A sign hangs at the ‘Tight and Right’ cleanup site Saturday morning on Ann Street.  

Neighbors helping neighbors to benefit the community was the idea behind New Iberia City Councilwoman Sherry Guidry’s “Tight and Right” campaign. 

And despite a weather forecast that left event organizers on their toes for much of Saturday morning, the cleanup effort on Ann Street in District 5 went off without a hitch. 

“It went beautiful, it really did,” Guidry said near the end of the cleanup. “I’m amazed at the attendance because we had somewhere between 30 and 50 people.”

Residents of the Ann Street neighborhood, local pastors and even some crew members in the New Iberia Public Works department showed up at the allotted time to pick up trash and litter in the neighborhood. 

Guidry had more in mind then a simple cleanup. At the home base set up at a local resident’s property, food, tents and even a fun jump were available for area children, as well as a raffle with prizes for those attending the event. 

It’s a vision that Guidry has tried to implement for much of her first term as a councilwoman. The first Tight and Right effort was originally slated for October of last year, but the worry over Hurricane Nate that many had at the time caused Guidry to cancel the event. 

When an overcast sky started to appear Saturday morning, Guidry said that she and several other pastors began to pray the rain away.

“It was about to start, but a lot of people starting praying,” Guidry said. “I’m a pastor, brother Zack (Mitchell) is a pastor. We had a lot and we all started praying and it stopped.”

Other organizations like Chez Hope also lent a hand for the good cause, as well as local officials like New Iberia Mayor Freddie DeCourt. 

“This is a great event with a great turnout,” Mitchell said about the event. 

For Guidry, having area residents come together as a community to make the city better was beautiful in itself.

“All the residents that came out, neighbors helping neighbors, that’s so awesome,” Guidry said. “That’s going back to the basics. Then we’re going to come together to pick up trash so it doesn’t clog our drains, that’s beautiful.”