Secretary of State to address Southeastern graduates
Contact: Rene Abadie
Date: May 1, 2012
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HAMMOND – Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler will serve as commencement speaker at Southeastern Louisiana University's graduation ceremonies on Saturday, May 12.
Scheduled at 10 a.m. at the University Center, the ceremony will recognize approximately 1,200 students receiving bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees.
One student, Schellia Arnette Robertson of Hammond, will be "hooded" as she receives the Doctor of Education degree.
Schedler was elected to a four-year term as Secretary of State in 2011, taking office on January 9. Prior to his election, he served as an appointed Secretary of State when Jay Dardenne was elected Lieutenant Governor in a special election. Schedler had served as Dardenne's first assistant for three years earlier, after completing a 12-year career in the Louisiana State Senate where he represented parts of St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes.
His experience in government also includes serving on the Slidell City Council for six years, where he was elected both president and vice president during his terms in office. A licensed real estate broker, he has also served as president of the St. Tammany Municipal Association and chairman of the Slidell Board of Zoning and Adjustment. He is a member of the Republican Party and served two terms on the party's Central Committee.
Among the awards and recognitions Schedler has received are the Legislator of the Year by the Alliance for Good Government in 2000, the Republican of the Year in 2006, and similar recognitions by the Rural Hospital Coalition, the Louisiana Hospital Association, and the Metropolitan Hospital Council of New Orleans. In 1991, he was honored as Slidell's Citizen of the Year and Slidell's Employer of the Year.
Schedler serves on the board of Lakeview Regional Hospital and as an advisory member of the board of the Whitney/Hancock National Bank. A member of numerous civic organizations, he has served as president of the Rotary Club of Slidell and is a CASA trained court appointee.
A native of New Orleans, he earned a bachelor of science degree in marketing from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette in 1971.
