Lewis Vincent Elementary Cheers Geaux Girls

Students and employees at Lewis Vincent Elementary gathered together for a “surprise” pep rally Wednesday to cheer on the efforts of Assistant Principal Melissa Dougherty and her girlfriends who will participate in a 60-mile walk this weekend in Dallas, Texas to raise money and awareness for breast cancer.

Dougherty, Kelli Meyers, Rhonda Pratt, Brittany Pratt, Laura Jones and Kandy Pope, all of Denham Springs, have formed a local team known as the “Geaux Girls” to walk in a three-day walk-a-thon event to support the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  Each lady will walk 23 miles on Friday, 23 miles on Saturday and 14 miles on Sunday to complete the course that stretches through several towns outside of Dallas, Texas. 

They have held local fundraisers over the past five months to promote their effort and to collect donations for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  To date, they have collected more than $16,000.

The six ladies have been friends for years, offering each other support with family and personal issues, but they decided to formally band together for a worthy cause in January after three were diagnosed with cancer.  Two of the ladies have fought breast cancer, while another was treated for Melanoma, a fast-spreading skin cancer.   

“We’re doing this for our daughters, our sisters, our mothers and our friends.  Our goal is to one day find a cure for cancer so you do not have to battle it,” Dougherty told the crowd of students, faculty, staff and friends who gathered for the celebration. 

Principal Carol Robertson said the school planned the event “in secret” to surprise Dougherty before she left for Dallas, Texas.  Notes were sent homes with students asking them to wear pink or black shirts for the event and to “keep this a secret.”  At the same time, the school was decorated with pink and black banners and signs and an array of footprint cutouts that included words of encouragement and support for the Geaux Girls.  A banner on the front of the school said “Mrs. Dougherty -- Geaux Girl.  We can’t run from it but she can walk for it!”

Dougherty attended a curriculum meeting at the school board on Tuesday and was assigned to an early morning class observation on Wednesday, which allowed the faculty, staff and students to “secretly” complete the preparatory work for the pep rally.

“This is amazing,” Dougherty said, fighting back tears, after being led by her friends through the cheering crowd.  “It’s obvious that I am supported and loved.  I just don’t what to say.”

The students were led by their teachers in a series of cheers.  They first yelled “Geaux Girls,” with each side alternating the words.  They followed that cheer with an entertaining chant of “Geaux Girls are what? Hot Pink!  Geaux Girls are what? Hot Pink! Geaux Girls are H-O-T-P-I-N-K!  What’s that? Hot Pink!”  The fifth grade students ended the rally with a marching chant, led by teachers Becky Pourciau, Nannette Barr and Michelle Denton, who added pink and white feather boas to their attire.

Robertson said the pep rally not only provided encouragement for the Geaux Girls, but it helped to make the nearly 600 students on campus aware of breast cancer and the need for a cure.

“We’re really glad we can support Ms. Dougherty and the other Geaux Girls in their efforts.  We’ve learned a lot in doing this,” she said.

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Photos Available as JPG Files –

The Geaux Girls join together to greet the students and employees at Lewis Vincent Elementary who held a special pep rally in their honor on Wednesday.  Pictured left to right are Kandy Pope, Brittany Pratt, Melissa Dougherty, Rhonda Pratt, Laura Jones and Kellie Meyers.

The Geaux Girls are welcomed by students at Lewis Vincent Elementary during a special pep rally in their honor.  Pictured from left to right are Brittany Pratt, Kelli Meyers, Laura Jones, Rhonda Pratt, Kandy Pope and Melissa Dougherty.

Pictured are the Geaux Girls, from left to right: (back) Kelli Meyers, Rhonda Pratt, Brittany Pratt, Laura Jones, Kandy Pope and (front) Melissa Dougherty. Lewis Vincent Elementary held a pep rally for them Wednesday in advance of their trip to Dallas, Texas, to participate in a 60-mile walk for the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

Kandy Pope, a member of the Denham Springs Geaux Girls, hugs her daughter Kallie Pope, who is a student at Lewis Vincent Elementary.  Kandy Pope is a breast cancer survivor.

Lewis Vincent Elementary’s Fifth Grade Teachers Becky Pourciau, Nannette Barr and Michelle Denton (pictured left to right) lead their fifth-grade students in a marching chant to wrap-up the pep rally for the Geaux Girls.

Lewis Vincent Elementary Fifth Grade Teacher Nanette Barr leads the crowd in a marching chant to end a pep rally for the Denham Springs Geaux Girls who will travel to Dallas, Texas, this weekend to walk 60 miles in support of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which supports efforts to find a cure for breast cancer.

The kindergarten class shows off its banner.

Second-graders from Lewis Vincent Elementary display their banner supporting the Geaux Girls.