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{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name=Helen Elizabeth Clark Derr<br>
| name=Helen Elizabeth Clark Derr<br>
(Award-winning religion editor at ''The Alexandria Daily Town Talk'')
(Award-winning religion editor at ''The Alexandria Daily Town Talk'')
In 1967, Derr won the national award for "Excellence in Religion Reporting" from the Religious Public Relations Council. Only two newspapers in the country were recognized by the group for their religion coverage that year, ''The Town Talk'' and ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name=derr/> In July 1977, Derr retired from ''The Town Talk'' at the age of fifty-eight. She then taught journalism at [[Southern Baptist]]-affiliated [[Louisiana College]] in Pineville and wrote for the [[Roman Catholic]] publication, ''The Church Today''.<ref name=derr/>
In 1967, Derr won the national award for "Excellence in Religion Reporting" from the Religious Public Relations Council. Only two newspapers in the country were recognized by the group for their religion coverage that year, ''The Town Talk'' and ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name=derr/> In July 1977, Derr retired from ''The Town Talk'' at the age of fifty-eight. She then taught journalism at [[Southern Baptist]]-affiliated [[Louisiana College]] in Pineville and wrote for the [[Roman Catholic]] publication, ''The Church Today''.<ref name=derr/>
==Church and civic affairs==
==Church and civic affairs==
Herself a [[Presbyterian]], she won in 1972 the national Presbyterian Church award for religion reporting. She also earned awards from the national and state Federations of Press Women. In 1977, the Alexandria Ministerial Alliance honored her as "the Cenla [Central Louisiana] Prophet with the [[Bible]] in one hand and a newspaper in the other." During that ceremony, Jim Cole, the editor of ''The Baptist Message'', praised Derr for helping to "break down the walls between denominations. Helen Derr has been a 'Johnny Unite-us' in Central Louisiana."<ref name=derr/>
Herself a [[Presbyterian]], she won in 1972 the national Presbyterian Church award for religion reporting. She also earned awards from the national and state Federations of Press Women. In 1977, the Alexandria Ministerial Alliance honored her as "the Cenla [Central Louisiana] Prophet with the [[Bible]] in one hand and a newspaper in the other." During that ceremony, Jim Cole, the editor of ''The Baptist Message'', praised Derr for helping to "break down the walls between denominations. Helen Derr has been a 'Johnny Unite-us' in Central Louisiana."<ref name=derr/>
Derr served for more than a decade on the board of directors of the local Family Counseling Agency. She was president and chairman of the group called Church Women United in Central Louisiana. She was the first female [[deacon]] at First Presbyterian Church of Alexandria<ref name=derr/> and served on the task force that organized the establishment of her subsequent congregation, the Woodland Presbyterian Church in Pineville.<ref name=derr/>
Derr served for more than a decade on the board of directors of the local Family Counseling Agency. She was president and chairman of the group called Church Women United in Central Louisiana. She was the first female [[deacon]] at First Presbyterian Church of Alexandria<ref name=derr/> and served on the task force that organized the establishment of her subsequent congregation, the Woodland Presbyterian Church in Pineville.<ref name=derr/>
==Friendship House==
==Friendship House==
As the co-founder of Friendship House in Alexandria in 1982, she was the first president of the organization.<ref name=derr/>
As the co-founder of Friendship House in Alexandria in 1982, she was also the first president of the organization.<ref name=derr/>
In 2002, in an interview for the twentieth anniversary of Friendship House, Derr said that the center was "an idea before its time, really. Not many people understood it. We hoped it would be successful, but we really didn't know." Derr said that Maxine F. Watkins (1906–1997)<ref name=ssdi/> initiated the idea of an adult day-care center in Alexandria, before such enterprises became common nationwide. Julie Morris, the former executive director of Friendship House, said that Derr and Watkins "really were visionaries" who spurred life into the center, which is still functioning.<ref name=derr/>
In 2002, in an interview for the twentieth anniversary of Friendship House, Derr said that the center was "an idea before its time, really. Not many people understood it. We hoped it would be successful, but we really didn't know." Derr said that Maxine F. Watkins (1906–1997)<ref name=ssdi/> initiated the idea of an adult day-care center in Alexandria, before such enterprises became common nationwide. Julie Morris, the former executive director of Friendship House, said that Derr and Watkins "really were visionaries" who spurred life into the center, which is still functioning.<ref name=derr/>