Heather Saddler Receives Virgie Ott Tourism Award

Tucked on the west bank of the Mississippi River sits the town of Westwego, a community built on trust, resilience and common cause, a homegrown example of Southern hospitality with the amber glow of New Orleans off the horizon. It’s a place where neighbors come together, where bread is broken and good times shared. One of the most celebrated of these places is the Westwego Farmers & Fisheries Market, a hub of life and good food that has been running strong for the past six years under the guidance and leadership of Heather Saddler. For her passion and dedication in fostering a clubhouse for culture and comfort in the heart of Westwego, Visit Jefferson Parish, the Parish’s official Convention & Visitors Bureau, has deemed her fit for one of their most prestigious honors: the Virgie Ott Tourism Award.

“I was shocked when I found out,” says Heather. “When I began working with Westwego about six years ago, we kept hearing that there weren’t that many events to be enjoyed, especially for families and children. Our focus became how to get our community involved more, offering free events throughout the city that expand the opportunities for people to come together in new and novel ways.”

The Virgie Ott Tourism Award is named for Virgie Ott, lovingly referred to as “Miss Virgie,” who was presented with the inaugural award in 2011 in recognition of her dedication to the advancement of Jefferson Parish tourism. As a marketing organization solely responsible for promoting Jefferson Parish as a travel destination to the world, Visit Jefferson Parish is in the business of building communities — those people want to live in and visit — a cultural gumbo where all are welcome to add a bit of seasoning to the pot. For Heather, a Westwego native, her hometown was never too far from her heart and, even when she moved away, not too far from her physical person either.

“I did move away from Westwego when I got married, but it was just minutes away,” Heather says. “I’ve loved Westwego since I was a kid. The mayor that I work with today was the mayor when I was a teenager. So, when a job came around six years ago to revitalize the farmers market, I was lucky enough to sign on and help rebuild a foundational part of the social and commercial life of the city.”

Heather knows a thing or two about revitalizing a food-based entity, as evidenced by her career working for shows like “Bar Rescue.” Soon after taking the job, she put together a team of fellow devotees to the Westwego brand of living and set about parlaying their skills and expertise to meet the demand of people eager to congregate in the waning months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her television production experience taught her to work within tight budgets and time constraints, and she met the challenge with aplomb by meeting people where they were, lowering vendor fees and manifesting a space that fit exactly what people were craving.

“Westwego is such a community-driven city, and we knew that the farmer’s market could be a central hub to that very idea,” says Heather. “We’ve been overjoyed to see many different cultural organizers come our way, including the runaway success of the NOLA Night Market and the Vietnamese Farmers Market that bring people from across the region, often in the thousands. That Westwego is hosting that many people is a huge win as we are continuing to grow more and more each year.”

With four new businesses opening in Westwego’s historic street, mere blocks from the farmers market, it’s clear that Heather’s “Farmers Market Rescue” is making a major difference in the lives, and bank accounts, of residents and vendors. In the long-standing tradition set about by Miss Virgie, Heather is truly a standard-bearer for her community, leading with heart and showing off her city with love and flavor to spare.

For year-round happenings and events at the Farmers Market, check out VisitJeffersonParish.com for the calendar of events.