Newsom addresses Ville Platte Rotary Club

January 21, Meeting
Rotarian Anita Fontenot welcomed James Newsom and Alan Knuckles with the Acadian Baptist Center in Eunice to the January 21, meeting of the Ville Platte Rotary Club. Newsom presented a program on the retreat center. The center was opened in 1975 after the closing of the Baptist Academy, which was previously in the location now used by the center. The facility features many amenities, including dorms, dining hall, library, pool, recreation hall, swimming pool, ropes challenge course, putt-putt course, tennis courts, two football fields, five bunk houses, motel-style 32-room lodge and many more. The camp is utilized for marriage, men, women, youth and other retreats and can hold up to 500 guests for an event. The camp also has a chapel for worship retreats. Plans are underway for renovations to the facility. Led by architect Brodie Ardoin and contractor Joey West, a capital campaign called “Lighthouse for the Future” is underway to raise the necessary funding for the renovations. The original goal of $1.45 million has already been exceeded and $1.9 million has already been donated to the project, which has been broken up into three phases. Phase One includes dorm upgrades, construction of new dorm, debt retirement and operational maintenance. Phase Two includes continued operational maintenance, improvements to the Link Worship Center and chapel and new ministry opportunities. Phase Three includes expansion of the Prather Lodge, the addition of new family cabins, a new lake, additional recreational options and an endowment/reserve fund.