SLS 15RS-2283 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 137
BY SENATOR PETERSON
COMMENDATIONS. Commends and congratulates Kenneth and Gwendolyn Carter on 50
years of marriage.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend and congratulate Kenneth "Ken" and Gwendolyn "Gwen" Carter on fifty years
3 of marriage.
4 WHEREAS, in August 1961, Ken had the pleasure of meeting the young lady who
5 would become the very best thing that would ever happen to him, and
6 WHEREAS, while attending a statewide high school interscholastic event at
7 Southern University Ken had the pleasure of meeting the former Gwen Carter; and
8 WHEREAS, at the young and impressionable ages of seventeen and sixteen Ken and
9 Gwen made lingering impressions on each other; and
10 WHEREAS, the couple already shared the same last name, so it was inevitable that
11 the New Orleans natives entered into holy matrimony on May 15, 1965, at Saint Monica
12 Catholic Church in New Orleans; and
13 WHEREAS, the two went on to become prominent figures politically, within the
14 business community, and among civic affairs; and
15 WHEREAS, Gwen was a leader in the tourism and travel industry in New Orleans,
16 having founded the Greater New Orleans Multi Cultural Tourism Network and the USA
17 Travel Agency; and
18 WHEREAS, she also was the owner of Cajun Mardi Gras and a Sunglass Hut housed
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SLS 15RS-2283 ORIGINAL
1 in Louis Armstrong International Airport; and
2 WHEREAS, Ken was sworn in on May 4, 1985, as the first African American elected
3 Tax Assessor in the state of Louisiana; and
4 WHEREAS, he later became the first African American to serve as president of the
5 statewide Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association, presently known as the Louisiana
6 Association for Justice; and
7 WHEREAS, to their union three daughters were born, Tara Carter Hernandez, who
8 is married to D'Juan Hernandez, Senator Karen Carter Peterson who is married to Dana
9 Peterson, and Eileen Carter; and
10 WHEREAS, Ken and Gwen cherish the apples of their eyes, their three
11 grandchildren, Jessica, Christopher and Aidan; and
12 WHEREAS, since Hurricane Katrina, Ken and Gwen have primarily resided in The
13 Bluffs in Saint Francisville, Louisiana while maintaining a residence in their beloved
14 hometown of New Orleans.
15 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
16 does hereby commend and congratulate Kenneth and Gwendolyn Carter on fifty years of
17 marriage and wish them many more years of marital bliss.
18 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to Mr.
19 and Mrs. Kenneth M. Carter.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by J. Ashley Mitchell Carter.
DIGEST
SR 137 Original 2015 Regular Session Peterson
Commends and congratulates Kenneth "Ken" and Gwendolyn "Gwen" Carter on 50 years
of marriage.
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