Fishing Rodeo Set In Teacher's Honor
Submitted By N.O.V.A. July 2005
Times Picayune 07-13-1997


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Friends of Bob Brannan, an avid fisherman and Nunez Community College instructor
who died in February, are hold a fishing rodeo in his memory.

Brannan, a drafting and design technology teacher, died at age 43 of a heart
attack. The Bob Brannan Memorial Fishing Rodeo, which will raise money for
scholarships in drafting and design technology at Nunez, will take place July 19
and 20.

Participants can fish anywhere in Louisiana. The weigh-in is July 20 from 1 to 7
p.m. at Ernst Cafe in New Orleans, owned by Brannan's longtime friend, Lou
Tortorich.

Michael Miranda, who has known Brannan since high school, is organizing the event.

"Bob was just one of the best guys in the world," Miranda said. "At his funeral I
saw so many faces I hadn't seen in 25 years."

Miranda said he organized the fishing rodeo to bring the people who knew and loved
Brannan together again.

"It makes you feel good that people are thinking of him," said Brannan's widow,
Anna. "He's a hard guy to forget."

Nunez Community College will pay tribute to Brannan in its 1997-98 course catalog,
which is dedicated to his memory. It will include a write-up about Brannan and a
number of his designs and drawings.

The school community was hard-hit by Brannan's death. When his funeral procession
passed the campus, flags were flown at half-staff as students and faculty gathered
on the lawn to watch it pass.

"It was really a touching moment," Miranda said.

Anna Brannan said her husband took care of his students, often helping them land
jobs before they graduated. "In the grocery store today, kids walk up to me and
thank me" for him, she said.

Miranda expects a large turnout of Brannan's family, friends and students at the
two-day event.

"You don't have to be involved in fishing or the rodeo to come" and show some
support, Miranda said.

He and Tortorich, along with Brannan's father and brothers, will be among the
rodeo competitors. "I love to fish and I couldn't ask for a better reason to,"
said Wayne Brannan, Bob's brother.

The rodeo is open to everyone. Prizes will be awarded for the three largest fish
in three categories: speckled trout, redfish and flounder.

There is a $35 rodeo entry fee. The July 20 party at Ernst Cafe is open to the
public by fee.

For years, Brannan and friends frequented Ernst Cafe to eat barbecue and watch
football games.

Tortorich said he has another special reminder of Brannan's talent and friendship:
the home Brannan designed for him in Poplarville, Miss.

The house was completed three weeks before Brannan's death, and he never got to
see it, Tortorich said.

"I didn't know anyone who didn't like Bob," Tortorich said. "He really took care
with people."