The St. Augustine Historical Society announced its 2017 Advisory Board Members. Appointments, approved Dec. 7, include the following:

Lyn Christophe, Bank of Montgomery.
Christophe served SAHS as an advisor for youth engagement, having successfully promoted a Zydeco Heritage Day in January, 2016, which was a celebration commemorating the completion of the SAHS tomb project.

Dr. Pete Gregory, NSU Creole Heritage Center
Dr. Gregory is a long-time friend and supporter of SAHS and the Isle Brevelle community. He is the director of the NSU Creole Heritage Center and a professor of anthropology. He received a Louisiana Culture Award for Archaeologist of the Year and was named a 2016 Natchitoches Treasure. In the 70s, he performed the first archeological assessment of Badin-Roque, which is on the National Register of Historic Places (circa 1770s).

Sarah Marie Jackson, National Center for Preservation Technology and Training.
Jackson is an Architectural Conservator at the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training. She helped a SAHS team during its Tricentennial develop a guide for the public to tour homes designated as “SAHS Treasures on the Isle.” She provides ongoing technical guidance regarding tomb restoration and Badin-Roque architectural and bousillage needs.

Carrie Mardorf, Cane River Creole National Historical Park.
Mardorf began her new position as Superintendent of CRCNPS Sept. 4. Prior to that she served Kalaupapa National Historical Park, on the north shore of the Hawaiian island of Molokai, where she oversaw the preservation of over 300 historic buildings, 1,200 grave markers, two cultural landscapes, hundreds of archeological sites, museum collections, and an ongoing collection of oral histories. SAHS visited with Mardorf early in her arrival to the area, to hear her insights for the unique cultures of the area, and to obtain insights on how to best move forward with a plan for Badin-Roque.

Cathy Seymour, National Historic Foundation.
Seymour and her husband Dan have been great friends to the SAHS and have made efforts to assure it has a voice and role in Natchitoches historical activities. They also participated in SAHS Tricentennial “Treasures Tours” of historic homes along Isle Brevelle. Cathy is a retired NSU Professor and currently, a NHF leader. She received the Louisiana Culture Award for Preservation Education in recognition of the NHF’s Characters, Customs and Crypts Tour, mourning display and accompanying Natchitoches curriculum units for eighth grade students in Natchitoches Parish.

SAHS President Dr. Mark Guidry, said, “We appreciate the advice and input of many but those appointed have a special mark of distinction. Each of them have demonstrated interest, availability, and culturally-congruent support of our efforts to preserve our culture, heritage and historical properties.”

Since the organization reactivated in 2013, it has benefited from great technical advisors in many ways, including its highly successful campaign to restore, upgrade, and historically mark the tomb of founder Augustin Metoyer (1768-1856). In 2017 Guidry says they anticipate addressing the needs of the historic Badin-Roque House (circa 1770s), which is one-of-a-kind in Louisiana and one of a few in the United States. The organization will also continue fundraising and efforts to engage youth in its mission.

Advisors will be recognized on Saturday, Jan. 21 during a Cochon de Lait dinner, meeting, and membership drive, which is all part of a schedule of events for Creole Heritade Day.