News Post

The St. Joseph’s Academy Board of Directors hosted The 1868 Dinner on August 25 at the Renaissance Baton Rouge Hotel. The event honored Donor Society members, families and individuals establishing scholarships in the past year and those who served in volunteer leadership capacities. SJA’s Outstanding Alumnae for 2025 – Paula Pennington de la Bretonne ’71 and Sandy Jumonville Brown ’71 – were honored, as were Michelle and Horace Mitchell, the 2025 Spirit of SJA Award recipients. 

SJA Board Chair Yolunda Taylor welcomed the large gathering and thanked those in attendance for the important role they play as partners in the Academy’s mission. She introduced emcee Nan Murtagh, who served as a member of the SJA faculty and staff for 42 years. 

A group of talented vocalists, under the direction of Danielle Laird, sang the blessing and performed a special tribute to the Outstanding Alumnae and Spirit of SJA Award recipients. The singers were Anna Craig, Molly Kate Skupien, Sophie Stelly, Camille Funes, Melody Guillot, Blair Settoon, Anna Katherine Dixon, Hadley Tassin and Anna Clare Wilson. They were accompanied on keyboard by Clay Boudreaux. 

SJA President Jan Rhorer Breen ’69 provided an update on some of the accomplishments of the past year, including the successes of the student-run St. Joe Dough cookie business and SJA’s focus on entrepreneurial opportunities for its students; the dedication of a new statue of St. Joseph the Worker; and SJA being named a STEM School of Excellence by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association for the third year in a row. 

Breen said that the Endowed Scholarship program is at the heart of one of SJA’s most treasured traditions: offering need-based tuition assistance to deserving students and their families. This year, 162 families are able to enjoy the gift of a Catholic education through the Endowed Scholarship program. 

Principal Stacia Andricain thanked SJA’s many supporters for the countless opportunities they help provide for Academy students. She said members of the class of 2025 earned $36.3 million in scholarships and were offered admission by 165 colleges and universities. She said SJA students completed nearly 33,000 hours of community service during 2024-2025. She outlined the successes of the SJA athletic program and said that a record number of student-athletes – 24 from the class of 2025 – will compete on the collegiate level this year. 

Mission Advancement Director Meg Gerald announced that three new scholarships were established in the SJA Foundation during the past year: the Armon Matthew Tajdaran Memorial Scholarship, the SJA Mahjong Madness Scholarship and the Uffman-Eldredge Family Scholarship. Scholarships that were endowed during 2024-2025 were the Lorraine and Dan Fourrier Family Scholarship, Dr. Carmen Posada-Pepper and the Marshall St. Amant Family Scholarship and the Uffman-Eldredge Family Scholarship. 

Gerald thanked the volunteer leadership of the SJA Annual Fund for 2024-2025 in attendance: Melissa and Anderson Dotson, Parents Annual Fund; Kim Wong Kwan ’79 and Kimberly Kwan ’10, Alumnae Annual Fund; and Nan Murtagh, Faculty/Staff Annual Fund.

Also recognized were the new members of SJA’s donor societies in attendance, including new Mother Alice Society members Patricia Baranco, Tam and Rich Bourgeois, Michelle and Enrique Flechas, Ursula and Thomas Laville Sr., Ana Litvinoff, Angela and Jay Montalbano, Glenda and David O’Brien, Allison and Tuan Pham and Terrie Thomas; new 1868 Society members Mary and Jason Alford, Allison and Maurice Coleman, Beth and Bill Holman, Kelley and Chris Jones and Brooklyn and Erik Showalter; and new Shield Society members Tiffani and Brian Dorsa and Amanda and Craig Silvey.

Members of the Heritage Society in attendance were introduced: Alison and Scott Fin and Kathy Morello. Father Jean-Pierre Médaille Society in attendance were recognized and thanked. They were The Congregation of St. Joseph, CSJ Ministries, Paula and Jacques de la Bretonne, Elaine and Randy Ellis, Rose Marie and Johnny Fife, Michelle and Horace Mitchell, Kim and Mark Morgan, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Beth and Will Pecue, Irene W. and CB Pennington Foundation, Price LeBlanc Toyota/Lexus, Lorice and Geoffrey Say, Dorren Schmitt, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille, SJA Alumnae Association, SJA Dads’ Club, SJA Mothers’ Club and Kay and Roland Toups.

New Father Jean-Pierre Médaille Society member Lisa Westmoreland Collier was recognized. 

Two new donor societies were introduced, and members in attendance were thanked for their generous, long-term support of the Academy. Members of the Dear Neighbor Society are CSJ Ministries, Sisters of St. Joseph of Médaille, The Turner Foundation and Kay and Roland Toups. Members of the Mother St. John Fontbonne Society are Paula and Jacques de la Bretonne.

Members of the Legacy Society in attendance were also thanked, including Gail Gaiennie, Anita Parsons King, Kathy Morello, Kathryn Trick Mount, Linda Bogan Pippins, Melanie Rose, Kristy Roubique and Dorren Schmitt.

Krista Valluzzo and Ron McDaniel were thanked for their service as 2024-2025 Mothers’ Club and Dads’ Club presidents, respectively. Also thanked were the chairpersons of SJA’s fundraisers in attendance: Missy Heck Brown, The Soirée; Ashley Reed Ledet, SJA Tennis Classic; Craig Herpin, Father-Daughter Day; and Gabriella St. Amant and Rose Marie DeJohn Fife, Mahjong Madness.

Breen recognized former recipients of the Outstanding Alumnae award in attendance, including Suzie Toups Adler, Grace Guttner Anderson, Kellie Michelli Barton, Lorna Bourg, Hilda Levy Bourg, Patricia Lambert Brignac, Lisa Westmoreland Collier, Re Bologna DiVincenti, Paula Bogan Drone, Elaine deFrances Ellis, Rose Marie DeJohn Fife, Ann Felice Fourrier, Elise Gauthier Fryou, Sharon Ourso Kleinpeter, Ellen Bogan Lee, Karen Williams Lewis, Dorothy Bowers McCaughey, Tara Nolan Messenger, Cherry Foret Riggs, Melanie Rose, Kristy Roubique, Elizabeth Dauzat Seiter, Kim Gant Shackleton, Sister Lucy Silvio, Patricia Brignac Talbot and Roberta Carona Vicari.

She also introduced former recipients of the Spirit of SJA award in attendance: Sister Joan Laplace, Kay and Roland Toups and Linda Messina.

Tribute videos produced by Erin Barrilleaux Albarado ’07 and Mindy Brodhead Averitt introduced Outstanding Alumnae Paula Pennington de la Bretonne and Sandy Jumonville Brown as well as Michelle and Horace Mitchell, the 2025 Spirit of SJA Award recipient. 

Mission Integration Director Jade Spears led the closing prayer.