Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University will honor Alden Andre with the prestigious Franciscan Impact award at its Fête des Fidèles annual fundraiser on Oct. 21 at L’Auberge Hotel and Casino. The event, to be held at 12 noon, will be led by Deacon Dan Borné as master of ceremonies, with Bishop Robert Muench serving as the keynote speaker.
Other award recipients include Sandra Launey, RN, as the Distinguished Alumna; John Vincent, CRNA, as the Shining Star Alumnus; and Lisa McDivitt, MD, as the Rising Star Alumna.
Tickets to the event are $50. All proceeds support the St. Francis Annual Fund, which provides funding for student scholarships and academic programs.
Alden Andre is a retired leader of Formosa Plastics Corporation and the past chair and current member of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University Board of Trustees. A humble business leader committed to helping the community, he has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Louisiana Chemical Association, Capital Area United Way, the Governor’s Workforce Development Commission, and the American Red Cross.
Holding various managerial positions throughout his 50-year career at the Baton Rouge Plant of Formosa Plastics Corporation, Andre helped to build the business, while also being an early environmental forerunner in the reduction of toxic emissions. A faithful servant of the Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady ministries, Andre demonstrates his faith in his service and his personal relationships, believing “that to love life, we must treat one another with kindness, respect, and dignity.”
Launey, RN, the 2017 Distinguished Alumna, is a 1962 graduate of Our Lady of the Lake School of Nursing. She worked as a nurse in various locations in Louisiana and Texas throughout her career, and currently volunteers for a number of organizations, including serving as an alumni volunteer for Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University. She is a consistent presence at her church, Our Lady of Wisdom and Catholic Student Center, where she serves the church and the students on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She also volunteers at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital as a Eucharistic Minister and as a volunteer recruiter for the hospital.
Vincent, CRNA, the 2017 Shining Star Alumnus, currently works as a nurse anesthetist at Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge. He is passionate about his anesthesia career and about showing compassion for each and every patient he cares for. He is equally passionate about finding ways to serve in his community. He has traveled to Belize on a construction mission to build a chapel, a medical mission to offer assessments and health supplies to a community in Mexico, and a general relief mission to Peru after a devastating earthquake. More recently he and his brother took a boat to Houston to rescue more than 125 victims of the flooding after Hurricane Harvey.
McDivitt, MD, is this year’s Rising Star Alumna. Despite a full pre-med course load during her undergraduate years and challenging work during medical school, she has always made time to volunteer in her community. Focusing on advocacy for children’s health rights, McDivitt’s service has included a four-week medical mission trip to Mombasa, Kenya, and fundraising to support childhood cancer research. McDivitt recently graduated medical school and is employed as a pediatric resident at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
To learn more about this year’s Fête des Fidèles annual fundraiser or to purchase tickets, visit www.franu.edu/fete.