Distinguished folks

The Evangeline Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America honored Alfred “Smitty” and Adrianne “Dianne” Landry during its 11th annual Iberia Distinguished Citizen Dinner Thursday night at the Gouguenheim.

The guests of honor arrived to approximately 200 faces in the reception hall, including all of their 11 children, some of whom traveled from out of state to share the special day with their parents.

Alice Landry, daughter of the honored couple, said her parents are very active in the community and hold family life as a high priority.

“It is so overwhelming to see so many people here tonight coming out to pay tribute to them,” she said. “They care so much about the community, about Iberia Parish and about family that this honor is very fitting for them.”

The honorees know a thing or two about family as they raised 11 college graduates, including six lawyers, one physician, two registered nurses, one social worker and an elementary school teacher. The couple also have 35 grandchildren.

That family committment is evident even in the acceptance of the award.

“This has got to be about my wife because she is the one who really did something worth while,” Alfred Landry said. “When the committee came to tell us we were selected, the only reason I agreed to it was because I wanted to see my wife get this recognition.”

Although humble, Alfred Landry has made his mark on the community.

A past member of Cub Scout Pack 360, organized in 1937, he served the Scouts as an assistant scout master while his sons were members of a troop. He is a veteran of the U.S. Merchant Marines and the U.S. Navy, where he served in both World War II and the Korean War.

Now, a practicing lawyer at Landry, Watkins, Repaske & Breaux in New Iberia, he serves on several boards, including the board of directors for Hospice of Acadiana, the Hospice Foundation and as a charter member of the New Iberia Museum Foundation.

He is a past president of the New Iberia Chamber of Commerce, member and past president of the New Iberia Kiwanis Club, the Catholic High School Board and a drive chairman for the Iberia Heart Association and Iberia Tuberculosis Association, just to name a few.

His wife of 55 years has served as a major contributor to the historic compilation of the I.A. and Carroll Martin Collection now cared for by the Iberia Parish Library, which consists of more than 8,000 photographs that uncover New Iberia’s history from 1895 to 1981. Adrianne Landry is the cousin of photographer Carroll Martin, from whom she rescued the old photographs and negatives.

“When I walked into the studio and saw all these boxes of pictures and negatives I thought, ‘We have to do something with this because this is history,’ ” she said. “That’s where it all started.”

When Martin allowed her to take the old pictures, she said she made sure the photos were put to good use.

“I am very humbled to receive this honor,” she said. “I never wanted to be recognized, but it is definitely a pleasure.”

Adrianne Landry attended school at Mt. Carmel Convent in Lafayette, Academy of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau, Maryville College in St. Louis and College of the Sacred Heart in Grand Coteau. The banquet also served as a fundraiser for area boy scouting events.