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Bay volunteer making a difference
?	BYBETSY-GAGNIiT. ,
.Pat Cucullu. fell in love with Hancock County and Bay St. Louis almost 30 years ago and
'We love Hancock County and 3ay rif. Louis because the peo-'le re welcomed us... We ever felt like outsiders because e were from New Orleans... very one was warm and wel-)ming, so both of us want to ive something back?... Pat ucullu
now she spends much of her time telling other people about it.
Cucullu was recently awarded the Community Volunteer Award by the Mississippi Tourism Promotion Association at the Governor?s Conference on Tourism.
Volunteering is a way of life for the Bay St. Louis resident and her husband Irwin.
Cucullu is the Tourism Director for Bay St. Louis and last year was named to serve on the newly created Hancock County Tourism Bureau, which she helped to form.
?We love Hancock County and Bay St. Louis because the people here welcomed us. We never felt like outsiders because we were from New Orleans,? Cucullu said. ?Everyone was warm and welcoming, so both of us want to give something back.?
The couple bought a weekend house in 1968 and made the Coast a permanent residence in 1980.
?We kept asking ourselves what took us so long,? Cucullu said.
In the late seventies Cu-cullii joined the Hancock County Historical Society, which then had live members.
She said she is very proud of the accomplishments of the society and urges a visit to the office on Cue Street to check out the photographic displays and the computers loaded with the county?s history.
It is hard to talk to the energetic woman for more than five minutes without finding out some other tidbit of information on things available in the area, or some organization which may be of interest to the listener.
Cucullu?s enthusiasm for spreading the word about the coast is evident from the time she spends volunteering on a regular basis.
Several times a month she volunteers at the Hancock County Welcome Center on I-10 and is quick to praise the job
done there.
?The crew at the Welcome Center knock themselves out to make sure tourists are taken care of,? she said. ?The ladies there are some of the biggest assets in Hancock County.?
Cucullu invites workers from the Welcome Center to visit Bay St. Louis in order to familiarize them with the area so they can then better pro-
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