The speaker at the Rotary Club meeting on Tuesday, presented by Rotarian Scott Smith, was Mark Layne, the General Manager of KVPI. Mark let the Rotarians know that KVPI had been awarded the Small Market Station of the Year by the Louisiana Broadcasters Association. It was the 15th time that KVPI has been presented with this honor. This year's award is special because the small market category included mid-size markets like Alexandria and Lafayette for the first time. This year is also the 70th anniversary of KVPI. The station went on the air on November 22, 1953. The station signed on with Father Bourgeois from Sacred Heart. He blessed the station, and then the owner, Mr. Lionel DeVille, welcomed everyone in. Mark invited Floyd Soileau to speak. Floyd is the oldest living former employee of KVPI. Floyd told stories from when he worked at the station, and when he was starting the record shop. Floyd talked about the start of La Tasse de Café, KVPI's most popular program. Mark spoke about the station owners' commitment to this community. The call sign, KVPI, means Keeping Ville Platte Informed. He discussed the French programming, Cajun Music, French News, and the most popular day, Swamp Pop Fridays. There are no other stations covering local news, meetings, politics, and youth sports. KVPI consistently covers little league sports and area high school athletics, 4-H events, and other community activities. Conducting interviews is Mark's favorite part of the job, and he has interviewed politicians, actors, musicians, writers, educators, all sorts of people! KVPI has brought worldwide attention to Ville Platte, and Mark thanked the members of the Rotary for their support and discussed how important advertising is to the station. He expressed the hope that the community will continue to support this very important and vital resource. Mark ended with inviting everyone to the 70th anniversary celebration that will be held in November! Other Rotary announcements · The Rotary District Conference was held last weekend in Lafayette at the Hilton @ River Ranch. · The Spring Social was held April 18 at the Chicot Park Group Cabins. The event was catered by B&S, and a great time was had by everyone! · The Rotary Board meeting will be held next Tuesday at 6:00 at Joey's camp. · Next week's program will be presented by Dr. Joey Soileau.