Brother Martin High School recently participated in an Easter Mass celebrated by Fr. Tony Rigoli, OMI in the Robert M. Conlin Gymnasium. There, Campus Ministry Director, Mr. Donald Midkiff '03, offered a reflection on Easter. "The season of Easter is the most important of all liturgical times, which we celebrate as the Lord's resurrection from the dead, culminating in his Ascension to the Father and sending of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. There are fifty days of Easter from the first Sunday to Pentecost. The Easter season is characterized, above all, by the joy of glorified life and Christ’s victory over death expressed most fully in the great resounding cry of the Christian: Alleluia!"

Mr. Midkiff continued, that "As students of Brother Martin, you are all called to be shining examples of the light of Christ to everyone. Two of our very own students were recognized by the Archdiocese of New Orleans this year for their outstanding performance. Senior, Jason Childs and eighth grader, Labran Jeandron were both nominated to represent Brother Martin High School for Louisiana Student of the Year. Jason is a member of the Honors Program and the Crusader Band and is an officer in several of the many clubs and activities in which he participates. Labran is a scholarship recipient, an academic letterman, and is involved in numerous activities on campus. These students will serve today as our gift bearers as a symbol of their willingness to follow the light of Christ."

Mr. Christopher Heine '03 then welcomed and congratulated 2024 Alumnus of the Year, Mr. Michael A. Flick '66 SA. After a speech by Mr. Flick, President, Mr. Gregory M. Rando '77 thanked Mrs. Debbie Broussard, Mrs. Patty Larkin, and Brother Neal Golden for their years of service to the students of Brother Martin High School. 

"We are blessed at Brother Martin to have a number of examples of this humility, servant leadership, and lifelong service to the Brothers of the Sacred Heart and Brother Martin High School. I would like to take a moment to recognize three members of our school community, true partners in our mission of evangelizing young people through education, who have decided to retire after dedicating their lives to ensuring that this most important mission continues.

Mrs. Debbie Broussard joined the Brother Martin faculty in 1998 after prior stops at Ridgewood Prep, St. James Major, and St. Mary’s Dominican High School. With forty-six years of teaching experience in a variety of disciplines, Mrs. Broussard is truly a Partner in Mission in every sense of the word.  In her twenty-six years at Brother Martin, Mrs. Broussard has taught in both the science and math departments, served as Key Club and Student Ambassadors Moderator, Faculty Formation Director, and currently serves as the Assistant Principal for Academics. She was also the 2012 recipient of the Brother More Schaefer Award for Excellence in Instruction, Dedication to Student Formation, and Commitment to Christian Witness.     

Mrs. Patty Larkin is someone all of you and your parents have interacted with at some point in your time at Brother Martin: she is the administrative assistant in our Admissions Office. For many people, she is the “first face” of Brother Martin. Certainly, for each of you, she was one of the first partners in Mission to welcome you to this home on Elysian Fields Avenue. Mrs. Larkin has helped forge Brother Martin into a sanctuary through her warmth, compassion, and dedication to religious values, academic excellence, and personal attention for thirty-five years.

Finally, Brother Neal Golden has been a standard bearer of the educational mission of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart at Brother Martin High School for fifty-five years, or, in other words, every single day in the existence of Brother Martin High School! This is truly a remarkable feat, carried out because of his singular passion, selfless service, and love of the mission. Brother Neal is the one remaining active founder on our faculty and has had the privilege of watching our school start and grow all these years since the consolidation of St. Aloysius and Cor Jesu High Schools. Brother Neal is the originator of computer education in the state, having written and revised the first technology education textbook in Louisiana. He is also the state’s leader of Academic Games, an extracurricular that he has developed at Brother Martin and at countless other schools in the city. He was also the very first recipient, in 1991, of the Brother More Schaefer Award.

Brother Neal has spent fifty-five years, over half of a century, forming young men to meet the needs of a changing world."