Fontenot to receive award

A life-changing event in 2000 has brought local business woman Anita Fontenot to where she is today in more ways than one.
Fontenot said, “I had an opportunity to host a young boy and his mother in my home. He was coming from El Salvador for medical treatment. Two years later, I find myself in their hometown walking him up to receive his diploma and tell his story about the American people that had done so much for him.
“Basically, they were not even sure if he would survive, once they did the surgery that he underwent. It was a time when I saw doctors and hospitals and churches just come together for this one little boy. We did make it happen for him.”
Fontenot said that once she visited his hometown, her eyes were opened to mission work.
“I met a woman who was very instrumental and became a mentor of mine. Her name is Annabelle Meza. She truly was like a little Mother Theresa, doing work in her country. She was diagnosed with cancer and had told the Lord that if he healed her, she would give back everything to him.
“Right when I met her, she was in the process of starting up a foundation and giving back to her people and her community. It just opened my eyes to that servant leadership that is so much spoken about by so many national speakers and authors.”
It was then that Fontenot said she realized that Evangeline Parish had the same issues that Meza saw in her own country.
“I just took away a lot of her ideas and brought them back here,” she said. “I had a new perspective about community and giving back. What I learned from it all is that you can’t out-give God.”
For her giving in Evangeline Parish and in Acadiana, Fontenot will be honored with the Community Foundation of Acadiana’s Leaders in Philanthropy Award at a Nov. 11 luncheon in Lafayette. Fontenot was nominated for the award by the Ville Platte Chamber of Commerce.
Camille L. Fontenot, chamber executive director, said, in an email, “We are proud to announce that Evangeline Parish native, Anita M. Fontenot, is receiving a Leaders in Philanthropy Award at Community Foundation of Acadiana’s upcoming luncheon on Nov. 11. She is being recognized for her leadership, dedication and commitment to improving Evangeline Parish.
“Anita’s philanthropy is far-reaching and truly began with mission trips to Africa in 2001 and El Salvador in 2003. These trips changed her perception. She recognized that communities in Evangeline Parish faced similar challenges as people living abroad such as education, poverty, unemployment, medical attention and more. Anita strives to address those challenges by reaching out to others with a servant’s heart.”
Anita said, “I am very humbled at being nominated and receiving this award that I am receiving. I don’t feel deserving of it. “
Fontenot was born and raised in Vidrine, and she is a graduate of Vidrine High School and what is now the University of Louisiana. She has three children and 11 grandchildren. Her parents were Percy J. and Elsie Fontenot, and her father was a farmer and business owner.
Fontenot now runs one of the many family businesses, The Hatchery, in her father’s old business building in Vidrine. The combination gift and furniture store is not only a business, but Fontenot uses the venue to host events for the public.
“Last year we had our Wizard of Oz Festival,” Fontenot said. “The event drew 1,500 people to The Hatchery. We provided games, a petting zoo and a number of things for families to come out and enjoy. We also had pumpkin painting and crafts.
“I believe our events we do here at Hatchery are what really calls attention to this (award) nomination, I believe.”
Fontenot said hosting such events at the business is her passion.
“It’s reaching out,” she added.
Fontenot also hosts movie nights on grounds with large blow up screen, and she also loans the screen to the City of Ville Platte and local schools so that they may also host similar events. The business is also used as a venue to host events for teachers, hospital employees and school board employees. Each year, Santa Claus also stops by the business to visit with children.
In addition to using her business to host events for the community, Fontenot is also involved with the Boys and Girls Club of Ville Platte, the Ville Platte Rotary Club and the Choice program, which encourages eighth grade students to continue their education.
“For me, it is all about education attainment and helping our communities to be involved,” Fontenot said. “I have been involved with Vo-Tech and the chamber in providing help to some of the welding students. I have helped the Boy Scouts of America start their first troop here in Mamou and Vidrine. I’m also on the Chamber board, and we are trying to reach out in the community.”
Fontenot said her plan is to continue giving back the community and help to build it.
“My dream is to grow our parish and you do that by growing your people and that starts by attaining an education,” she said. “My vision is to really find ways to give to education, and we need to give to and work with the students and make sure they have the opportunity to go to a community college or to a university and encourage them and inspire them. Many times, that’s what’s missing, is just the encouragement.
Fontenot continued, “I know that I am where I am at because of my mentors and people who believed in me and encouraged me. I have a number of people that have done that for me. I am just wanting to give back they way they gave to me.”