August/September 2023

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
To My LMA Family…
I would like to give thanks to
God first and foremost. Without
him none of this would
be possible. To LMA leadership
and staff, and all our affiliates
and subsidiaries, I also
say thank you. As President, I
appreciate your support and
dedication, and I look forward
to the work we will do together
over the coming year.
I also want to thank our 86th
Annual Convention host city
of Alexandria and Mayor
Jacques Roy. Being able to
share my inauguration with
family and friends so close to
home was the icing on the
cake, and the City of Alexandria
did everything to ensure
a wonderful experience.
When I first started my journey,
after serving 11 years in
the military, I never thought
that I would be where I am
today. I followed the lead of
my father by joining the military.
Little did I know I would
be going to war a few years
later. I moved to Cheneyville,
as I saw quickly that I wanted
to make a difference. So, I decided
to run for councilman,
then mayor. I attended law
school and became an attorney,
and now I am President
of the Louisiana Municipal
Association. I am proud, honored,
and humbled.
I would be remiss if I didn’t
acknowledge the trailblazers
that came before me and
paved the way for me to be
able to serve you in this capacity.
Mayor Clarence Hawkins
- the first Black President
of the LMA, my mentor Mayor
Clarence Fields who I am
blessed to have had in my
corner, Mayor Bobby Washington,
Mayor David Riggins,
and Mayor Harry Lewis, who
appointed me to his board
and guided me and has always
been the voice I needed.
And finally, LMA Past President
Jennifer Vidrine. I will
forever be grateful for their
leadership and their guidance.
It has been my honor.
I couldn’t do anything without
an excellent support system.
To my councilmembers
past and present, my clerk, my
chief, my fire chief, my town
attorney, my auditor, and my
town engineers, I thank them
for being supportive and
holding down the fort and
stepping up every time. I appreciate
them all.
To my employers and colleagues,
I thank them for
supporting me and allowing
me to grow and thrive as an
advocate.
To my parents, my sister, and
my brother, I thank them for
always letting me know that
it’s okay to fail as long as you
get back up and try again,
and for being my cheerleaders.
I thank my entire family
for encouraging me and rooting
for me always.
To Tiffany, thank you for your
patience, love, and unwavering
commitment to a strong
foundation. To Skylar and
Braylon, thank you for allowing
me to be your hero.
I have toured and visited
many communities across
Louisiana over the last two
years. I’ve heard success stories,
and I know individual
needs. A number of us have
the same problems in our
municipalities, whether water
and sewer, failing infrastructure,
economic issues, or our
children graduating and leaving
the state. We all had an
opportunity to listen to each
of the candidates running for
governor recently, and I hope
close attention was paid. I
can assure you as your LMA
President that I plan to work
closely and collectively with
our next governor to alleviate
many of the stresses that are
put on local communities.
My plan is to continue to work
with the staff to educate all
communities on the resources
the LMA provides, along
with those of the USDA, DRA,
LITACorp, and many others.
For too long funding information
has been released on
grants and low interest loan
programs, but with large
amounts of money being
left on the table. Deadlines
may have already passed, or
our villages, towns, and cities,
don’t have the people in
place to complete the needed
paperwork and requirements
for approval. I plan on
working to bridge that gap.
Because those funds that aren’t
coming to our communities
are some of the reasons
that our children are leaving
this great state.
Throughout my tenure as
LMA President, I will continue
to be passionate about our
youth. Without them there is
little hope for a positive and
productive future. One of the
first things I implemented as
President of the Black Caucus
was the Riggins/Sampson
Scholarship Fund to help
freshman and sophomore
students with the cost of col-
Derrick Johnson, Sr.
LMA President
Cheneyville
lege. I want to thank the Black
Caucus and President Darnell
Waites for continuing that
mission, and I will do all I can
to support its advancement.
I believed God puts each of
us in leadership positions for
a purpose, not so others can
stroke our egos. We are here
to inspire the youth to be
great leaders themselves, so
they can go out and do great
things. We must show them
that anything is possible. It
doesn’t matter where you are
from, be it a village of a handful
of people or a metropolis,
let’s leave our municipalities
in a better position than we
found them, so that when
we pass the torch to the next
generation, that person already
has a leg up.
Treat everyone’s problems
like your own, and let’s work
together to make this state
great. And remember that if
we find ourselves too big to
do the small things, then we
will always be too small to do
the big things.
God bless you. God bless
Louisiana. And God bless the
United States of America.
LMR | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023 Page 5