Vermilion Parish School board building now: ‘Charles Campbell Curriculum Annex’

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Vermilion Parish residents may notice a difference while visiting the school board. Wednesday evening, the school board held a reception dedicating and re-naming the Vermilion Parish School Board Curriculum Annex Building.
The buildings’ new name is the Charles Campbell Annex Building, dedicated to the late Charles Campbell who was a long time school board member. He passed away while in office.
Campbell’s entire career was dedicated to education, part of his career being at UL, but mostly at the VPSB.
Assistant Superintendent’s Paul Hebert and Ellen Arceneaux filled in for superintendent Jerome Puyau, as Puyau had some family commitments at the time of the ceremony.
Hebert began the ceremony with offering words of gratitude for Campbell. “Personally, I worked with him very closely while I was at Eaton Park over a 7 year period, I appreciated his support that he gave me in our work relationship every step of the way and I just know that there was nothing he wouldn’t do for the kids.”
Arceneaux also speaks about Campbell and how they both worked with federal programs. “There is a lot of history in Campbell’s decades of service to Vermilion parish. There is not much that we can’t say because he did so much, and we will all be grateful and proud.” She also thanks the family for sharing him with them all through the years.
Campbell is described as being a board member that represented everyone in the parish. ‘If he believed in something, he was a force of nature, if you were wrong, he told you just that, he was an honest, caring person who worked so hard to be successful for the children.’
Dr. David Dupuis remembers that the greatest thing about Campbell was the word ‘all’. All children, all members having the same contribution, and all children having the same opportunity to learn, which was something he was very passionate about.
Among the school board members were residents who were fond of Campbell, family members who were honored to attend and witness such an honor. Anthony Fontana also showed his support and said, “Campbell and I adopted a motto back in 1990 that this school system would be dedicated to an equal opportunity for quality education for every single child in this parish.”
Campbell’s daughter, Bridget, was chosen to speak on behalf of the family. She speaks on how her family is extremely humbled and so gracious by the dedication. She reminisces on times when she was younger, there would be a bad storm, and she and her family were evacuated by her father. Not just to any building, but to the school board, for shelter. “To us it is so much more than just a building, it shows us what my dad’s life stood for. It shows us that we are on the right path.”
Bridget concluded her thanks with the realization that his family were not the only ones who loved him. The many people who showed up, the people who decided to dedicate this building in his name, in his honor, also loved him.
The generations after Campbell are urged by Bridget to keep it going. Making sure that generation after generation follows what this man and his wife stood for, what was accomplished by them. “I hope it is never forgotten or goes away and I hope it lives on through us all.”