Newly hired Baldwin Town Clerk Chrystal Willis (right) goes over the day’s duties with Mayor Donna Lanceslin. Willis left home after graduating from West St. Mary High School in 2001 but returned home in January.

BALDWIN — Chrystal S. Willis has returned home to serve her community.

The 34-year-old Willis left her job as a credentialing specialist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and packed up the family (husband Terrence who she met while in college and her 13-year-old daughter Ciera Burton) for the 20-hour trip back home to south Louisiana.

Now back home, Willis is serving the town of Baldwin with a warm smile and confident tone as the new town clerk. Willis was appointed clerk on Feb. 8.

“I’m not one for titles and appearances,” Willis said. “I took an oath to be a public servant so my goal and my mission is to be concerned with the people, the town of Baldwin, and its citizens.”

The West St. Mary High graduate was originally born in Deridder, where her father Sgt. First Class Raymond Willis, a native of Baldwin, was serving the U.S. Army at Fort Polk. Her mother, Lillian Margaret Dixon, is also a Baldwin native and currently resides in Jeanerette.  

Due to her father’s military service, the family lived in Germany as well as Lake Charles but following the passing of her father, Willis and her mother moved back to Baldwin. 

It is there where Chrystal first attended Franklin Senior High before later graduating from West St. Mary High in 2001.

Willis though would soon be packing up her bags as she attended Fayetteville State University, a historically black college in North Carolina where she majored in Business Administration. 

From there, Willis began a professional career, which lasted more than a decade, that consisted of entrepreneurship and helping start up businesses in Houston and Philadelphia, which is experience she is excited to bring to her new position as Willis works with the town’s mayor, town attorney and local law enforcement agencies.

“We need commercial businesses to help get Baldwin back where it needs to be economically,” said Willis. 

Despite her business acumen and vision to help bring the town of Baldwin into its best light, Willis’ journey home had a little help from some caring cousins. 

“Most recently what really brought me here was in August 2017 the Willis family on my father’s side had their first annual Willis Family Reunion,” Willis explained. “My father had been deceased for nearly twenty years and I was sort of isolated from that side of my family after he passed away, so them finding me and wanting me to come was a big huge deal,” she continued. 

Willis said the returning home has had a huge impact on her life. 

Willis considers herself to be the Willis “that got away” and is now back home to help make a difference. 

Despite the culture of small towns and last names, Willis still feels that it’s important to establish her own individual identity even though she is amongst a plethora of family. 

“I say judge me by my character, what I stand for, and who I present myself to be ” she stated.

 

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