Several hundred sports enthusiasts and area residents were joined by NSU’s own Doug Ireland and the other inductees into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame at the welcome reception for the LSHOF’s 2021 class held Thursday, August 26. The event was free and open to the public and was an excellent opportunity to meet some of our state’s sports legends.
The official portraits of each inductee were on display for the first time to the general public. Each portrait shows the inductee in the context of his or her sport and is a tradition of the Hall of Fame. In addition, a silent auction of donated items and sports memorabilia helped raise funds for the organization.
The festivities are far from finished. Friday will feature a concert along the riverbank complete with signature Natchitoches quality fireworks show. Saturday morning will feature the Junior Training Camp on the NSU campus in which young people will be able to test their abilities, win prizes and learn what it takes to succeed on-and off-the playing field. The weekend will culminate at the induction dinner Saturday evening at the Natchitoches Events Center.
With all the cancellations in sports and schools starting Friday, I wondered why they didn’t push this celebration to another weekend? Go figure…..