Westlake Recreation Center renamed after local ‘icon’
Published 4:49 am Tuesday, June 4, 2024
- Ricky Bergeron, left, gets ready to cut the ribbon after the Saturday ceremony for renaming Westlake Recreation District 1 of Ward 4 in the honor of her late husband Michael “Tubby” Bergeron, right. The ribbon cutting was scheduled to be held near the new sign, but the rain prevented it. (Rita LeBleu / American Press)
The Westlake Recreation District 1 of Ward 4 has a new name. It is now the Michael “Tubby” Bergeron Multipurpose Complex. The change was celebrated and Bergeron remembered by more than 80 family and community members Saturday at the complex.
Bergeron died in May of 2020. Nancy Fruge, his secretary for 24 years, and recreation board members Bobby LeTard and Calcasieu Parish Sheriff-elect Stitch Guilllory have been working to rename the complex since his passing.
Chad Evans, the current recreation center executive director, said Bergeron went to work with the District in 1984 – before the Multipurpose Center was built – and he retired in 2016.
“He was an icon here, and everybody loved him,” Evans said.
The complex was his dream, according to Fruge.
“He was a mentor to everybody, and he dreamed of this big building that would have something for everyone, a safe place for kids to play games, for seniors to walk inside in a temperature controlled environment, and it wound up being exactly what he envisioned.”
“Tubby didn’t care who you were or where you came from, he was going to make you feel like you were one of the most important people in his life,” Guillory said.
Police Juror Randy Burleigh, a recreation board member, said he had never met a person with a bigger heart than Bergeron.
“Cut him and he bled orange and black,” said Bill Willis, a recreation district sports official.
Some of the speakers remarked the event gave them the opportunity to say goodbye because Bergeron died during the COVID stay-at-home mandate. Westlake Mayor Hal McMillin was one of those. “
He was always there for us and we got to love him dearly, ” said McMillin, who grew up with Bergeron. He read a proclamation in his honor:
“His legacy of dedication, leadership and community spirit lives throughout this facility. It’s fitting and proper that we honor Michael ‘Tubby’ Bergeron and I’m dedicating this complex in his name and ensuring his contributions and memories continue to inspire and benefit our community for generations to come.”
