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