BATON ROUGE — LSU athletics department and LSU Sports Properties announced on Monday that 84 LUMBER will be the title sponsor of the Katrina Relief Basketball Classic, part of LSU Operation Rebound.
The LSU women’s basketball team will host Louisiana Tech on Dec. 30 at New Orleans Arena in the Katrina Relief Basketball Classic presented by 84 LUMBER. The game is the center point of a weekend of events to benefit LSU Operation Rebound.
“We are extremely proud to be joined by 84 LUMBER in this joint project of helping rebuild the New Orleans area,” LSU head coach Pokey Chatman said. “84 LUMBER has a long history of community involvement around the nation including a pre-existing relationship with Habitat for Humanity which makes them a natural partner. The bottom line is that 84 LUMBER cares about people and that’s why I want them on my team!”
84 LUMBER currently operates five stores in Louisiana, including one in New Orleans, Slidell, Lafayette, Hammond and Baton Rouge. Two additional stores are under construction in Gonzales and Pearl River and a Component Manufacturing Plant will open in Hammond early next year.
84 LUMBER has donated nearly $3.5 million in cash and materials to the Gulf Coast rebuilding effort, including the funding of construction of ten homes in Musician’s Village in New Orleans and 20 additional homes with the New Orleans affiliate of Habitat for Humanity.
“All of us at 84 LUMBER, and especially our associates in Louisiana, are proud to sponsor the Katrina Relief Basketball Classic to help in the continuing rebuilding efforts,” said Maggie Hardy Magerko, President and Owner of 84 LUMBER Company.
“This event is another of the many initiatives we have undertaken to help Gulf Coast recovery from both a business and humanitarian standpoint. We are committed to being a part of the rebuilding for the long term and appreciate the relationships we have developed such as those with LSU.”
LSU Operation Rebound is the a brainchild of LSU head coach Pokey Chatman, a native of the New Orleans area, and was created to help the Lady Tigers basketball program rebuild Louisiana
In addition to the game, a banquet and auction will be held during the Katrina Relief Basketball Classic weekend.
Along with the funds raised by the game, banquet and auction, the Pokey Chatman Foundation has created the Pokey Chatman Century Club, an organization of 100 people each contributing $1,000 to join.
The Lady Tigers program, along with the LSU Athletics Department, the Tiger Athletic Foundation, LSU Sports Properties and the Fast Break Club, has set a goal to raise at least $150,000 to share between Friends of New Orleans Recreation Department (NORD) and the New Orleans Area Habitat for Humanity.