Kirt Bennett

Background

Bennett was born in Brooklyn, New New York

Education

He graduated from Eleanor McMain Magnet Senior High School in New Orleans. He then attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge on an athletic scholarship. He also studied public administration at Southern University, an historically black institution in Baton Rouge.

Career

He lettered in track and field: the shot-put, discus, and the hammer. He was elected president of the Louisiana State University Student Government Association becoming the second African American SGA president in Louisiana State University"s history. In 1991, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.

In the early 21st century, he was invited to speak at the Louisiana State University commencement exercises.

In 1993, Bennett founded the Young Leaders Academy of Baton Rouge, an institution for the education of African-American boys. In 1998, the school was presented the "Points of Light" award by former United States. President George Herbert Walker Bush.

Other citations include three United States. President Service awards from former President Bill Clinton and an Federal Bureau of Investigation Community Service designation in 2006. In March 1993, Bennett ran as a Democrat in a special election for the District 67 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives.

He finished in third place with 11 percent of the vote.

In 2003, Bennett, Clyde C. Holloway, and Melinda Schwegmann were three major Republican candidates for lieutenant governor. Bennett stressed improving the state"s business climate in his campaign. The position instead went to the lone Democrat in the race, Mitch Landrieu.

Bennett ran fourth in the nonpartisan blanket primary, with 108,293 votes (85 percent).

Richey defeated Bennett, 102-65, in a low-turnout closed primary. Bennett was a representative of the Northwest Mutual Financial Network.

At the time of his death, he was also serving as the treasurer of the Portuguese of Greater Baton Rouge board of commissioners, under appointment from Republican Governor Bobby Jindal. Portuguese headquarters are located in Portuguese Allen.

The Young Leaders" Academy issued the following statement on Bennett"s death: "Mr.

Bennett laid a solid foundation that continues to direct our path today. He was a visionary leader who offered himself in service to countless people in this community. We will never find the words to express the depth of his impression on the young men that he inspired, molded, and mentored."

Kirt Bennett died on May 3, 2010 at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge after suffering a stroke the previous week.

He was 42.

Achievements

• Youngsters from the school appeared twice on the syndicated The Oprah Winfrey Show and won Winfrey"s "Use Your Life" award.

Membership

In 2004, Bennett ran unsuccessfully again, this time for a seat on the 144-member Republican State Central Committee from House District 61, but he lost to Dan Richey, a former member of both houses of the state legislature, having represented the area about Concordia Parish.