CAROLA LILLIE HARTLEY, Publisher and Contributing Writer
FREDDIE HERPIN, Photographer and Contributing Writer
Feature Photograph: Bobby Ardoin (Photograph by Freddie Herpin.)
St. Landry Now is pleased to announce that Bobby Ardoin, Editor and contributing writer, will be honored by the Louisiana Press Association (LPA) for 50 years of dedicated service to journalism. The award will be presented at the LPA Luncheon to be held in Baton Rouge on Thursday, June 30, 2022.
For over 55 years, Bobby Ardoin has written articles and stories for newspapers and magazines and has won numerous awards for his writing.
Besides his present work with St. Landry Now, he’s served as sports editor at Northwestern State University, associate editor of St. Landry Today and sports and news correspondent for The Daily World and The Advocate. He has also written frequently for the Daily Iberian and the Teche News. His sports stories have appeared in the Orange County Register (California), the Los Angeles Times, Louisiana Grid Week and the Miami Herald.
Ardoin also taught English, history and journalism in St. Landry Parish School District classrooms for 39 years. During that time, he was an English Department chairman, school level Teacher of The Year several times and moderator of the school newspaper.
Since moving from New Orleans to Opelousas with his parents in 1953, Ardoin has lived primarily in St. Landry Parish. He has been married for 50 years to the former Kay Manning and has one son and three grandchildren.
St. Landry Now photographer and contributing writer, Freddie Herpin, had this to say about his former classmate and longtime friend: “Bobby Ardoin has certainly earned the nickname of Ace. He excelled for over 50 years in his profession as a reporter/journalist.”
“Bobby began his journalistic career at the Academy of the Immaculate Conception (AIC) where he was a staff member of the school newspaper, The Wildcat, and took part in a weekly school radio show. He was also an excellent baseball player for the school, which makes him an outstanding sportswriter.”
“Bobby was partly instrumental in getting me into the newspaper business when he hired me as staff photographer at St. Landry Today, a weekly paper that was headquartered in Opelousas for about ten years.”
“Throughout most of his journalistic career he was also a full-time teacher in St. Landry Parish. I am once again working with Bobby at St. Landry Now and it is a rewarding experience. There is never a dull moment working with Bobby who deserves all the accolades coming to him,” Freddie said.
St. Landry Now Publisher and contributing writer Carola Hartley said: “Bobby Ardoin has distinguished himself in the world of Louisiana journalism in many ways. His stories of Opelousas and St. Landry Parish provide valuable records of information on politics, community events, activities, sports, people and so many other parts of daily life in our area of Louisiana. They document the next chapter of our history as Louisiana traveled through the end of the 20th century, entering a new millennium and the beginning of the 21st century.
We congratulate Bobby Ardoin for this award, and for all his accomplishments as an outstanding Opelousas journalist,” Hartley said.
We are proud of you Bobby and look forward to working with you at St. Landry Now. We wish you the best in your continuing contributions to the journalism profession and to our parish. (Freddie and Carola)
