CCHS inducts 11 into 2018 Hall of Fame class

Central Catholic High School recognized a group of individuals who have served the school by helping grow and improve both its facilities and education over the years, along with several former star athletes.

On Sunday, school leaders inducted five people in the Hall of Fame for Lifetime Meritorious Service to the school and six former athletes for Athletic Achievement.

The 2018 meritorious service inductees included Burt Adams, Jodi Adams, Kenneth Duval, Cedric LaFleur and Edward J. Patterson Jr. The athletic achievement inductees were Shane Beaudean, Greg Bergeron, David Burch Jr., Michelle Hensgens, Joseph Joy and Curtis Randall.

In 1979, group of individuals decided to start the Central Catholic Hall of Fame to recognize notable people who have brought honor to Central Catholic and the school's predecessors, Sacred Heart High School and Sacred Heart Academy, said Eric Matte, master of ceremonies.

In 1999, the Athletic Achievement Award was added to Central Catholic's Hall of Fame to honor who excelled in sports during high school and beyond.

The two Hall of Fame committees were combined into one committee in 2010.

Since the inception of the school’s Hall of Fame, 42 people have received the Lifetime Meritorious Service Award, and 32 people have received the Athletic Achievement Award, Matte said during the ceremony.

The first of this year's meritorious service inductees was Burt Adams, who's been on multiple school committee, was chairman of the Vision 2012 Committee, which helped construct several new buildings at the school.

He's now chairman of Vision 2020, which is responsible for the planned merger of Central Catholic High School and Holy Cross Elementary for the 2018-19 school year, Central Catholic Principal Vic Bonnaffee said.

Burt Adams has also been a volunteer teacher at Central Catholic, teaching the upper sciences and upper math for about six years.

Jodi Adams has worked with her husband in many activities at Central Catholic. She also upgraded the school's auction fundraiser as chairwoman of the auction, Bonnaffee said.

She worked diligently to introduce Project Graduation, a program to help pay for student costs associated with graduation, at Central Catholic, in addition to helping make renovations to the campus, Bonnaffee said.

Another inductee, Duval, has been in charge of setting up for Central Catholic home football games for over 20 years and organizing law enforcement personnel to work the game, Bonnaffee said.

Duval also mans the scorer's table at basketball games, is a member of the Knights of Columbus and is a Eucharistic minister at Holy Cross Catholic Church.

LaFleur, 86, is a former Morgan City mayor and councilman who's owned several businesses including LaFleur Dairy. Though originally from Ville Platte, LaFleur has had six children, 14 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren attend Holy Cross and Central Catholic schools, said Jamie Holt, who presented LaFleur with the award.

For 60 years, LaFleur has generously donated funds to many school building projects among many other areas of the schools, Holt said. He donated milk products from his dairy business for school functions.

The final meritorious service inductee was Patterson 82, a Morgan City High School graduate who served in the U.S. Army, later worked in the oil and gas industry and then focused on growing his company, Central Boat Rentals, said his daughter, Catherine Nini.

Patterson has made substantial contributions to Central Catholic over the years.

"Central Catholic High School has a very special place in all of our hearts," Nini said. "It's wonderful that they have experienced our dad's generous spirit. It's important to him and all of us that Catholic education continues to thrive in our community."

The following six former Central Catholic athletes were also inducted during the ceremony.

Beaudean was a member of Central Catholic's 1997 state runner-up football team. He went on to play basketball at Nicholls State and was team caption for the 2001-02 season.

Bergeron was an All-State running back in 1970-71 and broke the state record for rushing yards in all classifications during his senior season.

Burch was a first team All-State selection at quarterback and was the Class 1A MVP in baseball his junior and senior seasons and a member of the 2004-05 state championship baseball teams. He played baseball at Nicholls State and the University of New Orleans.

Hensgens was a member of Central Catholic's only state championship volleyball team in 2003. She earned a full scholarship to play volleyball at LSU.

Joseph Joy was a member of the 1965 state runner-up football team and earned a full scholarship to play football at Mississippi State.

Randall was also a member of the 1997 state runner-up football team and was an All-State defensive lineman. He earned a full scholarship to play football at Louisiana Tech and later played in the NFL.