Heartfelt honor

Three well-known and loved Ville Platte residents have each been a recipient of the St. Landry/Evangeline United Way’s Women With Heart honor: Mable Foreman (2013), Suzy Lemoine (2014), and Linda Lebsack (2015). They are very honored to have receive the award, but remain very humble about it.
Foreman recalls, “I was very surprised by the nomination. Mayor Jennifer Vidrine invited me to attend the luncheon. I began taking pictures like I love to do when everyone started looking at me and that’s when I realized Jennifer had nominated me and I was about to receive an award.” She laughs as she recalls, “I looked at Jennifer and she told me ‘I know you are gonna kill me.’”
Foreman is very active with the area nursing homes and enjoys helping the senior citizens of the community through her work with Ville Platte Home Health. She is also known as the “town photographer” and always has a camera handy to capture photos of any event she attends. She says she enjoys helping and doing for others out of the goodness of her heart and does not do it for the recognition. In fact, she much prefers her community service to remain under the radar. She shares that, “You can’t do it alone, you have to work with others to get things done.”
Lemoine was nominated by the Evangeline Tourism Commission and also had no idea about that nomination until she arrived at the luncheon. She serves as outreach coordinator for the Evangeline Parish Library; is a member of Evangeline Tourism Commission, and is a longtime member and former president of the Friends of the Library.
Lemoine is always looking for ways to bring cultural enrichment opportunities to the area and is involved in promoting literacy through the library’s annual successful summer reading programs and various programs put on periodically at the library.
Lemoine is most grateful that she was able to chair the 2011 Evangeline Parish Centennial celebration, which ultimately created an opportunity for the parish to bring a life-size bronze statue of Evangeline to Evangeline Parish! She noted that fundraising is always a key part of any community project and is excited about the fundraiser that the St. Landry-Evangeline United Way includes in its annual Women with Heart award luncheon.
Leomine says, “‘The Power of the Purse’ is a fun way to raise money. All funds raised at this event are used to support the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program that they promote.” Lemoine admits,
“This award represents my philosophy of ‘giving back encourages you to move forward.’ I encourage anyone that is able to do so to give back to their community. Time is the most valuable gift of all.”
The following year, 2015, the Evangeline Parish Tourism Commission nominated Linda Lebsack. Lebsack and her husband moved to Ville Platte less than 10 years ago and she embraced the opportunity to give back to the community through her vast involvement with the Friends of the Library and Chamber of Commerce. She was very instrumental in fund raising for the new parish library and also played a big role in preparing for the 2011 Evangeline Parish centennial celebration.
Lebsack was also very surprised by receiving the award and recalls, “I was very honored to receive this award. It is always an honor to be recognized by your peers. I am still in awe because there were other women there that I thought were more deserving than me.” She adds, “My husband and I moved to Ville Platte eight years ago and I love the community and am glad we moved here. We have always felt very welcomed here.”
On the back side of the award plaques that each woman received is a special quote from their nomination letters. Foreman’s reads, “Mable is a natural born leader, creative, and in it for the long haul. The scope of her work has touched the entire community and parish and has left tangible and lingering effects on the people involved.” In Mable’s words, ‘after all, that’s what we are all here for, to help one another.’”
Lemoine’s award reads, “This woman has demonstrated a true spirit and love for her community. As has been said, ‘Bloom where you’re planted,’ and she has done just that.” Lebsack’s reads, “She is a natural born ‘giver of good works’ and is a true gem for our community and parish.”
All three ladies agree that none of them would have received the award had they not been secretly nominated by their peers which is the biggest compliment of all. They are each very humble about receiving an honor for their varied community volunteer work which they do out of the kindness of their hearts and a genuine love for their community. All three concur that while the recognition is appreciated, it is not why they do what they do. Each strongly exemplify the qualities which define this award:
•Commitment to the voluntary system of human services, with a proven commitment to building a stronger community in the areas of health, education or financial stability.
•Creativity in devising new and better ways of performing volunteer assignments or in meeting community needs.
•Progressive responsibility, providing leadership in volunteer service, as well “as serving in the ranks.”
•Sustained performance over a period of years, but not necessarily in one post or organization.
•Inspiration, quality and dedication of service that stimulates others to serve and to work harder.
•A scope of work that has a tangible effect on the community.
The ladies are looking forward to this year’s event, and Lemoine shares that one of the organizations that she is a member of has nominated a special lady for the honor this year but wishes to not disclose the name so that it will remain a surprise until the day of the banquet.