Louisiana Loggers Council
01/09/2009
Taking on the load for families of sick and injured children
Families of sick children often bear quite an emotional and physical load. Worries regarding proper medical care and finances can sometimes prove overwhelming.
But heavy loads are familiar territory for the Louisiana Loggers Council. And although Louisiana Loggers have been a long-time sponsor of Children’s Miracle Network, a decade ago, council members across our state decided to take on that burden for families and work full-force to make a difference in the lives of the literally thousands of children treated at Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital each year.
Area loggers Dennis Aucoin and Glen Hinson played a significant role in that change. While the Council had been more than generous for years, donating between $8,000 and $10,000 to Children’s Miracle Network annually through its Log-A-Load For Kids program, where loggers donate a portion of their individual loads logged each month, Aucoin and Hinson, both officers in the organization, saw the opportunity to do much more.
“I was proud of the work our local chapter was doing back then, but I just knew we could take it to the next level.” Said Aucoin. “I read about what the loggers in Alabama and Tennessee were doing for their hospital, and it motivated me. Our kids deserve the best we can give them…why not make it happen. So I called Glen, and the rest is history?”
Sportsmen at heart, the two loggers decided to entice their fellow council members to join in the opportunity by appealing to their competitive nature. And so, the Children’s Miracle Network Bass Classic was born.
After years of hard work and dedication by Aucoin, Hinson and numerous logger volunteers, the Bass Classic, held each year at the St. James Boat Club in St. James Parish, is now one of the largest and most successful fishing tournaments in the state.
“Dennis and Glen are a perfect example of how people can really make a difference by seizing an opportunity to do so. The Louisiana Loggers Council has long been a generous sponsor of CMN, but these two gentlemen truly have taken both their organization and CMN to new heights through their creative fundraising efforts, hard work and dedication,” says Our Lady of the Lake Foundation President John Paul Funes.
Aucoin and Hinson, who also still donate the value of one load of logs each month to CMN through the Log-A-Load for Kids campaign, have been recognized by Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital as well as their national logger’s association for their efforts. And, thanks to them and their dedicated group of logger volunteers, the Louisiana Logger’s Council is now one of the top three councils in the U.S. in terms of fundraising for CMN. But Aucoin’s and Hinson’s real reward is knowing that their fundraising has provided medical equipment, care and medicine for sick children in the Baton Rouge area that otherwise would not have been available. For the families of those children, that is definitely a load lifted.
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