Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc.
The Nonpareil Story
The Nonpareil story is as fresh as it was when the organizer, Mrs. Earless Hope, conversed with
the Area Director Lady Hazel Webster concerning the organization of a chapter of Top Ladies of
Distinction, Inc., in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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Nine women were invited to meet with Lady Hazel Webster in the home of Mrs. Marion Jones. After
the scheduled briefing and other preliminary procedures, the chapter was organized, and the following
officers were elected: Isabel Herson, president; Marion Jones 1st vice-president; Lois Brew, recording
secretary; Joyce Turnley, financial secretary; Norma Peat, treasurer; Irma Poe, historian; Ida Gardner,
chapter reporter; Anne Richardson, Top Teens Director and parliamentarian, and Earless Hope,
chaplain. The above names are Nonpareil’s charter members.
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Official induction was held February 26, l983 in Lake Charles, LA, and the Charter was formally
issued April 9, 1983. The National President was Lady Vivian R. Crawley. The Charter (#1055)
was presented by Lady Hazel B. Webster, Area I Director, during the public reception held in the
Cotillion Ballroom of Southern University on December 9, l983 to introduce the new organization,
TLOD, to the Baton Rouge Community. The newly elected Fifth National President, Lady Bobbe
Morehead attended the event and told the TLOD Story.
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The first inductees into the Nonpareil Chapter, after its organization, were the following eleven Ladies
in 1984: Helen Barron, Louise Brown, Mae Calvin, Hallique Dawson, Emma Harrison, Dorothy
Haysbert, Barbara Pate, Camille Patty, Joyce Vaughn, Mildred West and Gloria Faye Wilson.
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The Chapter proposes to support the national programs through activities that implement the Major
Thrusts of the organization: Top Teens Program; Improving the Status of Women; Programs for Senior
Citizens; Community Beautification; with the addition of Community Partnerships
Nonpareil Chapter has been a viable contributing force in the Baton Rouge community under the
leadership of the following Ladies who have served as presidents of this great organization: Isabel M.
Herson*; Marion W. Jones*; Anne Richardson*; Mildred West*; Marion Jones*, Bertha Pitts, Marie
Pea*, Mary Wilkinson, Doris Brown, Nikki Honore’, and Constance Carroll.
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Nonpareil Top Teens began with sixteen teens. They were Tricia L. Baptiste, Roderick H. Brew,
Bertina L. Calvin, Dionne R. Cox, D’Ette R. Cox, Karryl L. McDaniels, Germaine G. Pate, Karla L.
Pate, Bennifer D. Pate, Joseph Patterson, Tarvald A. Smith, Leo T. Turner, Richard Turnley, III, Jason
P. Wright, Juanea K. Lewis, and Tammy Williams. In 2024 the Chapter has 33 Teens. Through the
years Nonpareil is proud of the hundreds of Top Teens who have been involved, along with Top Ladies,
in the numerous civic projects throughout the Baton Rouge community, namely: The adoption of a
Wildflower Area at I-110 Harding Exit (West); Christmas Lighting on Harding Boulevard: The
Adoption of a Local Nursing Home; NAACP; UNCF; NCNW; March of Dimes; Sickle Cell Disease
Awareness; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s Birthday, TTA Presentation Ball; National Day of
Service; Attendance at Area I Conferences—and the list goes on. Nonpareil Chapter was delighted to
join other chapters throughout the United States in the celebration of 60 Years of Service to many
communities.
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Nonpareil has a multigenerational membership with 72 members. The age range is from the 20’s to the
80’s. Blending wisdom with technology to knowledge to experience lends itself to more creative and
intentional programming. The Chapter also boasts the appointments of its Ladies to Area
Offices—Ladies Marion Jones*, Mary Irma Cormier Thomas, Mary Wilkinson, Bertha Pitts, Blanche P.
Smith and most recently Ladies Felicia Barnes, Doris G. Brown, Diane Drake, Rochelle Elie,
Glennis Gray, and Erika Green.