APIL Fall Fest Kick Off Celebration

This past Saturday we had the Ascension Parish Inclusive League Fall Fest and Ribbon Cutting. The event was a huge success. The weather was perfect and we had a large number of children and their families attend. Here are some pictures.
The ribbon cutting ceremony was part of the kickoff. My dad was given the honor of cutting the ribbon. He and my mom came to support the program as well as represent the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization. Pictured to the far left is Tommy Martinez who is in the runoff for Ascension Parish President.

This is Abram and is cousin Carrie with my daughter Betsey. Abram is the cousin we went to watch play t-ball at a similar program in Baton Rouge that inspired my daughter Betsey to start APIL.

This is my "adopted granchild", Riley, who calls me Nanoo (which inspired my logo). She is wearing the Ninja costume I made for her.

Here's a closeup of Riley decorating a treat bag and the station I worked at the Fall Fest.

This is my oldest daughter, Tana, helping at one of the game stations. There were 6 game stations with prizes and candy handed out at each. Besides the games, we had a picture station, cotton candy, hamburgers, hot dogs, cookies, cake and face painting.

The team that has been instrumental in getting this league started as well as the fall fest is a awesome group of people who have gone above and beyond to make it all happen.

Dr. Rebecca Mandel and her co-workers, Jen and Karen, wrote the grant that provides funding for the program. In addition, the three of them along with Rebecca's husband helped decorate and man the stations as needed for the event.

Sherrie Kinchen and Beth Clark who work for Ascension Parish Recreation have been mentors to Betsey as she gains experience in running the program. Their attention to details, moral support and encouragement while letting her make the decisions and plan the program has been invaluable. Along with everything else they do, they made the backdrop for the pictures.

Courtney Vicknair, co-director of the program and her family have also been a huge part of the success of the program.

In addition to the professional people involved, friends and family have supported Betsey in her effort to make this program a reality.

Quinton Leblanc, who Betsey has been friends with since middle school, has been involved with the program since it's start. His mom has also helped spread the news about the program and brought a car load of children to the fall fest.

Betsey's friend and partner, Sunny, has also been involved from the start and even though she was in pain from a bad toothache Saturday, she was a trooper and stuck it out till the end of the kick off.

My niece, Karen, came out to help set up for the Fall Fest. Tana and Joey (my daughter and son) and Joey's girlfriend, Nicole, were at the kickoff to help man the stations and help wherever needed.

My friend Sandi gave the league information to her son, Brian, who works for Channel 2. He sent a reporter out to cover the event and showed it on the 10 o'clock news.

Having a program like this in Ascension Parish is a great opportunity to make recreation accessible to children of all abilities. On a more personal note, watching my daughter use her talents and gifts for such a worthy cause and seeing the support of family and friends makes me very proud.