January 2018
Visitation's Secret Weapon That SHOULDN'T Be A Secret
By Danny Laurent
Let me start by saying that Visitation of Our
Lady is a team effort. Priests, parish staff, music
ministers, teachers, school administrators, school staff,
ministry members, parishioners and parents all come
together to form our VOL family and we all make this
a place that we are proud of, but there is one
organization that goes above and beyond. Let me ask
you a few things:
Which ministry makes up almost all of the Cajun
Fest Committee, including the Cajun Fest
Chairs going back as far as almost anyone can
remember?
Which ministry staffs like 70% of the booths for
Cajun Fest?
Which ministry pretty much builds and tears down
Cajun Fest every year?
Which ministry replaced every light bulb in the
school and parish with LED bulbs to save
energy costs?
Which ministry repaired walkways, provided
kitchen equipment for Padre Hall II, and
brought back the Sacred Heart statue in front of
Church?
Which ministry built a storage building on campus
with only proceeds that they have earned with
their various fundraisers?
Which ministry trimmed the tree in the courtyard
when it desperately needed it?
Which ministry adopts 4 or 5 families in need
during Christmas?
Which ministry puts on great events such as
Lenten Seafood Suppers, Easter Egg Hunt, and
an annual Golf Tournament?
Ladies and gentlemen, these are but a FEW
things that the Visitation of Our Lady Men's Club has
done and continues to do. Now to add to that legacy
of giving and service, the VOL Men's Club has now
donated 50 new Chromebook computers to Visitation
of Our Lady School.
Steve Goodwin, who is the President of the
VOL School Board, and a Men's Club member, asked
the Men's Club to donate the computers to help VOL
with it's SACS Accreditation. To aid in obtaining the
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SACS Accreditation, a certain number of computers
are needed per student. Because we are only weeks
away from the accreditation process, this was a
necessity and an emergency. As usual, the VOL
Men's Club stepped up to the plate and helped the
students out at VOL school. Not bad for a bunch of
guys who supposedly “just drink beer”, huh?
This is hardly surprising since this is what
the VOL Men's Club has done since its inception in
2001. I have been a member since 2010. Our
organization has always prided itself in serving our
community. It is a great organization to be a
member of. I have met many people that I consider
friends. We laugh together. We also help each
other when times get tough. You will never meet a
better group of men, and wives, in your life. They
have had a huge impact on my family and that
shouldn't be surprising since I practically consider
them family.
If you are a male and you are looking to get
involved in a ministry and you aren't sure what the
right one is, I would encourage you to come to a
meeting. We meet the first Thursday of every
month in the cafeteria. You will be fed and you will
have refreshments and you will meet a great group
of guys. If you are worried about going to a meeting
and not knowing anybody, just ask for me, Danny
Laurent. I'll introduce you. You probably know a
bunch of the guys anyway since they are all over our
school and parish. You WON'T be sorry. I wasn't.