New Alumni Chapter Ready and Rajun’ to Go

Posted May 16, 2014 / Last updated July 30, 2014

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Blue Jays gather at the Blue Dog to discuss forming an alumni chapter in the Lafayette area. Pictured from left are alumni director Mat Grau '68, Danny Gillane '83, Gerald Landry '63, Bob Morgan '52, Al "Boo" Trepagnier '52, Gerald Hebert '07, Corey Cloninger '99, Bill Barrois '64, and Tom Bagwill, who serves as Jesuit's director of institutional advancement,

Blue Jays gather at the Blue Dog to discuss forming an alumni chapter in the Lafayette area. Pictured from left are alumni director Mat Grau ’68, Danny Gillane ’83, Gerald Landry ’63, Bob Morgan ’52, Al “Boo” Trepagnier ’52, Gerald Hebert ’07, Corey Cloninger ’99, Bill Barrois ’64, and Tom Bagwill, who serves as Jesuit’s director of institutional advancement,

Nine Blue Jays spanning six decades are ready to establish a Jesuit High School of New Orleans alumni chapter in Acadiana.

Gents ranging from 1952 to 2007 met at the Blue Dog Café in Lafayette on Thursday, May 15 with alumni director Mat Grau ’68 and Tom Bagwill, who serves as Jesuit’s director of institutional advancement.

Grau thanked the group for its interest in keeping Blue Jays who live in the Lafayette area connected to each other and to their alma mater about 135 miles down I-10.

In addition to keeping Blue Jays connected, alumni chapter leaders are asked to recruit alumni in their area to assist with chapter events that foster that connection and cultivate future leadership.

Attending the lunch meeting were Al “Boo” Trepagnier and Bob Morgan from the Class of 1952, Gerald Landry ’63, Bill Barrois ’64, Danny Gillane ’83, Corey Cloninger ’99, and Gerald Hebert ’07. J.B. Postell ’59 and Ryan Parrish ’93 have indicated an interest in assisting the group, but were not able to attend the gathering.

The Lafayette leadership team will meet on Thursday, May 29 to discuss communication and connection efforts and to begin planning the chapter’s first event.

Alumni chapters are up and running in Atlanta, Houston, and Tampa. Houstonian Jays are getting ready for their annual summer crawfish boil. Blue Jays in Central Florida got together recently to participate in an ALS walk in support of Fr. Raymond Fitzgerld, S.J. ’76, Jesuit’s president who is battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Formation work for additional chapters is taking place in Austin, Baton Rouge, Denver, and now Lafayette.