Former State Representative Bowler Named La. Deputy Commissioner

Louisiana Commissioner of Insurance Jim Donelon named former State Representative Shirley Bowler of Harahan to take over the vacant position of deputy commissioner of the Office of Management and Finance in the Department of Insurance. Bowler’s appointment is effective on March 24, 2008.

Citing her vast legislative experience, Donelon said Bowler is a great fit to help manage the day-to-day operations of the Department of Insurance. Donelon also noted that Bowler was an active member of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators for 12 years, where she served on the group’s Executive Committee and as chairwoman of the Property & Casualty Committee. Bowler also spent 15 years as a member of the National Conference of State Legislatures and the American Legislative Exchange Council.

While serving as a state legislator from 1992 until December 2007, Bowler was a member of the House Committees on Insurance, Civil Law & Procedure and Labor & Industrial Relations, and vice chairwoman of the House Legislative Services Council.

Bowler received numerous honors while a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. In 1999 she was named Legislator of the Year by the Louisiana Business Group of Health. In 2000 the American Academy of Pediatrics gave her its Distinguished Service Award and in 2001 she was honored as Policymaker of the Year by the National Association of Surety Bond Producers. Bowler also garnered the Economic Development Champion Award in 2003 from the New Orleans Regional Chamber of Commerce and was named a Paul Harris Fellow by Rotary International in 2004.

Source: Louisiana Department of Insurance