Sadie Thibodeaux
Sadie Thibodeaux was kind, friendly, and always smiling. She always kept a positive attitude, and I never heard her say a mean thing to anyone ever. She was the type of person who could inspire a room of people to relax and have fun just by her presence. She was a beautiful person, and she will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her.
Tragically, Sadie left this world too soon because of a boating accident. When I first heard the news that she was missing, my heart broke. Multiple agencies all worked together to find her, but ultimately it was the Cajun Navy who brought her home. While nothing can bring Sadie back, not knowing where she was would have been worse. Now Sadie can be at rest and those of us left behind can begin the long process of healing.
I will personally be forever grateful to the Cajun Navy for their participation in the search for Sadie. Each and every first responder from every agency deserves to be recognized. All of these men and women have chosen to dedicate and risk their lives to help others.
United Cajun Navy
The Cajun Navy, however, is different from these agencies. They are completely volunteer. They are accountants, crane operators, software developers, bankers, fathers, uncles, and daughters. They are anyone who has a boat and knows how to navigate through tough waters and terrain. I will never forget Hurricane Katrina when a call was put out for help, so many of my family and friends took their fishing poles out of their boats, hooked the boat up to their trucks, and headed to New Orleans while everyone else was headed the other way.
The United Cajun Navy has grown and expanded with overwhelming support from the community. They have helped countless members of my own family and friends during times of need. During the Great Flood of 2016, my own home nearly flooded. We were lucky, but many of my family and friends were rescued in the middle of the night by the Cajun Navy.
My home – 2017
Even now, the organizers of the United Cajun Navy remain volunteers. They dedicate countless hours organizing and coordinating hundreds of volunteers to facilitate search and rescue. Their priority is saving people, and their selfless actions are reflective of the Cajun spirit and community.
The Sadie Search Mobile Command Unit
In order to coordinate and organize search and rescue teams, the United Cajun Navy is accepting donations to purchase an ambulance that can be used as a mobile command center. This mobile command unit will be named after and dedicated to my friend Sadie. Known as the Sadie Search Command Center, this unit will allow organizers of the Cajun Navy to stay connected to volunteers to help prevent duplicate search efforts, stay in contact with family members of rescued victims to reconnect families in a disaster, and increase the communication with other government agencies so everyone is on the same page and working together.
Like A Cajun LLC is committed to supporting this effort. For each Cajun Navy t-shirt purchased at LikeACajun.com, 90% of the proceeds will go directly to the United Cajun Navy to support this cause.
More information on the Mobile Command Unit can be found here: https://www.nola.com/
Support the Cajun Navy. United is Strength.
