Rex Announces 2025 Carnival Royalty

Edward Howell Crosby, a leader in the legal profession, a leader in the New Orleans community, and a leader in the Rex Organization, will reign as Rex 2025 on Tuesday, March 4, 2025. The 2025 Queen of Carnival is Miss Tatum Lady Reiss, a University of Arkansas student majoring in Communications with a minor certificate in Equine Science. The Queen of Carnival and her court will greet Rex and enjoy the Rex parade from reviewing stands at Pascal's Manale on Mardi Gras day. In the evening Rex and the Queen of Carnival will preside over the Rex Ball at the Sheraton Hotel.

Rex, King of Carnival, 2025 is Edward Howell Crosby

The 2025 King of Carnival and Monarch of Merriment is Edward Howell Crosby, known to friends as “Howell.” Mr. Crosby – a leader in the legal profession, a leader in the New Orleans community, and a leader in the Rex Organization – has lived Rex’s motto, Pro Bono Publico, for the public good.

Mr. Crosby is a General Partner in the law firm of Chaffe McCall, where he serves on the firm’s Management Committee and was Managing Partner from 2014 through 2019. In his role as Managing Partner of Chaffe McCall, he led the law firm’s 125 attorneys and professionals across four offices. A prominent and distinguished attorney with 40 years of experience, Mr. Crosby represents clients on a wide range of real estate matters across the retail, housing, commercial, and forestry sectors.

As a leader in the legal profession, Mr. Crosby served as the President of the American College of Mortgage Attorneys, and as a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers. In 2023, he was awarded the prestigious American College of Mortgage Attorneys (ACMA) Lifetime Fellow Award for exceptional contributions to the college, the legal community, and the public. He is the 11th recipient to receive this honor in ACMA’s 50-year history.

Beginning in 2005, Mr. Crosby has been ranked by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Business Lawyers as a leading attorney in Louisiana for real estate and since 2009 been included in the International Who’s Who of Real Estate Lawyers, which identifies exceptional lawyers providing legal services on real estate matters.

Mr. Crosby is a leader in the New Orleans community.

Mr. Crosby is a Board Member of Methodist Health System Foundation (MHSF) and currently serves as its Treasurer. Established in 2004, the MHSF is a health legacy foundation, which was formed upon the sale of Methodist Hospital. The foundation’s mission is to support, develop, and manage health-related programs and access to services that benefit the citizens of the metropolitan New Orleans area, with an emphasis on the communities of New Orleans East, Gentilly, and St. Bernard Parish. Local grantees include Covenant House New Orleans, The 18th Ward Sports Club, Bayou District Foundation, Eden Centers, Luke’s House, Son of a Saint, St. Thomas Community Health Center, and Youth Empowerment Program (YEP). Since its formation, MHSF has invested more than $40 million in the Greater New Orleans community.

Mr. Crosby’s previous Civic leadership includes service as an Interim New Orleans City Council Member for District A; as a Member of the New Orleans Industrial Development Board; as a Member of the Human Relations Commission for the City of New Orleans; as a Member and Vice-Chairman of the New Orleans Alcohol Beverage Control Board; as a Member, Treasurer, and Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of Metairie Park County Day School; as President and a Board Member of Crescent City Farmers Markets; as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Young Leadership Council; as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Children’s Museum; as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the City Park Improvement Association; and as Secretary and a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Crosby Arboretum in Picayune, Mississippi.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Crosby introduced Sandra Bullock to Warren Easton High School, which led to the actress becoming a significant contributor to the school’s recovery efforts, in particular its marching band, its musical education program, its healthcare clinic, and scholarships. Mr. Crosby also serves on the Board of Directors of Crosby Land & Resources, L.L.C., a fourth-generation family business, which is the largest non-industrial, private timberland company in Louisiana and one of the largest in the United States.

Originally from Picayune, Mississippi, Mr. Crosby moved with his family to New Orleans in 1970. He attended Metairie Park Country Day School, from which he graduated in 1977. While attending Country Day, he was a member of the 1977 Class A State Championship basketball team and held the school record in the mile. He then attended Tulane University, where he majored in Finance and graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Management in 1981. While attending T ulane, he was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity, where he served as President.

Following graduation from T ulane, he concurrently attended Tulane’s A.B. Freeman School of Business and T ulane University School of Law, graduating with a Master of Business Administration in 1984 and a Juris Doctorate in 1985. Academic honors earned include selection for Beta Alpha Psi National Honor Accounting Fraternity and Beta Gamma Sigma National Honor Business Fraternity. During his collegiate and post-collegiate days, Mr. Crosby was a member of the New Orleans Rugby Football Club.

Mr. Crosby is a leader in the Rex Organization. He became a member in 1994 and was named a Lieutenant in 2000. Leadership roles he has held in the School of Design include Legal Counsel, Lundi Gras Chairman, Ball Lieutenant, and Band Chairman. As Rex Legal Counsel, he assisted in the founding of the Pro Bono Publico Foundation. He is also a Member of the Board of The Crescent City Carnival Museum Foundation. As a teenager, Mr. Crosby was an animator on floats in the Rex Parade.

Mr. Crosby and his family have a deep history of involvement in the Rex Organization. He served as a Duke in the Rex Court of 1981. His father, Thomas L. Crosby, was a 40-year member of Rex and served as a Lieutenant under Captain Darwin Fenner. His son Thomas Allain Crosby (“Tac”) was a Page in the Rex Court of 1999. His daughter Catherine Tippins Crosby Gandy (“Tippins”) was a Maid in the Rex Court of 2008. His son William Howell Crosby (“Billy”) served as a Duke in the Rex Court of 2014. His sisters, Patricia Crosby Smith and Helen Crosby Gibert, served as Maids in the Rex Courts of 1972 and 1977, respectively. His father-in-law, Allain Charles Andry III, served as a Duke in the Rex Court of 1957.

Mr. Crosby is married to Katherine Andry Crosby (“Katie”). She is the Chairman of Fidelity Bank, a commercial community bank founded in 1908. Mrs. Crosby joined the Fidelity board in 2003 as the first female director and was elected Chairman in 2010. Mrs. Crosby served as Treasurer and President of the Junior League of New Orleans and as Board Chair of Habitat for Humanity and Public Television Station WYES. She is a past Board Chair for LCMC Health and is a member of the Board of Children’s Hospital New Orleans. Mrs. Crosby served as a director on the New Orleans Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta and currently serves on the Boards of the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the Selley Foundation. In 2019, she was selected as the Junior League of New Orleans’ Sustainer of the Year. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Business Administration from Tulane University.

Mr. and Mrs. Crosby attend St. Rita Catholic Church, where they serve as Eucharistic Ministers. The Crosbys have been awarded the Order of St. Louis IX, an award given to lay people in the Catholic Church who have made significant contributions to their parish or the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Mr. and Mrs. Crosby are the parents of Thomas Allain Crosby (“Tac”), Catherine Tippins Crosby Gandy (“Tippins”), and William Howell Crosby (“Billy”), and have seven grandchildren.

In his leisure time, Mr. Crosby enjoys designing and building personalized dollhouses for his grandchildren, raising chickens in his backyard, and playing the banjo.

Mr. Crosby is deeply appreciative to the Rex Organization and its membership for the honor of serving as the 2025 King of Carnival. He is committed to supporting and promoting Rex’s motto, Pro Bono Publico, for the public good, in the community we all love so much.

The Queen of Carnival, 2025 is Tatum Lady Reiss

The 2025 Queen of Carnival, Miss Tatum Lady Reiss, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Joseph Reiss III. Her mother is the former Erica Coleman Ballard of New Orleans, Louisiana and Dallas, Texas.

In 2021, Miss Reiss graduated from Isidore Newman School. She attends the University of Arkansas, where she is a senior majoring in Communications with a minor certificate in Equine Science.

At Isidore Newman, Miss Reiss was active in Newman athletics, participating in soccer, volleyball, and track. She was a member of the varsity track team all four years, running the 100-meter hurdles and 300-meter hurdles, placing in state her senior year.

Miss Reiss is a member of the Chi Omega Sorority, which was founded at the University of Arkansas, and is active in its Make-A-Wish grant program. She spent the Spring semester of her junior year of college abroad in Rome, Italy, where she studied international communications and traveled extensively throughout Europe.

Miss Reiss’ connection to Arkansas stems from her time, starting at age seven, as a camper and counselor at Camp Ozark, a Christian co-educational summer camp in Mount Ida, Arkansas. After her senior year in high school, she became a counselor-in-training and later a full counselor. Miss Reiss was a counselor and spiritual mentor for girls from ages ten to twelve and coached all campers on firearm safety, maintenance, and proper shooting techniques.

Miss Reiss’ philanthropic work has focused on equine therapies for children with disabilities. During her sophomore and junior years of college, she worked for Equestrian Bridges, a non-for-profit therapy center in Rogers, Arkansas. While there, she both cared for the horses as well as assisted in giving lessons to children and organizing special events.

Miss Reiss spent the summer following her sophomore year working for T&G Benson Farm in Paris, Kentucky, where she gained extensive experience in the thoroughbred racehorse industry. While there, she assisted with the grooming and care of thoroughbred racehorses, fully preparing them for veterinary exams, breeding appointments, and eventual sale.

In addition to her philanthropic work, in her free time, she enjoys jogging, traveling, and spending time with friends and family, especially her family dog, Lucius. She is also a lifelong outdoorsman and an avid lover of duck hunting. She has become a lifelong fan of the Arkansas Razorbacks and watches any and all sporting events in which the Hogs are playing.

Miss Reiss’ family has strong ties and a deep commitment to the Rex Organization. Her father is a senior Rex Official, served as a Duke in the Rex Court of 1995, and reigned as King of Carnival in 2022. Her great- grandmother, Alice Peak Reiss, was a Newcomb-trained artist who served as the Rex Organization’s longtime designer of costumes and floats from 1954 through 1968. Her grandfather, James Jospeh Reiss, Jr. was a Duke in the Rex Court of 1959. Her aunt, Lady Catherine Reiss, was a Maid in the Rex Court of 1997. Her brother, James Jospeh Reiss IV, was a Page in the Rex Court of 2019. Her cousin Kate Ballard Werner reigned as Queen of Carnival in 1989. Her cousins Adele Reynoir and Lady Renolds were Maids in Rex Court of 2022.