Two months and a day after being inaugurated, Gov. Kathleen Blanco helped close out Women and Government week at Nicholls by speaking at the 11th annual Women and Government Hall of Fame awards ceremony on Saturday.Nancy Parker of Fox 8 news was the mistress of ceremonies. Stephen Hulbert, University president, and Charles Caillouet, mayor of Thibodaux, were both on hand to welcome Blanco and all other political leaders who were in attendance.

Rose Harris, director of the Louisiana Center for Woman and Government, spoke about the mission and accomplishments of the Louisiana Center for Women and Government, which was established in 1990.

The awards ceremony, which was cosponsored by the Louisiana Legislative Women’s Caucus, featured the induction of Laura M. Badeaux of Thibodaux and Velma Callais Rogers of Golden Meadow into the Women and Government Hall of Fame.

Blanco, the first female governor of Louisiana, was the keynote speaker and talked about the importance of women in leadership roles. She highlighted achievements of women leaders in Louisiana’s history by saying, “they laid the groundwork for us to be where we are today.”

Blanco recognized the two Hall of Fame inductees and her history with them by calling them “two of my dearest friends.” She commended them for their work on issues such as health care, education and economics.

A short video showcasing the accomplishments of both recipients was shown to the full banquet hall just before the presentation of the awards.

Badeaux is an associate professor at Nicholls, where she teaches business and communication skills to students enrolled in the seven-days-on and seven-days-off program in petroleum services. She is a charter member and past president of the Louisiana Center for Women and Government advisory board.

“This recognition really means a lot to me personally because I have been involved with the Louisiana Center for Women and Government since the beginning,” said Badeaux.

Badeaux has also been named to the Governor’s Commission on Women and has served on numerous political campaign teams at the local and state levels. She organized and served as president for the Lafourche Commission on Women, at the Louisiana Federation of Democratic Women and Volunteer for Juvenile Justice in Lafourche Parish. Her honors include being named one of 10 outstanding young women in America in 1982 by “Who’s Who in Outstanding Young Women in America,” winning the Outstanding Citizen of Thibodaux award from the Veterans of Foreign Wars and earning the first U.S. Jaycee Women’s Congresswoman award in Louisiana in 1983.

Rogers is a retired educator whose career includes stints as principal at Larose Lower Elementary School and assistant principal at Golden Meadow Junior High School. “I feel like this is an honor for a lot of people, not only for myself, because I’ve always worked with groups that helped and supported me along the way,” said Rogers about her induction.

Rogers also worked as a licensed counselor and as office manager and adviser in Blanco’s successful campaign for lieutenant governor. Rogers was a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Drugs and has served as a member of the advisory board for the Louisiana Center of Women and Government, the Lafourche Parish Juvenile Justice Center, the Lafourche Commission for Women and the Bayou Council on Alcoholism and Drugs. She also helped organized the first Conference of Louisiana’s Elected Women Officials, was the first woman member of the Golden Meadow Rotary Club and acted as hostess and producer of “Profiles,” an information program that aired on Callais Cablevision.