Rayward Segura checks out a table of goodies Thursday night. 

CADE — Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana officials, locally and statewide, are running out of superlatives to describe the record-setting New Iberia-based Sugar Chapter, which raised more than $200,000 during its fundraising event Thursday night.

“Unbelievable” was the word used most frequently after yet another highly successful banquet inside the Cade Community Center.

“Well, it was unbelievable. It’ll certainly be the biggest one we ever had in Louisiana,” David Cresson, CCA-Louisiana CEO, said after the fundraiser raised an estimated $208,000, according to preliminary figures provided by the Baton Rouge-based statewide conservation organization.

“It seems like everybody in town was there that night,” Cresson said. “I don’t think it was too crowded. The energy of the crowd is part of what makes it such a great night. There were smiles on everybody’s face. Everything about the night was special.”

Cresson won’t get an argument from Sugar Chapter president Brian Delcambre of New Iberia, who watched as a special evening unfolded all around him in the spacious building. The Sugar Chapter’s fundraising event took in $190,000 last year and $170,000 in 2012.

“It was an awesome night. It was unbelievable,” Delcambre said after the chapter’s banquet committee hit another grand slam for conservation along the coast.

“That’s just great. It just goes to show you what a good community can do when everybody gets together. Oh, yeah, the support we get from our community, that’s the biggest thing,” he said.

One of those banquet-goers from the community, was Chad Segura of Loreauville, a proud member who has supported the organization over the years. He enjoyed the event, which included a colossal live auction with 40 items, nine of which went for more than $3,000 each.

“I will continue to support the guys with the Sugar Chapter. They put on a great event. They’re dedicated and they work hard,” said Segura, who attended the event with his wife, Nicole Bonin Segura.

Segura, a 34-year-old apparatus specialist for Cleco and an avid saltwater fisherman, said he likes to go to keep up-to-date on what people are doing and what’s going on as far as fishing and the coastal conservation.

CCA members like him are the backbone of the organization, CCA-Louisiana officials said.

“We broke $200,000, which has never been done before. I chalk that up to the great people in the New Iberia area. The people are charitable, like to have a good time and support good causes,” Rad Trascher, director of the popular CCA-Louisiana S.T.A.R. summerlong fishing tournament that ends Labor Day Monday, said.

“They threw one heckuva party. That community proved again to be one of the best in the state, if not the country,” Trascher said.

Bon Creole, the event’s caterer, reportedly served 865 plates to the people who crowded into the community center. The banquet-goers were served fried catfish, chicken and sausage jambalaya, green beans and cheesecake.

Serving 800-plus people was done in timely fashion, Trascher said appreciatively. He sampled the “very delicious” food.

“Bon Creole is absolutely fantastic. They not only served a good meal but served it exceptionally fast for that many people. It’s impresive,” Trascher said.

Segura, the Loreauville angler and CCA member, said, “The supper was very good. Randy (Bon Creole owner Randy Montegut) always does a good job.”

So does auctioneer Charlie Willis of Lake Charles. The 40 auction items he hawked included a fishing trip for six to Costa Rica that went twice for $4,250 each time because the second-highest bidder the first time wanted that outing to Costa Rica.

Other high-priced auction items were a fishing trip for four to Costa Rica for $5,000; an excursion on a private yacht in the Bahamas that went twice for $4,750 each time; a getaway for two to Costa Rica that went twice for $3,250 each time; an Argentina wing-shooting trip for $3,250 and a trip for up to 10 people to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

“We had some nice trips. They went well. Somebody’s going to be having some fun next year on all those trips,” Delcambre said.

“We had trips all over the world (including Africa). All of them sold well,” Cresson said.

Other popular auction items included catered food events, such as a fish fry for 20; a speckled trout dinner for 10; a shrimp boil for 50; a softshell crab dinner at Cypremort Point; a gourmet dinner for three couples, and gumbo for 50. Apparently, the community works hard, plays hard and loves to eat great local food.

Don Naquin of New Iberia knows all about the love for good food. He sponsors the shrimp boil each year.

Bayou Shrimp Processing donates the shrimp and Bon Creole gives all side trays, seasoning and boiling trailer, he said. That auction item went to Tim Thibodeaux for $1,400, Naquin said.

Naquin is one of the many hard-working committee members who prepared for the event with Delcambre and banquet chairman David Clement. He was proud of the turnout and the results.

“It was phenomenal. I don’t know how high we can go. The sky’s the limit,” Naquin said.

“It’s amazing what we can do in a small community. I call it (small) because places like Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Houma, Lake Charles — we’re making more than them. We’re outdoing them all,” he said. “The people want to do good. They want to be a part of something like this.”

He joined with the other officials in thanking the many generous sponsors, including leading sponsors Arceneaux Ford, Academy Sports + Outdoors and Whitney Bank. The list of sponsors/donors took up nearly two whole pages in the brochure.