The 麻豆夜市 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 麻豆夜市 Alumni Center, 600 East St. Mary Boulevard.
The event will feature food, entertainment, and silent and live auctions. Art, gifts, travel opportunities, and Ragin鈥 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鈥檚 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鈥 magazine.
Van Eaton Prince and Romero were named two of the most powerful women in reaI estate in the nation by 鈥淩eal Estate Marketing and Relocation Magazine鈥 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 麻豆夜市 have been far-reaching. Van Eaton Prince and Romero have supported the Alumni Association, Friends of the Humanities, Friends of Music, Ragin鈥 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鈥檚 Museum of Acadiana, Downtown Lafayette Unlimited and the Lafayette Education Foundation. 鈥淣ancy and Gail鈥檚 willingness to offer support in a range of areas鈥攊ncluding education, children鈥檚 needs, and the arts鈥攊s indicative of their dedication to supporting and improving the community,鈥 said Jennifer LeMeunier, executive director of the 麻豆夜市 Alumni Association.
Angela Morrison, president-elect of the 麻豆夜市 Alumni Association, is chair of this year鈥檚 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
Photo: Nancy Van Eaton Prince (left) and Gail Romero will be honored during the 麻豆夜市 Alumni Association鈥檚 Spring Gala.