First African-American director is named

Eniweta Yvonne Lavergne has made history as the first African American director of the Evangeline Parish Library. Commonly known as Yvonne, she got her unusual first name from her father, who served in the Navy and spent time in the Marshall Islands where the Eniwetok Atoll is famous for being the site of the first H-bomb testing in 1952.
Yvonne grew up in California, but traveled frequently due to her father’s career in the Navy. She worked for 32 years in the banking industry in San Diego and retired as Assistant Vice President of Union Bank of San Diego where she managed the employee loan department. After her retirement, she worked as a consumer loan underwriter for two years for another financial institution.
Yvonne’s husband, Leon, had lived in California for 30 years, but he was born in Jennings, growing up between there and Mamou. They had come to visit many times throughout the years and loved the town and Evangeline Parish, so they decided to retire here. She told her husband, “Now you know when we move down there, I’m going to gain weight.” She said she appreciates the small-town life and the closeness of people, and of course, the food. She laughed, adding, “Everybody’s feeding you down here, and the culture is just really nice.”
In 2003, she and Leon moved to Mamou where they built their home and became active with family, church, and their community. Always wanting to help others, Yvonne volunteered with the Council on Aging’s Meals on Wheels program, where she delivered meals to shut-ins for two years.
When the opportunity to work at the Evangeline Parish Library came in August of 2008, Yvonne applied, starting at the Chataignier branch. “This changed my life,” she said. “I had no idea I would be starting a new career. I have loved working at the library since day one.” In the beginning, she was only working 16 hours, but she persisted, gradually gaining more responsibilities, until in October of 2011 when she became the library’s business manager. As the business manager, Yvonne served in other roles by helping with staff recruitment, training, and scheduling. She was also assistant branch manager at Chataignier.
It was not long before Yvonne began working on her American Library Association LSSC, Library Support Staff Certification. Through her online coursework, she gained valuable knowledge in the foundations of library service, communications and teamwork, and library technology, as well as other areas of library knowledge and service. In December of 2015, she received her LSSC, a national accreditation recognized by all public libraries in the United States. She became interim Evangeline Parish Library director in 2019, and in January of 2020, she officially took over the role of director.
When COVID-19 threw the library a huge curve ball, cherished library programs were put on hold. Yvonne said this has made her miss the children who would come to the library, adding, “That really tugs at my heart.” She said the library provides valuable research to help children grow, to help them set goals for themselves, etc. Aside from helping children, Yvonne said libraries are working to help seniors learn to use technology better, to help them file for social security, unemployment, or anything they need. “We’re trying to keep updated and expand the library, especially with technology.”
Yvonne is hopeful things will get back to normal despite the pandemic, adding she would like to build the library back up, to continue with programs for people of all ages, such as the Quilting Club, Crocheting Club, French Table, etc. For now, they are adhering to the governor’s mandate and following CDC guidelines, but said she is glad they do not turn anyone away. “I’m very confident we will get back to normal.”
Yvonne understands the duty of the library system, saying, “We’re funded by the public, by the tax payers. Our job is to do whatever we can for our taxpayers, so customer service is very important to me.” Above all, she wants to be a good role model, saying she started working at the bank at 19 and, despite not getting her college degree, she persevered, reaching a high position. “I worked my way up. I try to encourage people who maybe didn’t go to college, didn’t finish, didn’t get their degree, or people who think just because they’re in a small town they won’t get anywhere. Please don’t give up. Work hard and stick to your goals. It doesn’t matter what time, what age, or what color. Just keep working on your goal.”
Yvonne thanked the Library Board for the opportunity to serve as Director and added, “The staff here is awesome.” She is committed to doing her best to help provide all of Evangeline Parish with great library service. She added, “A wise woman once told me, take it one day at a time.”