Presidential Volunteer Service Awarded to Tutors
Fifty-three VITA volunteers, contributing at least 100 hours of their time to the literacy effort, received a certificate of achievement and congratulatory letter from the president at the 29th Annual Recognition Banquet held Sunday, September 26, 2010 at Vermilionville.

The President's Council on Service and Civic Participation was established in 2003 to recognize the valuable contributions that volunteers were making in our communities and encourage more people to serve. The council created the Presidential Volunteer Service Award to thank and honor Americans who, by their commitment and example, inspire others to engage in volunteer service.
Bronze Service Award
Jamie Anfenson-Comeaux
Carol Antosiak
Barbara Batiste
Cheryl Blum
Ronnie Boudreaux
Stefani Celio
Ernesto Egoavil
Ruth Ettinger
Evelyn Fontenot
Bradley Goins
Evelyn Hackett
Diane Hebert
Genevieve Ingraldi
Geneva Laurent
Phyllis Ledet
Johanna Murdock
Charles Poimbouef
Sylvia Poimbouef
Paulette Rawdon
Sandra Robertson
Patricia Segura
Ramona Stonecipher
Carol Wong

Silver Service Award
Florence Arnold
Elias Davila
Brenda Glover
Faith Hamiltion
James LaFleur
Nelson Landry
Michael Noonan
John Richard
Shannon Sonnier
Cathy Swords
Rana Wright
Gold Service Award
Sally Belanger
Blanche Blalock
Lynne Castle
Marie Chaney
Robert Chaney
Chris Cretini
Angela Fangue
VIrginia Finley
Norman Foret
John Hiatt
Karen Jeffers
Dianne Judice
Connie Melancon
Ramaswamy Mysore
Roxanne Roy
Fred Sierveld
Bruce Snow
Dennis Sullivan
Alicia Towster






Day of Literacy Celebrated in Lafayette Parish Schools

Three VITA tutors participated in United Way's second annual Day of Literacy on Wednesday, October 28, 2010 at Duson Elementary. Denise Benoit, Angela Fangue, Phyllis Ledet and Janel Fontenot, VITA staff member, read to fourth graders The Wednesday Surprise, a story about a young girl teaching her grandmother to read.

Day of Literacy aims to increase awareness of the importance of early grade literacy and the impact reading with children has on school readiness and academic performance.

Tutors Denise Benoit, Angela Fangue, and Phyllis Ledet and Janel Fontenot, VITA staff member, read The Wednesday Surprise to Duson Elementary students in October.
GED Graduate Wants to Have Own School
Wilton Journet, age 24, lives in Grand Coteau. He graduated from VITA with his GED in October of 2010.

Wilton began studying Tae Kwan Do at the early age of 5 where he trained under Michael Satsumi of Tokyo. He later attended the Martial Arts
Academy in Tokyo for one and a half years and has recently received his Master level in Tae Kwan Do.

Wilton said his greatest challenge was to learn to work within the honor code of martial arts. This means to respect issues of anyone, to not
use his abilities to hurt someone, to not fight unless he has to, and to use his abilities to help people.

He currently has 6 young students, and his goal is to have his own school.