Rita Benson LeBlanc
Rita M. LeBlanc | |
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Rita LeBlanc, March 2010
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Born | Rita Mae LeBlanc January 11, 1977 Houma, Louisiana, United States |
Residence | Texas |
Nationality | American |
Other names | Rita Benson LeBlanc |
Alma mater | Texas A&M University (B.S, Agribusiness, 2001) |
Occupation | <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
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Years active | ca. 2002 -- 2015 |
Known for | Adoptive granddaughter of Tom Benson, the owner of the New Orleans Saints and the New Orleans Pelicans |
Parent(s) | Russell LeBlanc (father) Renee Benson (mother) |
Website | Rita Benson LeBlanc on TwitterLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
Rita Mae LeBlanc, also known as Rita Benson LeBlanc, (born January 11, 1977)[2] is the granddaughter of Tom Benson, the principal owner of the New Orleans Saints and the New Orleans Pelicans.[3]
She was Vice Chairman of the Board of the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League.[4][5]
Contents
Early life and education
Rita Mae LeBlanc is the daughter of Russell LeBlanc and Renee Benson, the daughter of Tom Benson and his first wife Shirley.
She has a brother, Ryan LeBlanc.[6][7]
Born in Houma, Louisiana[8] when her family lived in nearby Cut Off,[9] she was raised on a ranch near Johnson City, Texas, where she attended Lyndon B. Johnson High School[2] before receiving a bachelor of science degree in agribusiness at Texas A&M University in 2001.[10]
Career
LeBlanc began interning for the Saints and in various league offices while still in high school, and went to work for the Saints after college.[9][11] In 2003, she took over management of the New Orleans VooDoo, the Arena Football League team also owned by Benson, and was named the indoor league's top executive.[8] (The VooDoo ceased operations in 2008.)[12] In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, she began to take on a more public role and greater responsibilities in the management of the Saints.[11]
She chairs the NFL Employee Benefits Committee,[4] and was previously identified as Tom Benson's intended successor as principal owner of the team.[13][14] LeBlanc is on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service.[15]
In 2012, Tom Benson suspended LeBlanc from her jobs on account of her "sense of entitlement."[16][6][14]
Lawsuit against adoptive grandfather
It was announced on January 21st, 2015, by current Saints and Pelicans owner Tom Benson that Rita Benson Leblanc was no longer in consideration for future ownership of either franchise.[5] She then sued him for control of his companies, claiming he is "incompetent." Tom Benson calls the lawsuit meritless and false.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]
References
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External links
- Rita Benson LeBlanc on TwitterLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Maria C. Montoya, "The Saints' heir apparent Rita Benson LeBlanc has a nose for books, a passion for her BlackBerry, and an admitted grumpy streak", Times-Picayune, July 26, 2009.
- ↑ Granddaughter of Saints’ Boss Is Getting Ready to Call the Plays - New York Times
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 New Orleans Saints - Rita Benson LeBlanc at New Orleans Saints official website (accessed April 1, 2010).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Franz Lidz, "Rita's Hail Mary Pass"[dead link], Portfolio, September 17, 2007.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Sue Stachan, "Persona: Rita Benson LeBlanc", New Orleans Magazine, September 2007.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Tom Orsborn, "LeBlanc works her way up Saints’ ladder"[dead link], San Antonio Express-News, February 6, 2010.
- ↑ "Arena Football League's VooDoo folding", Associated Press in USA Today, October 13, 2008.
- ↑ James O'Byrne, "Rita Benson LeBlanc is climbing to the top of the Saints roster with hard work, not just pedigree", Times-Picayune, July 26, 2009.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- Pages with reference errors
- Pages with broken file links
- Pages using infoboxes with thumbnail images
- Articles with hCards
- 1977 births
- Living people
- New Orleans Saints executives
- Texas A&M University alumni
- Sportspeople from New Orleans, Louisiana
- Women in American Professional Sports Management
- People from Houma, Louisiana
- People from Blanco County, Texas
- Articles with dead external links from January 2013