[StBernard] Celebrate St. Bernard

[Westley Annis]

Celebrate St. Bernard and Stand Up and Be Counted community a successful
event to encourage residents to fill out their 2010 Census

Mini festival/pep rally included entertainment, free food and giveaways 

 

The Celebrate St. Bernard Committee held its annual event to promote the
2010 Census and hosted a mini festival/pep rally, complete with
entertainment, singing, dancing, cheerleaders, free food and giveaways.

 

The event, Celebrate St. Bernard and Stand Up and Be Counted, at Nunez
Community College started and ended with lively band music the Chalmette
High School Jazz Band under the direction of Jason Rusk and cheering from
the Chalmette High School Cheerleaders and cheer teams more than a half
dozen from local schools.

 

The mid-March event focused on letting people know how important it is to
fill out their Census 2010 forms. During the events, residents were told the
2010 Census has only 10 simple questions that should take about 10 minutes
to fill out. However, mailing the form is critical to St. Bernard because it
will affect how billions of dollars in federal funding is spent for the next
10 years.

 

"St. Bernard Parish's residents have always been the leaders of our recovery
and are the reason we continue to grow," St. Bernard Parish President Craig
P. Taffaro, Jr. said. 

 

President Taffaro stressed that an accurate Census count affects everyone,
and he took an informal poll of the different age groups in attendance to
get the crowd going. Then in keeping with pep rally them, he led the group
in a celebratory wave, and ran through the crowd high-fiving members of the
crowd.

 

Tommy Warner, Chancellor of Nunez Community College and Chairman of the
Celebrate St. Bernard Committee, said the idea for starting the Celebrate
St. Bernard effort was to celebrate all the rebuilding ongoing in the
parish, including rebuilding of the schools, the businesses and the
neighborhoods. 

 

"We wanted you to know this isn't a one-time deal. We are going to continue
celebrating all the good things that make St. Bernard such a good place to
live and work."

 

The event included entertainment that was moderated by Barry Lemoine and
Will Schneider of the St. Bernard School Board and Shine Productions, and
Krystal Boothe-Gonzales, former television news personality and a Chalmette
High School teacher. 

 

Donning 70s attire, Jeremy Moniz, Evan Smith, Cole Nicosia and Gregory
Gonzales kicked the event off with their rendition of "Celebrate St.
Bernard" performing as School and the Gang. Their performance was recognized
at the recent state Junior Beta Convention. 

 

Additionally, Melanie Benit, a junior at Chalmette high School, gave a
tribute to the seniors in the parish noticing the contributions of the
elderly on our lives and especially on our recovery. 

 

Those in attendance also enjoyed the folkloric music and Princesa Dacil and
Los Cabuqueros. 

 

And to wrap it up, the community All-Stars led the crowd in giving a shout
out for the TOP TEN REASONS THAT ST. BERNARDIANS NEED TO STAND UP AND BE
COUNTED. The Census is critical for all sorts of funding including money for
roads, infrastructure, programs for the elderly and young, and first
responders and the numbers are important in determining political
representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. The count ended with
the diminutive Alberta Lewis rising on to her step stool to visibly portray
the importance that all Stand Up and Be Counted.

 

This party is a continuation of last year's May kick-off rally by the
Celebration St. Bernard committee that asks residents to join in the ongoing
campaign that is meant to celebrate our accomplishments, our historic past
and promising future. 

 

Timolynn Sams of the Census also spoke on the details of the Census. In
addition to free food, there were numerous giveaways, courtesy of the
Census, including t-shirts, huggies and bags.

 

The Celebrate St. Bernard Committee is made up of the following individuals
who represent a variety of agencies and groups throughout the parish. Nunez
Community College Chancellor Tommy Warner serves as the committee chairman.
Other top elected and appointed officials who serve as members include: St.
Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr., Chief Deputy Sheriff James
Pohlmann, Schools Superintendent Doris Voitier, St. Bernard Port Director
Bobby Scafidel, Judge David Gorbaty, Judge Bob Buckley and School Board
Member Hugh Craft. Additionally, the committee is comprised of citizens from
a variety of organizations, listed here, in alphabetical order: Mike
Baudoin, Karen Bazile, Molly Buckley, Polly Boudreaux, Mike Cusack, Joey Di
Fatta, Melanie Doan, Elizabeth Frost, Dorothy Hills, Will Hinson, Deborah
Keller, Alberta Lewis, Jodi Lohfink, Barbara Manuel, Rebecca Martin, Gidget
McDougall, Claudette Reuther, Cliff Reuther, Stephen Reuther, Gus Riess,
Norman Sass, Robby Showalter, Sean Warner and Carl Zornes. 

 

The marketing effort was kicked off with a $60,000 grant from the St.
Bernard Community Foundation, and this event is being funded by the
Celebrate St. Bernard Fund. To learn more about the effort, visit the
following websites: www.sbpg.net <http://www.sbpg.net/> ,
www.stbernardchamber.org <http://www.stbernardchamber.org/> , or
www.visitstbernard.com <http://www.visitstbernard.com/> .  Neighborhood
garden flags with the Celebrate St. Bernard logo are available for $15,
including the stands so people can proudly show their spirit. There also are
all Celebrate St. Bernard holiday ornaments and a set of drinking glasses.
Look for the Celebrate St. Bernard items at upcoming community events or
call the St. Bernard Chamber at 504-250-6121 or St. Bernard Tourism Office
at 504-278-4242.