Mr. John Schneider This is Me

Education

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1. 1. www.thetowntalk.com

   www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs. - [Cached]

   Published on: 8/5/2008   Last Visited: 8/6/2008

   John Schneider, president of Cyntreniks, LLC, a minority partner in the Second Century Bentley, said he is not surprised by the chamber's response.
   
   Schneider said he and chamber officials met last week to review the deal Second Century Bentley has proposed.
   
   "I think what the council was looking for was to allow the Second Century Bentley as well as the mayor and whoever else wanted to provide information and allow the chamber to provide an outside party review, but from my understanding we were the only ones that provided information to the chamber," Schneider said.
   ...
   Schneider still hopes to work out something with the city.
   
   "I am still very confident that the council will move ahead on the Bentley project," Schneider said, adding he believes the council will hold a special meeting this week on the issue.

2. 2. BRAC in the News : Baton Rouge Area Chamber

   www.brtc.org/site.php?pageID=5 - [Cached]

   Published on: 9/30/2007   Last Visited: 6/22/2008

   There is no better example of synergy than the partnership of Brace Godfrey and John Schneider, the two attorneys who launched Cyntreniks in 2005 and have set about changing the face of downtown Baton Rouge.
   ...
   Godfrey and Schneider are also active in planning for the future of Baton Rouge, speaking before groups such as Forum 35, a group of young, racially diverse professionals interested in reinventing the city, and are taking part in the "Louisiana Speaks" campaign by the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and the Louisiana Recovery Authority, which seeks to involve citizens in planning for south Louisiana growth after the devastating hurricanes of 2005.
   ...
   Rhorer also praised Cyntreniks for its support of mass transit as a key to Baton Rouge's growth, and especially cited the involvement of Godfrey and Schneider in keeping the downtown shuttle to LSU football games operating last year, after LSU withdrew its support.
   ...
   Although their partnership dates from 2005, Godfrey and Schneider have known each other since the summer of 1972, when they both worked at the State Capitol for the Legislative Council.
   
   At that time, Schneider was a young graduate of the LSU Law School and Godfrey was a junior at Southern University looking for a summer job , and willing to walk for it.
   
   "I walked up the stairs at the Capitol, stopping on each floor to ask if they had a job opening," said Godfrey."On the 18th floor, I got a job as an intern with the Legislative Council, and met John."
   
   The young men quickly found out that they had something in common: they were both from small Evangeline Parish communities.Schneider was from Turkey Creek, and Godfrey was from Bayou Chicot.
   
   "We had similar family backgrounds," said Schneider, "similar philosophies about government and similar visions for the future."
   
   And although 1972 was a time of racial turbulence, the fact that Schneider was white and Godfrey was black didn't matter to either man.
   
   "We roomed together in a house in Spanish Town with four other guys," said Godfrey."Having a black roommate was unusual for that time."
   
   Schneider at that time was interested in a career in politics.As a college senior in 1971, he had run unsuccessfully for a Louisiana House post from Lafayette.
   
   When Schneider later ran for the Lafayette Parish Police Jury, his new friend Godfrey went home with him to help him in what turned out to be a successful campaign.
   
   "It was a great political time," said Schneider, referring to the early '70s and the first years under the new governor, a young Cajun lawyer named Edwin W. Edwards.
   ...
   Schneider, despite his law degree, liked the consulting business , and a larger stage.
   
   In 1984 Schneider moved his business to Atlanta, and worked between there and the West Coast.Over the years, he kept in touch with Godfrey, who became managing partner at the Adams and Reese law firm.
   
   In 2004 Schneider sold his Atlanta consulting business.The following year he was heading to San Diego to set up shop there when he stopped in Louisiana for his uncle's funeral.When Schneider got together with Godfrey at the Chase Bank building, he got an offer he hadn't expected.
   
   "I'm going out on my own," Godfrey told him."Why don't you come back to Louisiana , we'll set up a law firm."
   
   "I was caught by surprise," Schneider said."But I never hesitated.I said, ,Yes'."
   
   In April 2005 Schneider moved to Baton Rouge, and by May they had set up Cyntreniks, a consulting firm.Later that summer, they formed the Godfrey-Schneider law firm.
   
   While Schneider had been out of Louisiana, Godfrey, who describes himself as having a careful, even "plodding," style, had not only headed the Baton Rouge Chamber of Commerce and the 100 Black Men organization, but had become involved in the revival of Baton Rouge's downtown as chairman of the Downtown Development District.
   
   But Godfrey was concerned about one phenomenon , the disappearance of black-owned businesses from downtown:
   ...
   So the self-described "meticulous, careful thinker" Godfrey and the self-described "risk-taking entrepreneur" Schneider entered the downtown development business.
   
   "I wouldn't have stepped out without John's encouragement," said Godfrey.
   
   For his part, Schneider said, "Brace had built up the reputation as a leader in Baton Rouge.
   ...
   It was the library study, one of the strategic planning firm's first projects that, as Schneider said, "put us on the map."
   
   "We looked at the numbers, on inflation's effect on construction costs, and came up with a realistic picture of what the Library Board could do with the funds it had and what it couldn't do."
   
   Referring to the acquisition of the Kress-Welsh & Levy buildings, the Hotel King and Dean Plaza-Lyceum Dean within an eight-month period, Schneider said, "We took on three elephants at one time.
   ...
   Claude "Buddy" Leach of Leesville, a friend of Godfrey and Schneider since their days at the State Capitol.
   ...
   Schneider said that while the old Kress building will be in commercial use, its past as a civil rights rallying point won't be forgotten:
   
   "We'll have a glass-enclosed replica of the lunch counter and a listening station featuring the continuous running of films, so visitors can see and hear about the sit-in."
   
   Godfrey said his relationship with Schneider is built on trust.Schneider agreed, but added, "We trust but aggravate each other.
   
   "I like multi-tasking," said Schneider.
   
   "And I like to take on one project at a time," said Godfrey.
   
   But, he said, they had learned to make their differences work for the partnership.
   ...
   "And the ,s' is for me," said Schneider with a wry grin.

3. 3. www.thetowntalk.com

   www.thetowntalk.com/apps/pbcs. - [Cached]

   Published on: 3/16/2007   Last Visited: 3/16/2007

   A deal to sell the Alexandria hotel to Cyntreniks LLC of Baton Rouge was scheduled to close Thursday, but instead, John Schneider, chief executive officer of Cyntreniks, announced that the company had been given a 60-day extension in finalizing the deal.
   ...
   "It might not take the 60 days," Schneider said after a news conference at Alexandria City Hall.
   
   Schneider and city officials called the conference to say that the sale hadn't yet closed but eventually will.
   
   The Hotel Bentley "will open and be extremely successful," Schneider said.
   
   Plans still call for a black-and-white gala on Aug. 8 in celebration of the hotel's 100th birthday.Schneider said it is unknown if the guest rooms will be ready by then, but the Mirror Room and other parts of the hotel should be ready, he said.
   
   That includes the return of the hotel's stained-glass windows, which Schneider said are in storage.
   
   The Bentley project will cost $16 million, including acquisition costs, Schneider said.Plans call for $8 million in construction, with a new air-conditioning unit, carpet and draperies, Schneider said, but some things will remain such as the bed frames.
   
   The 178-bed hotel is on the National Register of Historic Places.Schneider said he wants the hotel to open in the same grandeur as it did after refurbishing in 1984.
   
   Schneider said everyone "wants the Bentley to shine again."
   ...
   Schneider said he and others were overly optimistic on how fast a deal could be completed for the sale, but "everything did not fall into place perfectly."
   
   No new closing date was announced Thursday.
   
   Money for the purchase is coming from new market tax credits, state tax credits, local investors and other sources.In fact, Schneider said Cyntreniks has expanded how many local investors are being allowed in and does not mind if majority ownership is held by local investors.
   ...
   Schneider said all involved are devoted to not only opening the Bentley but making it a success again.He predicted stabilization, when revenue equals profits, for the hotel would occur by the spring of next year.