[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish Welcome Sign on St. Bernard Highway replaced with a new one

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish Welcome Sign on St. Bernard Highway replaced with a new
one 

 

Members from numerous civic and business groups came for the celebration to
dedicate the new St. Bernard Parish Welcome Sign on St. Bernard Highway in
Arabi. This sign - illuminated at night - replaces the one that was first
erected in 1964 by the Kiwanis Club of St. Bernard and then updated in 1997.

 

The project is the result of the partnership of nine community groups with a
matching grant from St. Bernard Parish Government, said Robby Showalter who
headed the initiative with fellow Kiwanis member Kevin Reichert.

 

"After storm damaged the sign, we wanted to put up something attractive,"
Showalter said. "That sign is the first impression people see coming into
the parish, and we wanted people who visit our parish to see that our parish
is coming back better than before the storm." The sign and adjacent flag
pole has been maintained by the Kiwanis Club since 1964.

 

"This is what the recovery of St. Bernard Parish has always been about - the
partnership of the citizens with the support of Parish Government - to move
forward in a very determined and deliberate fashion to let the world know
that St. Bernard is a survivor and has come back stronger and better than it
was before Hurricane Katrina," said Parish President Craig Taffaro, Jr., who
is a long-time Kiwanis member and who will now be an ambassador for St.
Bernard and Gov. Jindal's newly appointed Director of Hazard Mitigation and
Recovery, under Commissioner of Administration Paul Rainwater.

 

Showalter said the club reached out and got the support of a total of eight
community organizations each donated $2,500 for the $20,000 deposit to get
the sign designed and ordered: Kiwanis Club of St. Bernard, Rotary Club of
St. Bernard, the Knights of Columbus, Chapter 5747, the Lions Club of St.
Bernard, the St. Bernard Business and Professional Women's Club, the St.
Bernard Tourism Office, the St. Bernard Chamber of Commerce  and the
Louisiana State University Alumni Association of St. Bernard. Additionally
the St. Bernard Economic Development Foundation will provide the funds so
the sign and flag pole can be maintained. Additionally, Parish Government
was able to match that amount through a grant. For more information, call
Robby Showalter at 504-616-7312.


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