The Rotary Club of Ville Platte heard from Cleco President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Fontenot at their weekly meeting today (Tuesday) at the Family Life Center. Fontenot, a native of Ville Platte, has been with the company for 30 plus years. Fontenot told club members that the move for the company to go private after 80 years of operation was a "healthy" change. Cleco currently has 1500 employees including the 300 new employees when the company purchased for one billion dollars the NRG South Central Generating Company. That major acquisition doubled Cleco's energy footprint to 50 Louisiana parishes in Louisiana. The acquisition means Cleco will now serve the power needs of nine Louisiana Cooperatives including Slemco and five municipalities. Curently, Cleco has 7.5 billion dollars in assets and 1.7 billion dollars in total revenues. Fontenot mentioned some of the 29 initiatives Cleco is undertaking to reach the next level in goals in such areas as Safety, Financial, Operational, Customer Satisfaction and Sustainability. He reported the company is modernizing through the use of new software and operational technology using remote meter reading. Ville Platte Mayor Jennifer Vidrine praised Cleco for their swift work in getting power restored throughout the city last month after a tornado touched down in the city and caused a lot of property damage. Bill Fontenot was the special guest of Rotarian Bob Manuel.