Photo by FREDDIE HERPIN, Photogragher
BOBBY ARDOIN
Contributing Writer
Four St. Landry Parish residents were honored Thursday night at the Opelousas Civic Center with lifetime achievement awards presented by the Democratic Party.
Harold Taylor, Pat Morrow, Rebecca Henry and Josie Frank were recognized as the 2022 recipients during the eighth annual presentation ceremony before a large crowd.
Each of the recipients were honored for their philanthropy and their past efforts at mentorship and public service.
The event organized by the St. Landry Democratic Executive Committee included a video address by Gov. John Bel Edwards and remarks from Luke Mixon, an announced candidate for the United States Senate. Nixon is a native of Avoyelles Parish.
Harold Taylor
Taylor, a former mayor of Palmetto and a Parish Council member since 2016, was recognized for his assistance in helping residents on the northern end of St. Landry Parish acquire cable television, affordable home health care. When he was 13, Taylor also organized a volunteer fire department in the Palmetto area and started a monetary drive that funded scholarships for high school students.
“He (Taylor) always did things he wasn’t supposed to do,” said Don Leger, who presented Taylor at the event.
Taylor has been involved in the health care industry for over 20 years, Leger said.
Josie Frank
Frank was recognized for her legal work dealing with family court issues as well as a mentor for youth.
During her legal career, Frank, a resident of Eunice, served as an assistant district attorney. Frank served several terms as a member of the St. Landry Parish School Board.
Rebecca Henry
Henry for a number of years has been involved with recognizing Southwest Louisiana Creole History. Henry, who grew up in the Leonville area as a daughter of sharecroppers, has been recognized nationally as an author who kept the Creole movement alive with Juneteenth celebrations in Opelousas and by organizing Martin Luther King Jr. parades through Opelousas.
Pat Morrow
Morrow, who grew up in the Arnaudville area, is a nationally recognized civil attorney. Currently Morrow is the head of an eight-man law firm.
The Morrow family owned a hospital in the Arnaudville area and Morrow and his wife Alice Morrow, have provided assistance and scholarships to high school students.
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