VP Rotary Club welcomes recent guests

March 10, Meeting
Members of the Ville Platte Rotary Club heard from Smoked Meat Festival board members Renee Brown and Ava Morein during the March 10 meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club. The Smoked Meat Festival to be held June 26-27, at the Northside Civic Center. Brown stated that the board who took over the festival last year decided not to hold the festival this year and said she was contacted by Mayor Jennifer Vidrine, the Chamber of Commerce and Evangeline Parish Tourism Commission about keeping the festival going. As a result, a new board was formed to keep the tradition of the festival alive. Each board member has a special task within the organization. Brown stated that for the festival’s 23rd year, many of the traditions will remain in tact, including the honoring of the veterans with the opening ceremony. Of course, the highlight of the festival, as always, will be the smoked meat cookoff. Brown and Morein hope to give back to the community through monies raised during the festival in order to help fund community projects. Brown said something new this year would be the children’s area with a petting zoo and National Guard sponsored maze. She also noted the format of the festival would remain the same and there would be a few surprises during the opening ceremonies. She said music would be performed periodically throughout the day and that the awards would be presented at 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 27. Brown said the Miss pageant will be held Friday, June 26, and the queen will be crowned at the festival. She said sponsorship letters for donors and volunteers were being sent out and the board is looking for many volunteers to assist in making the festival a success. She said the board will partner with the Lion’s Club and the groups will assist each other. Brown added booths will be set up for various organizations to raise funds. She also noted that in case of inclement weather, the pavilion at the civic center will be on standby. Morein also stated the festival has a new Facebook page and website (www.lasmokedmeatfestival.com) for those looking for more information about the festival activities and entertainment.
March 17, Meeting
During the March 17, meeting of the The Ville Platte Rotary Club, members heard from Boisy Pitre, a computer expert and author from Prairie Ronde. As the guest of Rotarian Mary Foster-Galasso, Pitre gave a brief presentation on the history of computer technology and mathematics, as well as how the two work hand in hand together. He noted the first transistor was invented in 1947 and IBM invented the first personal computer in 1981. Pitre predicted the future of computer technology will include watches, which can be personalized to the user. He also said the future of computers could include the ability of Iphone/smart phone cameras to determine a user’s emotional status, as well as programming to keep track of one’s health in real time. Pitre is also the author of “Coco: The Colorful History of Today’s Underdog Computer” and Swift for Beginners: Development and Design.”