Membership Update - 3/5/09

Are you ready for some crawfish????? Once March arrives, the mudbug season begins and what purple bleeding Louisianian doesn't hanker for some mouth watering crawdads? Here in Dallas we are no exception so the countdown meter has now swung from our Texas LSU plates (more on them later) to our Annual LSU Crawfish Boil. And each year we try to make it bigger and more enjoyable for all who attend.

This year happens to have 2 special reasons why you should come and pass a good time with us. First of all, this is our annual fund raiser to fund scholarships for DFW students. As we promote LSU more effectively throughout schools in the metroplex, we have an obligation to create scholarships to help support out of state students to cross the Sabine River and call Baton Rouge their new home. We've increased our number of students annually for the last several years and this year could be the largest number that has ever enrolled from Texas as well as from the DFW area. Our third LSU Scholarship is less than $1500 from being fully endowed and your support of our crawfish boil, it's silent auction and your membership dues all go toward that goal. (Remember, you get a $5 discount for 2 off the price of the crawfish boil tickets as members and 80% of your membership dues is applied to scholarships as well.) So if you've wanted to give back to LSU, by being a dues paying member, we do it for you!

Secondly, this is a special crawfish boil in that it's our 30th Annual Crawfish Boil and because we built it up and you supported it so well the last several years, we outgrew Winfrey Point! We swore that we'd never have to turn an alum down as we had to last year and we've moved to a bigger and better location where we can grow for years to come. Our new home, Double D Ranch, in Mesquite is not only expansive compared to our former home but also offers more activities for all of the family. You can view the map to Double D on our website as well as purchase your tickets either on line or using the mail in registration form. There are spaces for names of attendees and you can do us a big favor by listing their names and if available, their email addresses. There is also spaces for donations to our scholarship funds and so far, two families who will not be able to attend have paid their 2009 dues and made a contribution to scholarships as well. (It goes without saying that now is the best time to renew your memberships as this allows us time to print and laminate your card to have available at the Crawfish Boil.) We are bumping up against 500 members and yours could be the one to put us over the top. 

If you have never been a member of our Dallas chapter, consider this an open invitation to join with the fastest growing chapter outside the great state of Louisiana. In the last 3 years, we have tripled our membership, our watch parties have more than doubled, we have more than doubled our scholarship funding, our email list has almost quadrupled to over 1600 and we have helped make LSU a household name in N Texas! And the best part is you, the people who have the passion and love telling others about it. Have you ever wondered why so many parents and students are raving about LSU? It's the alums who plant that seed that grows in Baton Rouge when they arrive on campus.

From a Top Tier University to National Championships in athletics, we have something to be proud about and let the world know. But it still gets back to our goal of scholarships and every way that you can help us allows us to reach out to more. Three years ago, it took us over 5 years to endow a $20,000 scholarship. In the last 4 years, we have endowed a $40,000 scholarship. Our goal is to reach a point where we can endow a Top 10 Scholarship every other year! And your attendance at our Crawfish Boil is the first step in that direction. Every time you purchase a Texas Tiger Tee Shirt, that money goes to scholarships. (We have shipped them to different areas of TX and into LA and you can purchase them on line on our website. They can be delivered within 48 hours. Wear one to our Crawfish Boil!)

Check out the number of vehicles which will be sporting LSU plates at the Crawfish Boil. If you haven't ordered your plates yet, go to our website for the TDoT on line order system. They'll be delivered within 3 weeks or before Easter. In this issue of the LSU Magazine, there are two articles about LSU specialty plates. Our Texas Plates story can be found on page 20 and the article highlighting the Atlanta chapter on page 23 alluded to their efforts to presell 1000 plates by April 2010. Thanks to the combined efforts of alums statewide, we exceeded that number within 4 months and are 560 of our goal of 1900 so your orders still mean a lot to all of us connected to this campaign.

In addition to the SEC Champion Tiger basketball team and the SEC Tournaments for both Lady Tigers as well as Tiger basketball teams going on this weekend and next, our No. 1 ranked LSU Baseball team is undefeated and on a tear! The nationally ranked LSU Gymnastic Team will compete in Baton Rouge tomorrow in a meet that will benefit Bradie James' Foundation56 which fights breast cancer. (You'll hear more about this foundation later in the year.) All athletic teams have worn our colors with pride this spring and we can all be proud of their achievements.

The SEC Champion LSU Rugby Team (yes, we do have a rugby team) will be competing against Texas Tech's Red Raider Ruggers (try saying that 4 times quickly) on Saturday, March 7th at 2 PM at Glencoe Park located on the east side of Central south of Mockingbird Lane bordered by Martel St on the south end. Come watch football as they play it down under! And wear your LSU colors.

The Granada Theater, one of our sponsors, is presenting Kermit Ruffin's Rebirth Brass Band from the Big Easy next Wed. night with doors opening at 7 PM. Go to the GranadaTheater website for ticket information and enjoy the funk of the undisputed leader of the New Orleans Brass Bands.

Thanks for taking the time to read this message and being a part of our LSU family. Geaux Tigers! Cya on 4/18!