NO...not airplane tickets.
But the "free" tickets provided in exchange for sponsorships by the airport authority.
And these were not cheap tickets.
Four tickets were provided to the 2018 Christmas in the Sky gala for a $10,000 sponsorship. The authority did not provide the names of the recipients of the highest price charity tickets in Shreveport-Bossier.
The authority had No Records of the number of tickets received for the 2016 Christmas in the Sky gala for another $10,000 sponsorships. Or who got the free passes.
Mudbug Madness provided 100 free tickets for $27,500 in sponsorships.
Again, no info on who got to the "free" tickets.
The Shreveport Symphony provided a total of 9 free tickets–presumably season tickets–for a total of $7500. The information provided indicated that five board members received 5 these season packages. Who knows who got the other season passes.
The Red River Revel provided 30 tickets for a $7,675 in sponsorships. Again, no info on ticket distribution.
The Louisiana State Fair provided 400 free tickets for a $2,000 sponsorship and a "trade."
The identity of the lucky fair goers not known.
All these sponsorships were paid with public dollars.
Mayor Perkins wanted to replace 3 airport board members this year.
Two of these three received free Symphony season tickets. The third person was the chair of two organizations that were paid a total of $25,000 in airport sponsorships.
An attorney general’s opinion nixed Perkin’s plan.
Sponsorships of $4,200 were paid to events presented by one board member.
The airport authority advised that there are no written criteria for the award of sponsorships.
All of these sponsorships were paid with public dollars.