By Doug Ireland
The calendar is flipping faster and faster as summer is on the horizon, and specifically for Cenla and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, festivities approach and behind-the-scenes preparations are at a rapid rate.
Just a couple weeks away, May 11-12, is the Spring 2026 Celebrity Golf Classic at Links on the Bayou in Alexandria. It’s fitting to have the LSHOF Foundation event here since the Class of 2026 is dotted with local and area inductees.
Alexandria’s Warren Morris, Tioga High’s Kathy Holloway are the locals. Plainview High graduate Dewain Strother, the wildly successful girls basketball coach at Florien High, and Mike McConathy, the state college record-setter up I-49 at Northwestern, are the four Cenla stars.
Among the other inductees are LSU heroes John Brady, Sylvia Fowles and Todd McClure.
The Golf Classic will include several from the Class of 2026 in the celebrity lineup along with a blend of past inductees and LSU and NFL notables. Menard High graduate Ronnie Rantz, the CEO/President of the LSHOF Foundation, always has a stout lineup filled with star power to shine for all who participate in the golf events.
There’s a Monday night pairings party for tournament participants and guests at Spirits, with the golf tournament, a four-person scramble welcoming both team and individual entries, teeing off at 10 a.m. Tuesday, May 12, at Links. At both events, count on lots of great food and a festive scene, with plenty of LSHOF swag for the players.
To register or for more information, visit LaSportsHall.com or call Greg Burke of the Foundation staff at 318-663-5459.
Meanwhile, Burke, Rantz, staff, volunteers and Louisiana Public Broadcasting producer Chris Lecoq are busy preparing for the June 25-27 Induction Celebration, which includes seven public events, four that are ticketed. All that info is on the LaSportsHall.com website as well. If you’re not comfortable with making online purchases, LSHOF Foundation operations manager Ronnette Pellegrin is your go-to at 318-332-8539.
Lecoq is burning up the state highways, traveling from Spearsville to New Orleans, from Shreveport to Sunset, and many other destinations including Tioga, Alexandria, Sabine Parish, Ruston and Natchitoches taping interviews and getting footage for LPB’s coverage of the Saturday night, June 27 Induction Ceremony.
Last Thursday, he was at the LSHOF museum at 800 Front Street in Natchitoches, taping interviews with Holloway, Strother, McConathy conducted by another Cenla legend and 2018 LSHOF inductee Lyn Rollins. He was in town from his new home of Auburn, Ala., for his Friday night, April 24 induction in the Bolton High School Alumni Hall of Fame, and put in several hours of effort at the Hall the day before.
Meanwhile, members of the Louisiana Sports Writers Association are preparing profile stories on the 12 people in the Class of 2026 for distribution in June to media outlets statewide, for the LaSportsHall.com website, and for use in the Induction Celebration commemorative full-color, 120-page program. Among the contributing writers are locals John Marcase, the current LSWA president, and the venerable Bob Tompkins, longtime Town Talk writer, editor and columnist now a weekly contributor to the RapidesParishJournal.com.
There’s much more going in behind the curtains in preparation for the big week at the end of June, which includes the annual Celebrity Bowling Classic at All-Star Lanes in Alexandria at lunchtime Friday, June 26. Again, registration for team and individual entries is at the LaSportsHall.com website.
But first, if you’re a golfer, May 11-12 is right around the corner. And if you’re not a golfer but enjoy a fun-filled gathering with sports stars and plenty of panache, tickets for the Monday night May 11 pairings party are within reach.
