Each Wednesday, L’Observateur will recognize individuals and businesses in the River Parishes who have gone “above and beyond” in their efforts to make this a better place to live, work, play and raise a family.

We believe that an integral part of a community’s wellbeing is an attitude and arena where people who do good things … who work to improve life for others … who try to make a difference … are recognized and saluted.

Because this is a salute to members of the community of the entire River Parishes, we solicit your recommendations for groups or individuals to be considered for inclusion.

This week we salute:

• THE EMPLOYEES OF MARATHON’S GARYVILLE OPERATIONS, who recently spent time with students at East St. John Elementary School to help them conduct science experiments. The Marathon volunteers will return to the school in the spring to help the fourth-graders with their science projects.

• BENJAMIN BERGERON, who recently completed his Air Land EmergencyResource Team training. The training incorporated armed forces-style boot camp exercises with a special emphasis on scriptural memorization and implementation.

• LUTCHER HIGH SCHOOL’S GAVIN WEBSTER, who was recently named Louisiana’s Mr. Football for 2009. Webster joins Ryan Perrilloux as the only River Parishes players to receive the distinction.

• NORCO RESIDENT MILTON CAMBRE, who was recently honored with the first Spirit of the Wetlands Award. Cambre has been an advocate for restoring the LaBranche Wetlands for over 40 years.

(Correction: In the Dec. 16, 2009, edition’s “Salute” column, the reader who submitted the salute to Melvin and Edgar Zeno was incorrectly identified as Diane Coleman. Her name is Dorothy Coleman.)