Norm Swanner, an avid supporter of the Nicholls community, died of a massive heart attack Nov. 8 at age 56. Swanner was co-founder of the A+ Scholar Wine and Food Tasting Extravaganza and was a staple at Nicholls football games. “Norm was the king of tailgate parties,” Deborah Raziano, director of alumni affairs, said. “There was no one that could do a tailgate party like Norm. His jambalaya-I don’t think anybody in the whole world could cook jambalaya like Norm.”
David Boudreaux, vice president of institutional advancement, said Swanner traveled to help with tailgate parties and, when his schedule permitted, was on the sidelines at Nicholls’ football games “exhorting the players to do their best.”
Raziano described Norm as always having a smile on his face and always being excited to talk to people. He could always be found wearing shorts and a Nicholls t-shirt or polo shirt and standing on the sidelines. Swanner’s attire never altered, Raziano said, despite changes in the weather. When the Colonels in 1996 made the 1AA playoffs for the first time, Swanner and a group of Nicholls fans went to the game in Montana, which was the weekend after Thanksgiving.
“When I got to the stadium and saw that man on the sidelines, there he was, in his shorts and t-shirt,” Raziano said.
Swanner was the former owner and manager of Bubba’s II restaurant in Thibodaux. Head Football Coach Jay Thomas said when Swanner became involved with Nicholls football in 1990, Bubba’s became the “hangout for the coaches.”
Thomas said Swanner helped with fundraising for all Nicholls sports, not just football, whether it was donating his time, cooking a pot of jambalaya or giving money. Thomas said Swanner was at every athletics auction and said he was “bidding on everything” at one of the auctions in the spring.
“He was part of what we’ve been able to accomplish here,” Thomas said.
Boudreaux said Swanner, who was also a Thibodaux City Councilman, saw the need to help students who were not involved with sports. He said eleven years ago, Swanner and Suzanne Kortz, who was then director of development, started the Sponsor A+ Wine and Food Tasting Extravaganza to fund scholarships to recruit students who demonstrated leadership potential.
“This event has grown to be one of the University’s most successful fundraisers,” Boudreaux said. “In fact, Norm was manning the Bubba’s II food station Oct. 18 at our most recent A+ event.”
Swanner’s generosity reached far beyond the Nicholls community.
After the attacks on Sept. 11, Swanner brought a “crew” to New York and cooked his jambalaya, Raziano said.
“While his love and passion was for our part of the country, he found room in his heart and his life to be able to go and help the less fortunate,” Raziano said.
The Nicholls Alumni Federation recognized Swanner in 1993 when he was made an honorary alumnus– an award given to someone who has fostered and promoted the University, according to Raziano. In 1997 he was given the Harvey Peltier award, the highest award the federation gives to a non-graduate, Raziano said.
“All that he did for people and this University, he never asked for favors in return,” Raziano said.
He is survived by his wife, Debbie, and two children: Doug, 36, and Jamie, 32.
Swanner was a West Bank native, but he and his family moved to Thibodaux in 1989.
