Personal Information
Dardenne is the son of the late John L. Dardenne, Sr., and the former Janet Abramson. He is married to the former Catherine "Cathy" McDonald (born 1955), and they have two sons: John Dardenne, III (born 1984), and Matthew M. Dardenne. Dardenne is Jewish and the first known Jewish state constitutional officer in Louisiana since U.S. Senators Judah P. Benjamin and Benjamin F. Jonas in the 19th century. Buddy Caldwell, Louisiana's current attorney general, is also Jewish. and was first elected to that statewide position in 2007, a year after Dardenne was elected to fill an unexpired term for Secretary of State. Dardenne is a graduate of Baton Rouge High School and Louisiana State University, from which he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in journalism. He procured a degree too from the Louisiana State University Law Center. He was elected student body president while at LSU.
Dardenne is active in social and civic endeavors in his native Baton Rouge and through non-profit organizations throughout Louisiana. He volunteers with the Muscular Dystrophy Association, the annual Labor Day Telethon, the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, and the River City Festivals Association. He serves as chairman of the U.S. National Senior Sports Classic (the Senior Olympics) and has served as president of ten non-profit organizations in the greater Baton Rouge Community.
Dardenne has won "Dishonorable Mentions" for his entries in the 2008 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, a competition where contestants submit bad opening lines to imaginary novels. Dardenne also won the Most Vile Pun award in the contest.
Read more about this topic: Jay Dardenne
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