SLS 19RS-781 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 79
BY SENATOR LONG
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Raymond Blanco on being named to the 2019 Louisiana
Political Hall of Fame induction class.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To commend Raymond Blanco on being named to the 2019 Louisiana Political Hall of Fame
3 induction class.
4 WHEREAS, Raymond Blanco served as assistant football coach at Kirwin High
5 School in Galveston, Texas, and head football coach at Catholic High School in New Iberia,
6 Louisiana, between 1958 and 1962; and
7 WHEREAS, in 1962, he led the Catholic High team to win the State Championship,
8 and from 1963 to 1969, he served as assistant football coach at what was then the University
9 of Southwestern Louisiana; and
10 WHEREAS, in 1969, he became Dean of Men and with the eventual merger of the
11 offices of the Dean of Men and Dean of Women, he was named as USL's Dean of Student
12 Personnel in 1972; and
13 WHEREAS, in 1974, Coach Blanco became the chief student officer for the
14 university functioning as the dean of students and overseeing the operations of the entire
15 student welfare area; and
16 WHEREAS, as member of the university council, he was responsible for the
17 operations of several areas, including student personnel, university police, the student union,
18 counseling and testing, international students, housing, the child development center, career
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SLS 19RS-781 ORIGINAL
1 services, parking and transit, One Card System, intramurals, Student Health Services,
2 Student Athlete Center, Physical Plant, student government, campus organizations, and
3 student publications; and
4 WHEREAS, in the fall of 1982, Mr. Blanco began serving in the capacity of vice
5 president for student affairs and retired from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in
6 2009; and
7 WHEREAS, in 2004, he became First Gentleman of Louisiana during the
8 gubernatorial tenure of his wife, Governor Kathleen Blanco; and
9 WHEREAS, he was the first man to serve as First Gentleman of Louisiana and was
10 nicknamed "First Coach" during his tenure in the position; and
11 WHEREAS, Coach Blanco has advised aspiring candidates for various parish and
12 local offices such as clerks of court, assessors, mayors, parish presidents, city and parish
13 council members, sheriffs, district attorneys, state representatives, state senators, and judges;
14 and
15 WHEREAS, Raymond Blanco merits a special measure of commendation for his
16 tireless dedication to the students and faculty at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and
17 for the guidance and direction he has provided to aspiring public servants in Louisiana.
18 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
19 commend and congratulate Raymond Blanco on being named to the 2019 Louisiana Political
20 Hall of Fame induction class.
21 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
22 Raymond Blanco.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Nancy Vicknair.
DIGEST
SCR 79 Original 2019 Regular Session Long
Commends Raymond Blanco on being named to the 2019 Louisiana Political Hall of Fame
induction class.
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