"Miss Eleanor" honored for community service

     For the past 63 years, Eleanor Gremillion has dedicated her energy and efforts to making her community a better place.

Those efforts have resulted in a wall full of plaques and a list of honors and offices she has held in numerous organizations.

     At 91, the honors and offices keep coming.

    “Miss Eleanor” was recently named the “Cenla-ian of the Year” by Cenla Focus magazine. The magazine says the recognition is reserved for the Central Louisiana resident who best exemplifies noteworthy leadership qualities and outstanding work in their community.

    That plaque joins the 1969 Avoyellean of the Yea award from the Avoyelles Journal, Marksville “Citizen of the Year” in 1974 and 1989, the “Woman of Excellence Award” by Rapides Foundation and Alexandria Town Talk and the “Will Mangum Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2008 from the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association for her work in promoting tourism in the state.

 

    “I have made it a point to volunteer and involve myself in a jillion things to help the City of Marksville and the people here,” Gremillion said.

   Among those “jillion things” has been leading the Marksville Chamber of Commerce for many years and remaining an active and influential member; serving on the Avoyelles Commission of Tourism board of directors;  serving as the city’s Civil Service director for 28 years; being chairman of Marksville’s long-running July 4th celebration and parade for 51 years, before stepping down in 2005.

    Gremillion was chairman of Marksville’s 150th anniversary in 1959. The city decided to celebrate its “birthday” as a municipality every 10 years. Miss Eleanor has been the chairman for that event since the first one.

    She has also served on the Avoyelles Society for the Developmentally Disabled, the Hypolite Bordelon Home Society and been active in local, state and national American Legion Auxiliary chapters. She was state president in 1965.

   Her involvement continues with her chairing the Chamber’s scholarship committee and the American Legion Auxiliary committee to select Girls State participants.

    Her most recent initiative was the creation of an Economic Development Committee through the Chamber of Commerce. She chairs that committee.

    “Miss Eleanor” has been working to improve her community since at least upon graduation from Marksville High in 1940 -- if not before then. However, she marks the start of her community efforts in 1952.

     She said she has had good working relationships with past and the present city administrations “and that has given me the impetus to continue working for the betterment of my community.”

    Gremillion said she has enjoyed all of her many and varied civic efforts, but said none would have been successful without a lot of help.

    “The people of Marksville have always been very gracious and supportive to me,” she said. “I have always had the complete support of my friends and the citizens of Marksville in everything I have done.”