VP Rotary Club welcomes recent guests

October 15, Meeting
Rotarian Thomas Scully invited Bo Soileau with ISS (Information Systems Solutions) to be the guest speaker for the October 15, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club. He said he started the business in 1999 and has grown to cover Evangeline, Rapides and Avoyelles parishes. In addition to computer/server systems installation and technical support, the company is expanding into the home security/surveillance/life safety systems market. Soileau said the business began as he dreamed of owning his own IT/tech service company and began by doing work after hours. He then decided to develop his business plan and outsourced services. He then began his full-time business and after much success, in 2009, he began to expand his business model to serve all of Acadiana on a large scale to help businesses with large projects. He said he built the hospital’s system from the ground up, which gave him the incentive to do more and tap into the knowledge necessary to help his business grow and expand. He said they have a 24/7 support system available for clients. Soileau noted that when used correctly, technology is a great tool to help businesses grow and reach their ultimate goals and potential.
October 22, Meeting
Rotary District Governor Tom Acosta and Assistant District Governor Revan Deshotel visited the Ville Platte Rotary Club’s October 22, meeting to discuss upcoming plans and goals for the Rotary year 2013-2014. Acosta emphasized the International Rotary Club’s theme for the year, “Engage Rotary, Change Lives,” and noted that, after losing two clubs, there are currently 49 Rotary clubs in District #6200. He stressed all clubs need to be proactive and engaged in the community they serve. He commended the Ville Platte club on its successful recent membership drive and encouraged members to continue to grow the club. Acosta said the Ville Platte club’s use of pools to raise funds to support the youth of the community in the Ryla and Choices programs and scholarships given each year is commendable. He encouraged new members to speak up and not be afraid to share new ideas to help the community and to take an active part in the club. He then asked members to continue to look for new members to enhance and grow the club membership by thinking of how the organization helps the community in so many ways. Acosta also stressed the importance of donating to the Rotary Foundation, which uses the funds for many projects around the world, including polio eradication and study exchanges. He said Polio Plus has been Rotary International’s biggest project since 1985 and 10 million lives have been changed and a 99 percent reduction in polio has been achieved as a result of Rotary’s efforts.
October 29, Meeting
Rotarian Paul Schexnayder served as the guest speaker for fellow Rotarian Nick Veillon’s program at the October 29, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club. He has worked with Louisiana Hospice since 1991, and discussed hospice care. He stated that there is a “new hospice” care in that patients can be accepted for hospice care for months or years, it is not just for those whose passing is imminent. Many Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease and advanced illness cases are managed under hospice care. He noted there are not as many regulations as other service care providers and patients are normally seen two to three times a week or more often as needed depending on the case. With hospice care, the provider goes to the patient’s home and you don’t have to call only to be told to go to the emergency room, and equipment, such as canes, wheelchairs and bathroom supplies are provided for the patients. Schexnayder noted hospice care can be done at home or in a hospital setting and there is a support system available for when a loved one passes.
November 5, Meeting
Ville Platte Mayor and Rotarian Jennifer Vidrine addressed her fellow club members during the November 5, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club. She gave an update on things going on at city hall and in the city, noting that over 500 children and their parents attended the Halloween festivities at city hall. She said the citywide garage sale was a success and that another one will probably be held in the spring. She said the project to repair Trojan Bridge was now complete. Vidrine said workers are in the process of replacing the old water meters with new state of the art meters, which will assist in quicker and more accurate readings each month. Vidrine also said the city is applying for street repair grants to begin repairing bad roads throughout Ville Platte. She said one side of town would be done one at a time as the water project is complete in each area and encouraged residents to call city hall and let them know of any potholes and bad areas in need of repair. She then noted that Ville Platte is close to getting a Boys and Girls Club, which will be located in the old city hall building. She said once it is inspected and renovated, the process of getting a club charter will begin. She added that many activities will be available through the Boys and Girls Club. She said the water project is in phase two and pipes are being changed. Vidrine stated that, beginning in January, a mobile pantry will be distributing 10 to 12 items of food goods to people in line. This is available through the Second Harvest program. She said she would be having a meeting with Habitat for Humanity to discuss renovating or building homes on abandoned property. She emphasized that the things she is bringing to improve Ville Platte, she is trying to do at no cost to the city and community. Vidrine encouraged residents to report any non-working street lights or missing street signs to city hall for repair or replacement. She noted that Christmas lights will be put up soon and will be lit up December 1. She also said the Christmas parade will be held December 8 during the evening and added that vehicles must be lit and the Santa Coca Cola truck would be there. Vidrine said Evangeline Family Medicine’s new location is now fully opened to serve the public. She said she was looking into the clean up of the Rendezvous by talking to the insurance company to cover the cost of the clean up, as the city doesn’t have the money for it. She noted 17 lots were donated to the city and will become “pocket parks” once cleaned up. She also noted the city now has five new police units (included in the capital outlay budget) and is working on getting a grant for the purchase of community crime cameras.
November 12, Meeting
Rotarian Wayne Vidrine invited several of KVPI’s former and current staff to the November 12, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club to discuss the radio station’s upcoming 60th anniversary celebration, which will be held tomorrow, November 22. An open house will be held at the station from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Everyone is invited to attend and encouraged to bring a canned good donation for the Christian Care and Share Center in Ville Platte. Many of the station’s past employees have been invited to attend the special celebration, and most will be in attendance. Dr. J.S. Fontenot recalled being there for the station’s first day on air at its first location on the second story of the old Evangeline Bank building and shared many fond memories of his time working there. He said one incident that stood out was when a light on one of the towers burnt out. A guy from Lafayette could come fix it for $300, but Fontenot said he could go up there and change it himself for $30 and climbed up the tower to do it. He also went up to fix the transmitter once when it went off and found a dead rat had been electrocuted up there. He recalled getting trouble for not getting the logs done when visitors would come because he would visit and forget to record the logs. Jim Soileau then spoke about his time at the station, noting it started in 1954 with Rotarian JD “Prof” Lafleur. Soileau was an oratory student and Lafleur brought him to a meeting of the Rotary Club to speak to the members. Station employees Lionel Deville and Chris Duplechin were there and offered him to work at the station after hearing him speak. He said Fontenot was a huge mentor to him and learned a lot from him. Soileau recalled being a “gopher” for the taping of sports programs that would be aired later. He said that even though he officially retired in 1999, he is still around to do news and his show La Tasse de Cafe.