November 4 – Board Updates and Nicholls State Football

Rotary President Sandy Holloway provided an update of club activities at our last meeting, and here is a brief recap of items addressed:
• Amy Flores and Laynie Barrilleaux are in charge of the second grade Child Literacy and Nutrition Project proposed by District Governor Proctor. Thibodaux Regional has sponsored the project and will provide the funds necessary to purchase 4 books for each second grade student in all Lafourche public, parochial and charter schools.
• Kathy Benoit is still accepting names for volunteer positions for the organizational chart. We ask that each member consider volunteering one hour of their time for one project which Rotary assists in during the year.
• Dino Benoit and Kathy Benoit have club volunteer shirts to purchase for any members interested. Please see Dino for the order form.
• Janice Tregre is in charge of the food bank drive this year. We ask members to bring any contributions to our meetings on November 11th and November 18th.
• Bryce Ledet and Sandy Holloway also recognized Lenny Waguespack and Patrice Oncale for sponsoring new members who have recently joined our club. Also recognized for sponsoring new members were Laynie Barrilleaux, David Waitz and Preston Lejeune whom were unable to attend.
Skipper Holloway is asking for members interested in becoming Paul Harris Fellows to participate in “Groups of 5.” This is a process where five rotary members make commitments to donate $200 / year for five years. Each year, one member of the group is chosen as a Paul Harris Fellow until all five members have become Paul Harris Fellows.

Steve Axman spoke briefly at our past meeting and is serving as the interim head football coach at Nicholls State University. Coach Axman has coached quarterbacks for the majority of his 41 year career, and spent eight years as the head coach of the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. One notable student of Coach Axman while he was quarterbacks coach at UCLA was Troy Aikman, who enjoyed a 12 year career in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys.
Coach Axman has filled in since Coach Charlie Stubbs’ resignation due to health issues, early in the season. Unfortunately for the NSU football program, injuries to key players have depleted the depth on the team, and wins have been hard to find.
For the future of the program, Coach Axman stressed the importance of hiring a head coach that can build solid relationships with the high school coaches along the I-10 corridor from Houston to Biloxi. His opinion is that a great recruiter must be hired as the next head coach to build a program the can be competitive in the Southland Conference.