New Roads is no longer the "prettiest city on the water." At least, not officially.
Citizens voted last week to replace the slogan with a new one: "Come for the culture, stay for the sunsets.
Mayor Theron Smith said he realized on the campaign trail that people weren't excited about the last slogan.
"I thought, 'this shouldn’t be something unilaterally decided by the mayor, but should be a community slogan,'" he said.
The city put out a call for new slogan ideas and received 112 entries, which a citizen panel narrowed down to three: A Jewel on the Lake; Come for the Culture, Stay for the Sunsets; and The Jewel of False River.
Residents took to the polls March 15 to cast their vote and the new slogan won with 62%.
"I just feel like culture and sunsets are two things that really embody New Roads," said Caryl Ewing, who came up with the slogan.
She was born and raised in New Roads, where her family would gather over wine and cheese to watch the sunset over the water. Then she went away to college at Tulane, but her friends loved coming to New Roads to get out of the city and enjoy the sunsets and slower pace.
She and her husband even got married on her mother's pier with the sunset behind them.
"Our lives have always centered around sunset," she said.
Ewing lived in Chicago for a few years, and when she moved home she realized how much her home city had to offer.
"Since coming back I've really learned to appreciate the culture of New Roads, the diversity, the love everyone has for it," she said. "We're at a tipping point here and we have a lot going for us, a lot of momentum."
Smith said he hopes the slogan sticks around for awhile.
"I like the idea that it was chosen by the people," Smith said. "I was hoping we would have a slogan that would outlast me or any particular mayor, and it's less likely to change if someone else comes into office because it was chosen by the people."