The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Alumni Association will honor real estate agents Nancy Van Eaton Prince and Gail Romero at its 2016 Spring Gala.
The gala will be held from 6:30-10 p.m. on Saturday, April 9, at the UL Lafayette Alumni Center, 600 East St. Mary Boulevard.
The event will feature food, entertainment, and silent and live auctions. Art, gifts, travel opportunities, and Ragin’ Cajuns merchandise are some of the items that will be up for bid. Proceeds from the annual gala are dedicated to maintaining and improving Alumni facilities.
In the 1960s, Van Eaton was among the first women in Acadiana to create her own real estate firm and to join the male-dominated Board of Realtors. With Van Eaton’s encouragement, Romero became a real estate agent/broker in 1966.
The pair established Van Eaton & Romero in 1977. The firm grew to more than 250 real estate agents and staff members across five locations. By the late 1990s, it was consistently recognized among the top 500 real estate firms in the country by Real Trends’ magazine.
Van Eaton Prince and Romero were named two of the most powerful women in reaI estate in the nation by “Real Estate Marketing and Relocation Magazine” in the mid-1990s. In 2012, Van Eaton & Romero merged with New Orleans-based Latter & Blum Inc. Realtors.
Along the way, Van Eaton Prince and Romero established themselves as philanthropists as well as business leaders. Their contributions to UL Lafayette have been far-reaching. Van Eaton Prince and Romero have supported the Alumni Association, Friends of the Humanities, Friends of Music, Ragin’ Cajuns Athletics, the College of the Arts, and the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration. They also established the Van Eaton & Romero/BORSF Endowed Professorship in Real Estate.
Van Eaton Price and Romero have also supported many organizations, including the Lafayette Ballet Theater, Children’s Museum of Acadiana, Downtown Lafayette Unlimited and the Lafayette Education Foundation. “Nancy and Gail’s willingness to offer support in a range of areas—including education, children’s needs, and the arts—is indicative of their dedication to supporting and improving the community,” said Jennifer LeMeunier, executive director of the UL Lafayette Alumni Association.
Angela Morrison, president-elect of the UL Lafayette Alumni Association, is chair of this year’s Spring Gala.
To purchase tickets, become a patron or sponsor, or donate auction items to the 2016 Spring Gala, call (337) 482-0900.
Learn more about the event by visiting the Alumni Association's web page at https://www.louisianaalumni.org/site.php
Photo: Nancy Van Eaton Prince (left) and Gail Romero will be honored during the UL Lafayette Alumni Association’s Spring Gala.