A Publication of the Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals Al Dupré, Jr., Editor
 

        PRESIDENT’s MESSAGE:

 Last February, when I was elected to the Presidency of our great organization, little did I know what the year would hold in store for me and our fairs and festivals.  Immediately following Convention 2005, your LAFF Board met that very Sunday and started planning for Convention 2006. 

 I have traveled many miles crisscrossing Louisiana, attending numerous events throughout the year.  I have visited with old friends and made many new friends.  I have been blessed to be honored to serve as your President and will continue to serve LAFF in every way possible.  I have visited all districts of LAFF in the good times and toured the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and Hurricane Rita in Southwest Louisiana and hard hit Cameron Parish.  I know the people of Louisiana are strong and I know our fairs and festivals will come back bigger and better than ever.  Our material possessions may be broken and lost, but our spirits and love for our way of life are strong.  I see it everywhere I go; I hear the strength in every voice.  We, the people of Louisiana, especially those of us who dedicate so much of our lives and our energy to our fairs and festivals, will rebuild.  Know that your LAFF organization and those you elect to serve are here to help in every way possible.

 Thank you to all the people who have touched my life this year and to all who have made me feel so welcome during my travels.  This year will be a year we will all remember.

 May God bless us all and keep us safe.

s/Rob Piraro

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VICE-PRESIDENT’s MESSAGE:

 The 2006 LAFF convention is approaching quickly, so make sure that you have your red, white and blue attire ready to go. 

 The workshops this year will be very informative, we will also have out of state speakers who are very passionate about fairs and festivals and will bring innovative ideas to this convention. 

 We are still in need for food for the hospitality suites, for breakfast and lunch, if you are not able to provide a meal and would like to make a monetary donation please contact me.

I am still in need of military personal to escort the girls on Friday night.  I need at least 10 Military guys to provide us with this service (Active or reserved military).

 I am asking all former military members who will be attending the banquet on Friday night to wear some type of attire that will identify the branch in which you served; I would like to honor everyone who served this great nation.

 I would like to thank everyone who has worked behind the scenes and also everyone who will be working at the convention to make it a successful one.

 All you guys we need participants for the womanless pageant which has been a huge success because of your participation, so get your outfits together to become the next “Miss Guided” Queen.

 I hope everyone enjoyed the Christmas Holidays.  I continue to travel throughout the state and attended several events in the month of December. I have also audited several pageants.  Again, if I can help out in any way I am always willing to lend a helping hand. 

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 Happy New Year to all.  I hope this new year brings far better times than the past year has.  As we begin this new year and approach the 2006 LAFF convention, I hope you have all made your reservations and registered for this year’s convention.  Our Convention Coordinator & Vice President Dennis Mouton has worked tirelessly to make this event one of the most informative and fun events.  Dennis has been so busy working around the tragedies of this past year that he has probably lost many hours of sleep just wanting to make this event the best ever.  To Dennis, I say THANK YOU for a job well done.  I know this will be another successful convention.

  The month of December was somewhat busy in the New Orleans Area.  I had the honor of spending two days with our beautiful Queen of Queens, Lana Meche at the Bridge City Gumbo Festival’s Queens Day and Coronation.  I had the honor of assisting my long time friend and brother, King Creole Gumbo XXXII Mr. Gary M. Girard, cooking on Saturday for Queen Creole Gumbo 2005 Jeanne Marie Harrington and her visiting queens, and also serving as a tour guide for the queens at the Westwego Historical Museum.  I want to thank Mr. Daniel Alario, curator and founder of the museum and his lovely wife for allowing us to visit the museum.  The queens enjoyed themselves immensely.  On Sunday I had the honor of emceeing the coronation of King Creole Gumbo XXXII Mr. Gary Girard and his lovely Queen Angel Marie Harrington, Queen Creole Gumbo 2006.  Gary and I have been friends for over 20 years and have worked together on conventions and special events on the state and local levels.  Congratulations Gary and Angel, may your reigns be as productive as you both have been for your church parish. 

 I also traveled to other parts of the Greater New Orleans Area to visit with fair and festival members.  I can only tell you if you haven’t seen the destruction in person it is beyond belief. Congrats to the Plaquemine Parish Orange Festival.  With the devastation in that parish the diehard group still held their festival and did one terrific job.  The weather was great and the crowds were fantastic.  The Orange Festival was one of the first endeavors in Plaquemines Parish to help the residents return to the normal life and did a fantastic job continuing to lead in returning to the great parish that it has always been. 

 As this LAFF year passes by us and we face a new LAFF year beginning; I would like to extend my thanks to all the LAFF Board Officers and Directors for working so hard for the past year in making LAFF as successful as ever.  Your LAFF Board has worked tirelessly to make YOUR organization grow and to serve in YOUR best interest.  I am requesting your continued support for the incoming officers to continue to make YOUR organization even more successful as we continue to serve your organization in their best interest.

 The LAFF family has suffered great losses in many districts, and I would like to offer my continued support to all LAFF organizations any where in the state.  If you need any assistance within my means, please call on me and let me know.  I will do whatever is humanly possible to assist you in returning to your normalcy with my abnormal assistance.  Contact me through the website, e-mail, telephone or snail-mail and I will gladly assist in any way possible. 

 I have spoken to Kurt Dempster, director for District 7, at the present time he is not anticipating running for the director’s position.  I have been asked to consider the post again, and I will offer my services to the District.  I served for three years as the Director before becoming vice-president, so I offer experience and previous knowledge of the needs of the District, especially in this time of rebuilding after the devastation of Katrina and Rita.  I am announcing my candidacy for the District 7 Directors position and would appreciate your consideration.

 I would also like to remind the members that each District Director is asked to gather memorabilia from the Fairs and Festivals of his or her districts for a District Basket that is given during the convention.  Contact your District Director if you would like to donate to the district basket.  We also have an auction that is a big part of the fun of our sessions; auction items are gratefully accepted in support of our convention.  Paul McGee has also accepted the position of proprietor of the LAFF General Store and anything you donate to the general store helps defray the cost of our convention.  Dennis Mouton, our Convention Coordinator and Director of our “Womanless” Beauty Pageant is seeking contestants for this event, although I don’t really know where he finds the time.  So we are asking each queen to encourage at least one of her festival board members to join in the fun on Thursday night and “Strut Your Stuff for LAFF”.  Contact Dennis or check the website for an application.   

 I also would like to commend our webmaster for a great job keeping our site updated and looking great. As we proceed through the year many innovations have been added.  Anything and everything we do, from Minutes, Applications, Convention Registration, and Queen of Queens info packets have been made available to you.  Many thanks to Gale for his continued efforts at no charge to LAFF, for his untiring dedication in making LAFF available and convenient to our members.  If you haven’t visited our website please do so, you will be pleasantly surprised that anything you want to know about LAFF and its member organizations is available at your fingertips. 

 Looking forward to seeing you all at the 2006 convention.

s/ Warren Deemer

TREASURER’s  REPORT:

 On Friday, December 16, President Rob, Vice President Dennis, and I traveled to the Holiday Inn Select in Baton Rouge to make final preparations for meals and other important convention facets.  Everything seems to be just rolling along and in order.  Other than that venture, the past month has been really slow for me with respect to attending festivals and fairs.

 If anyone is interested in serving on a convention committee, please let Convention Chairman Dennis Mouton know ASAP.  I am sure he would welcome any help possible.

 The next LAFF board meeting will be held on January 21 at the Holiday Inn Select in Baton Rouge at 10 A.M.  If you are interested in attending, you are always welcome.  Unfortunately I will not be able to attend, as I will be chaperoning the Louisiana Cattle Festival Queen on a 7-day cruise to Montego Bay, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Cozumel.  It's a tough job, but someone has to do it!

 Other than the dates of January 15-22, I will be available to any festival/fair needing any assistance with judging, etc.  Please let me know if I can help your association.

 Looking forward to seeing everyone at convention February 16-19!

 s/ Barbara T. Horaist

SECRETARY’s REPORT:

s/ Al Dupré

SUPPLIER DIRECTOR

 Several Trade Show applications have been received already.  There will be a variety of booths to visit at the LAFF Trade Show on Friday, February 17, and Saturday, February 18, at the Holiday Inn Select in Baton Rouge.  Hopefully everyone had great holidays, and I am looking forward to visiting with you all at the LAFF Convention.

 s/ Neal Horaist

        QUEEN of QUEENS

 Happy New Year!  While 2006 brings promises of new beginnings, adventures, and memories, it also signifies the conclusion of my amazing year of reign.  I rang in the new year surrounded by friends and family, and I reflected on how BLESSED I have been this year. 

 In December, I attended the Bridge City Gumbo Queen’s Weekend, where we visited the Westwego Museum and the French Quarter in New Orleans.  We also enjoyed an elegant banquet on Saturday night and beautiful coronation mass on Sunday.  I then traveled to Church Point for a Queen’s Christmas Party and the Church Point Christmas Parade.  I have close ties to that town, and its people (as well as its festivals) will always hold a special place in my heart.  Lastly (for December), I visited the LSU campus, where I watched the Lady Tigers triumph over Michigan State  It was an honor attending the Pre-Game Party and being introduced at half-time!  The highlight of the night was meeting LSU’s Seimone Augustus, the best female college basketball player in the country!  Thank God for pictures!

 In January, I started out my adventures with a “New Years Weekend Fit for a Queen.”  This was an event organized by me and Desirea Pelafigue, Cajun Hot Sauce Queen.  We invited a handful of our closest queen friends, and enjoyed a tea, official New Years toast, bonfire, sleepover, horseback riding, and more.  It was truly a blast!  Next, I attended the Mardi Gras of Southwest Louisiana Pageant in Lake Charles, where the air of celebration got me ready for the upcoming Mardi Gras Season. 

Finally, I traveled to Acadia Parish to see a good friend, Sarah Matte, relinquish her parish Farm Bureau title.  The banquet was great, the food was delicious, and the company was second-to-none.

 Looking forward to my last month of memories,

 s/ Lana Meche

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 LAFF GENERAL STORE

 With convention time drawing near, just a reminder, if your event has any items that can be donated to the LAFF General Store, please do so.  Sales generated through the store go to support the LAFF awards.  You can bring your items to convention on Thursday or ship then to me before convention and I will deliver them.

 Thanks in advance

 Paul McGee

LAFF General Store Chairman

Ship items to:

 Paul McGee

5805 Hiawatha Dr.

Alexandria, LA  71301

ELECTION GUIDELINES

 Requires that an individual MUST be or have been a “board member, officer, staff person Chairperson and presently a member in good standing” of their Fair or Festival in order to be nominated for the LAFF officer or board election.

 Once elected to a LAFF officer or director position the individual may serve out their term.

 Nominations MUST be made in writing by the Convention delegate (or a current officer) of the LAFF member fair or festival to the nominating committee anytime prior to the closing of the Friday business session of the annual meeting or 5 P.M. which ever is the latest.

 Nominating committee shall present a slate of candidates for all officer and board positions no later than the Friday business session of the annual meeting.

Nominations from the floor may be made ONLY by a voting Convention delegate (or a current officer) of the LAFF member fair or festival.

 Nominations from the floor will be done ONLY at the Friday afternoon business session and nominations will close at the closing of the Friday business session of the annual meeting or 5 P.M. which ever is the latest.  The Secretary will prepare a ballot for the election of Officers.  The Secretary will prepare a ballot for the election of Directors, that will include the names of the Officers nominees where more than one person is nominated.  It is required that Directors be elected from designated areas of the state.  It is required that candidates for Treasurer and Secretary be bondable.  By-laws require that the president “appoint the nominating committee for the election of officers and directors consisting of not less than three (3) members but no more than five (5) members.  The State of Louisiana will be divided in seven (7) LAFF Districts for the election of board members.  2005 Elections will be held in District 1 & 5;

2006 Elections will be held in District 2, 6 & 7; only members of the individual districts will be allowed to vote in these districts.

EVENTS TO ATTEND

With the recent storms, information has been updated as available, always call before going; especially this year!

January 7

Rice Capital Championship Gumbo Cook-Off

Crowley

January 12 - 14

LA Fur and Wildlife Festival

March 31 - April 2

Patterson Cypress Sawmill Festival

Patterson