By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

LAPLACE—The LaPlace Rotary Club recently listened to guest speaker District Governor Horace Necaise as he discussed the goals of Rotary Club President John Kenny for the year. According to Necaise, this year’s Rotary motto is “The Future of Rotary is in Your Hands.”

Among the points he made was the fact that individual Rotary Clubs are shaped by their individual members and not by the head office. The head office is merely there for guidance and motivation.

There are 55 Rotary Clubs in the same district as LaPlace.

Another challenge set forth by Kenny is for each club to increase its membership by 8 percent.

One of the programs Necaise emphasized in his talk was Rotary’s Eradicate Polio Program, to which Bill Gates in the past has donated $100 million provided Rotary matched his donation. It is a goal they met.

This year Gates upped the ante by donating $225 million. As such, Necaise asked each Rotarian to donate an additional $33 to the cause. Because the LaPlace club has already met that goal, Necaise presented Melanie Basile, LaPlace Rotary president, with a Star Club Certificate.

Necaise said another goal of Rotary is to increase education in regard to nutrition. Education is the key to survival, he said.

Lastly, Necaise praised the club for the community work they have done in the past and presented every member with the 2009 Rotary International pin. He presented Basile with the Rotary International banner.