By Monique Roth
L’Observateur

RESERVE — Peyton Falgoust, a life-long attendee of Riverside Academy in Reserve, is using his senior year to leave a lasting impact on not only the school, but the entire River Region as well.

Falgoust is this year’s president of Rebels in Action, a volunteer organization in which students are aiming to donate their time and talents at least once a month to people and places throughout the River Parishes.

“We want to be hands-on doing big things,” Falgoust said of the group.

Rebels in Action members spent a Saturday in August visiting residents of the Southeast Louisiana War Veterans Home in Reserve, and Falgoust said the group’s September outing will more than likely be a trip to the St. James Boat Club to help disabled children fish.

Falgoust said everybody involved really enjoyed visiting the veterans, and that some Rebels in Action members have expressed interest in visiting again on their own time.

Seeing students pursue other avenues of service from being involved in Rebels in Action is an amazing feeling, Falgoust said, adding he had no hesitations when approached to lead the group.

“I was really, really excited because I know this group has so much potential and lots of people would be on board,” he said.

Falgoust said last year he noticed a lot of students weren’t involved in school groups because they didn’t meet academic criteria or weren’t getting voted into certain extra-curricular activities, such as Student Council.

“If you want to do something, why should you have to be voted in?” Falgoust said, adding Rebels in Action is a perfect club open to everyone.

“These kids are hungry to get out in the community,” he said with a smile.

The approximately 30 Rebels in Action members meet every week to discuss ideas and future trips, and Falgoust said it’s never too late to join the club.

“I want Rebels in Action to be one of the biggest things in the parish,” he said. “I want to pass the torch along to someone who is just as passionate as me about it.”

Falgoust, who attended Boys State in the summer, is also involved in Student Council, Mu Alpha Theta, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Beta Club and is the Senior Class President at Riverside.

One of his biggest passions – music – has inspired even more community service work. Falgoust played a key role in organizing the May 18 Sings and Strings Festival, which attracted more than 1,500 people in its inaugural year.

The acoustic music festival was organized as a fundraising effort for the restoration and reopening of the Garyville Timbermill Museum, a landmark on the National Register of Historic Places.

Falgoust, the son of Armant and Donna Falgoust of Garyville, said he got the idea to hold the festival after visiting a similar event in Madisonville. After talking to some adults about it, Falgoust said everyone jumped on board and helped make it happen.

“It was a splendid day,” Mike Coburn, president of the Garyville Timbermill Museum Association, said. “”It turned out spectacularly.”

Forty musicians participated in the event and nearly 30 craft booths were set up on the grounds. The festival also featured a cook-off competition.

Falgoust said he was thrilled proceeds from the festival were able to fund a new roof for the museum, and plans are already in place to make the festival an annual event.

It seems that for Falgoust, leadership and service just come naturally.