With LA’s 200th bicentennial celebration fast approaching, Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne recently compiled a list of the 200 most notable people to with roots or a connection to LA.

Richland Parish is home to a couple on theon the list. They are:

Elvin Hayes (1945, Rayville): “The Big E” led the Houston Cougars to a victory over UCLA in 1968 at the Astrodome inthe “game of the century,” which was the first nationallytelevised regular season college basketball game. He was a12-time NBA All-Star and was named to the NBA 50th Anniversary All-Time team. He is a member of the NaismithMemorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Tim McGraw (1967, Delhi): He grew up Timmy Smith in Start, Louisiana, but changed his name after learning that his father was Tug McGraw, the famed pitcher for the New York Mets. He went to ULM to play baseball and began playing theguitar. With 21 Number One Billboard hits, he has won multiple Grammys, Academy of Country Music Awards,Country Music Association Awards and People’s ChoiceAwards. Married to singer Faith Hill, he has also appeared innumerous movies.

For the full list, go to http://www.louisianabicentennial2012.com/userfiles/file/200_People.pdf