By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
SLIDELL – When Elizabeth Schneider earned her English degree from Kent State University in 1978, she was certain of a career path that was leading her to the LSU Law School.
Little did she expect 36 years later to be directing the raffle and auction fundraising efforts for the annual Jazz on the Bayou event, approaching the 23rd benefit on Saturday and Sunday, March 21 and 22, at the Bayou Liberty home of Ronnie and Gardner Kole.
But then that’s the story many of us have of the journey life takes us on.
Elizabeth is the wife of former La. Rep. Pete Schneider, the owner/operator to one of Slidell’s oldest businesses, St. Joe Brick. And it was her introduction to Pete Schneider in the late 70s that changed her life, with the potential law degree becoming something she decided not to pursue.
“I made a decision back then to marry Pete since I knew I couldn’t be going to law school at the same time I was trying to make a marriage work,” she said. “I look back on my married life of 35 years and I am so blessed. It’s been a great life.”
Elizabeth became part of the Jazz on the Bayou fundraiser almost from the time it began 23 years ago, since her mother-in-law, Gardner Schneider, was married to Ronnie Kole. The couple decided to start a local fundraiser for the Easter Seals, hosting the party at their own home on Bayou Liberty.
With “Jazz” celebrating its 23rd year on March 21 and 22, 2015, Elizabeth Schneider has become a key part of the volunteer staff, taking charge of the raffle and auction items that now bring in approximately 30 percent of the proceeds, and offer one of the most anticipated parts of Jazz every year.
Jazz on the Bayou has raised over $1 million for charity in the 23 years of its annual parties, and part of the reason they have been so successful in helping worthwhile non-profit groups is because Elizabeth has found ways to grow the auction and raffle items that are a big part of the fantastic party.
And for the second year in a row one of the highlights will be a raffle for a four-day trip to Napa Valley. Tickets are available for $25 each and no more than 500 tickets will be sold for that special event.
“The couple who won the Napa Valley trip last year said it was simply fabulous,” Elizabeth said. “So we’re glad we decided to add it to what we have, and we’re selling the tickets pretty quickly again this year.”
Elizabeth married Pete Schneider in December, 1979, putting the couple past their 35th anniversary last year.
“After I met Pete and he proposed only a month after we started actually dating, I knew I couldn’t let him get away,” she said with a smile. “When you know, you know, and I knew he was the one I should marry.
“The thing that has made Pete so special all these years is that he takes care of everyone around him, and he always takes care of everyone else before thinking about himself,” she added.
The marriage led to an involvement in the Jazz on the Bayou fundraiser when Pete’s mother, Gardner, decided to host the local benefit event with Ronnie Kole.
“Ronnie was already involved helping raise money for Easter Seals so Gardner and Ronnie decided to hold an event of their own on the North Shore, right at their home,” she recalled. “Everyone in the family wanted to help so we were all a part of it from the start.”
Elizabeth took charge of the auction items 15 years ago and hasn’t slowed down, building that portion of the event every year to a place that there are approximately 100 silent auction items and 50 gift certificates offered each day through the auction or raffle. The “Jazz Girls” stroll through the party on Saturday and Sunday and help sell tickets for $10 each, and Elizabeth said no item is worth less than $50.
“I actually have a lot of fun handling the auction and raffle items,” she said. “It’s kind of like Christmas to me to have all these items and see people get them for helping us out.”
Elizabeth is originally from Ohio, where her father grew up and initially settled with her mother. Her dad went to Yale and set a world record in the pole vault during his athletic days, before serving in the Navy. After the war when her parents began a family that included Elizabeth as the youngest with two brothers and a sister, the family made its way to Baton Rouge with her father’s work. Her connection to Louisiana would become lifelong even though she temporarily returned to Ohio to graduate at Kent State.
She found her way to Slidell when her brother became a lawyer and got a job here.
“I would visit Slidell on the weekends when I initially started college at LSU,” she said. “I had two jobs, one as a waitress at Navia’s, and that’s when I met Pete. He came in one night, and even though we both were dating other people, he kept asking me out. It took a few months, but finally I agreed.”
Her married life with Pete included his 16-year stint in politics, including time as a state representative with the Louisiana Legislature where he became known as a strong conservative promoting family values.
“I really loved the life as a political wife, especially meeting so many people,” she said. “I also enjoyed walking the street, knocking on doors and talking to all the people who lived here.”
Elizabeth, like her mother-in-law, became heavily involved in many local non-profit groups, including the Slidell Republican Women’s Club where she served in every position, including president. She has also been active with the Ozone Camellia Club, Le Cotillion, and much time with the schools their children attended at St. Paul’s and St. Scholastica in Covington.
“When I first started working with Jazz I did it to help Ronnie and Gardner. They are the best in-laws a person could have,” Elizabeth said. “But the longer I have done it, and especially when STARC became one of the groups we are helping, I saw how much that organization does to help people and it motivated me to want to do more for them.
“Now we are helping Safe Harbor and some other charities and that’s really what makes me want this to be so successful,” she added.
Pete and Elizabeth have three children: Peter, age 32, who works at St. Joe Brick; Christopher, age 30, a physical therapist at Ochsner Health Systems; and Kathryn, age 25, working in computers and software creation in Washington, D.C. They have two grandchildren.