May 13th 2026 was Women’s Help Center’s annual Gala at the World Golf Village Renaissance Hotel, and the following week Bruce and I celebrated our 41st Wedding Anniversary, followed 2 days later by his birthday and then Benjamin’s graduation from Sandalwood High School! So happy and proud for him. Yes, Sean is Benjamin’s twin, but having repeated 3rd grade, we knew the day would come when he’d watch his twin graduate without him. I’ll be honest, back when he repeated, I dreaded this day. But we talked honestly about it, and yes, Sean was wishing that he was graduating, too, but the reality of it is that he has one more year to go. And that’s the way it simply is. Sean has been an incredible, straight A student for the last 5 years, and I could not be more proud of him. This day, however, was all about Benjamin, who graduated with 4 completed years in the school’s culinary program, now accepted into the Florida State College of Jacksonville’s Culinary program. We are so proud of you, Ben, and we are so excited about your bright and blessed future!

I’m so excited to announce that the band that I sing back up vocals in has taken the show on the road! Blue Jay’s Rockin’ Review is teaming up with legendary blues singer B.B. King’s daughter Claudette King, with Stevie Ray Vaughan’s nephew and protégé Tyrone Vaughan, and Cyril Neville of the Neville Brothers to perform a variety music show in cities throughout the U.S., starting with Dallas, Austin and Houston, Texas in July of 2026. I’ll be honored to be given the opportunity to perform lead on several of my own original songs while on this tour! I can’t wait for this tour to start … it’s truly my dream come true, especially since my band mates on this tour are my own lead guitarist Johnny Piantadosi, and keyboardist/songwriter composer of my music, Kenny Levine. It couldn’t get any better … that is, of course, if Bruce came along, which he will!

l – r: Johnny “The Claw” Piantadosi, Tommy Gilstrap, Fran Pitre, Mike Maple, Jay Jourden DeBrand, Margo Buccini, Teri Levine, Kenny Levine, Marvin Ferebee, Marc Dickman and DeAndre Lettsome

Just a little update on my mom and Bruce’s mom. Both are 86, widowed and making the best of life.

My mom is currently living in Oviedo, Florida in an independent living complex, where she has her own apartment with her Yorkie pup Willow and her kitty Graycie Louise. She struggles with some health issues, and after 3 moves since losing my stepdad, she is staying put in Oviedo. I’ve tried to get her to move closer, but she says she doesn’t have another move in her, so I travel to Oviedo (5-hours round trip) about every other week. When I go down, we go to one of her doctor appointments, go to lunch, go shopping and just take time to talk and laugh… which we do a lot of!

Sylvia, Bruce’s mom has had shoulder replacement surgery and wrist surgery in the last few years, for both I had traveled to Louisiana and moved in with her for several weeks to help her recover. But then she started to develop dementia. It has been slowly coming on, but in December 2025, she fell at home and broke her hip. From there, she was hospitalized, then in a long-term rehabilitation facility, and now in a nursing home. Gosh, it went so fast.

Tell those that you love that you do. Life is fragile, life is fast, and life is precious.

In addition to another beautiful Christmas in the Pitre home, complete with our cookie making tradition and traveling to visit Bruce’s family in Louisiana, we had a very happy additional celebration: our eldest son Brandon graduated from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor in Business Degree. It took a bit longer to complete his program due to his long cov-d case plus taking off over a year while he worked full time at our local Audi dealership earning and saving some money.

Not long after graduating, Brandon and his 6-year-long girlfriend, Katherine (Kat) took a trip right after Christmas, and when he proposed, she said YES! We are so happy for them, and can’t wait for another upcoming wedding!

On October 1st 2025, I planned, produced, promoted and hosted, with my band Class Act, a benefit concert entitled NOTHING to FEAR, named after my 3rd album that was released in 2024 at Breezy Jazz House, on San Marco Blvd. The concert raised awareness and funds for 2 local non-profit organizations that each focus on care for local women: Pink Ribbon Jax, providing life-saving early mammography screenings for uninsured or under-insured women (and men!) in our community, and for pregnancy/new mom and baby supplies for Women’s Help Center, a local crisis pregnancy center with many locations here in the Jacksonville area, which provides counseling, education and support for women while encouraging loving alternatives to pregnancy termination.

At the concert, three of the Pitre kids joined their mom on stage to sing the song off of my album #2 (Follow Your Dreams) entitled “Just Like That”.

It was a fabulous evening featuring mostly our original music from all 3 albums as well as a few popular favorite cover tunes, with fellowship, good food and drinks and the opportunity to give back. All ticket proceeds were donated to both worthy organizations.

Thank you to Bruce’s nephew Bryce Pitre and his lovely bride Alexis for inviting us to their beautiful wedding at the Hotel Monteleone on June 20, 2025, and thank you to our amazing Louisiana Pitre family and the incredible city of New Orleans for quick but fantastic, whirlwind visit!

May 25, 2025… Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary, Bruce Pitre! God truly blessed us with this beautiful life and family we’ve made. Babe, here’s to 40 more with lots of new adventures!

love you!

We flew to San Francisco, then hit the road into the beautiful California mountains on our way to Yosemite Nat’l Park, Sequoia/Kings Canyon where we celebrated part of our honeymoon.

“You’re The Inspiration” by Chicago

Bruce and I took our 3 boys (Brandon 25, and Sean & Benjamin 17) on a trip to the mountains of Snowshoe Ski Resort in beautiful West Virginia for Spring Break, when everyone else on was probably spending their spring breaks on a beach somewhere! After leaving West Virginia we headed for more adventures in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and North Carolina, topped off with visits near Table Rock State Park and up to Cesar’s Head State Park in South Carolina!

Everyone was definitely tired and sore by the end of the week, but happy to be back in Jacksonville with the rest of our family (Lauren Michelle Pitre and Erin Pitre) and friends!

I’m very excited to announce that my 2009 book, that was updated and released in 2019 as the “10 Year Anniversary Edition”, has been updated (read and recorded by me!) once again in 2024 just for my audiobook listeners!

It’s all about life, love, faith, family and music! Please check it out at audible.com.

Also available soon at all other audiobook streaming sites, including Amazon, iTunes and Spotify!