Special to
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — During this week and concluding Sunday, Pastor Donald R. August Sr. will be celebrating 20 years of service as pastor of the Rising Star Baptist Church, located at 620 Cardinal Street in LaPlace.

Elected, ordained and installed in 1994, August is the third pastor to serve in this capacity for the 88-year-old congregation.

A local product of St. John the Baptist Parish, August began his educational journey at Woodland School Elementary and John L. Ory Elementary during the turbulent times of integration in the 1960.

He completed eighth grade at Fifth Ward Junior High before moving on to finish his high school career and graduating from Leon Godchaux High School in 1976. August continued his educational journey at Nicholls State University and graduated from the University of Southwestern Louisiana with a bachelor of science degree in business administration.

August has been married for the past 31 years to the former Roberta Zeno, who is the great niece of the founder of Rising Star Baptist Church, the Rev. Hosea A. Zeno. Known to many as “Mrs. Roberta,” she is the recently installed director of the St. John Parish Library system. Roberta Zeno is a graduate of LSU with a degree in library science.

They have one son, Donald R. August Jr., who is a 2014 East St. John High School graduate and freshman at Nicholls State.

Pastor August has served on the Hurricane Isaac Long Term Recovery Group, Citizens Advisory Committee and the Louisiana Spirit Hurricane Recovery Team.

He has also served as the St. John representative for the Juvenile Multijurisdictional Commission in efforts to replace the now-closed St. James Juvenile Detention Center.

Church leaders said anyone who drives down Cardinal Street in the historic neighborhood of Woodland Quarters can see an area that has transitioned into a quiet and tranquil setting. And in the center of this small historic neighborhood located between two sets of tracks is the Rising Star Baptist Church.

August said when he was elected pastor, his goal was not just pastor a church, but to come back and make a difference.

The evidence speaks for itself, church members said.