Peggy Scott Laborde and Errol Laborde have been selected as the 2011 University of New Orleans Homer L. Hitt Distinguished Alumni. The Labordes will be honored at the UNO International Alumni Association’s General Assembly and Distinguished Alumni Brunch on Sunday, July 17 in the Geoghegan Ballroom of the Homer L. Hitt Alumni & Visitors Center. The distinguished alumni selection committee is made up of past nominees.
Peggy Scott Laborde, who earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from UNO in 1975, has been the senior producer for the New Orleans PBS station, WYES-TV, since 1987. She has developed, produced and hosted more than 45 documentaries about New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. She also hosts Steppin’ Out, New Orleans’ only weekly arts and entertainment review program, now in its second decade. The show is a past winner of the New Orleans Press Club award in the public affairs category. She is also active in the New Orleans community, from theater and the arts to revitalization and conservation efforts. She is married to Errol Laborde.
Errol Laborde, who earned a Ph.D. in political science from UNO in 1983, is the editor in chief of Renaissance Publishing. In that capacity, he serves as editor/associate publisher of New Orleans Magazine and editor/publisher of Louisiana Life Magazine. He is also a producer and a regular panelist on Informed Sources, a weekly news discussion program on WYES-TV. He is a three-time winner of the Alex Waller Award, the highest award given in print journalism by the New Orleans Press Club.
The Labordes are also the founders of the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, and they have helped revive the Phunny Phorty Phellows, a historic Mardi Gras organization that first took to the streets from 1878 through 1898.
Tickets are available for the distinguished alumni brunch for $60 and table sponsorships are $1,000. Both can be purchased by contacting the Office of Alumni Affairs at (504) 280-6068 or alumni@uno.edu. There will be drinks and hors d’oeuvres at 11:00 a.m., with the brunch served at 11:30 a.m. and the program following at noon.
Past distinguished alumni include Louisiana State Senate President Joel Chaisson, House Speaker Jim Tucker, U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, television executive Kim Bondy, and Gambit owner and political analyst Clancy DuBos.