John Pere' reflects on year as Alumni Association president

To my fellow UL Lafayette alumni,

It’s been a great honor to serve as president of the Alumni Association this past year. The theme of my term was “A Call to Action,” and I believe our Alumni Association responded admirably. I’m thankful to everyone for making this year a success.

After two years of experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ragin’ Cajuns were ready for some action this year. We started with phenomenal events in Texas: a social for Houston alumni and great events put on by the staff in Austin, including a pregame party and tailgating on the University of Texas at Austin campus. Our University’s Homecoming was another great event for our alumni. What a week that was! We honored our esteemed 2021 Outstanding Alumni John Bordelon and Ambassador Cindy Courville, put on a tremendous block party, had what I felt was the best Homecoming parade ever for our alumni and fans, and won our football game against Texas State. We also ended the evening with the Christiana Smith African American Alumni Chapter’s Sweet Sounds of Sharing program.
 
After an absence of two years, our Spring Gala returned this year, and what a success it was. This Spring Gala was a significant milestone since it was our 25th anniversary. Your participation helped to raise funds to support our Alumni Association initiatives. Thanks to the honoree, Herbert Schilling, and to those who bought sponsorships and tickets, donated or purchased auction items, and volunteered to make this our most successful Spring Gala to date.

In addition to parties and gatherings, our Alumni Association participated in two events at the Louisiana State Capital: UL System Day and Acadiana Red and White Day, where the University was recognized for its designation as a Carnegie R1 university. This prestigious R1 designation places us among the top 3% of research universities in the United States. These events provided great engagement and networking opportunities.

Many other events took place during the year, and I want to express my sincere appreciation to all the Ragin’ Cajun Clubs and Alumni Chapters that hosted socials, crawfish boils, or watch parties. Putting on these events requires a lot of time and effort. To all the club and chapter presidents, thank you for everything that you do. To all the alumni volunteering on our many committees, thank you for your unwavering dedication. And finally, thank you to our Alumni Association staff, whose hard work and effort made these events possible. Their effort has made my time as president extremely rewarding.

To our alumni, please continue to support the Alumni Association by donating to the Alumni Loyalty Fund, showing your pride by wearing red on Fridays, and attending as many of our events as possible.

In Ragin’ Cajun pride,
John Peré ‘79

Photo Caption: John Pere' speaks at the Louisiana Ring Release. (Photo Credit: Rachel Rafati / University of Louisiana at Lafayette)