Simply The BEST Crawfish Boil Ever!

The 2009 edition of LSU Atlanta's "Crawfish Craze in Red Clay Country" returned to the pastoral settings of the Corps of Engineers Riverside Park near Allatoona Dam on April 25, a place we have claimed for our own and rechristened "Bayou Allatoona." We will link a photo gallery soon.

Where to start... how about how we ended up? The goal was to have a great time with fellow Tiger fans and raise a bunch of scholarship money. Done and done. Nearly 400 P&G faithful...along with a smattering of curious Dawgs and other assorted and awed denizens of other alma maters...invaded the grounds to enjoy spicy bugs and other tasty vittles, cool beverages, hot Zydefunk music and warm company. Some set up tents and relaxed in the tree shaded areas of our version of "Touchdown Village" while others staked out a table under the breezy pavillion. Tons of prizes were given out and no one left hungry.

As for the fundraising goal, we are grateful for the generosity of our fans for buying door prize tickets and participating in our silent and live auctions. When all was said and done the chapter achieved an all-time single event fundraising total of nearly $7,000! Wow!

To highlight our efforts to award scholarships to Georgia high school grads wishing to attend LSU, one of our two 2009 recipients, Lexi Rook, came to the boil with her family, and we even had a couple of other LSU-bound freshmen attend who heard about the event and wanted to soak in the LSU culture early.

Live auction items were well received, including LSU home game tickets, a crawfish party for ten by Boudreaux's Cajun Market and Cafe and a personal Creole chef demonstration by New Orleans Fine Catering. But one unusual "suprise" auction item caused quite a stir indeed - two purple upholstered stadium seats that were used by the LSU Athletic Director between 1974 - 2006! Our board member Mark Richard is quite the bloodhound for digging up special stuff, and we have yet another "one-of-a-kind" item that is only waiting for autographs to be ready for a future auction.

One true surprise happened when Alex Box, the namesake nephew of the war hero whose name adorns the LSU baseball park, attended the boil with his wife Pat from Augusta and presented VP Del Moon with a special baseball. Alex, a longtime Georgia resident, wanted LSU Atlanta to have the First Pitch baseball that he tossed out at the dedication of the new Alex Box Stadium earlier this year as an auction item! He signed and labeled the first pitch ball for us to auction, but we are going to seek additional autographs from Skip Bertman and Paul Mainieri to further enhance the historical significance of the ball before we auction it down the line. We were humbled by the generosity and affection Alex feels for his fellow Jawja Tigers and for his beloved Ole War Skule!

There are so many partners and volunteers to thank. Champion sponsor Duffy Realty of Georgia not only helped make the band possible, they also donated their professional auction services that created an exciting and fun atmosphere. Touchdown sponsor Catering Cajun not only did the crawfish right, they also donated jambalaya and loaned the chapter equipment and tables to help with our other food service needs. Henry's Louisiana Grill-another Touchdown level sponsor- dished out some mighty fine red beans and rice and new Purple and Gold Sponsor Catered Cakes showed up with a tasty LSU theme cake and some outrageous bread pudding samples. Special thanks also to Cap'n Bill Lind and his Patio Pirates for manning the big grill that kicked out mounds of dogs, burgers and Looziana sausage and boudin from Cajun Meat Company!)

Since virtually every sponsor donated at least one prize or had a hand in helping make the event such a blast, we encourage you to visit our Supporters Page and tell these folks a big THANKS when you patronize them. (Catered Cakes and Depeaux Restaurant just became sponsor and will be added to the page very soon!)

It is impossible for us to have expanded the program and achieved these results with great volunteers. In addition to board members Steve Ory, Sarah Clayton, Del Moon, Mark Richard, Bill Lind, Charlie Vaughn, and Don Broussard, many others - too many to list here for fear of leaving out a name - stepped up to volunteer as well, including some folks who stepped forward spontaneously to help.

THANK YOU!!

Simply The BEST Crawfish Boil Ever!
Submitted by Mike A. Tiger on April 27, 2009 - 5:38pm Crawfish Boil
The 2009 edition of LSU Atlanta's "Crawfish Craze in Red Clay Country" returned to the pastoral settings of the Corps of Engineers Riverside Park near Allatoona Dam on April 25, a place we have claimed for our own and rechristened "Bayou Allatoona." We will link a photo gallery soon. Where to start... how about how we ended up? The goal was to have a great time with fellow Tiger fans and raise a bunch of scholarship money. Done and done. Nearly 400 P&G faithful...along with a smattering of curious Dawgs and other assorted and awed denizens of other alma maters...invaded the grounds to enjoy spicy bugs and other tasty vittles, cool beverages, hot Zydefunk music and warm company. Some set up tents and relaxed in the tree shaded areas of our version of "Touchdown Village" while others staked out a table under the breezy pavillion. Tons of prizes were given out and no one left hungry. As for the fundraising goal, we are grateful for the generosity of our fans for buying door prize tickets and participating in our silent and live auctions. When all was said and done the chapter achieved an all-time single event fundraising total of nearly $7,000! Wow! To highlight our efforts to award scholarships to Georgia high school grads wishing to attend LSU, one of our two 2009 recipients, Lexi Rook, came to the boil with her family, and we even had a couple of other LSU-bound freshmen attend who heard about the event and wanted to soak in the LSU culture early. Live auction items were well received, including LSU home game tickets, a crawfish party for ten by Boudreaux's Cajun Market and Cafe and a personal Creole chef demonstration by New Orleans Fine Catering. But one unusual "suprise" auction item caused quite a stir indeed - two purple upholstered stadium seats that were used by the LSU Athletic Director between 1974 - 2006! Our board member Mark Richard is quite the bloodhound for digging up special stuff, and we have yet another "one-of-a-kind" item that is only waiting for autographs to be ready for a future auction. One true surprise happened when Alex Box, the namesake nephew of the war hero whose name adorns the LSU baseball park, attended the boil with his wife Pat from Augusta and presented VP Del Moon with a special baseball. Alex, a longtime Georgia resident, wanted LSU Atlanta to have the First Pitch baseball that he tossed out at the dedication of the new Alex Box Stadium earlier this year as an auction item! He signed and labeled the first pitch ball for us to auction, but we are going to seek additional autographs from Skip Bertman and Paul Mainieri to further enhance the historical significance of the ball before we auction it down the line. We were humbled by the generosity and affection Alex feels for his fellow Jawja Tigers and for his beloved Ole War Skule! There are so many partners and volunteers to thank. Champion sponsor Duffy Realty of Georgia not only helped make the band possible, they also donated their professional auction services that created an exciting and fun atmosphere. Touchdown sponsor Catering Cajun not only did the crawfish right, they also donated jambalaya and loaned the chapter equipment and tables to help with our other food service needs. Henry's Louisiana Grill-another Touchdown level sponsor- dished out some mighty fine red beans and rice and new Purple and Gold Sponsor Catered Cakes showed up with a tasty LSU theme cake and some outrageous bread pudding samples. Special thanks also to Cap'n Bill Lind and his Patio Pirates for manning the big grill that kicked out mounds of dogs, burgers and Looziana sausage and boudin from Cajun Meat Company!) Since virtually every sponsor donated at least one prize or had a hand in helping make the event such a blast, we encourage you to visit our Supporters Page and tell these folks a big THANKS when you patronize them. (Catered Cakes and Depeaux Restaurant just became sponsor and will be added to the page very soon!) It is impossible for us to have expanded the program and achieved these results with great volunteers. In addition to board members Steve Ory, Sarah Clayton, Del Moon, Mark Richard, Bill Lind, Charlie Vaughn, and Don Broussard, many others - too many to list here for fear of leaving out a name - stepped up to volunteer as well, including some folks who stepped forward spontaneously to help. THANK YOU!!