ENROLLED
2023 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 91
BY REPRESENTATIVES BACALA, BRASS, EDMONSTON, AND SCHEXNAYDER
A RESOLUTION
To commend the city of Meylan, France, on the occasion of the thirty-seventh anniversary
of its twinning with its sister city of Gonzales, Louisiana.
WHEREAS, in the early 1980s, a group of teachers from St. Amant High School
began taking groups of students on international field trips overseas to countries including
Mexico and Canada; the experience of these trips had a profound and lasting impact on the
students by introducing them to new cultures and giving them the opportunity to share their
own culture abroad; and
WHEREAS, John Hebert, a field trip chaperone and husband of one of the St. Amant
teachers, realized these benefits and researched the possibility of creating an organization
to both introduce the world to local citizens and to introduce Gonzales, Louisiana, to the
world; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Hebert was referred to James Domeangeaux, founder of the Council
for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL), who suggested twinning the city
of Gonzales with a compatible city in France; and
WHEREAS, after receiving support from Gonzales city councilman John Berthelot,
Mr. Hebert presented the Gonzales city council with a proposal to create the Gonzales
Committee on Cultural Affairs (GCCA), which received the council's approval; and
WHEREAS, the city of Gonzales was assisted by France-Louisiane, an organization
headquartered in Paris, in choosing Meylan, France, to be its sister city; the two cities share
similarities in population and proximity to the capital of their respective province/state;
Meylan is nestled in the French Alps near Grenoble while Gonzales is in Plantation-Bayou
country near Baton Rouge; and
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WHEREAS, John Berthelot, who had become mayor of Gonzales, led a delegation,
which included Councilman Dalton Marchand and around twenty Ascension Parish
residents, that traveled to Meylan in 1984; Claude Moussey served as first president of the
Meylan Twinning Committee, and over the last three decades, Ascension Parish locals and
French nationals from Meylan have built lifelong relationships and made connections that
have resulted in international career paths for some; and
WHEREAS, the citizens of the city of Meylan are most deserving of the highest
recognition for their inspiring efforts to share Louisiana's culture abroad.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend the city of Meylan, France, on the occasion
of the thirty-seventh anniversary of its twinning with its sister city of Gonzales, Louisiana,
and does hereby extend sincerest wishes that other Louisiana and French cities follow this
example and continue to share their rich cultures with each other.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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