On Thursday, November 6, the Homer L. Hitt Distinguished Alumni Gala took place in The National WWII Museum, United States Freedom Pavilion: The Boeing Center.

It was a night of celebration and camaraderie as we honored 2025 Homer L. Hitt Distinguished Alumna of the Year, triple-degree alumna and Entergy executive, Kimberly Cook-Nelson ’94, ’97 & ’99. UNO President Kathy Johnson and UNO Alumni Association President Mike Jackson ‘01 presented the awards and were joined by former US Senator Mary Landrieu and Dottie Belletto, to present the 2025 Norma Jane Sabiston Distinguished Young Alumnus of the Year, Executive Chef and entrepreneur, Edgar “Dook” Chase IV ’09.

The deans and athletic director were also on hand to present their honorees with their awards. Henry Bernstein College of Business Administration; Dan Crumb ’87, Dr. Robert A. Savoie College of Engineering; Henry J. Singer ’69, College of Liberal Arts and Education; Peter Halley ’78, College of Sciences; John M. Reuther ’76, and Privateer Athletics; Wayne B. Harer, Men’s Baseball 1972-73.

President Johnson made a special presentation to Percy “Master P’ Miller, receiving the President’s Medallion. This is awarded to an individual from outside the direct employment of the University of New Orleans who performs extraordinary service to UNO.

To close the program, emcee Mark Romig ’78, sat down with honorees Kimberly and Dook for a fireside chat. Both spoke eloquently about the impact of their UNO education and how it has helped to shape their careers.

Guests, including former honorees such as Bill Chauvin ’74; Clancy Dubos ’76; Susan Hess ’67; Tom Kitchen ’71; Donald Landry ’71; Jim Letten ’76; Newell Normand ‘88; Dr. Tim Ryan ’71; Joe Raspanti’79; Julie Stokes ’92; and Jim Tucker ’86, were greeted by UNO Student Ambassadors with music from a student jazz trio from the UNO Jazz Studies Program. As a special memento, each guest received a gift, featuring artwork from honoree Peter Halley.

All proceeds from the evening support student scholarships. Thanks to our premier sponsor, Entergy, and to all our sponsors, we achieved a record fundraising goal and will increase the UNO Alumni Association’s scholarship endowments to over $2 million. For more information on the honorees and our sponsors, visit www.uno.edu/gala.