The elder statesmen of this illustrious Jesuit group have the floor. Jimmy Fitzmorris ’39, Moon Landrieu ’48, and Peter Finney ’45 have words of advice for Jim Ryder, words spoken in English, not Latin as was once commonly done at the annual dinner.

Jim Ryder of the Class of 1962, Jesuit High School’s 2013 Alumnus of the Year (AOY), was toasted at a recent dinner held in his honor by 21 Blue Jays who were previous recipients of the prestigious award.

Check Out the Alumnus of the Year Photo Galleries…

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Alumnus of the Year 2013 Dinner Gallery

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The Alumnus of the Year dinner served to formally introduce Ryder, a New Orleans CPA who is Jesuit’s newest honoree, to several of the previous recipients of the F. Edward Hebert Award, which is the highest honor the school can bestow on its alumni for meritorious and selfless achievements that frequently benefit the community-at-large as well as Jesuit.

Ryder is Jesuit’s 56th Alumnus of the Year, an award that began in 1958 when Eddie Toribio, a 1934 alumnus who became the Blue Jays’ revered football coach, was honored posthumously. Of the recipients, 34 are currently living and 22 are deceased. The honorees include teachers, educators, priests (including an archbishop), and Jesuit’s longtime registrar, John Paquette of the Class of 1925 who became the sixth AOY when he received his award in 1963.

The list includes numerous lawyers (several who became judges), a lieutenant governor, a state senator, newspaper reporters and television executives, businessmen and bankers, contractors, restaurant owners, civic leaders, a former professional baseball player, funeral executives, real estate brokers, one doctor, and one inventor (who is credited with creating the modern-day ATM).

At the dinner, Ryder seemed to be nonplussed by the congratulatory attention lavished on him by fellow alums, all of whom he knows because of his active involvement at Jesuit and his longtime service volunteering as a member of the President’s Advisory Council.

“Through my work at Jesuit, I see that the dedication and skills of the leadership, faculty, and staff, plus the quality of the students, will ensure that the school produces graduates that will uphold the long tradition of excellence for generations to come,” said Ryder. “I would fully expect a graduate from the class of 2014 who’s selected as Alumnus of the Year in 2035, 2045, or 2065 to be sharing pretty much the same thoughts as mine. Jesuit gave me a lot and it’s only fitting to give back in some way so that others will be able to share what has been an incredible experience.”