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SHREVEPORT, La. – Awards totaling $5,500 from the Louisiana Association of Tax Administrators will provide scholarships to students with financial need at LSU Shreveport.

LATA is a professional organization for employees of state and local tax offices. The group promotes uniform taxing laws and regulations, efficiency in taxing offices and cooperation among the various taxing authorities in Louisiana. LATA provides a scholarship funds to a Louisiana university each year, said LATA Secretary/Treasurer Tom O’Neal.

The group presented the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ scholarship monies to the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Foundation during the LATA annual meeting in Shreveport recently. The organization also presented a separate $500 scholarship that honors the late Roy Austin, a state and local tax manager with Entergy who was active in LATA for many years.

“I was delighted to get the call from Mr. O’Neal sharing the award would go to LSU Shreveport, and everyone at the luncheon was so welcoming. Many were ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ alumni or currently pursuing another degree from us,” said ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Foundation President Laura Perdue.

LATA members typically pursue degrees and credentials in accounting, finance and business administration.

“We like to assist those that may not have qualified for some of the higher academic achievements,” O’Neal said. “We like to help students who have a desire for an education and hopefully will graduate and make a contribution to our state.”

ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ graduates work in local government tax and finance offices in Bossier City as well as Caddo, Livingston, Lafourche and St. Mary parishes, among others.

“We are very pleased that our students will be the recipients of this generous gift from the LATA,” said ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Chancellor Robert T. Smith. “This is a fantastic way to encourage students to pursue higher education in Louisiana.”

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About the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Foundation

The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Foundation promotes philanthropic support for ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ programs and areas of study while recognizing the all-important growth and success of economic development in northwest Louisiana. The ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Foundation houses 58 endowed professorships and chairs and awards over 150 scholarships each year.