From left: LaPorte Community Schools Superintendent (and Rotarian) Mark Francesconi, Interact Faculty Advisor Holly Wireman, Interact Vice President Kennedie Anderson, Interact Secretary Anna Kozor, Interact President Emilie Levesque, Rotary District Governor Steve Sorenson, and Past Governor and Interact Liaison Christina Dougherty.
LaPorte High School can now boast of having the newest Interact Club in the state of Indiana. LaPorte Rotary President Mitch Feikes and the Rotary Club hosted installation of officers of the Interact Club on Feb. 9, 2015.
The group, created by students, aspires to live by the same 4-Way Test of the larger supervising organization, Rotary International. The key points of the 4-Way Test are: 1. Is it the Truth? 2. Will it be beneficial to all concerned? 3. Will it build goodwill and better friendships? 4. Will it be beneficial to all concerned? The purpose of Interact is to develop leadership skills and personal integrity, demonstrate helpfulness and respect for others, understand the value of individual responsibility and hard work, and advance international understanding and goodwill.
The newly installed officers of Interact were inspired to seek a faculty advisor to help them create the club after they attended a World Affairs Conference put on by RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards). The topic of the conference was “Human Trafficking,” and at the Feb. 9 meeting three Interact officers presented a program on what they learned about the subject.
The new Interact Club has 20 members, and the faculty advisor is Holly Wireman. LaPorte Rotary is excited to welcome Ms. Wireman as a new Rotarian as well.
LaPorte Rotary is very proud of these young leaders and their advisor, and plans to enjoy a close relationship with the group through shared projects and program exchanges. There are 17,266 Interact Clubs in the world, with 396,908 members.