• Rotarian of the Year Award Doug Bland 2020-2021

On July 6, the immediate past president of Rotary Club of Shreveport, Laurie Boswell, presented the Rotarian of the Year Award to Doug Bland.

Doug joined our club in 2004, served as a club director in 2008-2009 and served for three years as board president for the Rotary Club of Shreveport Foundation, our 501(c)3 arm. He has served on almost all of their committees at one time or the other. He served as the program chair for 2020 - 2021 and brought many great speakers both in-person and via Zoom.

Bland is the owner of Bland Shelter Insurance Agency, with his office on Youree Drive in Shreveport.

This award was initiated by then-club president Larry Evensky during the 2012-2013 Rotary year to recognize a non-board member who was very helpful to the president in fulfilling that year’s goals. The award is named in memory of a beloved club president who was instrumental in developing membership and raising funds for the Foundation. Al Kessler always let Rotarians know they were appreciated with his “thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, work to eradicate polio worldwide, and help build goodwill and peace in the world.

• Volunteers of America NL Names New Board Members

Volunteers of America North Louisiana has elected five community leaders who will serve a three-year term on the 2021-22 board of directors.

The new members are Brittney Dunn, Lazarus, assistant vice president at Progressive Bank; Terry Moore, wealth management advisor at Merrill Lynch; Jonathan Reynolds, chief commercial officer at Carter Credit Union; and Angie White, chief operating officer at North Louisiana Economic Partnership.

With extensive leadership experience and financial expertise, the new members bring a set of unique skills to assist the organization’s work to close a $2.5 million annual financial gap. This is the difference between what it takes to fund VOA programs and services to serve around 6,500 men, women and children in need versus what is received in government funding.

The five new members join a 29-member board that represents a wide array of skills and experiences.

• New director for Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary

Alissa Brown Klaus, a 2015 Centenary graduate, has been named the Meadows Museum of Art director. Klaus began her tenure as director on Aug. 1.

After graduating from Centenary with a degree in religious studies with a minor in visual culture, Klaus earned a Master of Arts Management degree from Columbia College Chicago. She served as gallery manager at The Hokin Gallery in Chicago. She was a member of the senior management team and was responsible for writing and editing exhibition copy, marketing exhibitions, and designing and marketing virtual exhibitions through the gallery’s website.

Klaus has also worked as a new media manager in the business and entrepreneurship department at Columbia College Chicago, as a development intern for the Hyde Park Art Center in Chicago, and in several positions with the Noel Community Arts Program at Noel Memorial United Methodist Church in Shreveport. She is also the owner of Alissa Klaus Ink, a custom calligraphy and hand-lettering business.

Klaus has a clear vision for the Meadows Museum’s future that draws on her experiences as a former Centenary student and as an arts professional.