Delta Kappa Epsilon International

Board of Directors Bios

Born in 1948, a lifetime resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, Al is married to his life long sweetheart, Elizabeth (“Betty”) Viguerie, also of New Orleans. They have four children Al, Jean-Pierre, Elizabeth and Andre and six grandchildren. Their sons are all Dekes, Al, ZZ 1992, Jean-Pierre ZZ 1996, and Andre, X 2009; daughter Elizabeth is a Delta Gamma.

He was graduated in 1970 from LSU with a BA degree and in 1973 with a JD. Since 1973 he has practiced law in New Orleans and is a member/manager of Bienvenu, Foster, Ryan & O’Bannon, L.L.C. and is admitted to practice before all state and federal courts in Louisiana and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is a litigator and negotiator in matters concerning various contracts, mineral interests, condemnation/eminent domain, land regulatory matters, and contamination, various tort based disputes, arson and fraud. He is past president of the New Orleans Association of Defense Counsel, is a volunteer arbitrator for the Louisiana State Bar Association fee dispute resolution program, is a fellow of Louisiana Bar Foundation and is member of the Louisiana, American, federal and New Orleans bar associations.

In the early 1980's, Al undertook and led a fund raising effort which refinanced and provided new capital for renovation of the 1923 ZZ chapter house which he oversaw. Since the early 1980's through the present, Al has been involved in numerous and varied dealings with university officials on behalf of the Zeta Zeta, Tau Lambda and Chi chapters. He has recently assisted with the re-formation of the Chi alumni association and its charter as a legal entity. He has and continues to render legal counseling to those chapters and their alumni associations. In the 1990's he and Betty organized the ZZ chapter mothers and alumni for assisting the ZZ chapter with putting on rush parties, homecoming parties and she helped with decorations for the chapter house. In 1992 he and Betty hosted a cocktail party and dinner at their home for approximately 600 actives, alumni and their guests from all parts of the U. S. and Canada as part of the DKE 150th anniversary celebration. He was the recipient in 1992 of the Bill Henderson Alumni Award of DKE International. He joined the board of directors of DKE International as southern regional director in 1986 and has been continually re-elected to that position. In June of 2008 he was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Rampant Lion Foundation and in 2009 was elected secretary of the foundation.

His leisure interests include boating/sailing, hunting and firearms, tinkering (woodwork, metal work, mechanics) classic automobiles, hiking, cooking, reading, music, sitting on the beach and enjoying many of these leisure activities with his family.

Matt Blevins lives in Louisville, KY with his wife and two children. He is a proud DKE from the Iota chapter at Centre College in Danville, KY where he served as Treasurer and President of the chapter. He is currently working with other Iota alumni to re-colonize DKE at Centre after a four-year “hiatus.”

Matt works in marketing for Brown-Forman Corporation one of the largest American-owned spirits and wine companies with brands in 135 countries including Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Southern Comfort, Finlandia Vodka, Herradura Tequila and over 30 other fine wine and spirit brands. He holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from the University of Cincinnati and a B.A. Economics from Centre.

Matt enjoys spending time with his family, the local culture including horse racing and Kentucky Bourbon (recommends Old Forester), and is known to play in a few local poker games.

I grew up in Glenview, Illinois, a north suburb of Chicago. My younger brother, Per, is also an Omicron Deke, class of 62. I attended the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) from 1955- 1959 and got a BA. I pledged Deke in my freshman year, moved into the house my sophomore year, stayed there my junior year, then moved with four other Dekes into a rental house my senior year. The Deke house I lived in was the one Gerry Ford lived in. I entered law school immediately upon graduation also the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

I have written 6 books, all textbooks on various aspects of business law, five about corporation practice and one about Limited Liabilities Companies. I am a frequent lecturer for various bar associations, and I write a quarterly column on business law for the Illinois Bar Journal. I am former Chair of the ISBA sections on Law Office Management and Business Advice and Financial Planning, and have also served as Chair of the Corporation Law Committees of the Lake County (IL) and Northwest Suburban Bar Associations.

I was a founding member of the Illinois Secretary of State’s advisory committee on business laws by then Secretary of State, Jim Edgar in 1981. When Secretary White dissolved the committee, I helped reorganize it as the “Institute on Illinois Business Law” of Chicago Kent College of Law, where it continues to function to this day.

I am a member of The New Christian Church (Swedenborgian).

My hobbies are reading, baking, sailing, fishing, painting and DKE.