Welcome to the 44th year of Baton Rouge Ancient Athlete Society. I am honored to be the president of this great organization over the next 12 months. This year is not only the 44th year of our organization, but it will also be my 27th year since I have joined the club.
Before I joined BRAAS, I was looking for a way to fill my free time with sports due to my love of competition, challenging myself and fellowship. When I first heard of the organization, I thought it was some basic sports club that would maybe help fulfill one of the above items. Little did I know way back in 1998 that I was going to be getting into something much more than that.
The Baton Rouge Ancient Athlete Society started out as a humble athletic club with a purpose to help people play sports that they loved growing up. Over time, social events were added which built up the brotherhood of the members. The combination of being able to put your skills to the test while also coming together as friends is the core of what BRAAS is today. I am proud to say that BRAAS's greatest accomplishment throughout its lifespan is the bonds it has created between its members and their families that otherwise would not have existed.
I will quote a fellow member as an example of what makes me most proud of being a member of BRAAS.
“Just want you all to know that we love each of you and it meant the world to us that you all came today. There is no other group of friends out there that can come close to what you all show and who gives the support and love for each other like you do. Thank you for the friendship.”
Yes, we will play 6 on 6, flag football, basketball, softball, volleyball and even golf once again this year. We will have over 20 social events outside of playing the 5 sports. Those include sport drafts and family nights, a bowling event, a Superbowl party, a LSU tailgate party, a fishing tournament, pre LSU game steaks at Freds, a yearly gala, a family Christmas party, but one of the most exciting events is our float in the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade. Your significant other and children are welcome to attend social events and are always welcome to cheer you on when you are displaying your athletic skills in one of the many sports.
BRAAS Health will once again have screenings and blood drives. We will have more updates later this year.
As with previous years, we will continue our charitable organization of BRAAStrong. We recognize that there will always be members of our BRAAS community in need and we will be hosting events this year to support this organization. Please keep an eye out for our annual volleyball tournament in the spring and our golf tournament in the fall. Thank you in advance for your support.
In addition to BRAAStrong, we will also continue our support of the Neil Juneau Memorial Fund for Youth Activities. This fund helps children who do not have the means to participate in youth activities in their communities. Please contact Neal Fortenberry or any of the BRAAS board members with any questions.
I believe that everyone understands and gets their fill of sports and competition from BRASS on a year-round basis. However, I am not sure that everyone gets their fill of brotherhood that comes with being a part of the club off the field/court/sand/course. There is a family here for life. If you do not feel like you know where to get started or feel like you may be missing out, talk to me. There is a lot more to BRAAS than sports.
See you at the next BRAAS event,
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