Picard: Accenting the positive

Callers who telephone the American Red Cross in New Iberia are sometimes taken aback by the British voice that greets them ever so cheerily on the other end of the line.

“It’s peculiar to some of the people who call in, particularly being in Cajun Country,” said Tony Credeur, director of the Acadiana Area Chapter of the Red Cross, which serves seven parishes, including Iberia. “But with Red Cross, we work with many different people of different origins.”

The woman asking in the Queen’s English how she might direct your call is Jacqui Picard, a seven-year veteran of the local Red Cross. A helper at heart and an indefatigable worker, Picard is an essential part of Red Cross operations in New Iberia and Acadiana, her co-workers and supervisors say.

“She’s very dedicated to her profession,” Credeur said. “She’s a very good worker and compassionate towards the clients she works with.”

Be it a hurricane, tornado or train derailment, Picard enjoys lending a hand to those affected by calamity.

“She has such a great, big heart,” said Dana Fontenot, a friend who said she and Picard became “like sisters” while volunteering over the years. “At first, she was wondering whether she’d be able to do the job because it really did affect her. She’s one of the hardest-working human beings I’ve ever seen.”

One recent Christmas, Picard gave up spending time with her family to aid a local man and his four little boys who lost everything in a Christmas Eve fire. Picard and Fontenot arranged for the family to have a Christmas nevertheless, providing food, shelter, clothing and even toys for the little ones.

“I didn’t’ mind giving up my Christmas lunch that day,” Picard said. “That was real Christmas, being able to see someone come through all that.”

Picard’s co-workers said that story is just one example of Picard’s willingness to sacrifice. In New Iberia, Picard orchestrated clean-up efforts following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and more recently Gustav and Ike.

When there’s no disaster at hand, Picard wears a number of other hats. On any given day, Picard could be teaching a CPR class, facilitating return trips for military officers who have lost loved ones at home or following up on a family recovering from a house fire. She also gives presentations at local schools on topics such as general safety and pandemic flu.

“I love it,” Picard says. “You have to enjoy it. If you didn’t enjoy it you couldn’t do it, because there’s not big pay involved. I like helping people. The people here are very thankful and you get that big reward in your heart. That really is why I do it.”

In the little free time she has, Picard, who declined to reveal her age, says she enjoys reading murder mysteries.

Though Picard loves to help, she can’t help the accent, even after so many years in the Teche Area. When asked about it at the supermarket or answering the phone at the Red Cross, Picard insists she is from Coteau, where she makes her home with her husband Rene.

But Picard comes from Norwich, England, a city about 100 miles north of London. Though she loves the gumbo here, it wasn’t the cuisine that brought her nearly 5,000 miles. (She takes gumbo without any shrimp as she is allergic to seafood.)

Picard met her husband, a New Iberia native, when he was stationed in England in the Air Force and moved back to the States with him in 1988. They lived together a year in New Iberia before moving to Panama City, Fla., where they stayed about 10 years. It was 2002 when Picard first became a volunteer for the Red Cross in New Iberia, and she’s been a staff member for six years now.

“This is a lovely area,” Picard said. “People are willing to help everybody. You feel like you become part of a big family. If there’s a problem, everyone’s got an answer and they can help you. In the big cities, you don’t get that.”

Asked why she feels compelled to help people, Picard smiled and said: “That’s my nature. I must have been born under that star.”

If you know someone who lives in the Teche Area who would make an interesting weekend profile, please submit his or her name for consideration. Call 365-6773, ext. 3022 or ext. 3024, or send an e-mail to dailyiberian@bellsouth.net, subject line Weekend Profile.