Membership Update - 3/29/09

We did it! I knew I could count on you! When we received Jeff Parnell's membership application along with dues payment, he not only became the 36th new member of our Dallas Chapter since 1/1 but his also became the 75th membership received this year. With the $20 per membership that we contribute to scholarships, this has allowed us to complete the endowment of our 3rd DFW Scholarship at LSU. This means that we now have $120,000 in scholarships working to insure that highly qualified students from the DFW area have an opportunity to experience LSU and gain an education from one of the top tier 1 universities in this area. Can you see why your memberships are important to us? Not from an income standpoint but rather an investment in the future of our fellow alums!

I want to thank those who have not only paid their 2009 dues but also those who have done so along with their orders for tickets to our April 18th Crawfish Boil. You've made it possible for us to print and laminate your membership cards and distribute them at our Crawfish Boil to reduce our postage expense as well as creating a sturdier and more permanent membership card that will last throughout our upcoming year. If you are placing your order for CB tickets in the next 3 weeks, please consider including your membership dues at the same time. Once May 1st rolls around, the 2008 cards are invalid and you'll need to renew for your 2009 benefits. So you may as well take care of that at the same time and help us as well.

This update will be brief but I wanted to remind you of the Sat. softball game at LSU where those wearing pink will enter free. Proceeds of that game will benefit the Susan Komen Foundation. So if you are in BR next weekend or have friends who will be, encourage them to pack the new softball park in support of our Lady Tigers softball team and help increase awareness in breast cancer and the research for a cure.

Lastly I wanted to address a misconception that exists. I have had several alums who have expressed disappointment that we "left" Winfrey Point in favor of Double D Ranch. I want all who are reading this email and all the updates that have been sent in the last 2+ years to know that your board is just as disappointed as you that we are not at Winfrey Point. But we didn't "leave" Winfrey Point- we were evicted! Dallas Parks and Recreation has undergone a managerial change and after exceeding their capacity for the last 2 years, we were not afforded an opportunity to secure a date for any of the weekends upcoming next month.

And since we have to reserve a venue for our size a year in advance, there was no time to see if the powers that be at DP&R would change their mind. Nor could we sit on our hands and wait. So a decision was made to select Double D Ranch as our new location and after seeing all that it has to offer for families as well as individuals, I truly believe you won't be disappointed! Our sponsors have designated funds for additional activities for young and older alike and the seating capacity allows us to have an open door policy for latecomers that we no longer had as was the case last year. (Now that doesn't mean wait till 4/17 to place your order because we have to place ours with our caterers by 4/16!)

Also some alums have expressed indirectly a disgruntlement to the extent that they talked of a boycott of our Crawfish Boil. Long before I was involved with the chapter and in many cases before many of you were even born, the purpose of the origination of the LSU Crawfish Boil was to allow alums, friends and families to get together to enjoy fellowship and LA cuisine. As it evolved into a larger project, the silent auction was added to raise funds for scholarships. In addition, proceeds from our CB were added to those funds that now the Crawfish Boil has become the largest fund raiser for our Dallas Chapter. It has only been in the last 2 years that we began utilizing a large portion of membership dues to supplement our Crawfish Boil proceeds.

So by attending the Crawfish Boil and becoming a member of our Dallas Chapter, you are giving back to the university in the form of scholarship money for future generations. And most of this has been done with someone else supplying the labor. So if you are one who feels that we have let you down by leaving Winfrey Point, reread this message! And let it sink in. If we had our choice we'd be at Winfrey Point on the 18th. But sometimes opportunity has a strange way of knocking and I hope that you'll give next month's CB a chance.

Let's all enjoy our time together on the 18th and continue to expand the scholarships available as we begin to endow our 4th Top 100 Scholarship which begins tomorrow! Thanks for your help and support. I look forward to seeing all of you at Double D Ranch on Saturday, April 18th. And thanks for your support of our chapter. We are now over 500 strong and it's all thanks to you!

Geaux Tigers!