Jerica Guillory named Rotary Citizen of the Year

A can-do attitude has earned one woman the 2015 Rotary Citizen of the Year award.
Charles F. Seale, who nominated Jerica Guillory, said in his nomination letter, “To know Jerica is to know the most positive individual you will ever meet. Perhaps it’s the blinders or simply that the word ‘can’t’ isn’t in her dictionary for she will never be discouraged or deterred.”
Guillory received the award from Eunice Rotary President John Pucheu at Wednesday’s Rotary meeting.
“I am totally blown away,” Guillory said. “This is amazing.”
Guillory then read a quote from an affirmation given to her by her mother.
“This is the beginning of a new day,” she read. “You have been given this day to use as you will. You can waste it or use it for good. What you do today is important because you are exchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever; in its place is something that you have left behind ... let it be something good.”
She added, “Thank y’all very much.”
In his nomination letter, Seale also said, “While Jerica was not born here, there is no denying that she embodies the joie de vivre that south Louisiana is known for.”
“Without a doubt, Jerica Guillory is deserving of the Citizen of the Year award. I hope you will concur,” he said.
Barbara Rider, in her nomination letter, said, “I can’t think of anyone more deserving who has done more volunteer work for the City of Eunice and who is as outstanding as her for as long as I’ve known her and during the past year. I cannot think of anyone who has done what she has accomplished who provides a better example of the benefits of hard work, kindness, caring and discipline to the people of our city.”
The nomination letters mentioned Guillory’s Wishing Doll Project, which funded the outdoor reading garden at East Elementary in Eunice, her work with the Experience Louisiana Festival, her membership in the Southwest Louisiana Children’s book Writer’s and Illustrators Guild and Guillory’s book “A Pig’s Tale.” The award winner also helps to organize fundraisers in the city and is involved with the Girl Scouts and the Eunice Community Player’s Theater.
“You came up with a problem, you wanted to solve it — the reading garden — so that needs money,” Pucheu said. “(You thought) ‘Well how am I going to get money? Then you came up with a project to make the money to do it and you did it and you are doing it.”
He said, “You got your reading garden at East Elementary, and you are working on getting them at all the schools. All the elementary schools in town are going to have a reading garden.”
Pucheu also recalled her work at the Experience Louisiana Festival.
“I remember seeing you leading a parade of children doing bubbles,” he said. “It was sort of unforgettable if you saw it.”
He added, “We think our citizen of the year is multi-talented and multi-active. We hope you will continue to challenge and inspire us.”