Role models honored by St. Mary Foundation

FRANKLIN — In the shadow of an antebellum plantation home that preserves the past, the St. Mary Foundation recognized eight local people who nurture the parish’s future.
The foundation’s Champagne and Chocolates event Sunday at the historic Shadowlawn home marked the first such recognition for people who serve as role models in business, the arts, education, health care, agriculture, and volunteerism and public service.
Two other people were honored, this time for philanthropy: Dr. Alan M. Hoberman and the late Dr. Mildred S. Christian. It was Christian who acquired and restored Shadowlawn, which dates from about 1850, with loving attention to detail.
Christian died in 2009. Two years later, Hoberman donated Shadowlawn to the Louisiana Landmarks Society and created a $500,000 endowment to provide for the maintenance and further restoration of the home.
The role models selected for the St. Mary Foundation spotlight:
—Phyllis and Matthew Glover, volunteerism and public service.
The Glovers created the Glover Stackhouse Scholarship, which has already helped 12 St. Mary young people get into college. This year, a Morgan City High student will get an $8,000 scholarship, and two Patterson High students will receive scholarships of $4,000 each.
“It is rewarding to give back to the community that has been so good to us,” Phyllis Glover said. “We just want to be of service to the community, to give to that kid who may need a little help.”
—Niki Fryou, Hattie Watts Elementary principal, education.
“I don’t think I do a lot different from any other principal,” Fryou said, “just being someone who instills leadership traits in students and in faculty and in encouraging others to always look to better themselves.”
Fryou leads an elementary faculty at a time of rapid change in public education, change that is not always welcomed by teachers.
“Sometimes being a cheerleader — you’re not just an educational leader,” Fryou said. “You have to encourage teachers and faculty members to stay focused on … we say begin with the end in mind. The end in mind is to produce successful leaders. And even though we deal with pre-K through fourth-graders, that’s still a big job. I’m very blessed. I have a good staff.”
—Drs. Abby and William Cefalu, health care.
William Cefalu is an internist. Abby Cefalu is a veterinarian.
“We treat all species,” Abby Cefalu said.
William Cefalu said he hopes the reward “means we set an example of things to emulate, especially for the young people in the community.”
For Abby Cefalu, it means “making sure you’re a role model to young people, people who want to be veterinarians, helping people follow their dreams and letting them shadow you at work, things like that.”
—Jeremy Callais, business, M C Bank executive vice president.
“My employer allows me to give back a lot of time to the community, volunteering with different organizations,” Callais said. “I guess they think that I exhibit some decent leadership skills. I’m very honored to receive the award.”
Callais has a philosophy that guides him at work and in raising three daughters.
“All of my decisions that I make, and I share it with all of my employees as well as with my daughters, is think God first, then think family, and then everything else. Once you start off with God, the decisions come very easily.”
—Lisa Parsiola, the arts, licensed interior designer.
“In my spare time I spend a whole lot of time donating to the arts by helping kids do artwork free of charge,” Parsiola said. “I not only mentor students who are going into art fields, but I also volunteer at Morgan City High School’s after-school program, teaching kids about art and drawing and skill sets for people in the arts.”
When public education budgets grow tight, arts programs are sometimes the first to be cast away.
“But there are plenty of artists in the area who would like to support the arts,” Parsiola said. “People do it throughout their lives, even if they become mathematicians or scientists.”
—Daniel Luke, agriculture, sugar cane farmer.
“You live every day doing it, but you also have to think about the next generation,” said Luke, who raises sugar cane near Centerville. “With the Farm Bureau, an organization I was part of, it was all about involving and educating younger people in agriculture.
“It’s getting to be a challenge. … My brother is 48 years old and he is the youngest person working on our farm. You just don’t see a lot of young people coming in.”

By Bill Decker
bdecker@daily-review.com