Former NFL running back Reggie Dupard and his wife, life coach LaChanda Dupard, will be speaking for Union’s chapel on Tuesday, March 15. The couple will share their riveting story about growing up in the New Orleans projects, Reggie’s rise to football stardom in high school, college and the NFL and the lessons they learned along the way about building positive relationships.
The couple will also be hosting dorm worship later that evening, however Reggie will be speaking with the men and LaChanda to the women. The night sessions will be personalized discussions focused on creating boundaries for healthy relationships and triggers that impact our relationships.
A star running back at Southern Methodist University during their hayday in the mid-1980s, Reggie was drafted in the first round by the New England Patriots in 1986. He played with New England and the Washington Redskins until 1991. A year prior to his retirement Reggie and his then-girlfriend LaChanda converted to Adventism. It was through LaChanda’s Adventist co-workers that they came to know Christ.
Reggie was not the only athlete of the couple. LaChanda shined at basketball, track and softball in her high school career. The two first met in high school participating in the 1982 Louisiana All-Star Games at University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
The couple has invested their lives in helping teens and adults establish a healthier life. In October 1995, LaChanda became an inspirational speaker and now runs her own non-profit business called “Fit and Faithful Living.”
She started her company after Reggie was diagnosed with high blood pressure, mild kidney disease and high cholesterol, and she lost a co-worker to obesity. She did her own research on how to help her husband heal through a healthy, holistic lifestyle. The couple is now helping to “put an end to obesity worldwide,” and they travel together conducting a variety of workshops for teens. When he is not working with his wife, Reggie is a college director at a high school for at-risk teens.
Reggie and LaChanda are proud parents of Jonathan and Rachel.
The couple will share their story at chapel on Tuesday, March 15, at 10:30 a.m. in the College View Church sanctuary. On Tuesday evening at 10:00, Reggie will talk to the men in the Shawnee Porter Room, and LaChanda will speak to the women in the Reese Hall chapel. Both events will be worship double worship credits.