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Vermilion Faith Community of Care
PO Box 554 Abbeville, La. 70511
Voice/Fax: (337) 893-5589 E-mail: vfcc@cox.net
Uniting the faith community of Vermilion Parish in service
through meeting critical human need.
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LIZ TOUCHET NAMED HURRICANE HERO
BY ARTHRITIS ASSOCIATION
OF LOUISIANA
Article by The Rev. Keith Milligan
VFCC Board Chair
Printed in the Abbeville Meridional,
Sunday, December 10, 2006
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Liz Touchet stands as she is introduced as a “Hurricane Hero” at the Arthritis Association of Louisiana’s 8th Annual Tribute to Excellence Gala in Baton Rouge.
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Liz Touchet, Food Coordinator for Vermilion Parish in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, was one of only eleven people from throughout the State of Louisiana who were honored as “Hurricane Heroes” by the Arthritis Association of Louisiana (AAOLA) at its 8th Annual Tribute to Excellence Gala last Friday evening, December 1, 2006. The Gala was held at the new Hilton Hotel in downtown Baton Rouge, along the mighty Mississippi River.
Sheriff Mike Couvillon of Vermilion Parish nominated Liz Touchet for the high honor of the 2006 Tribute to Excellence Volunteer of the Year Award. The award is normally made “to individuals who devoted time and effort to improving quality of life for fellow Louisianans through their commitment and dedication to nonprofit organizations and those they serve.” For 2006, AAOLA wanted to honor “those who served others in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.”
Liz Touchet, wife of Wayne Touchet, was a founding board member and is the treasurer of the Vermilion Faith Community of Care, Inc. (VFCC), a faith-based 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization founded in the wake of Hurricane Lili (October 2002) for long-term hurricane recovery to meet critical unmet human needs due to disaster. Following Hurricane Katrina she was appointed by the Vermilion Parish Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (VPOHSEP) as the Vermilion Parish Food Coordinator to feed the 1500+ Katrina evacuees who came to Vermilion Parish for shelter from the storm.
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Liz single-handedly organized and coordinated the “hot meal” feeding program, which fed over 500 persons a hot, home-cooked meal every evening. These meals were prepared by volunteers at their own expense and served by other volunteers nightly at Vietnam Hall, the Vietnamese Community Center, on North Lafitte Road. VPOHSEP and VFCC take this opportunity to thank all businesses, organizations, and individuals who donated food, cooking time, serving time, and cleaning time for the Herculean effort to feed our neighbors in their time of need! We also especially thank the local Vietnamese community for the generous and gracious extended use of their wonderful Vietnam Hall to serve the meals in a spacious and comfortable environment. The feeding program continued nightly until we ourselves had to evacuate because of Hurricane Rita.
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In the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, Liz went on working tirelessly to meet the many critical unmet human needs due to the disaster, which either devastated and / or flooded over 6,500 homes in Vermilion Parish. Liz worked closely with Diane Meaux Broussard, Vermilion Parish Clerk of Court, to receive and distribute donated food and supplies, first by setting up a Distribution Center at her own church, St. Theresa Family Life Center. This Distribution Center received and distributed many, many semi truckloads and tons of supplies for many weeks following the hurricane, until it was possible to open distribution centers at Champagne’s in Erath and at the old Cow Island High School gymnasium. VPOHSEP, the Clerk of Court, and VFCC take this opportunity to thank St. Theresa Catholic Church and all the organizations and individuals who volunteered to run the Parish Distribution Center for many weeks until the Erath and Cow Island centers were opened.
Liz has recently taken on a new role with VFCC, and is currently serving as Program Director. She coordinates all hurricane recovery work for VFCC. VFCC, Father Keith Milligan, Chairman of the Board, and Liz take this opportunity to thank her employer, Republic Auto Parts, Terry Kashner, and Clay Willis for all their support!
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For Liz, one of the highlights of the AAOLA Gala in Baton Rouge was to be reunited with one of the Katrina evacuees that she had served and fed for many nights at the Vietnam Center in Abbeville. Virgil, the man who served her dinner in the Baton Rouge Hilton Hotel, had been a Katrina evacuee to Abbeville from New Orleans. (See photo to the left - Virgil with Liz and Father Keith) He has now relocated with his wife to Baton Rouge and they are settling in to a new life there.
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