[StBernard] Val Riess rededication honors two long-time Recreation Department volunteers

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Tue Jan 25 08:23:05 EST 2011


Val Riess rededication honors two long-time Recreation Department volunteers



With the completion of the Val Reiss Phase II project, family and friends
gathered as St. Bernard Parish Government dedicated two parts of the new Val
Riess Phase II project to long-time beloved Recreation Department
volunteers: the late Huey Rabalais and Roy Brouillette.



Prior to Hurricane Katrina, Brouillette had the Rebel Gym on Palmisano
Boulevard named in his honor, and family and friends gathered for the
ceremony at Val Riess Complex Phase II on the infield of the field that now
bears the name of Roy Brouillette on the scoreboard. Also, because Rabalais
had the fields at Versailles Park named in honor of him, the parish also
dedicated the Val Riess Fieldhouse in Phase II in his honor. The fieldhouse
now has a plaque bearing Rabalais' name.



St. Bernard Parish President Craig P. Taffaro, Jr. said it was fitting to
have the ceremony to honor the two stalwart volunteers at the new 33-acre
facility in the heart of Chalmette that has eight baseball fields and is the
flagship site of the parish Recreation Department.



"This is another piece of the puzzle we are working to put back together" to
restore what the parish had before Katrina, Taffaro said.



Taffaro said Rabalais dedicated more than three decades of service to the
youth of St. Bernard through its recreation programs and he spent most of
his waking time at Versailles Park and Versailles Gym. Rabalais, a childless
bachelor known as Uncle Huey, dedicated 30 years to New Orleans recreation
before moving to St. Bernard in 1962 at his brother's request. He coached
and supervised programs at Versailles with the goal of instilling a love of
athletics that spanned several generations of children until his death in
1993.



Taffaro said Brouillette dedicated more than four decades of service to the
youth of St. Bernard through its recreation programs and he could always be
seen working hard at Rebel Park and Rebel Gym. Brouillette, one of the early
founders of the Fourth Ward Park, Rebel Park's predecessor, started
volunteering in the early 1960's, Taffaro said. He coached teams for his son
and daughter as well as other teams, winning countless parish and state
championships. Rebel Gym was named in his honor before Hurricane Katrina,
and he was a fixture there through the 1990's.



Billy Showalter, who was a president of the Versailles Booster Club, said he
can still remember first meeting Rabalais as a young boy in 1965.


"The ballpark was his life," Showalter said. "He had a big influence on my
life." Showalter said he learned from him as a coach, and he said it was
because of Rabalais that he became as involved with the park as a parent.



Former St. Bernard Parish President Charles Ponstein, who also spoke at the
ceremony, agreed.



"He was more than a coach," Ponstein said. "He would mop the floors of the
gym, set the goals. He did everything."



Brouillette, complete with his hat and sunglasses, attended the ceremony
with his Wife, Martha, his daughter, Darlene, and his son John.



"Not only one year, not only two years, he literally reached generations of
children," said St. Bernard Parish Councilman Mike Ginart, who was coached
by Brouillette in basketball. He said Brouillette brought many of his teams
to parish and state championships. Not only that, he would bring teams to
the Governor's Mansion.



"I've been lucky enough to have several men make an impact on my life,"
Ginart said. "Mr. Roy is one of them."



Ginart and speakers Buddy Turnage and Tony Maiaro spoke of Brouillette's
sense of humor and his constant presence at Rebel.



"There was never a day when you would talk to Mr. Roy and not hear a
one-line joke," said Maiaro, who was a president of the Rebel Booster Club
said. He said he always could depend on Brouillette to spend hours fixing
anything that broke at the park and gym by improvising with whatever parts
that were readily available and free. "Home Depot and Lowe's should be glad
there aren't more people like Mr. Roy."



When Brouillette accepted the framed proclamation from Taffaro, he was quick
to fire off a few one-liners to the crowd, commenting on friends he hadn't
seen in a while and making a comment in deference to his old friend
Rabalais.



Rabalais "was a great person - almost as good as me," Brouillette said.



In addition to having facilities named in their honor, they both are past
recipients of the St. Bernard Sports Hall of Fame Humanitarian Award.

The Val Riess Complex is expected to be an economic engine that will host
local recreational and All-Star games, baseball and softball tournaments,
regional tournaments, World Series and adult cabbage ball and softball
leagues. Of the four fields in Val Riess II, two are designed to host high
school and college games.



Val Riess Phase II opened with a tournament in November. It includes four
baseball fields and a three story concession stand building that includes
areas for score keepers overlooking the fields as well as a loft on the
third level for climate controlled eating and enjoying the games. The first
phase opened August 2009 and included the first four baseball fields and a
two-story concession stand building. The entire complex will see about $20
million in construction before it is completed. In addition to four baseball
fields and concession stand facilities in each of the first two phases, both
have covered seating and shelter pavilions with fans for visitors.



The construction and development of the Val Riess Baseball Complex at the
northern end of Palmisano Boulevard in Chalmette - financed by a combination
of FEMA and Community Development Block Grant funds - is being done in
several phases. In addition to the eight baseball fields and two large
concession stands, it also will include a multi-purpose building that is
under construction.



For more information about the Recovery and Growth of St. Bernard Parish,
please visit our website at www.sbpg.net.



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