Submit a nomination for Avoyellean of the Year 2009.
The Avoyelles Journal has begun its search for Avoyellean of the Year 2009.
Each year, nominations are sought to honor good people in Avoyelles for their countless and unselfish deeds. From these nominations, one person is chosen as Avoyellean of the Year. The award has been given annually since 1976.
Please take a few moments to write down a nomination of someone you feel is deserving of this award. There are volunteers who work both behind the scenes and out front in the public eye in Avoyelles, and they all deserve to be recognized.
You may email nominations to:
avoyellean2009@avoyelles.com,
FAX to (318)253-7223,
drop them by our office in Bunkie or Marksville
or mail them to:
Avoyellean 2009 Committee
P.O. Box 36
Marksville, La. 71351
I nominate Donna Barrere of Bordelonville for “Avoyellean of the Year 2009.”
I always have the honor of visiting the staff, family members and patients of Colonial Nursing Home in Marksville.
I always notice one special staff member, and her name is Donna Barrere, who is the activity director.
She goes beyond the call of duty to ensure that the staff, patients, and family members are treated with the highest honor and respect.
She plans trips, luncheons, and social events. Any job or task she takes on is always done with a smile, first class, and nothing less.
Colonial is very blessed to have such a wonderful person like Donna Barrere. Keep up the good work.
It’s a honor nominate Donna Barrere for Avoyellean of the Year.
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DR. SUE LYLES EAKIN
Dr. Sue Lyles Eakin should be recognized, posthumously, as the 2009 Avoyellean of the year.
It has been thirty-four years since the first Avoyellean of the Year was selected. That was in 1976.
Much earlier than1976, Dr. Sue Lyles Eakin was already a household name not only in Avoyelles but in many areas throughout the State of Louisiana. Hers is a name with deep roots in Avoyelles History. Even in St. Landry Parish, hers is a name that goes back fifty-nine years ago when she edited, in the Opelousas Daily World, a full edition of the History of St. Landry Parish. I still have that much faded edition. It was with great pleasure and extraordinary interest that I read every word of that famous edition, and was the first time that I had come across the name of Sue Lyles Eakin. Even then, at sixteen years of age, her writing skills and research of her materials mandated that I read every word of every page. It was probably the only paper that I ever read from page one to the last page.
But that was just a beginning of a career which eventually became dedicated to a better understanding of the peoples of Avoyelles and the history of such peoples. From her, we obtained a vast amount of knowledge about Avoyelles and past happenings in our Parish over a century and half ago up to the present time.
From her mind flowed the multi-faceted foot-notes translating the real meaning of the Solomon Northup saga, "Twelve Years a Slave" taken from the locale on Bayou Boeuf near the old village of Holmesville and the future town of Bunkie. It takes a lot of thought to appreciate the depth of the effort that Ms. Eakin displayed regarding the Solomon Northup story. Like everything she became involved with, the Solomon Northup saga became an obsession - because it was about an important footnote to history that took place in our Parish, Avoyelles.
Back in 1976 when the Avoyellean of the year was established, Dr. Eakin was already deep in another Avoyelles Parish project - the Birthplace of the First Bowie Knife. Her interest in the Bowie Knife was so firm and powerfully embedded that she organized the great names of current Bowie Knife History to converge on the Courthouse in Marksville, along with the help of Mr. Carlos Mayeaux, to have a display of the many Bowie Knives that are known to exist. That very successful event, I believe, took place in 1979. The results of this effort is displayed in a plaque on the grounds of the Avoyelles Parish Courthouse, commemorating the acknowledgment with a quotation of Rezin Bowie: "The first Bowie Knife was made by myself of my plantation in Avoyelles Parish."
With such interest in the Avoyelles Parish Plantation System, she was readily accepted as an outstanding authority on the subject. When nearby LSUA added this (Plantation Living) to the curriculum, Ms. Eakin was selected to head the course.
These are just the highlights of a person who has, in many ways, brought Avoyelles Parish into more homes and institutions than otherwise would have been. Her impact on our Parish has touched many of us. Her work, her personality, her energy and her dedication to a better understanding of Avoyelles Parish has few equals.
These are just a few of the examples to support the name of Dr. Sue Lyles Eakin, posthumously, as the 2009 Avoyellean of the Year.
She surely is among the top ranks of those special individuals that have contributed immensely to the betterment of Avoyelles.
Sincerely,
Jerry LaFleur
January 1, 2010
jerrylafleurcomcast.net
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LUKE WELCH
I would like to nominate Luke Welch of Cottonport for Avoyellean of 2009. This man is always active in the Cottonport community. He has helped with recreation in the town for many years and now helps the entire community through his town council seat.
He was a great educator and coach over the years at Cottonport High School and now is at Bunkie High School. This year he has taken on the challenge of leading the New Tech program started at Bunkie High. He is working with the students, staff and parents to help them understand how the program will make a better student.
Please consider Luke Welch for the 2009 Avoyellean of the Year for his work in the community and in the school system.
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