SLS 172ES-3 ORIGINAL
2017 Second Extraordinary Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 4
BY SENATOR PEACOCK
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Captain Shreve High School on its fiftieth anniversary.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend and congratulate the students, faculty, administrators, and alumni, both past
3 and present, of Captain Shreve High School on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary
4 and to pay tribute to the accomplishments of its many graduates.
5 WHEREAS, Captain Shreve High School, CSHS or Shreve, has produced an eclectic
6 class of graduates throughout its fifty years of academic excellence and its alumni have made
7 remarkable contributions to the enrichment of the community, state, and nation; and
8 WHEREAS, Shreve holds a wealth of historic significance in the annals of Caddo
9 Parish as one of the larger high schools which remains the center of impressive academic
10 and athletic pursuits; chartered in 1967 and located on Kings Highway, the circular
11 architecture of the main facility defied convention and was decades ahead of its time; the
12 applied concept of continuous movement is conducive to the flow of new ideas; learning
13 experiences without barriers are representative of today's Fortune 500 corporate
14 infrastructure; and
15 WHEREAS, Captain Shreve was named for Henry Miller Shreve, a river captain and
16 engineer who designed shallow draft steamboats adapted to navigate southern waterways
17 and the namesake of the municipality of Shreveport; and
18 WHEREAS, on September 6, 1967, one thousand new students assembled for the
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1 start of the first school year in grades 10th through 12th; most of the student body came from
2 C. E. Byrd High School and from "feeder" schools known today as Broadmoor and Youree
3 Drive Middle Magnet schools; and
4 WHEREAS, Shreve traditions have withstood the test of time; such standards as the
5 school's team colors of green and gold, the Gators team logo, the Al E. Gator mascot, and
6 "The Swamp" nickname for the campus were developed; The Enterprise school newspaper
7 and The Log yearbook have historic connections to the life of Captain Henry Shreve; and
8 WHEREAS, the lyrics of the CSHS Alma Mater were written as:
9 Hail to thee, our Alma Mater, to the green and gold
10 In the sacred halls of learning honor we'll uphold
11 And when our days are ended here, and from these halls we leave
12 Our thoughts will often turn years back to days at Captain Shreve; and
13 WHEREAS, displayed in the main foyer, the Captain Shreve crest composed of an
14 architectural design in the helm, a laurel wreath, an open book with fleur-de-lis, and the
15 alligator mascot, was created by the Art Club, designed by Susan Harmon, painted by
16 Lisa Goodwin, was installed in 1969; and
17 WHEREAS, the faculty was well-versed in their curriculum specialties and embraced
18 teaching with professionalism and vigor; among those who chose to pursue this exceptional
19 vocation were Elizabeth Lawson, Gale Bridger, Marie Rinaudo, Georgia Lee, Dot Sibley,
20 Gaye Gannon Ledford, and Bob and Judy Horne; and
21 WHEREAS, teacher and administrator, Dr. Sandra McCalla, spent the majority of
22 her tenure as an educator at CSHS as a mathematics instructor and two stints as principal;
23 she broke new ground as the first female high school principal in Caddo Parish, and is
24 counted among an elite group of four extraordinary administrators that include principals
25 Stanley Powell in 1967-1979, Dr. McCalla in 1979-1988 and again in 1994-2015, Tommy
26 Powell in 1988-1994, and Ginger Gustavson from 2015 until the present; and
27 WHEREAS, Shreve has garnered numerous honors that include national ranking as
28 one of the top one hundred public secondary schools by the United States Department of
29 Education, designation as a National Blue Ribbon School, and recipient of the National Gold
30 Council of Excellence, the National Student Council Advisor of the Year, the Louisiana
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1 State Teacher of the Year, the Caddo Parish Student of the Year, and the Caddo Parish
2 School Board Educator of the Year; and
3 WHEREAS, participation in extracurricular sports was very popular at Shreve and
4 Lee Hedges was a legendary football coach; during his tenure, Shreve won district
5 championships and the 4-A State Championship in 1973; the CSHS football stadium was
6 renamed in his honor in 2001; his coaching career in Shreveport spanned three decades; he
7 won 217 games, the most in Shreveport-Bossier City high school history; and he was
8 inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2010; and
9 WHEREAS, notable alumni represented a cross-section of occupations, professions,
10 and elected officials that include state legislators Greg Barro, Lydia Jackson, Mike Johnson,
11 and Alan Seabaugh, former Shreveport mayor Keith Hightower, Caddo Parish coroner Todd
12 G. Thoma, MD; West Point graduate Adrian Perkins, authors Dennis Bounds, Will Clarke,
13 and Charlie Cook, songwriter Adam Hamilton, disabilities advocate Kathleen DeSilva, and
14 actress and former Miss Louisiana Anita Whitaker; and
15 WHEREAS, many alumni achieved their career goals as medical professionals,
16 ministers, teachers, business owners, artists, and inventors, while others found success in
17 communications, journalism, and publishing; and
18 WHEREAS, CSHS had outstanding student athletes that included tennis player,
19 Kay McDaniel who competed at Wimbledon, Olympian LaMark Carter, NFL linebacker
20 Bo Harris, and wide receiver Carlos Pennywell, and major league baseball players,
21 Sean West and Scott Baker; and
22 WHEREAS, the Mike Mark Memorial Award is a humanitarian award presented in
23 recognition of contributions made by an individual for the benefit of the community; First
24 Lt. Michael Mark, an F-15 fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, was an exceptional
25 student athlete at Shreve; he valiantly served his country until his death in 1978; and CSHS
26 is proud to honor his memory; and
27 WHEREAS, at Captain Shreve the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), the
28 CSHS Alumni Association, and community shareholders work together to encourage
29 achievement and leadership development, to foster connectivity between students and
30 alumni, to promote continued interest in school activities, and to provide financial support
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1 for exceptional academic performance; and
2 WHEREAS, fifty years ago, Captain Shreve High School was the idyllic vision of
3 the Shreveport community to create a new center of learning to accommodate a school
4 system impacted by immense growth in student population; from that vision, an insignificant
5 cotton field was transformed into a dynamic center of learning; and
6 WHEREAS, during those fifty years Captain Shreve has matriculated thousands of
7 graduates who have moved forward to take their place in the economic and governmental
8 landscape of Northwest Louisiana and far-off places across the globe; and
9 WHEREAS, Shreve continues to be a neighborhood school with added components
10 in engineering and liberal arts, which creates a comprehensive academic curricula supported
11 by a superior faculty that contributes to exceptional student achievement; and
12 WHEREAS, on Saturday, August 5, 2017, Captain Shreve alumni shall gather
13 together for a Founders' Day celebration hosted by its Alumni Association, to recollect their
14 shared experiences, to revisit the past glories of classmates and friends, and to celebrate the
15 treasured memories of "The Swamp".
16 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
17 does hereby commend and congratulate the students, faculty, administrators, and alumni of
18 Captain Shreve High School on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary celebration.
19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
20 Ginger Gustavson, principal of Captain Shreve High School.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Suzi Montague.
DIGEST
SR 4 Original 2017 Second Extraordinary Session Peacock
Commends Captain Shreve High School on the celebration of its 50th anniversary.
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