Festival director dies

Lee Delaune, executive director of the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival, died Saturday, according to a news release from Nathalie Weber, president of the festival.
Delaune, 62, was a part of the festival for 43 years and had held the position of executive director for the past six years. Adding to his many years of service to the festival, Delaune was commissioned to create the 76th anniversary festival poster.
“Mr. Delaune ran the oldest state chartered harvest festival with an expert hand. He handled every detail of the festival. He was a member of every committee and sat with the Board of Directors for every meeting. He had dedicated his life to our festival. He worked to put not only the festival but the entire Tri-City area on the map,” Weber said in the release.
“His artistic abilities as well as his degrees in accounting and computers showed in his work. Lee was constantly striving to make the Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival not only the oldest but the best festival in the State of Louisiana,” she added.
Delaune was a graduate of Berwick High School and furthered his education at various universities, earning degrees in accounting, art and computers.
His civic contributions were numerous including serving on the Holy Cross school board and Parent-Teacher Organization. He served as a Catechism teacher and religion coordinator for junior high and high school grades of Holy Cross Parish.
Additionally, Delaune was one of the originators of the men’s carnival club, Krewe of Adonis, serving on the board for 10 years. He is past president, captain and king of the Berwick-Bayou Vista Mardi Gras Association, now the Krewe of Dionysus, serving as president and board member for five years and was king in 1989.
Delaune was a board member for the Krewe of Nike, and he was a member of Louisiana Travel Promotion Association and Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals.
He was a licensed Louisiana florist and was the former owner of Flower Fashions in Morgan City. One of his many accomplishments was being able to decorate former Gov. Mike and Alice Foster’s home, Oaklawn Manor, in Franklin before and after Foster was governor of Louisiana.
Carrie Stansbury, executive director of the Cajun Coast Visitors and Convention Bureau, said she was shocked when she heard of Delaune’s passing.
“I thought he did an amazing job as executive director. Lee wasn’t afraid to ask anyone to support the festival. He was able to expand events because he was fearless when it came to promoting the festival. He attended as many other festivals as he possibly could to promote the Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival. He was a great ambassador for St. Mary Parish and Morgan City,” Stansbury said.
Lou Tamporello, Morgan City councilman and festival board member, said Delaune worked well both with the city and with the festival board.
“What can you say about Lee? Lee was shrimp festival. Lee worked with everybody on the board. He got along with everybody. He wanted to make the shrimp festival the biggest and best it could be. He was always thinking out of the box. He was always wanting to make it a little bit better every year,” Tamporello said.
Delaune was dedicated to the festival, Tamporello said, adding, “He’s going to be a tough act to follow for whoever takes over. Being from Morgan City, he grew up with the festival. He knew everything about it. He knew the ins and outs.”
Weber said the future of the director’s position will be considered at a later date, but the board will have to advertise for a new executive director.
“I think we’ll get through this week, and then we’ll look at what we’re going to do,” Weber said this morning by phone.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated at 2 p.m. Thursday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. A memorial visitation will be held from 10 a.m. until the time of Mass Thursday.
Twin City Funeral Home in Morgan City is in charge of the arrangements.