them cheer,  he spent most of his non-working hours with them. “If I could have only one wish, it would be for Katie and Olivia to feel the same (about me) that I felt about my father and mother. My parents had a major influence on my life and have taught me what’s truly important. I think my kids feel the same about me,” Frank says.

These days Frank’s leisure time includes cooking. His “stuffed steak” is his signature dish and is a holdover from his childhood when his parents took the family to the Capital Steakhouse in Monroe. Painting is something new that he’d like to try, and he might soon try his hand at golf again. He flew airplanes in his younger years and did skydive once – a breathtaking experience. Neither remain on his radar.

Increased travel is definitely on Frank’s “to do” list. He loves the beach and spends time in Destin as often as he can. Not surprisingly, it is Italy that attracts most of his attention. He would love to travel to the area in Italy that his mother’s family came from and try to connect with some distant relatives living there.

Planning for the Future 
Frank says that the company is currently undergoing a multi-million-dollar warehouse expansion in Monroe to support the company’s growth and it will approximately double their current warehouse capacity. 

As a lifelong Monroe resident, Frank has seen many changes in Monroe/West Monroe over the past 50 years. What he is really excited about is the current leadership in both cities. “They are creating real momentum and positive change in our local communities,” Frank says

One thing is for certain. The long-ago dream of starting his own business that pushed his father toward success is the same dream that has pushed Frank and his family toward their own dreams. It will be exciting to see what this family-owned operation will become in the next 70 years of its existence.