NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University will induct six new members into its Alumni Hall of Distinction, the Long Purple Line. The inductees are the late Jack Brittain Jr., Henry Burns of Haughton and Dr. Steve Horton, Doug Ireland, Dr. Chris Maggio and Robert “Skeeter” Salim, all of Natchitoches.
The inductees will be honored at a luncheon on Friday, Oct. 25 at 12 p.m. at the Natchitoches Events Center. Doors will open at 11:15 a.m. Tickets are available at https://nsulalongpurpleline.eventbrite.com.
Northwestern State has honored 152 alumni with induction into the Long Purple Line.
Brittain was a four-year letterman in football and a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity at NSU graduating in 1979 with a business administration degree. He graduated from Paul M. Hebert Law Center at LSU and served as an aide to U.S. Senators J. Bennett Johnston and John Breaux.
After leaving government service, he worked as a financial planner in Shreveport. He ultimately returned to his hometown and joined the Brittain Family Law Firm as an attorney at law. After the family law firm closed, Brittain conducted his own practice until his passing in July 2023.
He spent 18 football seasons as the often unconventional, always passionate sideline reporter for the Demon Sports Network. Brittain became NSU’s foremost advocate on behalf of his Demon football teammate, the late Joe Delaney, representing the university at Delaney’s 2004 Kansas City Chiefs’ Ring of Honor ceremony and for many other occasions. His loyalty and service to NSU sports was recognized by the N-Club, the university’s association of former athletic letterwinners, in 2013 when he was inducted into the N-Club Hall of Fame as a winner of the Distinguished Service Award. He was noted for his support of a wide range of university endeavors in athletics and academics and the city of Natchitoches.
Brittain volunteered to do legal work for the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, vital to the location of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum in Natchitoches. He attended annual inductions and assisted in operations. He was awarded a Life Membership in the LSWA and in 2017, became a recipient of the Mac Russo Award, given to an individual who “contributes to the progress and ideals of the LSWA. The award was later renamed in honor of Russo and Brittain.
Burns was a two-term member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 9 in Bossier Parish. He served 15 years on the Bossier Parish School Board and is a well-known area entrepreneur. Burns often lectures at public schools on the keys to success in life, with emphasis on perseverance. Until the late 1980s, Burns was an independent petroleum and natural gas operator. After the oil market crashed, he launched his bakery, The Wooden Spoon. Despite the odds against success and Burns having to learn the business from scratch, the Wooden Spoon was an enormous success for over 22 years. The Wooden Spoon brought Burns many awards from the Bossier Chamber of Commerce including Small Businessperson of the Year in 1994, Outstanding Business of the Year in 2001 and Outstanding Businessperson in 2006.
Burns received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Upper Elementary Education from Northwestern in 1973. Whie a student, he was named Mr. NSU. He is a member of the NSU Foundation Board of Directors. A U.S. Army veteran, he was appointed to serve on the board of the Louisiana War Veterans Museum. In addition, Burns also served as the last chair of the Northwest Louisiana Delegation for the funding and feasibility committee to complete the I-49 corridor which finally became a reality. In 2016, Henry joined the BOM Bank family as the Business Development Consultant for Bossier and Caddo Parishes. Since joining BOM he has been heavily involved in the community by joining civic clubs, organizations, committees and boards.
Horton earned bachelor’s degrees in journalism and secondary teacher education from Northwestern in 1988. As a student, he was named Mr. NSU. He earned an M.S. in journalism in 1990 and the Ph.D. in vocational education/communication in 1998, both from Louisiana State University.
He returned to Northwestern in 1989 as an instructor of journalism and served in various positions on the campus, including director of Alumni Affairs, head of the Department of Journalism, dean of the Graduate School and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He ended his tenure at Northwestern in July 2016 as chief academic officer, dean and professor of education when he was named Executive Director CEO of the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts.
In 2017, Horton was inducted in the Hall of Distinguished Educators at NSU. In 2020, he was named Leadership Professional of the Year for the Louisiana Council for Exceptional Children. In 2021 was named national Alumnus Advisor of the Year for Kappa Sigma Fraternity, and in 2022 he was named to the inaugural Greek Life Hall of Fame at NSU and the School of Creative and Performing Arts Hall of Fame.
Horton serves as a member of the Natchitoches Historic District Commission and has completed terms as president of the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society, the Mystic Krewe de St. Denis and the Natchitoches Historic Foundation. He serves on the Board of Directors of City Bank and Trust Company of Natchitoches.
Ireland has been chairman of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame since 1990, just over a year after he left the Alexandria Town Talk sports staff and launched a 30-year run as the sports information director at Northwestern State, retiring in 2019. Ireland spearheaded efforts leading to construction and the 2013 opening of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum in Natchitoches.
During his career, Ireland has earned numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association, setting an LSWA writing contest record in 1987 with six first places and nine prizes overall. In 2021, he was enshrined in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame as a winner of the LSWA’s Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism.
In 2008 the North Louisiana National Football Foundation Chapter gave him its “Distinguished American Award” and in 2016, he received the Southland Conference’s Louis Bonnette Sports Media Award for career accomplishment. He was named 2022 “Mr. Louisiana Basketball” by the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches, and later that year was named one of the 100 most impactful members of the Greek community at Northwestern for his service from 2007-22 as advisor for the Beta Omicron Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. In 2022, he was honored by NSU’s Department of New Media, Journalism and Communication Arts as a Distinguished Communications Professional.
Since 2021, Ireland has been the sports director for Online Journals LLC, which encompasses 14 parish journals in northwest and central Louisiana.
Maggio served as NSU’s 19th president from 2017 until his retirement in 2021 and was a member of NSU’s faculty, staff and administration for 33 years. Known as a tireless recruiter, Northwestern reached a record enrollment of 11,447 in the fall 2020 semester under Maggio’s leadership. The four highest enrollments in NSU history were recorded during Maggio’s tenure as president, and the university’s economic impact on the region climbed to an all-time high of $428 million.
Academic offerings were enhanced and expanded during his presidency including the creation of a master’s degree in computer information systems, a concentration in Nurse Anesthesia in the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program and the establishment of the Nursing Clinical program on the Natchitoches campus. During his presidency, private funding grew to the highest in NSU’s history. Endowments grew to $45 million, 25 new endowed professorships and first-generation scholarships were established, and contributions to the NSU Foundation exceeded $22 million. Maggio also secured initial funding for the $44 million Robert Alost Hall and the $9.5 million David and Sherry Morgan Health Performance Center facility projects.
Maggio guided Northwestern through one of the most challenging periods in its 140-year history when the school transitioned in the spring of 2020 to predominantly online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to becoming president, Maggio served the university in a variety of roles including, vice-president for the Student Experience, assistant vice-president for External Affairs, dean of students and assistant provost, director of Alumni and Development, director of Enrollment Services, director of Admissions, assistant athletic director, and head women’s track and field and cross country Coach.
Maggio is a 1985 summa cum laude graduate of Northwestern State and was chosen as Mr. NSU.
Salim is a 1972 graduate of NSU where he earned a degree in political science and history. He was a Dean’s List student and member of the tennis team lettering for four years. After graduation, he attended Loyola Law School, graduated in 1976 and was admitted to the Louisiana State Bar. While in law school, he clerked for Dodd & Barker and Donald G. Kelly.
He is a member of the Natchitoches Parish Bar Association, Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association, American Association for Justice, Immaculate Conception Church and a former member of Board of Governors of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. Since 2007, he has been selected as one of the 100 Top Trial Lawyers as determined by The American Trial Lawyers Association. Salim is a founding member of The Class Action Trial Lawyers Association and was recently named to America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators.
Salim’s support of Demon baseball has been pivotal for over two decades, resulting in significant facility enhancements and more. He has also been a significant supporter of men’s and women’s basketball through the years. Salim’s engagement with Demon baseball began in the John Cohen era and his involvement was vital to the renovations of Brown-Stroud Field led by Cohen in 2000, and improvements large and small since. In 2019, he was inducted into the N-Club Hall of Fame as a winner of the Distinguished Service Award.
Salim has established four $100,000 endowments over the past two years including scholarships in memory of Jerry Pierce, Richard Ware, Brittain and H.N. & Inez Towry.
Caption
The inductees into Northwestern State University’s Alumni Hall of Distinction, the Long Purple Line. are the late Jack Brittain Jr., Henry Burns of Haughton and Dr. Steve Horton, Doug Ireland, Dr. Chris Maggio and Robert “Skeeter” Salim, all of Natchitoches.
