Tiger pride isn’t limited to the confines of East Baton Rouge Parish; there is plenty to be found in northwest Louisiana.
The annual Webster-Claiborne LSU Alumni Association golf tournament and fish fry will be held Thursday, July 7, featuring guest speaker Jacob Hester, the starting running back on LSU’s 2007 national championship team.
“Jacob is LSU purple all the way,” tournament organizer Gary Haynes said. “He can talk LSU football today just as long as he could back then. Jacob wasn’t a real big player. He was fast, but not lightning speed, but to me he was the type of person who had the heart.”
That heart led Hester over the 1,000 yard mark his senior season for the Tigers, a year that included an unforgettable victory over the Florida Gators and Tim Tebow, a Southeastern Conference Championship win over Tennessee in the Georgia Dome and a BCS National Championship win against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Easy.
“We all remember that Florida game,” Haynes said. “He wore the special No. 18 jersey, as voted on by the players. He’s a great speaker and a great ambassador for LSU.”
The day begins with the Webster-Claiborne LSUAA golf tournament at 10 a.m. Tournament format is a two-man scramble (at least 18 years of age to play), and the tournament is seeking sponsors for teams at two different pricing options.
Purple Sponsor – $500 – Includes Hole Sponsor Sign, one two-person team, four mulligans/player, 5-iron shot/player, Express Registration, Gift, four tickets to the banquet and fish fry and sponsor name on banner.
Gold Sponsor – $1,000 – includes Hole Sponsor Sign, 2 two-person teams, 4 mulligans/player, 5-iron shot/player, Express Registration, Gift, 1 reserved table (8 tickets) for banquet and fish fry, signage with name and logo on table and sponsor name on banner.
Hole Sponsorships are also available at $100 to have your company displayed on a sign at one of the 18 tee boxes.
Make checks payable to Webster-Claiborne LSUAA. Mail to Gary W. Haynes, P.O. Box 29, Minden, LA 70158. The deadline to register for the tournament is Friday, July 1.
The tournament will be followed by hospitality hour at 5:30 p.m. with the fish fry and banquet to follow at 6:30. This year’s tournament sponsor is Elm Street Dental Center, with Gibsland Bank & Trust sponsoring the banquet and Citizens National Bank hosting the hospitality hour. Threr will also be raffle items, plus a silent and live auction of LSU merchandise and memorabilia.
Banquet and Fish Fry tickets are $30 per person or $50 per couple, and all proceeds from the day’s events go to the LSU Scholarship Fund for qualifying Webster-Claiborne students.
“This whole event is centered around scholarships for kids going to LSU,” Haynes said. “This will be the third year that we have given two, $1,000 scholarships, with each student receiving $1,000 per year.”
Haynes said the scholarship recipients are chosen following interviews with Webster-Claiborne chapter members, adding the winners must maintain the academic requirements each year to keep the scholarship.
With the recent success of the tournament and banquet, Haynes said the dollar amount of the yearly scholarship could increase soon.
“We’re probably a couple years away from being comfortable moving it up, but with the way higher education is going right now the kids might need it,” Haynes said. “This is all about the students, and I’m real proud of the way this event has turned out over the last few years.”
To RSVP for the banquet, please contact Kay Elzen at (318) 377-8364 or (318) 455-2294.