I was honored with the chance to give the welcome address at Saturday’s

inauguration of Sheriff Mike Tregre and Clerk of Court Eliana Defrancesch. It was a day focused on protection not politics because both government agencies represented Saturday are tasked with the protection of things sacred to a local community — the legal documents that govern that area and the physical safety of the citizens.

A sense of security is extremely important to our parish, and losing it is as equally detrimental to our community as any natural or manmade disaster. The two people sworn in Saturday play a vital role in providing services to each of us that increase that sense of security.

The clerk of court is tasked with protecting the legal transactions that take place on a daily basis. They range from electoral, real estate, judicial, municipal and commercial records, which document the major moments in the life of a person, business or community. In addition, the Clerk’s office is where a community turns to in order to prove or disprove a legal challenge or to peaceably settle a dispute between two parties.

The sheriff is more than a man with a gun, a badge, the uniform or the men and women who serve under his leadership. The sheriff supports the hopes and dreams of a community by providing a very basic necessity for prosperity: safety. The sheriff is there when a young man chooses to walk across the stage at graduation instead of walking the path of drugs. The sheriff is there when an elderly lady, holding her purse, can walk out of a store late at night and safely and calmly turn the key to start her car. The sheriff is there as a father tucks his child in bed. And most importantly…the sheriff is in the laughter of every child who can play outside without fear.

The role of the two individuals sworn in Saturday and all elected officials is not to simply govern but to govern rightly and justly. And our role, as members of this community, is to fight for justice and choose a future based on safer streets, honest government and economic opportunity for all.

Saturday, the two people chosen to protect our legal and physical security began a term of four years but the decisions made during that time will affect St. John Parish for decades into the future. The impact of their leadership is multi-generational and can empower our entire community to realize its biggest dreams and envision a better life where economic opportunity outshines criminal activity.

We, the living, are the hopes and dreams of those who came before us so let us begin this new chapter and build a united, stronger and safer region.  

The last bite…

My sweet tooth was very happy last week when I ate a homemade cannoli at The New Bull’s Corner in LaPlace. The cannoli was massive, the pistachio crumbled on top was tumbling down the sides, and the stuffing tasted just as good as any I have had in Little Italy in New York. I give the cannoli at The New Bull’s Corner 4 out of 5 crumbs!

Buddy Boe, a resident of Garyville, owns a public relations and program management company and is well known on the local political (and food) scenes. His column appears Wednesdays in L’Observateur.