The celebration takes place on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 – 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CST
Restaurant location is 440 Keyser Ave., Natchitoches, LA 71457
Chick-fil-A’s Cow Appreciation Day is Tuesday, July 14,2026 and we would love you to join us to celebrate!
Guests who visit our restaurant dressed like a cow or dressed in their best cow-inspired spots can get a free selected chicken entrée that day.
A little history on the day:
Cow Appreciation Day first launched in 2005 as a lighthearted idea built around fun, community and the iconic Chick-fil-A Cows. Over time, it grew into one of the brand’s most recognizable traditions.
For nearly 15 years, Customers showed up dressed like Cows to celebrate together, turning a one-day event into something that created lasting memories for families, Team Members and communities alike. That kind of enthusiasm and connection is rare, and a reflection of the unique relationship Customers have with Chick-fil-A.
Now, after a seven-year pause, Cow Appreciation Day returns as part of Summer of Cows and the 2026 year of Newstalgia. For Natchitoches, this is our first celebration, and we would love to see you in store and have you celebrate with us.
Our cow will be making an appearance that day as well. At 5 PM bring your kiddos and join us for “Reading with the Cow” where we will read a book together and take photos with the cow.
We can’t wait to see you in your best cow gear on Tuesday!
*Offer valid only on July 14, 2026, 7:00 A.M. through 7:00 P.M.
CST. One (1) free entrée per person. Available free entrée options will be posted in store. Cow-themed attire required. Subject to availability. Cannot be combined with other offers or Chick-fil-A One® rewards. Guests can redeem free entrées via dine-in, carry-out or the drive-thru.
Journal staff taking a break for America’s 250th celebration
There’s a birthday party for all of us this weekend.
The United States of America turns 250 years old Saturday on Independence Day. The staff at the Natchitoches Parish Journal is getting a well-deserved break to celebrate the holiday beginning early, and as a result there will not be a Friday edition this week only.
We’ll be back early Monday morning online, publishing our free-to-everybody news, information and sports coverage that you count on.
Enjoy your holiday weekend events and celebrate the home of the brave, and the land of the free.
When you think of bigtime celebrating in Louisiana, most people automatically think “New Orleans.”
I get it.
A town with few rivals. Internationally appreciated. A culture all its own. Can’t walk down its streets without overhearing several different languages.
I love it.
But if you want to celebrate without the traffic, the potholes, and a less likelihood of your car getting jacked, you getting mugged, or your toilet getting backed up, I’ll take Natchitoches any day of the week.
(I’d take Ruston, Minden, and Farmerville too, and we haven’t even gotten out of northwest Louisiana yet.)
Louisiana is blessed with small-town goodness.
But today, for a special reason, the salute goes to charming, quaint, welcoming Natchitoches.
Of course there are the annual Christmas lights. (I might be the only person in a five-state area who’s never been.) Eeeeeeeverybody loves the Christmas lights.
But Natty lights up each summer too.
The annual Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame class is inducted each June, usually on the fourth weekend. The welcome mat, the red carpet, the good times are rolled out and one of the South’s finest small towns says, “Come on and getcha some!”
Last weekend was no exception, and my encouraging word would be to consider going next summer or the next or as soon as you can to a Hall of Fame weekend. All the deets — plus a replay of the ceremony and video intros of each inductee, all produced by the team of all-stars at Louisiana Public Broadcasting — are at lasportshall.com.
The weekend never disappoints.
If you haven’t studied just how the actual LASHOF works, the induction side of it, please be encouraged to read this effort by Doug Ireland, the chairman of the Hall. The road to the sports hall of fame in your state is significantly steeper than the road to the sports halls of fame in most any other state. Most states are trying to scrape together a couple of inductees each year. Louisiana’s selection committee has year-long knock-down drag-outs to figure out which eight stars should be inducted that year.
And each year, some deserving candidates are left knocking on the door. It’s fascinating that in Louisiana, you can’t swing a cat without it hitting a Super Bowl winner, All-American, Pro-Bowler, Olympic medalist, national champ, All Star … and the list goes on.
And on and on.
And each year, more stars and studs become eligible.
The setting is always a no-doubter. Natchitoches. The actual Hall of Fame on Front Street. (Don’t forget to go upstairs! It’s a state history museum, not just sports.) The Cane River Right There, even though it’s not a river. The awnings. The bricked street. The food.
The flowers. The hospitality.
It’s a movie set.
And then the Events Center, decorated more beautifully each year. (One member of this year’s induction class didn’t “get it” until Saturday night when he saw the joint. “Wait a minute,” he said. “I thought … I didn’t know it was going to be like this.”
Oh, it’s a big deal. Done right.
And if you walk downtown a couple of hours after the Saturday night induction, all is calm again. Like walking in a painting.
Because of the pandemic in 2020, two ceremonies were held in 2021. In the same summer. Both were full throttled. Natty didn’t skimp. Sponsors, volunteers, organizers: everyone showed up with their A-games. The whole town is like a living Statue of Liberty.
And this year’s inductees? Humble. Authentic. Seldom does an inductee disappoint. They get what ball means to Louisiana, and maybe through the ceremony and the weekend, they begin to get how they each fit into the state’s Phenomenal, Stunning Sports Story.
The Hall’s a place where legends live, and Natchitoches keeps the lights on and the fire burning so you can meet them any time.
Pat Williams (center) and Todd McClure (right) shared the stage with Tim Brando (left) a few feet apart last Saturday, just as the duo was in close quarters several times in college and NFL. (Photo by CHRIS REICH, for the LSWA)
Foes up front in college, NFL, new Hall of Fame inductees meet once again
By JASON PUGH, Written for the LSWA
They collided, literally, in their college and pro football careers, lining up across from each other on the front lines.
Last weekend’s reunion for Todd McClure and Pat Williams could not have been more pleasant. They were the big fellas in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame’s 2026 induction class that made its final step into the Hall at the Induction Ceremony last Saturday night at the Natchitoches Events Center.
McClure, a center throughout his long NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons, had banged up against Williams, a nose tackle for Buffalo and Minnesota, numerous times in their playing days. They first met in a couple of college games when LSU and McClure took on Williams and Texas A&M.
They had an easy camaraderie and obvious mutual respect apparent from last Thursday when they met at the Hall of Fame museum before the introductory press conference.
“Ohh, yes, we do know each other,” said McClure. “Nobody wanted to see Pat Williams on the other side of the ball.”
They took different paths to the NFL. Williams, at Wossman High in Monroe, needed to go to junior college after not taking academics too seriously. He was an All-American there and a standout for the Aggies in two seasons, but was not chosen in the NFL Draft. He made it in Buffalo behind Pro Football Hall of Famer Bruce Smith as a free agent, launching a 13-year NFL career.
McClure was an All-America center as a senior at LSU, but was picked in the last round of the draft by Atlanta. Nobody could deny him in a distinguished 14-season stay with the Falcons.
A three-sport star at Central High School, McClure went to nearby LSU with designs on playing both football and baseball, where he would have teamed with his brother, Trey, an All-American on the diamond.
Instead, it took former Tiger coach Gerry DiNardo all of three games to nix any idea of Todd McClure joining his brother at venerable Alex Box Stadium.
“I had played mostly tight end and defensive end in high school,” McClure said. “I didn’t know how quickly I could pick it up. My sports background allowed me to pick it up so quickly. It helped to have Alan Faneca, an NFL Hall of Famer, teaching me the ropes. Coach DiNardo told me I had a chance to make the NFL. For a freshman, for him to put those thoughts in my mind, meant a lot.”
After a standout career anchoring the Tiger offensive line and twice earning All-SEC honors, McClure was a seventh-round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons.
There, the man fellow Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Kevin Faulk referred to as the second smartest player on that Tiger team and a true leader, McClure overcame a season-ending knee injury as a rookie to become even more than a foundation player for the Falcons.
“Todd was our rock of Gibraltar,” Falcons owner Arthur Blank said. “He’s one of the greats in the history of the Atlanta Falcons franchise. He’s an exceptional human being and leader in the NFL.”
A member of the Falcons’ Ring of Honor, McClure spent all 14 of his NFL seasons with the Falcons, a rarity in the current professional sports landscape.
“He dedicated himself not only to the team, but to his family,” said his father, Leo McClure. “He was able to keep them in one city. Sorry, Saints fans, once he was a Falcon, he was always a Falcon.”
McClure cited the meaning behind the Ring of Honor as the culmination of what he hoped for as a player.
“It wasn’t about awards or accolades,” he said. “You want to earn the respect of your teammates and coaches and the people you played against. For your owner to come out and show you that type of respect is why I played the game and why I loved the game.”
McClure and many offensive linemen during his career had plenty of respect for Monroe native Pat Williams.
Williams’ path from a standout career at Wossman High School to the NFL took him through the junior college route, beginning his college career at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas.
After playing at Texas A&M and going undrafted, Williams grinded his way into the league and established a lengthy, often-dominant career at nose tackle, earning three Pro Bowl berths and a remarkable 37 game balls.
“I can’t say I was doubted,” Williams said. “I was doubting myself. I wasn’t doing school work like I should have been doing school work (in high school).”
Williams signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 1997 and enjoyed a standout eight-season run with the Bills, “tolerating” the blustery Buffalo winters.
In his lone foray into free agency, Williams signed with the Minnesota Vikings after the 2004 season. There he teamed with Kevin Williams (no relation) to form the dominant “Williams Wall” within the Vikings’ defensive line.
“He showed up and did some great things,” said Vikings defensive line coach Karl Dunbar. “Our first three years with Pat, we set an NFL record for holding teams under 63 yards on the ground. I saw the ability in Pat that he could really move around. He did that in college and in Buffalo. That’s how he earned the right to get to Minnesota.”
Those years with the Vikes capped a fabulous NFL run and earned him a weekend in Natchitoches, to claim the ultimate accolade in his career.
Arthur O’Quinn Walker Jr., 76, of Dallas, Texas, passed away peacefully on June 7, 2026. Art was born on September 5, 1949, in Natchitoches, Louisiana, to Arthur O’Quinn Walker Sr. and Mildred Louise Adkins Walker. He grew up in Shreveport, where he attended Fair Park High School before continuing his education at Louisiana Tech University. He then studied at the University of Texas, where he earned his master’s degree in petroleum engineering.
While attending Louisiana Tech, Art met the love of his life, Donna Lee Spargo. They married and shared 56 years together, building a life centered on faith, family, and service to others. Art faithfully served his country in the United States Navy for 20 years, retiring with the rank of Commander. Following his military service, he had a successful career in the oil and gas industry. He started as a petroleum engineer with John D. Caruthers, and ultimately partnered with Witt Caruthers to purchase Caruthers Producing Co., where he stayed until his retirement.
More than any title or accomplishment, Art was defined by his faith, his devotion to his family, and the quiet strength with which he lived his life. He loved Jesus deeply and demonstrated that love through humble service, unwavering loyalty, and steadfast commitment to those around him. He was a man whose actions spoke louder than words. Disciplined, loyal, kind, generous, selfless, hard-working, patient, and humble, Art lived his convictions daily.
After coming to know Christ, one of Art’s most treasured habits was rising early each morning to study God’s Word. His faith was not merely something he professed—it shaped the way he lived, loved, and served others. For more than 30 years, he faithfully served as a >deacon at First Baptist Bossier, investing in his church and encouraging those around him. Art’s greatest joy was his family. Known affectionately as Pops to his children and grandchildren, he rarely missed an opportunity to cheer them on. Across their variety of interests, he was there—quietly present, faithfully supportive, and genuinely interested in the lives of those he loved. Nothing brought him greater happiness than spending time with his family and watching his children and grandchildren thrive.
Art is survived by his beloved wife, Donna Lee Spargo Walker; his children, Todd Walker, Mark and his wife Hannah Walker, Lindsey and her husband Chad Hutchinson, Kelsey and her husband Jay Hills, and daughter-in-law Katie Walker; his grandchildren, Riley Walker, Jackson Walker, Presley Walker, Shea Walker, Chloe Walker, Isabella Walker, Justus Walker, Sky Walker, Isaac Hutchinson, Wyatt Hutchinson, London Hutchinson, Hyde Hills, and Remy Hills; and his siblings, Mickey Walker and Juana Walker.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Arthur O’Quinn Walker Sr. and Mildred Louise Adkins Walker, and his sister, Toni Sewell.
Art’s legacy is found not only in the family he loved so deeply, but also in the example he set through a life of faith, service, humility, and integrity. His steady presence, servant’s heart, and unwavering devotion to Christ will continue to inspire those who knew and loved him. He will be deeply missed and forever remembered.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lewy Body Dementia Association in Art’s memory.
Services will be held at Airline Baptist Church in Bossier City, LA, on Sunday July 19, 2026 at 2pm.
James Genovese is president of Northwestern State University (Chris Reich, Courtesy of Northwestern State University)
By Piper Hutchinson, Louisiana Illuminator
Northwestern State president says his plan is ‘wasting away in Margaritaville’
State Sen. Alan Seabaugh takes credit for ousting Northwestern State University’s president in 2024 and, with the backing of Gov. Jeff Landry, replacing him with former Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Genovese.
Two years later, Genovese says he isn’t able to count on either of his two supporters to advance his plans for the school, which include starting the first law school in North Louisiana.
In recent interviews, Genovese said his feud with Seabaugh, a Republican whose district includes the Natchitoches campus, is costing Northwestern State much-needed cash from the state. And it was Landry who came up with the idea to open a law school at the university, but the governor has since dropped his support of the plan, he said
“It wasn’t my idea,” Genovese said. “When I came on board … there were discussions coming out of the governor’s office regarding a law school, so I just went with the flow.”
When asked if the governor supports a new law school at Northwestern State, Landry spokeswoman Kate Kelly said that decision is completely up to the Board of Regents, which oversees higher education in Louisiana.
While he maintains the governor still privately backs the idea, Genovese said two factors have led Landry away from providing any public or material support. The first, Genovese said, is Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, whose district includes Tulane University, home to one of the state’s four law schools. Genovese said the governor doesn’t want to get crosswise with a legislative leader he needs to advance his agenda.
“The last thing Louisiana needs is more lawyers,” Henry said when reached for comment about Genovese’s proposal.
Another obstacle, Genovese said, is that promoting a new law school might create the impression that Landry supports trial attorneys. The governor himself is an attorney and has received campaign contributions from trial lawyers.
“There was this nasty fight … between the insurance industry and the trial lawyers, and I don’t think the governor wants to be labeled a trial lawyer person,” Genovese said.
Genovese provided a copy of his law school proposal he said he submitted to the Board of Regents and the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors, which oversees Northwestern State. Genovese and UL System board member Robert “Skeeter” Salim, Genovese’s lifelong friend and a prominent trial attorney in the state, requested the Regents expedite their review process so it could receive approval from the UL System Board just a month after it was proposed.
Emails the Illuminator obtained through a public records request show Board of Regents staff discussed the matter with Commissioner of Higher Education Kim Hunter Reed, who was not comfortable with an expedited review. Genovese and Salim have not brought the law school pitch to the full UL System board.
Genovese described his proposal as “wasting away in Margaritaville,” a reference to the Jimmy Buffet song.
Despite no further moves to make the proposal a reality, Genovese has continued to publicly advocate for the law school in speeches and in news interviews, rankling state lawmakers and other stakeholders.
“If the Board of Regents wanted another law school, they would do it,” said state Rep. Jack McFarland, R-Jonesboro, whose district includes Natchitoches. “So I don’t know why he continues to talk and advocate for things like that and get people’s hopes up, when obviously an application to do a law school has not moved within the Board of Regents.”
From reference to rival
While he seemingly tilts at windmills for a new law school, Genovese has also feuded with the lawmaker who claims he got him the job at Northwestern State.
Seabaugh, an conservative lawmaker, said in an interview last week his first order of business after joining the Louisiana Senate in 2024 was ousting Marcus Jones, the first Black leader at Northwestern State, who Seabaugh said was responsible for the school “going downhill in many ways.”
Sen. Alan Seabaugh
After being forced to resign, Jones returned to the University of Louisiana System office as executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Seabaugh proposed Genovese replace Jones in Natchitoches. Landry also backed Genovese for the job.
“Nobody was more responsible for putting him there than me,” Seabaugh said.
Genovese, despite having had no experience in higher education leadership, touted his budget expertise when interviewing with faculty and staff for the president’s job. He took credit for securing money for the Louisiana Supreme Court during his time as an associate justice from 2017-24.
That claimed fiscal prowess isn’t reflected in the state budget that takes effect Wednesday, however.
Northwestern State was the only public university in Louisiana to receive no additional funding in the primary budget bill on top of what each campus is required to receive. It was also the only campus left out of the supplemental budget, where lawmakers dole out millions for special projects. These special projects find their way into the budget at the request of lawmakers, usually senators.
When asked about Northwestern State’s omission in the budget, Genovese blamed Seabaugh.
“We don’t have a senator that helps us,” Genovese said. “[Seabaugh has] been mad at me from day one. I … hardly even know this guy.”
‘I don’t think he’s suited for the job’
Genovese said the feud started because he refused to fire Northwestern State employees Seabaugh asked him to dismiss. Since then, Genovese said, Seabaugh hasn’t answered his phone calls.
Seabaugh said none of that is true. By his account, he never asked Genovese to fire anybody but rather warned him not to take advice from the same people he viewed as leading Jones astray.
Jones has not responded to a request for comment.
Seabaugh also said he hasn’t refused any calls from Genovese, because he hasn’t gotten any to reject.
“If they want me to put something in the budget, they might want to ask,” Seabaugh said.
Though he wouldn’t characterize the tension between the two leaders as a “disagreement,” Seabaugh expressed frustration in the way Genovese handled the first major hire of his administration.
Genovese brought in former Northwestern State basketball coach Mike McConathy as a special adviser in fall 2024 shortly after he was hired. McConathy is a Louisiana basketball coaching legend who was recently inducted into the state’s Sports Hall of Fame. He also ran against Seabaugh in his 2023 Senate bid.
Seabaugh said he didn’t mind that he hired McConathy, but he did take issue with how Genovese addressed it with him.
“When he called me, he said, ‘I know this is going to piss you off, but I don’t care. I’m doing it anyway,’” Seabaugh recounted.
Genovese said that was not the language he used but confirmed he did call Seabaugh as a courtesy to tell him he was hiring McConathy, which he said angered the senator.
The two confirmed they haven’t talked since that call in 2024.
“He doesn’t know how to ask,” Seabaugh said. “I think he’s used to being a judge and telling people what to do. I don’t think he’s suited for the job he’s in.”
“The university has not improved and it’s not going to as long as he’s there,” the senator added.
Spending in question
McFarland, who leads the legislature’s budget-writing committee, said some of Genovese’s “decision making has been questioned.”
McFarland didn’t detail the gripes he has heard from lawmakers, but a look into Northwestern State’s budget shows warning signs of financial difficulties ahead.
Genovese has raised pay for Northwestern State’s approximately 800 employees three times in less than two years, despite the university operating at a deficit. The university projects a shortfall of $13.4 million for the fiscal year that ended Tuesday, according to a UL System financial report. The university has covered the cost by spending down its cash reserves.
Other UL System schools are in worse financial positions, but Northwestern State’s spending has raised the eyebrows of its board members, who questioned Genovese about the deficit at last week’s meeting. Genovese said the university was likely to end the next fiscal year in the black, possibly with a surplus.
While Genovense’s spending at Northwestern State has increased, enrollment at the school has dropped. Its student body reached 8,847 in 2023 and fell to 8,402 for fall 2025, a 5% decrease. Less than a quarter of NSU students attend class on campus, which means they bring in less revenue for the school.
Other schools in the UL System are also experiencing enrollment declines, but most are adjusting their budgets to match.
“We’re closely monitoring the enrollment projections and being optimistic that they will be able to turn the tide on their own,” UL System President Rick Gallot, Genovese’s boss, said about the budget situation.
Photo and Article Courtesy of the Louisiana Illuminator
As Northwestern State University (NSU) looks ahead to the Fall 2026 semester, internal tracking data reveals that high school dual enrollment programs are projected to play an even larger role in the university’s total headcount than in previous semesters.
According to an official institutional research document, the university has set an aggressive Next Fall Target of 7,879 undergraduate students. However, a closer look at the tracking metrics shows that nearly one-third of that entire target population is made up of high school students.
The ‘Enrollment Mask’ Expands
The university separates its high school and introductory enrollment into two tracking categories: University (Non-Prep) and University (Prep). For the upcoming Fall 2026 semester, the university’s targets for these categories are:
UNIV (Non-Prep) Target: 351 students
UNIV (Prep) Target: 2,183 students
Total High School Target: 2,534 students
If NSU hits its goals, dual enrollment students will account for 32.2%—nearly one out of every three—of the total undergraduate student body. This represents a significant shift from previous years, expanding the “Enrollment Mask” that higher education analysts say allows institutions to report stable or growing total headcounts while masking a structural decline in full-time, on-campus students.
Current Summer Progress
As of June 24, 2026, registration tracking shows the university still has a long hill to climb before reaching its census goals, which is typical for this point in the summer cycle.
The university’s Current Enrollment stands at 4,732 out of the 7,879 target. When isolating the true degree-seeking undergraduate numbers from the high school dual enrollment categories, the breakdown shows:
Total Reported Current Enrollment: 4,732*
Current Dual Enrollment (Prep & Non-Prep): 768
True Current Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,964**
*Note: Across the university’s broader tracking metrics, true undergraduate enrollment stands at 3,964; however, it should be noted that many of these students are online-only or attend classes outside of the main campus in Natchitoches.
While a vast majority of the targeted 2,534 high school students will be registered later in the summer as school districts finalize their schedules, the physical campus infrastructure remains tied to the 3,964 true undergraduates currently on the books.
Budget vs. Body Count
The economic reality for the Natchitoches campus remains stark. Traditional undergraduate students pay full tuition and generate critical “auxiliary revenue” through campus housing, meal plans, and student fees. In contrast, dual enrollment students pay deeply discounted contract rates or receive state-funded exemptions.
The physical presence of these students on campus remains rare. While a select few students from local institutions like Natchitoches Central and the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts (LSMSA) are granted rare permission to attend classes in person, the vast majority of the dual enrollment population completes coursework remotely or at their respective high schools.
As the university pushes toward its ultimate master plan under leadership to stabilize total institutional footing, the tracking data indicates that the path to high headcount numbers relies more heavily than ever on the high school demographic.
**Note Dual Enrollment (DE) students are excluded from “True Enrollment” figures above. While these students are academically valuable, their reduced tuition and minimal use of campus facilities mean they do not reflect the institutional sustainability or the market demand for the university’s core physical and residential services.
Jennifer Beard and Dana Beard are expanding the Beard’s family business with the launch of Beard’s Heavy Duty Truck Parts, bringing regional heavy-duty parts solutions to Red River Parish and surrounding communities.
For more than 25 years, Beard’s Automotive Parts & Supply has proudly served the drivers, businesses, and families of Red River Parish and surrounding communities. Built on a foundation of customer service, reliability, and community commitment, Beard’s has become a trusted name for automotive parts throughout North Louisiana.
Today, we are excited to announce the next chapter in that story.
This fall, we will launch Beard’s Heavy Duty Truck Parts, a new division focused on serving the needs of trucking companies, logging operations, construction contractors, agricultural producers, municipalities, diesel repair facilities, and commercial fleets throughout Red River Parish and the surrounding region.
As local business owners, we understand the challenges many companies face when critical equipment is down and replacement parts are not readily available. Too often, businesses are forced to travel outside the area or wait days for the parts needed to get back to work. Our vision is simple: provide local access to the heavy-duty parts and support services that help keep North Louisiana moving.
Before opening our doors, we want to hear directly from the people we plan to serve.
Rather than guessing what products our customers need, we are taking a different approach. Throughout the coming months, we will be gathering feedback from local businesses to better understand the equipment they operate, the parts they purchase most often, and the challenges they face when sourcing heavy-duty products.
The information gathered will help us build an inventory tailored specifically to the needs of our local industries and ensure we are investing in the products that matter most to our customers.
We invite trucking companies, owner-operators, logging contractors, farmers, construction companies, municipalities, and repair shops to participate in our brief customer assessment.
Your feedback will directly influence the products and services offered by Beard’s Heavy Duty Truck Parts.
This expansion represents more than a new business venture. It is an investment in our community, our local economy, and the hardworking men and women who keep our region operating every day.
We are grateful for the support our customers have shown Beard’s Automotive Parts & Supply over the years and look forward to building the same trusted relationships within the heavy-duty market.
The road ahead is exciting, and we are proud to travel it together.
**Beard’s Heavy Duty Truck Parts** Locally Owned. Heavy Duty Focused. Built to Keep North Louisiana Moving.
Responding to overwhelming demand from local customers, the retailer—which has permanent locations in Marksville and the Alexandria Mall—is opening a special pop-up shop inside GiGi’s Gifts, located at 113 St. Denis St. (next to Exchange Bank).
The pop-up officially opens Wednesday, July 8, offering affordable school uniforms from sizes 2T through adult XL. In addition to standard uniform pieces, the shop will feature French Toast dresses, skorts, and jumpers, as well as clear backpacks, belts, and rhinestone or monogrammed hair bows.
Store Hours
Wednesday–Saturday: 10:30 a.m.–6 p.m.
Special Sunday Hours (Aug. 2 and Aug. 9): 11 a.m.–2 p.m.
A cast, orchestra, and choir of more than 80 local performers will bring Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame to life this summer at the Emmett Hook Center.
Based on Victor Hugo’s classic novel and the beloved Disney film, the musical follows Quasimodo (played by Caleb Williams), the bell-ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, whose first taste of freedom draws him into a struggle against Judge Frollo (portrayed by local favorite Steve Valenzuela). What unfolds is a sweeping story of love, courage, justice, and the search for belonging.
This is not a typical Disney musical. Featuring a 24-member backstage choir, a 20-piece orchestra, and a cast of 20 local actors, Hunchback brings together one of the largest musical forces ever assembled for an Emmett Hook Center production. From intimate character moments to thunderous cathedral-sized musical scenes, the production offers audiences a rare opportunity to experience this remarkable score live.
The music was written by Academy Award-winning composer Alan Menken, whose songs helped define Disney’s Renaissance era through classics such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. Widely regarded as his most ambitious stage work, Hunchback blends Broadway storytelling with the grandeur of symphonic and choral music.
Bringing together performers from across the Ark-La-Tex, Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame comes to the Emmett Hook Center for six performances: July 10 and 17 at 7:30 p.m. and July 11, 12, 18, and 19 at 3 p.m.
Tickets are $20–$30. Buy tickets HERE. They are also available through the Emmett Hook Center Box Office at 318-429-6885.
Kathy Holloway took in the audience reaction last Saturday night at the Natchitoches Events Center as she was inducted in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame as the 2026 Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award winner. (Photo by CHRIS REICH, for the LSWA)
Family influences pivotal for Hall of Fame inductees Holloway, Fowles
By JASON PUGH, Written for the LSWA
Those who followed the Tioga Lady Indians basketball team when Kathy Holloway coached noted the team’s tough defense. That wasn’t modeled on how young Kathy Stewart played at now-defunct Poland High School.
Holloway, inducted last Saturday night in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches as the Dave Dixon Louisiana Sports Leadership Award winner, established a long-standing Class C state tournament record by scoring 86 points across two games while at Poland.
Her basketball skills were honed at home, on a metal rim that her father hung on the side of the family’s wooden garage. A photo in the Hall of Fame museum shows elementary school-aged Kathy shooting baskets on that backyard goal.
That led to her All-State playing career at Poland in southern Rapides Parish near Lecompte, and sparked a lifelong love of basketball. Holloway, a math major at LSU where there was no women’s team in the 1960s, entered the education field and launched career in high school sports, first as a championship head coach at Tioga then as the first female president of the Louisiana High School Coaches Association, achieved in 1986, and as the president of the National High School Athletic Coaches Association in 1992.
“Title IX was passed in 1972,” said Julie Wilkerson, one of four high school All-Americans Holloway coached at Tioga. “That energized someone like Mrs. Holloway.”
That energy may have indirectly led Holloway to her trailblazing positions within the coaches associations she eventually chaired.
“In those days, there was All-Star Week and on the Friday before the all-star games on Saturday, there was the final meeting of the coaches association to elect the president,” Holloway said. “One of the guys who was running asked me at the barbecue, ‘Will you vote for me (for president)?’ I said, ‘Yeah, if you’ll vote for me if I ever run.’ He said, ‘There ain’t ever gonna be a woman president of this association.’ That sealed it for me.”
Following her gilded administrative career, the NSCA in 2021 created the Kathy Holloway Women of Inspiration Award that honors a female “that has promoted female athletics by either coaching, serving, supporting or leading high school female athletic programs that focus on changing lives and inspiring women to strive for greatness.”
Holloway remains involved in the sport she loves, working closely with the Upward Basketball program at First Baptist Church in Pineville where her son, Stewart, is the pastor.
“She’s been involved the past 13 or 14 years,” he said. “It’s a fantastic way to use her skills to invest in another generation.
“Mom didn’t win a lot of state championships, but she’s been a champion in a lot of other ways.”
A close bond between siblings helped deliver a signature moment for the LSU women’s basketball team when it landed Sylvia Fowles, a 6-foot-6 standout from Miami.
Brought to LSU by coach Sue Gunter, who promised Fowles nothing more than the opportunity to complete for playing time, Fowles teamed with fellow Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Seimone Augustus (a 2024 inductee) to usher in the golden era of Tigers women’s basketball – one that included four straight Final Four appearances.
“In my home visit, (Gunter) told me she wasn’t starting me as a freshman, that I had to earn it,” said Fowles via a Zoom call from Chicago where her Portland Fire were preparing for a WNBA game Friday night against the Chicago Sky. “That motivated me to be around her. I was signed, sealed and delivered after hearing her say you had to work for everything you want.”
Fowles, who is now an assistant coach with the Fire, averaged a double-double at LSU before a prolific WNBA career with the Chicago Sky and Minnesota Lynx where she averaged 15.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game in her career.
Four Olympic gold medals, two WNBA titles and a spot of the WNBA’s 25th Anniversary Team only buttress a resume that came in a sport Fowles once regarded as “dumb,” thanks in part to her three older brothers.
“Growing up with them, I was allowed to play defense only,” she said. “I didn’t learn the rules of the game until eighth grade. I didn’t there were two ends of the court playing simultaneously. It was that moment I realized I was getting cheated. I didn’t think the sport was dumb after that.”
Although her brothers failed to share the full extent of basketball with their younger sister, Fowles never missed an opportunity to help someone else.
“She’s the best center of all time in women’s basketball” said former Minnesota teammate Lindsey Whalen. “She had a relentless will to rebound and to get to her spot on the block. She had great hands. Then there were times you’d look over and she’s helping put towels away or doing anything she could to help someone else.”
It’s an extremely exclusive club enshrined in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.
Since the Louisiana Sports Writers Association formed in 1958 to facilitate better coverage of high school sports and launch the Hall, only 402 competitors have been inducted. Add in the contributors — journalists, administrators and officials — and the total population of the LSHOF is 515, beginning with Baseball Hall of Famer Mel Ott of Gretna, world boxing champion Tony Cazoneri of Slidell and Homer native Gaynell “Gus” Tinsley of LSU football fame.
Ott, Canzoneri and Tinsley were inducted during the 1959 Ark-La-Tex Sports Award Banquet in Shreveport.
A dozen more people officially joined the ranks last Saturday night in Natchitoches. They emerged from nearly 160 candidates in 28 different sports categories considered by a 40-member selection committee over nearly a month of deliberations, culminating in several hours of discussion and voting face-to-face (and sometimes, nose-to-nose) in late August last year.
Anybody can nominate a candidate but to make the 2027 ballot for competitors, the nomination deadline is Wednesday, with instructions available at the LaSportsHall.com website. The July 1 deadline allows the selection committee a month to check credentials and advance viable nominees to the ballot.
It’s a demanding process, by design. The founding fathers said it should be.
The first formal discussion of a state sports Hall of Fame happened in a 1950 meeting of sportswriters in Lake Charles. It took eight years to get the pony from the farm to the paddock to the track and off to the races, but the basic premise still stands.
“An organization with a membership so exclusive that nobody may immediately qualify to be tapped will open for business this weekend as a going concern, “ Shreveport Journal sports editor Otis Harris wrote in a Dec. 11, 1950 column.
“It is the Louisiana Hall of Fame – a hall of fame for the state’s greatest athletes, men or women, amateur or professional, living or dead.”
Selection, he wrote, would require 90 percent approval from voting writers, with no more than two inductees to begin, and just one in succeeding years, “if anyone qualifies,” said Harris.
“The purpose,” he explained, “is to make the hall of fame mean something and limit to the roll to athletes, past or present, who have become figures of national or international renown in the general sports pattern. Only the state’s immortals in the sphere of athletes will be enshrined.”
It didn’t pan out precisely that way – current competitors aren’t eligible, for example – but the abiding principle that the honor should be awarded to only the elite has held true almost 70 years.
These days, you’ve heard of most of those inducted. Some aren’t as prominent but are no less deserving. Even before Saturday night’s induction ceremony, there was plenty of speculation about who’s on the horizon.
There’s a partial list in the 120-page, full color commemorative program. But first, start with those not elected for the Class of 2026 who remain on the ballot going forward.
On the big board for 2027 are big league baseball All-Stars (Bossier City’s B.J. Ryan is one), Pro Bowl football players (nearly 20) among almost 40 from that sport on the current list, coaches (pro, college and high school), jockeys and trainers, outdoorsmen, gymnasts, swimmers, soccer greats, track and field Olympians, bowlers, NBA and WNBA All-Stars … even a world chess champion. Bet you never heard of Paul Morphy of New Orleans, who graduated from Tulane in 1857 and was regarded as “the most famous sportsman on Earth” after a tour of Europe.
First-time eligibles for the next class include some people you do know a little about: football stars Leonard Fournette, Jimmy Graham, Ike Hilliard, and Patrick Peterson kick off the list of luminaries. Triple Crown-winning jockey Kent Desormeaux will be in the candidate pool, along with recently retired Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker. Shreveport native Ryan Harrison’s tennis career is over and he’s going on the 2027 ballot.
Trouble is, voters have to blend 12-15 newcomers with the holdovers. Whittle a pool of about 160 down to eight who make it to the spotlight in Natchitoches next June.
Looking further down the road: Odell Beckham Jr., Alex Bregman, Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, Jayden Daniels, Mondo Duplantis, Justin Jefferson, Jay Johnson, Lolo Jones, Cam Jordan, Alvin Kamara, Tyrann Mathieu, Ed Orgeron, Sean Payton, and Dak Prescott. All of those have to finish their careers or have been retired for three years before arriving on the ballot.
Those are pretty obvious future Hall of Famers. There are others not as well known doing great things now; you might watch somebody at a nearby high school or college whose accomplishments elevate them to elite status in state history.
The choices are difficult. Not so much in Idaho, South Carolina, Delaware, or even our neighbors in Arkansas and Mississippi. Almost every night, you can see somebody from Louisiana making highlights on SportsCenter – or as a network sports personality.
In September, the LSWA will announce the competitors in the Class of 2027 – only the best of the best.
Alexandria’s Warren Morris speaks Saturday night during his induction into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. (Photo by CHRIS REICH, for the LSWA)
JASON PUGH, Written for the LSWA
NATCHITOCHES – They’re known for other tremendous baseball accomplishments. One provided the greatest moment in College World Series history. The other played in two All-Star Games and set a Major League Baseball record.
But behind that glory, Warren Morris and Jonathan Lucroy share a common bond that is overlooked by most who read their credentials. Both won medals competing for Team USA in international competition, and they’re very proud of it.
That shined through as they were among the 12 people inducted Saturday night into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in front of 700-plus at the Natchitoches Events Center and a live statewide TV audience on LPB.
A month after delivering the 1996 College World Series championship to LSU with his game-winning, two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth, Morris – along with his LSU coach Skip Bertman – was part of the 1996 USA Olympic baseball team, which won a bronze medal in the Atlanta Games as Morris led the team in hitting.
“Just incredible,” Morris said of the Olympic experience. “It doesn’t get talked about enough. I still get goosebumps thinking about it, walking out on the field in Atlanta with 50,000 people chanting, ‘U-S-A.’ I’m as proud of representing my country as anything I ever did in athletics.”
Lucroy is one of the few who truly can understand what Morris means. Both provided items from their international experiences for display at the Hall of Fame museum.
A Florida native whose No. 21 jersey was retired this past spring at UL Lafayette, Lucroy was part of the gold-medal-winning Team USA squad in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He was the team’s starting catcher in 2013 and 2017.
“We’ve got rivalries everywhere,” Lucroy said. “There are rivalries in colleges. You have Astros-Rangers and Yankees-Red Sox. In my opinion, when you play under one umbrella, our country’s colors, it all goes away. Whenever you put your country’s name on your chest, the pride is hard to explain.”
Morris, an Alexandria native who played at Bolton High School before heading to LSU, delivered perhaps the most iconic moment in College World Series history when he launched a first-pitch curveball from Miami closer Robbie Morrison over the right-field wall at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha, Nebraska, for the first CWS-clinching, walk-off home run in history on June 8, 1996.
“Coach (Skip Bertman) used to tell us you can’t be afraid to fail,” Morris said. “Tim Lanier (who had struck out against Morrison the at-bat prior) looked at me and said three words, ‘Pick me up.’ As a team, those are the words you have to hear. No one’s always going to come through in the clutch or always be the guy. Someone else is there to pick you up. All I can do is the best I can do. I’m going to be aggressive. That’s why I hit the first pitch.”
Morris was honored with the Hall’s Louisiana Sports Ambassador Award, joining national sports broadcaster Tim Brando of Shreveport and legendary Grambling baseball coach Wilbert Ellis as the only winners of that accolade since it was created six years ago.
“Warren embodies everything you want a citizen to be as far as work ethic, integrity and compassion,” legendary LSU baseball SID Bill Franques said.
He’s made countless appearances not only around central Louisiana, but throughout the state and beyond in the past 30 years, once his professional career ended after five big league seasons.
Morris’ home run embodied what it meant to meet the moment.
While it ended on the highest of high notes, Morris’ 1996 season was interrupted by a hamate bone injury that limited him to 22 games – all of which resulted in LSU victories.
Morris enjoyed a nine-year professional baseball career following his LSU tenure. He finished third in the 1999 National League Rookie of the Year voting after hitting .288 with 15 home runs and 73 RBIs for Pittsburgh.
The son of a basketball coach, Morris collected baseball cards as a child. In his mind, all of those players hailed from major metropolitan areas. Today, Morris carries a few of his own cards when he speaks to children.
“No one from Alexandria at that time was at that level,” Morris said. “That was for someone else. I have some cards with me whenever I talk to kids know. I turn it around and show them Alexandria, Louisiana. If I can do something like that, there’s no reason they can’t achieve whatever it is their dream is.”
Lucroy had only one Division I offer to play college baseball, and it came after a UL Lafayette assistant coach was in Florida scouting another prospect and saw a catcher with some pop in his bat.
In three seasons with the Ragin’ Cajuns, Lucroy helped deliver two Sun Belt championships and a regional-final appearance. He did so by hitting .356, slugging .612 and setting school records for RBIs (184), doubles (54) and total bases (414).
Lucroy became a third-round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers where he teamed with fellow Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Rickie Weeks and became a two-time All-Star, starting the 2014 Midsummer Classic.
Lucroy’s introductory video Saturday included the voice of his late college coach, 2022 Louisiana Sports Hall of Famer Tony Robichaux.
“You don’t have to be the man, just be a man,” Robichaux’s voice echoed.
“I’ve said this before, if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have made it to the big leagues,” Lucroy said. “He was a great man of character. He had a couple of thousand people at his wake in Lafayette at the Cajundome. His funeral was packed out. It was insane. Having that kind of impact is huge. I hope I can have that effect one day.”
Lucroy’s effect on the teams he played on was clear.
He is a member of the Brewers Wall of Honor, having established several club records and the major league record for single-season doubles by a catcher (53 in 2014).
In a fashion befitting Robichaux’s constant preaching on work ethic, Lucroy became one of the game’s top defensive catchers – an area he admitted needed work when he came to the Cajuns.
“Jonathan worked really hard to make sure he was a good catcher,” said Ron Roenicke, who managed Lucroy in Milwaukee. “He was a great man of character, a hard worker and a great teammate.”
While Lucroy’s work ethic made him a seamless fit on the field with the Cajuns, he fit in seamlessly in the state that honored him Saturday night in other ways.
“It’s a privilege,” Lucroy said. “I can’t even say any more than that – an honor and privilege. I’m a Florida kid, but I’m a redneck, so I fit in. I seamlessly integrated when I moved here. We were hunting and fishing. I was a natural. I married a Cajun girl. I’m very privileged to be a small part of it.”
