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KAPLAN — Kaplan Area Chamber members honored Dr. Jack Gupta as the ‘Citizen of the Year’, Acadiana Ford as the ‘Business of the Year’ and Assistant Police Chief as ‘Humanitarian of the Year’ at their annual banquet held at the American Legion earlier this month.
During his acceptance speech, Dr. Gupta thanked the people of Kaplan for accepting him and his family into the community.
“I am proud to be part of this community,” he said. “I have met many good friends here. You can also thank my wife for making us move from New York to Kaplan.
“This award is very much appreciated by this transplanted Cajun.”
Nominated by Mike Kloesel, following is an excerpt from the nomination letter.
Jack never for glory, never seeks attention and always gives his time and money from his heart. I can’t think of one aspect of our community where Jack hasn’t been instrumental. He is truly one of Kaplan’s biggest assests.
Jack has spoken many times of the importance of giving what you can to your community and help people in need and you will always get back what you gave twicefold.
Donald Mendoza and his wife, Danielle owner of Acadiana Ford, accepted the award for ‘Business of the Year.’
“Everything we are,” said Danielle, “is because of our excellent employees. You guys are what Acadiana Ford is all about. We are honored and humbled to stand before you and accept this award on your behalf.”
Nominated by McCall Baudoin, her letter reads:
Acadiana Ford holds the highest standard of customer service to not only our town, but our surrounding communities. There is no distinction between “big and small” business, when it comes to our community, we are here for all.
Acadiana Ford has been in business in the town of Kaplan for 32 years, and currently has over 30 employees. One of the main goals in the community is taking care of the citizens, children, churches, first responders, police/sheriff fund raisers and teachers. It is our great honor and privilege to support this nomination of Acadiana Ford for Business of the Year in both business operations and as a community leader.
The ‘Humanitarian of the Year Award’ went to Assistant Chief of Police Virgie Lemaire. She was unable to attend due to prior commitments. Her award will be presented to her when she returns.
Also recognized during the event, was Claire Guidry, the 8th grade Rene Rost Middle School Student of the Year, and Claire Richard, 5th grade Student of the Year.
The 2018 Kaplan Chamber officers are McCall Baudoin, president and Jill Broussard, first vice president.
Board members include Jill Broussard, McCall Baudoin, Jack Gupta, Christine Constantin, Cathy Cormier, Taylor Primeaux, Shari Hebert, Kathy Perry, Alice Stelly, Arieal Frith, Heather Stelly and Timmie Melancon.

On March 19, 2018 Tracey Elizabeth Mayeaux passed from this life into the waiting arms of our Lord Jesus. Tracey was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Hayden Mayeaux of Abbeville, La. She was 58 years old and a daytime participant of the St. Tammany Parish STARC community.
Tracey loved participating in family activities and was a champion swimmer and diver. She loved the water and enjoyed fishing on her dad’s boat the “Roamin’ Empire” and going to the hunting camp on White Lake with her daddy and brothers. She loved holidays and waited impatiently from one until the next. She loved her family dearly and never wanted to miss any event or happening.
Her treasured soul will be missed by her family. Survivors include her mother, Norma Crane Mayeaux; brothers Dr. Maxwell (Rebecca) Mayeaux, Paul English Mayeaux, Luke Andrew (Esther) Mayeaux, her sister Katie Mayeaux (Kent) Jones, and her niece Trisha Kristin Mayeaux. She was preceded in death by her father Dr. Hayden E. Mayeaux, brother John Barton Mayeaux, and her maternal and paternal grandparents.
Funeral arrangements are entrusted to Garden of Memories Funeral Home, 4900 Airline Drive, Metairie, LA. Visitation will begin at the Garden of Memories Chapel 12-2pm followed by a Mass of Christian burial at 2pm and internment immediately thereafter. Online condolences may be offered at www.gardenofmemoriesmetairie.com
In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to St. Tammany Association for Retarded Citizens (www.starcla.org), the American Heart Association, or the American Diabetes Association.

ABBEVILLE – Funeral Services for Mrs. Patricia Ann Bertrand Broussard, 79, will be held at 11:00AM on Thursday, March 22, 2018 at David Funeral Home Chapel of Abbeville with Fr. Louis Richard officiating.  Interment will follow at St. Alphonsus Mausoleum in Maurice.
Visitation will be held at David Funeral Home of Abbeville on Thursday, March 22, 2018 from 9:00AM until the time of the services with a rosary at 9:30AM.
A native and resident of Abbeville Mrs. Broussard died at 11:18AM on Monday, March 19, 2018 at Lafayette General Medical Center.  She was a self taught artist; sign language interpreter; taught catechism; and enjoyed cooking.  She also taught primary education to deaf children in Florida for several years.
She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Herman Broussard of Abbeville; a daughter, Jacqui M. Broussard of Abbeville; a sister, Rexine Sellers of New Iberia; an aunt, Ruby Ortamond, an uncle Dudley Bertrand; and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Osa Bertrand Sellers; and her father, John Lawrence.
Serving as pallbearers will be members of her family and friends.
You may sign the guest register book and express condolences online at www.davidfuneralhome.org
David Funeral Home of Abbeville at 2600 Charity St. (337)893-3777 will be handling the arrangements.  

On March 17, we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the wearin’ o’ the green, and on March 19 special altars and devotions mark St. Joseph’s Day. These are special occasions and just about everyone at least takes note of them. That’s why I have for a long time felt sorry for St. Frigidian.
His feast day is March 18, but, wedged like he is between big guys like Patrick and Joseph, nobody gives him even a nod, let alone a celebration. He probably doesn’t mind; he lived a good part of his life as a hermit even though he had regal blood and was made a bishop. But it still bothers me.
He was born in Ireland, the son of King Ultach of Ulster, and was said to have studied in an Irish monastery. After St. Frigidian was ordained a priest, he made a pilgrimage to Italy and took up life as a hermit near the city of Lucca. In 556, Pope John II persuaded him to become bishop of Lucca, but Frigidian still maintained a simple lifestyle.
A hermit’s life doesn’t offer much inspiration for a party, even in south Louisiana, where we will celebrate anything, but his most famous miracle may give us a little something to work with. It involved the Serchio River, which, like some of our waterways, regularly overflowed into the town of Lucca.
According to the legends, when the townspeople begged their saintly bishop to do something about the floods, he walked down to the river bank and began to rake a little path leading away from the town and into nearby fields. After that, as the story goes, the overflow brought fertile silt into the fields but stayed away from the town.
There may be a gleaning there, though it’s evaded me so far.
But, while I have your interest — I do have your interest, don’t I? — there are a couple of other worthy March celebrations that you need to mark on your calendar.
For example, you probably forgot altogether that March 1 has been National Pig Day in the United States since 1972. Two sisters Ellen Stanley, a teacher in Lubbock, Texas, and Mary Lynne Rave of Beaufort, North Carolina, thought we needed a day set aside “to accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man’s most intellectual and domesticated animals.”
There seems to be a difference of opinion over whether we should honor pigs by giving them a break (March 1 is also our national Peanut Butter Lovers Day) or whether we should show our appreciation for pigs by eating barbecued ribs. Personally, I don’t see how there can be a celebration of the pig that doesn’t involve cracklins.
Did you toast March 11 with apple cider? That was Johnny Appleseed Day, when we remember John Chapman, who became a legend promoting apple trees. The popular image is of a man who altruistically spread apple seeds randomly across the country. That’s not quite right. It’s true that he planted orchards and gave them away for other people to tend. But he didn’t have much overhead, since cider mills gave him the seeds for free. They wanted people to grow more apple trees so they could make more cider, and Johnny got a cut when the apples were sold.
My math-minded friends (both of them) usually do something special on Pi Day. It is observed on March 14 (3/14) because, as you member from your high school math, the mathematical constant pi is roughly equal to 3.14. I vaguely remember that Pi has something to .do with circles, but you need to ask someone else if you want to know more.
Some fanatics celebrate Pi Minute on March 14 at 1:59 p.m. Pi stretched to seven decimal places is 3.1415926, making March 14 at 1:59:26 p.m. Pi Second. That’s when you should toot that little roll-out tooter left over from New Year’s Eve.
I’m told that a proper Pi Day celebration should involve pies, which may offer an idea of to what to do for poor St. Frigidian. Wrap ’em all together. Celebrate the day with leftover green beer, cracklins, something Italian from the St. Joseph altar, and a slice of apple pie. Just to give it local flavor and a Frigidian character, throw in a few boiled crawfish pulled from a flooded field.
If you’re on a tight budget, just the cracklins and crawfish will do.
A collection of Jim Bradshaw’s columns, Cajuns and Other Characters, is now available from Pelican Publishing. You can contact him at jimbradshaw4321@gmail.com or P.O. Box 1121, Washington LA 70589.