Reconcile New Orleans Board Member Don Hayden Celebrates Dinner with “64″

On Monday, Café Reconcile hosted “Dinner for 64” with #64 of the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints, Zach Strief.  Zach’s Dream Big Foundation held a major fundraiser for Café Reconcile in December.  One of the auction items of the evening was dinner for 64 people prepared by Zach Strief and the Café Reconcile staff.  The item was won by Reconcile New Orleans board member, Don Hayden.   

Don is a very active and involved member of Reconcile New Orleans Board of Directors, a true commitment considering he resides in Louisville, Kentucky.  The president of a trucking company, Don first became involved in Reconcile New Orleans a year after Hurricane Katrina when his church in Louisville, Southeastern Christian Church, pre-built thirty-three homes to be sent to New Orleans.  Committed to help with the recovery effort, Don donated all the trucks and drivers to bring the houses to New Orleans.  It was during his first trip here that he met Reconcile New Orleans founder, Craig Cuccia. The collaborative relationship between Craig and Don lead Don to join the Board of Directors two years ago.   

Monday’s event was attended by thirty of Don’s friends from Louisville, as well as Reconcile staff, board members, and students.  The event began with words of welcome from Executive Director Sr. Mary Lou Specha and a prayer by Program Director Donna Bowie.  Zach and the kitchen staff started serving salads and seafood gumbo as jazz singer Naydja Cojoe entertained the crowd with an a-cappella rendition of “God Bless the Child.”  For an entrée Chef Joe prepared a baked catfish with crawfish sauce and pork chops with a praline sauce.  Accompanying the entrees were smothered okra, mashed sweet potatoes, collard greens, and macaroni and cheese.

Guests moved on to Bananas Foster bread pudding as Craig Cuccia spoke about the program, history, and the story of how Don came into the mission of Reconcile New Orleans.  Three students followed Craig, speaking about what the program meant to them and how they had changed.  Many of those expressed how touched they were by their stories, and how impressed they were with the resilience and strength of the students.  Finally, Super Bowl Champion Zach Strief addressed the group, talking in detail about the Saints Super Bowl run and his life-changing experience with the amazing people of New Orleans.  He also raffled off an autographed jersey.  Don closed the event by asking everyone gathered to join hands and pray the Our Father.

Thank you to Don, his family, and all their friends for their support of our mission and our students.