Cathy has recently retired from the Lafourche Parish School Board where she served as a Music Therapist and a Significant Disabilities Teacher. She has been a part of the Camp Challenge Family since 1996. She has served as a member of the organization and the camp staff. As a camp staff member, she served as a counselor, Unit leader, Administrative staff member and has been the Camp Director since 2001. She is the Assistant Director of LA LIONS-LPDCI-Camp Pelican and serves as President of the LPDCI Board of Directors. Throughout her years of service, she has received many awards including being selected as a Community Hero for the What You Give Will Grow Foundation and being inducted into the LA Lions Camp Hall of Fame.
Rev. R. Tony Ricard , Assistant Camp Director
Rev. R. Tony Ricard is a Priest for the Archdiocese of New Orleans and is the Campus Minister and Chair of the Theology Department at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans. He is the Pastor of St. Gabriel the Archangel Parish and is also a Core Instructor of Church Doctrine and Youth Ministry for the Institute for Black Catholic Studies at Xavier University of Louisiana.
Fr. Tony is the author of 12 awesome books which include “I Still Believe: A Testimony of Faith after the Storm,” “Don’t Be Stupid! Lessons You Should Already Know,” and “Diary of An Unapologetic Roman Catholic Priest”. His books, “Tony Tales” and “Tony Tales 2" are a compilation of his first nine Best-Selling books. His newest book is entitled, “Dreams I’ve Never Had! Justice Denied/Justice Supplied”. It reflects on many of the issues that we are currently faced that we never dreamed we would have to face.
Fr. Tony has given keynote addresses, retreats, revivals, and youth talks across the nation and throughout Canada. At last count, he has preached in and visited 22 other countries.
Fr. Tony began doing summer camps for children with disabilities back in 1981 when he volunteered for Camp Sunshine (The Muscular Dystrophy Association). 1984 was the first summer that he joined the staff of Camp Pelican. Camp Pelican serves children with pulmonary disorders. In 1985, he became the Camp Director for Camp Pelican. In 1993, he began his journey with Camp Challenge. That was when he was given the camp name “Snoop Dog”. He has been serving as the Assistant Director since the summer of 2000.
Since the 2000 Season, Fr. Tony has served as the Catholic Chaplain of the NFL’s 2010 World Champions - the New Orleans Saints. In this capacity he coordinates the Pre-game Masses and celebrates other Sacraments with the Players, Coaches and Staff. Back in the fall of 2010, he was featured in an internationally released commercial for the NFL Network.
He is a native of New Orleans and a proud graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School and St. Augustine High School. He is a former New Orleans Public School teacher who holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Loyola University, a Master of Theology degree from Xavier University and a Master of Divinity degree from Notre Dame Seminary.
