A week ago today was a special Sunday for Eugene Foulcard.

Foulcard was sworn in as the 19th mayor of Franklin. He took the oath of office to continue his career as a public servant, which he is resuming after serving 12 years as a Franklin City Councilman. 

An estimated 200 people filled the Teche Theatre in Franklin as Foulcard took over for outgoing Franklin Mayor Raymond Harris. He shared his faith in the Lord and thanked his wife, Terri, children, friends, supporters and Franklin residents.

The new mayor also thanked the former mayor for his service and also acknowledged state Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin, Franklin’s mayor for 23 years, who  attended the event in Franklin.

“I’m standing here because there is no place like home. Everything we need here is right under the lamppost,” Foulcard said, referring to the city’s widely known white lampposts that line Main Street.

Foulcard, who retired in May as chief financial officer for the St. Mary/Vermilion Community Action Agency, where he worked 29 years, outlined his plan of action against crime, to foster economic development, to broaden recreational venues, and more.

He urged residents to work together to fight crime. That involvement includes reporting crime and being helpful to law enforcement officials.

“I don’t care where you live — back of town, across the bayou, this side of the bayou — we all must work together to solve crime. If you see something, say something,” the new mayor said.

Community policing is his mantra.

“Just to be clear, I am not telling folks to take the law into your own hands. Rather, I am asking folks to be vigilant and report suspicious activity to the proper authorities,” he said. “We cannot do this alone. Our community cannot reach its full potential by relying on just the police department.”

His love for the city was clear. It was ingrained in him by his parents, the late Carl Foulcard Sr., a City Councilman for 25 years in Franklin, and his mother, Lydia. They instilled in him a compassion for his fellow man, he told the crowd.

One of their teachings, he said, was, “Whatever you do to the least of My brothers, that you do onto Me.”

He closed his inaugural speech and said, “We need all of you. I refuse to brood over the past, over changes that have occurred, over folks who say, ‘Gee, what might have been.’ I choose to focus on God Almighty. He is bigger than any problem or situation.”

Foulcard 

We wish godspeed to Foulcard, who has rolled up his sleeves and hit the ground running.

DON SHOOPMAN

SENIOR NEWS EDITOR