Saucier honored to serve as 2015’s Colonel Cotton

By: HEATHER
BOGARD
Lifestyles Editor

Brenda Saucier was very honored to receive the call to serve as Colonel Cotton during the 62nd Annual Cotton Festival. She says, “I have been enjoying the festival for 60 plus years, so this is a nice honor.” She adds that the theme for this year’s festival, “Cotton’s Quilted Memories,” is “right up my alley” because she collects cotton quilts and loves the theme of this year’s event.
Her involvement with the festival goes back to when two of her children, Renee Brown and Emily Miller, were Cotton Pickers. She also attends the Harvest Mass every year and has volunteered to assist with the queen’s luncheon.
A life-long resident of Ville Platte, Saucier retired in April 2014 as vice president and branch manager with Whitney Bank in Ville Platte after a 43-year career in banking.
Saucier has been very involved in the community in various capacities over the years. She taught bank teller courses to students at Louisiana Technical College - CB Coreil Campus from 1990-1999. For 15 years, she was a vital member of the Ville Platte Rotary Club, where she served as treasurer for five years, was a Paul Harris fellow and named Rotarian of the Year in 2001-2002. She has been serving on the board of Louisiana Technical College for several years, where she represents the C.B Coreil Campus. She was a former member of the Ville Platte Rotary Club and served on the group’s scholarship committee. Saucier served as president of the Ville Platte Chamber of Commerce from 2009-2012 and was selected as Business Person of the Year in 2009.
In addition, Saucier has served on many various boards, including Louisiana Technical College, Relay for Life, Cabot, Friends of the Library and Chamber of Commerce city ready board.
She is also a devout Catholic member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where she has served as an Eucharistic Adorer for 26 years. She is also a member of the Catholic Daughters.
Saucier is the proud mother of five children, four step-children and has 21 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She, along with her husband, Harold, is enjoying her retirement activities of gardening, traveling and spending quality time with her family and friends.