Photograph by Bobby Ardoin.
BOBBY ARDOIN
Editor/Contributing Writer
The inspiration that Opelousas businessman Iggy Castille often experiences as he views the St. Landry Parish Veterans Memorial site was recognized Tuesday afternoon as he made a $5,000 contribution that will assist the proposed Welcoming Center project to proceed.
Castille, who operates an insurance agency, said the bricks on the Memorial walkway contain many familiar names of parish servicemen who have served in the U.S. military between World War I and the conflicts inside Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Seeing what has been done here (at the Memorial) to honor the veterans locally who have provided their military service, as well as those who have given the ultimate sacrifice with their lives, is such a wonderful thing,” Castille said after presenting a check to Memorial executive director Pat Mason-Guillory and members of the Veterans’ executive committee.
Castille said that he also provided additional funding for the $250,000 project to recognize the efforts of the committee volunteers, who have contributed their time and labor freely at the Memorial site located on La. 182 south of Opelousas.
The Memorial, said Castille, is located just several miles from the Bellevue area between Opelousas and Sunset where he grew up. His father, grandfather and two brothers also served in the military between World War I and the Vietnam War, said Castille.
Mason-Guillory said the donation from Castille boosts the Welcoming Center contributions to about $225,000. The Welcoming Center fund also received another $5,000 contribution on Veteran’s Day, said Mason-Guillory.
“I feel that we need to obtain about another $100,000 in order to start our project. We don’t know exactly what the total cost of the project will be until we are able to obtain quotes from the architects,” Mason-Guillory said.
Welcoming Center architect Jerome Gaudet said plans for the project include the construction of a 1,400-foot building that will enable visitors to the site to review military artifacts for some of the servicemen from St. Landry as well as an inside rest area.
Wreathes Across America
Guillory said on Tuesday that she and the Veterans’ Committee will again participate in the Wreathes across St. Landry Parish Project scheduled for Dec. 16 at the Memorial Site.
The 2 p.m. ceremony sponsored by the Wal-Mart Transportation Department will provide wreathes for each of the 13 St. Landry election districts, Guillory said.
