The Touchdown Club of New Orleans, Inc. Newsletter 2015-16 OFFICERS & BOARD OF DIRECTORS Officers Theresa Lowe, President Roslyn Duplessie, 1st Vice-President Lynn Lewis, 2nd Vice-President Shereen LeCron, Secretary Mary Ann Caruso, Treasurer Chairman of the Board John Kohl Board of Directors Mary J. Axinn Delinda Duncan Delton Graves John Murphy Wayne Ory JoAnn Senko Korey Songe Paula Szubinski Joanne Witcher Board Advisors Beverly Y. Bellows Charlie Breaux Jimmy Hand Charlie Heim From The President GREETINGS TOUCHDOWN CLUB OF NEW ORLEANS MEMBERS! 2015 has started out extremely well for the Club. Fortunately, we have sold out every event thus far. Please keep up the good work. As you all know, the Saints are in full swing with many new faces, and we are as well with many new members. We are excited about that. Importantly, we have our largest event, the annual Meet the Saints Luncheon, scheduled on September 2, 2015, at the beautiful Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown New Orleans. Please mark your calendars. Let's aim for a record attendance at this always enjoyable event. All of the dates for our upcoming events are contained in this newsletter and we hope to have as much participation as possible. I believe it will be a fun and exciting year. Please also check the dates and sites for our upcoming dinner meetings. We have some new and exciting venues that we believe you will enjoy. We look forward to record club participation at all of the events, and having a banner year, just like our SAINTS! Terry A Lowe President, Touchdown Club of New Orleans
page 2 2015 Meet The Saints Luncheon This year s Meet the Saints Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, September 2, 2015, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 601 Loyola Avenue. Doors will open at 10:45 a.m. and lunch will be served at 12:00 noon. Jim Henderson will be the emcee and the National Anthem will be performed by Amanda Shaw. Once again, Saints merchandise will be available to purchase from Geaux For The Gold and there will be a silent auction with items provided by American Pastime. The ticket price is $75 each or $750 for a table of 10. The event is open to all Saints fans 14 years old and older. ABSOLUTELY NO Jeans, T-Shirts, Jerseys or Shorts. The deadline to order tickets is Tuesday, August 28, 2015. Payment must be received IN FULL before tickets are issued. You may order your tickets online at www.tdcno.com. The membership committee is happy to report we have 157 returning members and 26 new members waiting to be inducted. This should provide for a very social year of meeting old friends and making new friends. Our newest members include: 2015-2016 Membership Report by M.J. Axxin Mandy Arsenaux Shelly Badeaux Loyd & Rita Bagot Ruthe Birdsall Alex Campbell William DeAngelis Linda Hendricks James & Bernadette Hines Jeanne Junot Craig Lopes Dottie Matlock Andrea Mayeur William & Pamela Dunn Meariman Tracy Moore Dana Parfait Gary Riedlinger Buddy & Nicole Schiro Wilfred & Rosemary Trepagnie Kimberly Vazquez Marcelle Waguespack Vickie Wakefield Golf Tournament -- Michael Degan and Tristan Manthey represented the Touchdown Club at the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation Golf Tournament that was held May 15, 2015 at Lakewood Golf Course at Lakewood Golf Course.
page 3 Dinner Meeting Schedule by Lynn Lewis It s time to mark your calendar and make plans to attend this year s dinner meetings, and there are some new restaurants that have been added. The price of the dinners will remain at $40. Payment may be made at the door by check (made payable to The Touchdown Club of New Orleans) or with exact cash. You may also pay online with a credit card. Reservations may be made online at TDCNO.com or by calling the Club s phone line at 504-242-4545. If you are calling by phone, please speak slowly and clearly with member(s) name and entrée selection and a phone number. Please note the dates below for the start and end dates of each reservation period. If you make a reservation, you must cancel by the Reservations End Date/Time listed. If you do not cancel by this date/time, you will be responsible for payment of your dinner ($40). Reservations Reservations Dinner Date Max Number Start Date/Noon End Date/Noon (Tuesdays) of Guests Restaurant Wed., September 2 Wed., September 9 September 15 55 Porter & Luke s 1517 Metairie Road Fri., September 11 Fri., September 18 September 29 120 Messina s at the Terminal (Lakefront Airport) 6001 Stars and Stripes Blvd. New Orleans, LA Wed., September 30 Wed., October 7 October 13 70 The Red Maple 1036 Lafayette St. Gretna, LA Wed., October 14 Wed., October 21 October 27 70 Impastato s 3400 16 th Street Wed., October 21 Wed., October 28 November 3 74 Dooky Chase 2301 Orleans Ave. New Orleans, LA Wed., November 18 Wed., November 25 December 1 64 Austin s 5101 W. Esplanade Ave. Wed., December 2 Wed., December 9 December 15 80 Café Hope 1101 Barataria Blvd. Marrero, LA Wed., December 9 Wed., December 16 December 22 65 The Peppermill 3524 Severn Avenue Tailgate Party The Club will host a Tailgate Party again this season. The date is Sunday, October 4 th before the Dallas game. Stay tuned for more details. For more information on these events, please go to the Club s web site, www.tdcno.com.
page 4 A Day at the Races Touchdown Club members, their family and friends enjoyed A Day at the Races on Saturday, February 21, 2015, at The New Orleans Fair Grounds. The day included lunch in the clubhouse. It was also the Louisiana Derby preview day at the track and, as usual, there was a special race dedicated to The Touchdown Club. If you have never attended this event, plan to join your fellow members next year for a fun day at the track in 2016. Annual Meeting The Touchdown Club Annual Meeting took place on Saturday, February 28, 2015, at Chateau County Club in Kenner. Those attending enjoyed a delicious sit down dinner. Following a vote by the membership, the new officers and board members were announced. (See photo below.) The 2015-2016 Touchdown Club officers and board members: Top: Delton Graves, John Murphy, John Kohl (Chairman of the Board), Korey Songe, and Wayne Ory. Bottom: Lynn Lewis (2 nd Vice President), Joanne Witcher, Mary Ann Caruso (Treasurer), Paula Szubinski, Terry Lowe (President), Jo Ann Senko, Shereen LeCron (Secretary), and Roslyn Duplessie (1 st Vice President). Looking ahead, you can mark your calendar for next year s meeting to be held at Chateau Country Club on March 5, 2016. Web Site If anyone has photos from Club events, including dinner meetings, please send them to Mary Ann Caruso at mcaruso@laitram.com so they can be posted to the web site.
page 5 Annual Awards Banquet by Terry Lowe This event was sold out hours after our press release this year. All who attended enjoyed it immensely, and for those who could not attend, this was the best banquet ever. Charlie Heim and his Committee worked incredibly hard to come up with an amazing program and Mike Detillier did an excellent job as emcee. The award recipients this year were: John Deshazier, The Bob Roesler Media Award; Tim Detillier- Prep Coach of the Year Award; Mark Hudspeth of ULL- Collegiate Coach of the Year; and, of course, NFL Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw, who received The Pete Rozelle Award. John Deshazier was so humbled by the award that he was almost speechless. Tim Detillier entertained the crowd with a "clapping game" which was much fun. Mark Hudspeth also entertained with great personal anecdotes. And last, but certainly not least, Terry Bradshaw was extremely gracious, highly entertaining, and humble. He had a marvelous time, as did we. Terry flew to the event on a private jet, at no cost to the Club, and brought friends with him, whom he picked up en route. He ate, drank, took pictures, signed autographs, and was as gracious as he could be. He kept the crowd in stitches with his funny stories. Terry delighted everyone when he said he came out of the closet" at Fox when he proclaimed that he loved the Saints and will be a Saints fan forever. Who Dat! From left to right: Tim Detillier (Prep Coach of the Year Award), Terry Lowe (President, The Touchdown Club), Mike Detillier (Master of Ceremonies), Charlie Heim (Advisor, The Touchdown Club), Terry Bradshaw (Pete Rozelle Award), Mark Hudspeth (College Coach of the Year). John DeShazier (Bob Roesler Media Award), John Kohl (Chairman of the Board, The Touchdown Club) Terry Bradshaw NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback Pete Rozelle Award Mark Hudspeth ULL Head Football Coach College Coach of the Year Tim Detillier Lutcher High School Head Football Coach Prep Coach of the Year John DeShazier Lutcher High School Head Football Coach Prep Coach of the Year
page 6 Super Boil by Terry Lowe Kudos to Mary Ann Caruso and her Committee who did a terrific job at the Super Boil, which was also well attended. It was a great opportunity for fans to meet the new Saints. The rookies enjoyed the event and, we hope, the crawfish. Ronnie (Rockin Ron) Chouest rocked, as usual, and even Elvis paid the rookies a visit. The crawfish were delicious, too. Our scholarship recipient Jonathan Coco and his girlfriend were there, and they also had a fine time. Former Saints players, such as Jack Holmes and Mike Strachan, also attended. Although the silent auction was smaller this year, the Club grossed $3,000! John Kohl, Terry Lowe, Elisha Broussard Sheridan and Samantha McLain Elvis (Randy Bonavel), rookie quarterback Garrett Grayson, Terry Lowe Fr. Ronnie Calkins and Charlie Heim Touchdown Club members teach new Saints the art of peeling crawfish. James Willis (Defensive Assistant/ Linebackers) and Greg Lewis (Offensive Assistant) Rookie linebacker Hau'oli Kikaha enjoys crawfish at the Super Boil. Saints Hall of Fame Golf Tournament Each year the Club sponsors a hole at the Saints Hall of Fame Golf Tournament held at Chateau Country Club. At the tournament, current and former Saints players are matched to a golf team. Sponsorship sign Lynn Lewis with linebacker David Hawthorne. Lynn was a volunteer for the tournament.