The Krewe of Phoenix proudly presents royalty for the 2007 Mardi Gras season. Members of the court were presented to the krewe at the annual announcement party on Oct. 26 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Callon.

Upcoming events the krewe will host include the Call-Out Ball on Jan. 27, the Phoenix Grand Ball on Feb. 3 and the Phoenix Parade on Feb. 16.

Anyone interested in becoming a member of the krewe should send inquiries to Krewe of Phoenix, Attn: Membership, P.O. Box 2062, Natchez, MS 39121. Please include your name, address and phone number.

Chuck Bearden, Rex XXV

Representing the Krewe of Phoenix as Rex XXV is Charles Edward Bearden. He grew up in Woodville and is an honor graduate of Mississippi State University with a degree in chemical engineering. He is a lifetime member of the Theta Tan Engineering Fraternity. A 30-year veteran of the hazardous waste remediation industry, Charles is president of Hydrocarbon Engineering Inc. of Natchez and is co-owner of Flamingo Bay Chemicals.

Rex XXV is a founding member of the Krewe of Phoenix and the Krewe of Alpheus. He also belongs to the Krewe of St. John, La.

White water sports, gold prospecting, ocean sailing and metal detecting are among his hobbies.

He enjoys family connections to three Phoenix monarchs: Rosalie I, Rex IV and Rosalie VII. A supporter of the Adams County Humane Society, he and his wife rescue and foster homeless and abused animals.

Chuck and his wife, Sherry, reside in Sibley at Buckhurst Plantation. They have four grown children: Celeste, Monica, Kyle and his wife Jamie and Sean.

Tanna Davis, Rosalie XXV

Representing the Krewe of Phoenix as Rosalie XXV is Tanna Adams Davis. Tanna graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a master&8217;s degree in education. She completed the process of national board certification, with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in 1990. She is presently teaching at Franklin Upper Elementary.

Tanna serves on Gov. Haley Barbour&8217;s Teach Advisory Council. She is a member of First Presbyterian Church where she enjoys singing in the choir. She is a member of the Pilgrimage Garden Club. She serves on the Board of the Natchez Humane Society, where she hopes to help with the shelter&8217;s new building campaign.

Tanna has been a member of the Krewe of Phoenix since serving as Duchess La Glorieuse in 1997s Land of a Thousand Dances. She has previously served on the board of directors as royalty co-chairman, party co-chairman and grand ball co-chairman. She presently serves as scholarship chairman. She enjoys flower arranging, tablescaping, snow skiing, spending time at the beach with her Krewe of Friday friends, and traveling with her husband, Vidal Davis.

Joseph Kaiser Smith, Duke Great Sun

Joseph is the son of Hank and Jackie Smith. He has two siblings, Lee Smith and Kelly Dykes. He is a graduate of Trinity Episcopal School and the University of Mississippi, where he earned his bachelor&8217;s degree in biology with a minor in mathematics.

Joseph is currently self-employed in the oil and gas industry. He is a member of St. Mary Basilica, the Santa Claus Committee and Ducks Unlimited. He is an avid outdoorsman, whose hobbies include biking, jogging, golf, tennis, reading and travel.

Darla Knapp Wilkinson,

Duchess La Glorieuse

Darla is a graduate of Vidalia High School and Louisiana Tech University, where she completed a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering.

She previously was an Entergy employee working at Grand Gulf Nuclear Station and the Natchez Steam Plant.

She is currently a certified residential appraiser with Bob Gavin Appraisal Service.

She is a member of the Vidalia Women&8217;s Club serving as conservation committee chairman, the Natchez Board of Realtors, First Baptist Church Vidalia, the Pilgrimage Garden Club and the Krewe of Alpheus.

She is a graduate of Leadership Natchez and is a member of the Vidalia Chamber of Commerce, where she has served as secretary and was on the board of directors.

She enjoys shopping, exercising and traveling.

Darla is married to John Wilkinson. They have two children, Jacob, who attends Vidalia Upper Elementary and is in the fifth grade, and Abby, who attends Vidalia Lower Elementary.

Gabe Cassagne,

Duke Rene Robert LaSalle

Gabriel is known to his friends as Gabe. He is a graduate of Louisiana State University, where he met his wife, Susan Swindell Cassagne; they have four children, Elizabeth, Juliette, Andre&8217; and Richard.

Gabe is president of British American Insurance Group, an insurance and reinsurance intermediary.

He is a member of St. Mary Basilica, where he is active in the lay ministry.

He is also a member of the Krewe of Phoenix, Friends of the Armstrong Library, the Santa Clause Committee, Krewe of Kilarney, Natchez Historical Society and the morning walking club. Gabe&8217;s interests include gardening, reading, traveling and bicycling.

Debra Snyder McDonough,

Duchess De Pontchartrain

Debra is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor of science degree in nursing. She received her master&8217;s degree from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She has worked as a critical care nurse, nurse manager and nursing supervisor.

Currently she is an assistant professor in the BSN nursing program at Alcorn State University. She also works with Hurst Review Services helping nursing students pass licensing exams.

Debbie is a volunteer nurse with the Red Cross; she recently aided during the 2005 hurricane season. She is a member of USM Alumni Association, Ole Miss Alumni Association, American Nurses Association, Mississippi Nurses Association, where she serves as the District 1 Mississippi Nurses Association president.

She is involved in the Pilgrimage Garden Club, Krewe of Phoenix, Krewe of Alpheus, Krewe of Kilarney, Cathedral Athletic Association and is a member of St. Mary Basilica.

Her hobbies include reading, sewing and watching her children participate in Cathedral athletics. She is the daughter of

retired USAF Master Sgt. Joe Snyder and his wife, Lenell. She has been married to Patrick McDonough for 21 years, and they have two sons, Patrick, a senior at Cathedral, and Joseph, a junior at Cathedral.

Ray L. Bradford, Duke of Versailles

Ray received his bachelor of science degree in 1984 from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. He is currently enrolled at Northwestern State University, pursuing a master of science degree in Health and Human Performance specializing in Health Promotion.

Ray serves as a fulltime faculty member at the Natchez Campus of Copiah Lincoln Community College.

He holds secondary and post-secondary teacher certifications in nursing, biology and environmental science.

He is a faculty advisor for the Health Occupations Students of America and also serves as a member of the Co-Lin Health and Wellness Committee.

Memberships in professional organizations include the Mississippi Faculty Association for Community and Junior Colleges, the American Technical Education Association and the American Safety and Health Institute, where he is nationally certified as a health and safety instructor.

Ray attends First Baptist Church of Natchez with his wife, Andrea. They have six children: James, Parker, Chase, Rebecca, Cody and Tori.

Ray is a member of the Ruston Masonic Lodge and is a 32nd-degree Mason, Knights Templar and Barak Shriner.

He is also a member of the Louisiana Tech Alumni Association, Krewe of Phoenix, Natchez Santa Claus Committee and the Natchez Elks.

Ray is the owner and chief investigator of The Gotcha Detective Agency, a private investigation firm in Natchez.

His hobbies and interests include: teaching Aikido, Judo, hunting, fishing, golf, cooking, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

Kathy Aruda Wooten, Duchess Marie Therese

Kathy received an accounting degree from Belhaven College. She graduated magna cum laude and went on to complete her MBA with accounting emphasis at Millsaps College. She is the assistant professor of accounting at Belhaven College and is also the advisor for the Accounting Club.

Kathy is married to Wesley Wooten and they are members of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Vidalia.

She has one son, Robbie Swindle, who along with his wife, Amanda, have given her two granddaughters, Riley and Reese.

Kathy enjoys gardening, cookouts with friends, and Mardi Gras. She is also a member of the Krewe of Alpheus and the Krewe de Coop.

Jack Byrne, Duke Monfort Browne

Jack is a graduate of the University of Mississippi with a degree in insurance and risk management. He is the son of Johnny and Charlotte Byrne and has one sister, Mary Kate.

Jack is vice president of Byrne Insurance Agency, a local independent, family owned agency established in 1928. He is responsible for the sales and servicing of property and casualty insurance.

Jack is a board member for the Adams County Alumni Association for Ole Miss, a member of the Natchez Rotary Club, Independent Insurance Agents of America, Young Agents of Mississippi,

Santa-Clause Committee, Krewe of Phoenix and Krewe of Kilarney.

He is a of St. Mary&8217;s Basilica and is past state chairman of the Mississippi College Republicans.

He enjoys going to Ole Miss football games, hunting, fishing, and spending time with his family and friends.

Amy Callon, Duchess Panmure

Amy is a native of Natchez and a graduate of Trinity Episcopal Day School. She attended the University of Alabama, where she was a member of Tri Delta Sorority. She is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a B.S. degree in science in human development and family studies with an emphasis in child life.

For the past five years she has been a teacher at Trinity Episcopal Day School teaching the 4-year-olds and the kindergarten classes.

She is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church and the Krewe of Phoenix. For two years she sponsored the junior high cheerleading team at Trinity. She also volunteers with the Natchez Food and Wine Festival.

Her hobbies and interests include traveling, reading, knitting and spending time at the lake with family and friends. She is the daughter of Fred and Karen Callon.

Hays Vaughan, Duke Manuel Gayosa DeLimos

Christopher Hays Vaughan is originally from Arkansas. He is a graduate of Mississippi College and a cum laude graduate of Johnson & Wales University in Culinary Arts.

Hays is employed by Sysco Food Service of Jackson, where he is the district manager for the Natchez District. He attends Jefferson Street United Methodist Church. He is a member of the Krewe of Phoenix and the Cathedral Athletic Association.

His hobbies include cooking, running, hunting, fishing and spending time with family and friends. He and his wife Melissa have two children, Nolan and Marli.

Christine Roberts, Duchess Marguerite Theresa de Lemos

Christine Roberts is a life-long resident of the Miss-Lou area, growing up in Vidalia and now residing in Natchez.

She graduated from Cathedral High School, Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Natchez and Alcorn State University, where she received a B.S. degree in elementary education.

She is employed at Vidalia Upper Elementary as a reading interventionist and also serves as a mentor to new teachers.

Roberts attends Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church in Vidalia and serves as a lector, eucharistic minister and religion teacher.

She is also actively involved in the Pilgrimage Garden Club and Krewe of Phoenix.

Christine is married to Tracy Willard Roberts. They share three children, Mia and Adam Roberts, and Katherine Junkin, and have one son, Phillip Roberts.

Christine&8217;s favorite pastime is spending time with her family and friends. She also enjoys watching her children participate in various activities, LSU sports, scrap-booking, and traveling.