Changes

Cornelius has long been involved in such community affairs as the annual [[Christmas]] and [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] parades, and Black History Month in February. He is a former president of the Minden High School Booster Club and chairman of the group Concerned Citizens of Minden, which raised funds to carry more than five hundred youth to area lakes for recreation. As a city council member, Cornelius worked for additional street lights, including the lighting of school zones; water and sewer projects, and local streets. He is a former deputy for the Webster Parish Sheriff's Office and a former member of the parish Office of Community Services. Cornelius is a past recipient of the  Distinguished Service Award presented by the Minden branch of the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]]. In 1998, he received a humanitarian award from the Association of Black Social Workers for the North Louisiana Region.<ref name=jcsr/>

Cornelius has long been involved in such community affairs as the annual [[Christmas]] and [[Martin Luther King, Jr.]] parades, and Black History Month in February. He is a former president of the Minden High School Booster Club and chairman of the group Concerned Citizens of Minden, which raised funds to carry more than five hundred youth to area lakes for recreation. As a city council member, Cornelius worked for additional street lights, including the lighting of school zones; water and sewer projects, and local streets. He is a former deputy for the Webster Parish Sheriff's Office and a former member of the parish Office of Community Services. Cornelius is a past recipient of the  Distinguished Service Award presented by the Minden branch of the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]]. In 1998, he received a humanitarian award from the Association of Black Social Workers for the North Louisiana Region.<ref name=jcsr/>

Cornelius is a steward and choir member at Mt. Zion CME Temple, an historically black Christian Methodist Episcopal  congregation at 414 East Union Street in Minden. He is also a member of the [[Masonic lodge]]. Cornelius is married to the former Jacquelyn Williams. He has three living children, including Joe Cornelius, Jr. A daughter died in 2013 during his mayoral campaign.<ref name=jcsr/>

Cornelius is a steward and choir member at Mt. Zion CME Temple, an historically black Christian Methodist Episcopal  congregation at 414 East Union Street in Minden. He is also a member of the Masonic lodge. Cornelius is married to the former Jacquelyn Williams. He has three living children, including Joe Cornelius, Jr. A daughter died in 2013 during his mayoral campaign.<ref name=jcsr/>

==Political life==

==Political life==