Capt. Lance Broussard of the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office was honored as Louisiana’s D.A.R.E. Officer Of The Year in Ruston recently at the D.A.R.E. Officer Annual Conference Banquet.

Capt. Broussard has been teaching D.A.R.E. for the Vermilion Parish Sheriff’ Office for over 20 years.

Fellow D.A.R.E. officer, Captain Martin McLendon of the Opelousas Police Department nominated Broussard to represent the Evangeline District, one of seven districts within the state. Broussard then competed against the six other districts in the state for the award. The Executive Board of the Louisiana D.A.R.E. Officer Association then votes to choose the winner.

“We are very proud of Captain Broussard and this award speaks highly of his commitment to both the D.A.R.E. program and the children it serves,” said Sheriff Couvillon. “Receiving this kind award, amongst many great police officers state wide is certainly a huge accomplishment. We are lucky to have Captain Broussard teaching D.A.R.E. and both the Sheriff and I fully support the program, as we believe that educating our youth about the dangers of using illegal drugs is a vital component of our relentless effort on our war on drugs”, said Colonel Kirk Frith.

“I am both humbled and very happy to receive this award,” Broussard said. “As a D.A.R.E. Officer, nothing brings me greater satisfaction than knowing that I what I teach every day, may make a difference one day in the life of a child that is face with that very important decision, hoping that they fall upon their training and are able to ‘JUST SAY NO’. I would like to also like to thank the Sheriff and the Colonel for their continued support of the D.A.R.E. program here in Vermilion Parish.”