Edwin Edwards returns to his native Marksville this weekend to address newspaper publishers and editors at the annual Louisiana Press Association Convention.

The four time governor of Louisiana is the keynote speaker at the group's luncheon Saturday.

Long time friend and ally, Raymond Laborde, will also be in attendance.

This is second year in a row the LPA has chosen Marksville as its convention site, because of the city's central location in the state as well as affordable hotel rooms and meeting rooms at the Paragon.

Last year, James Carville, whose mother was a Normand from Avoyelles, was the kenote speaker.

Past presidents of the association, including Jim Levy of Bunkie, met tonight at the Breezeway.

Garland Foreman of the Bunkie Record is a current officer of the association.

Edwin Washington Edwards served as the Governor of Louisiana for four terms (1972–1980, 1984–1988 and 1992–1996), twice as many terms as any other Louisiana chief executive has served. Edwards was also Louisiana’s first Roman Catholic governor in the 20th century and a colorful, powerful & legendary figure in Louisiana politics.

Edwards, who was born in Marksville and graduated in 1943 from Marksville High School, named blacks to key state positions and his support of black politicians resulted in a mutually beneficial relationship. He supported the “open primary” which pitted candidates of all parties against each other in a first general primary which inadvertently strengthened the Republican Party in state elections as Democrats split their votes.

Edwards’ third term was marked by Federal indictments, but not convictions, for mail fraud, obstruction of justice and public bribery stemming from the sale of hospital certificates Thought to be politically dead after conceding the 1987 race to Buddy Roemer, Edwards roared back into the Governor’s Mansion for an unprecedented fourth term in 1992. Not since his first gubernatorial election had Edwards received the endorsement of so many major newspapers and organizations - all intent on keeping former Ku Klux Klansman David Duke out of office. Early in his fourth term, Edwards led the passage of land-based casino gambling legislation.

In 2001, he was sentenced to ten years in prison on racketeering charges. Edwards began serving his sentence in October 2002 in Fort Worth, Texas, and was later transferred to the federal facility in Oakdale, Louisiana. Edwards was released from federal prison into a halfway house on January 13, 2011. Since, completing the sentence in July, 2011, Edwards has been drawing large crowds on the speaking circuit and promoting his biography written by Leo Honeycutt. There are those who predict “if he could run for governor, he would win today.”