Neville’s Top Tigers

Neville Alumni and Friends Association Hosts Annual Banquet Honoring Students and Teachers

THE 22ND ANNUAL EDUCATORS & STUDENTS’ EXELLENCE

Banquet honoring the 2023 Top Tigers of Neville High School and the teachers who inspired them was held on February 16th, 2023 at the Bayou Pointe Event Center on ULM’s beautiful campus. This annual event is hosted by the Neville Alumni and Friends Association (NAFA). It is NAFA’s mission to provide supplemental funding for programs or projects to enhance the quality of instructional delivery and student life, and to promote excellence in higher education at Neville High School.

ULM graciously aids NAFA in celebrating Excellence in Education. Each Top Tiger is presented with a special medallion which states “ULM Appreciates Excellence in Education.” We were honored to have ULM President Dr. Ron Berry, ULM Interim Vice President of Enrollment Management & University Relations Lisa Miller, and Kaitlin Arnett from ULM Recruitment present the medallions to our Tigers.

The 2023 Ouida McGee Educator Excellence Award was presented by 2022 winner Jeff Gregory to Allen Wise. This prestigious award is presented each year to a Neville teacher who is outstanding in his/her field of education and goes way beyond their appointed course work to teach and mentor our students. Our beneficators of this award are Mr. & Mrs. Mike McGee ’64 and Mrs. Susan McElroy Weaver ’69 of James Machine Works.

Our wonderful guest speaker was Dhu Thompson, a ‘70 graduate of Neville High school and a graduate of ULM, formerly Northeast Louisiana University. Mr. Thompson was in the banking industry for over 16 years before leaving that industry and founding Delta Plastics of the South in Stuttgart, AR. He spoke of his time at Neville High School and how it influenced his life. He also talked about his mother, Nibby Thompson, who taught English for many years at Neville High School.

We graciously thank each of our loyal table sponsors who make the night possible including: Anzalone Periodontics, Mr. & Mrs. William Barkley, Mr. & Mrs. Mike Breen, Mr. Guy Campell, Mr. & Mrs. Jose Roberto Chirinos, Dr. Mena Cho, Globke Chriopractic Clinic, Mr. & Mrs. Mike Graham, Mr. & Mrs. Bob Cooper, Dr. & Mrs. Mark Napoli, Mr. & Mrs. Malcolm Oakley, Gretchen Pettis & Rick Pettis, Dr. & Mrs. Chris Robinson, Golden Roofing, Mr. & Mrs. Bryan Taylor, Tammy Phan, Tuft Pediatric Dentistry, Mr. Ronnie Davidson, Mr. & Mrs. Fred Hill, Mr. & Mrs. Wally McMakin, Dr. & Mrs. Lee Miller, Dr. & Mrs. Justin Tarver, Progressive Bank, Graduate Sales, Mr. & Mrs. Frank Nettles and Mr. & Mrs. Alex Hayward.

Our head table centerpieces were beautiful and donated by our longtime loyal alumnus Joe Farr. Lovely dinner music was provided by

Mr. Rod Allen Payne.

Our banquet committee was headed by Maggie Zentner along with committee members Anna Lisa Deal, Jennifer Graham, Nici Hanks, Kathy Hart, Dana Jefferson, Caron McPherson, Emily Rash and Kristi Vinson. We also give special thanks to our Neville counselors Shannon Sanson and Laura Bryan.

It was a wonderful evening!

We are proud to have been able to honor our Top Tigers of 2023 and their teachers.

NAFA Executive Director

Top Tigers and the teachers they honored:

Brooks Vincent Anzalone

Elizabeth Grace Barkley

Sage Haane Bell

Lauren Elizabeth Breen

Claire Rookh Campbell

Elle Alexander Carter

Jeff Rodney Chirinos

Emerson Faith Globke

Lauren Jeannine Graham

Connie Ke

Briley Grace Kelly

Rabab Moqer

Adeline Lord Miller

Gabriella Rose Napoli

Annabelle Josephine Oakley

Christine Daniel Oakley

Chandler Breland Pettis

Christopher Ellis Pettis

Charlotte Elizabeth Robinson

Wilson Wess Spence

Claire Diane Taylor

Matthew Vu

Ryan James Walker

Leonard Ceaser

Kody J. Chase

Susan Kenney

Katherine Sandifer

Sheri Hand

Christina Nguyen

Allison Davis

Elizabeth Smith

Kathryn Waters

Mary Napoli

Shannon Sanson

Kathy Rasco

Nancy Anderson

Jeff Gregory

Tammy Hopkins

Beverly Lapite

Eric Herndon

Paula Garrett

James Rogers

Karari Hanks

Abigail Boothe

Amanda May

Anna Rambin years, my lure of choice from April through May, regardless of the lake I was fishing, was a Bullfrog colored Heddon Baby Torpedo. I wish I had a dollar for every dollar I had won in late spring/early summer tournaments using this lure. Taking it a step further, in the summer months, I had a lot of success throwing the clear Baby Torpedo around the grass flats. I haven’t seen another angler throwing this lure in years!

Icaught my first bass at the age of five, on Lake Lafourche, fishing off the pier on a bright chartreuse Mister Twister ribbon tailed worm, at my grandmother’s camp. That was over fifty years ago, and I remember it like it was yesterday. The thrill of catching a fish, on a cast I had made, working the bait by myself, was the start of a lifelong addiction, and it still runs deep to this day.

As I began writing a skeleton outline for this month’s Bayou Life “Fishing with Kenny” article, I began going through my mind about all the lures, techniques and everything fish related we have talked about over the years. As I look back over the almost ten years of articles, it is amazing to see just how much we have covered. And just when I think there is nothing else to write about, another idea comes to mind.

When it comes to bass fishing, there really are no more secrets. With technology, “secret spots” are now considered community holes. “Secret lures” are now outdated due to the internet and YouTube. What was a secret today will be known by the masses by tomorrow. Such is the world we live in. But is this true? There are secrets, but we have forgotten about them because we have become blinded by the newest, best and brightest lures in our tackleboxes.

Most bass anglers know a Crème worm only when throwing a Wobblehead. Did you know it is one of the best flipping/ pitching lures you can use in the summer months when the water gets hot, and the bass becomes sluggish? In August if there is a better worm to flip trees with than an 8-inch Plum Crème worm, I don’t know what worm it would be. The key is to use a smaller slip sinker, usually a 1/8th ounce, and a little lighter line than normal, I always used 14 Trilene XT, and be as stealthy as possible with your presentations. The lighter line and sinker allow the worm to “glide” as it falls through the water column. It’s deadly!