When Dr. Michael Leonard left The City of Byrd after graduation; he found himself on the campus of LSU and playing in the secondary for the Fighting Tigers. It was the summer of 1973 and the late, legendary head football coach Charlie McClendon held his freshmen after practice one day to deliver a message.
“He said ‘men, LSU Tigers are responsible. And LSU Tigers are grateful. And LSU Tigers do the right thing’,” Leonard said. “Now, you have to keep it simple for jocks, and that was certainly simple.”
Five years ago, Leonard shared McClendon’s nugget of wisdom with graduates of the LSU’s College of Science in May of 2020 when Leonard was not able to join the Tigers at their commencement ceremony due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He went on to tell the graduates those principles served him well for over four decades as a successful dentist in Northwest Louisiana.
At the time he delivered his message, Leonard was well on his way to his “second career” with Community Renewal International, a non-profit focused on building relationships and communities through Friendship Houses and programs in impoverished neighborhoods in Shreveport-Bossier.
It was the words of Community Renewal founder, Mack McCarter, which caused Leonard to change the trajectory of his life. Leonard, who was headed toward a retirement filled with chasing golf balls around America’s top golf courses, heard McCarter say the following…
“I don’t want to be sitting on my porch and have my grandchildren come up to me and ask why I didn’t do anything when I had the opportunity.”
Those words hit home with Leonard, who has since devoted himself to serving the Shreveport-Bossier community as an associate coordinator with Community Renewal.
It wasn’t the first time in his life that Leonard made an about face. The same aggression that made him an outstanding football player at both C.E. Byrd and LSU, is the same aggression that got him in trouble off the field.
“Let’s just say that Mike Leonard 2.0 was a kinder, gentler version than 1.0,” Leonard said in a 2018 interview. "Only by the grace of God."
When Leonard thinks back to his days at The City, he remembers his junior English teacher--Mrs. Mary McClanahan, journalism teacher Marieda Bowden. He also remembers Byrd coaches Jimmy Harrison and Larry Rambin.
"I had to learn the hard way with Coach Harrison," Leonard said. "When he gave you a rule...he meant it. Coach Rambin was a tough coach, but he was fair."
Leonard will be inducted into the C.E. Byrd Hall of Fame on Thursday, June 5th at 5:30pm at the Shreveport Convention Center.
Other inductees include Amy Brittain, Jacob Davis, Jordan Davis, Meredith Duncan, Annia Jenkins, Faith Jenkins, Charles Johnson, Darrell Jones, David Matlock, Pamela McPherson, Leslie Moran, John Parsons, and Max Watson. Neil Johnson and Joseph Zaffater will be inducted posthumously. Faculty members inducted will be Kathy O’Neal and Roy Keene (posthumously).
Individual tickets to the C.E. Byrd Hall of Fame Dinner are $100. Table sponsorships, which include eight tickets, are $1,500. Tickets may be purchased at byrdhighalumni.org by clicking the yellow tab at the top of the website. ... See MoreSee Less