The Rotary Club of Bay St. Louis in partnership with the Rotary Club of Jonesboro, the Rotary Club of Jonesboro University, the Rotary Club of Jonesboro Metro, of Rotary District 6150 (Central and Northeast Arkansas), and Rotary District 6190 (Northern Louisiana) are working to complete a long-term Hurricane Katrina Relief Project - The Bay St. Louis Community Hall.

What Happened? On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina, a Category 5 storm with winds in excess of 150 miles per hour and a storm surge of above 30 feet, made landfall just East of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The high winds, rising water, and tornadoes devastated the United States Gulf Coast Region including Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.  The damage stretched for more than 150 miles along the coast and for more than 75 miles inland.  The storm lasted for only half a day but killed over 1600 people and destroyed over 20 communities, leaving over thousands of square miles in the disaster area.  The infrastructure including communication, roads, water, electricity all was gone.  The disaster was weighed against Hurricane Camille which had hit the area in 1969.  Those who experienced both have declared Katrina was far worse than Camille.  Katrina is the worst natural disaster in the US in Modern history.  Read more...

The Plan to Rebuild In spite of these obstacles, the people of Bay St. Louis have an optimistic outlook bolstered by the support of relief workers and financial contributions from many places. The Rotary Club of Bay St. Louis in partnership with the Rotary Club of Jonesboro, the Rotary Club of Jonesboro University, the Rotary Club of Jonesboro Metro, of the Rotary District 6150 (Central and Northeast Arkansas), and Rotary District 6190 (Northern Louisiana) plan to move this recovery to a new level.  Using the concepts developed by the Governor’s Commission for Rebuilding, Recovery, and Renewal, a long term hurricane relief project has been born after much consideration. Plans are under way to construct the “Bay St. Louis Community Hall”.  This facility will serve as a beacon of recovery for the area.  It will be an economic and social center.  It will have a meeting hall with a complete kitchen, a banquet hall that will seat 400, several meeting rooms, and office space to be used for the local economic development agencies. For a first look at the proposed project, read more...

How Can You Help? The Bay St. Louis Community Hall will be the first public building to be constructed since Katrina.  The Rotary Clubs and the City have provided the lead for this much needed long term relief project.  It is envisioned that this building will serve as both a great asset for the city and as a symbol of a bright future for Bay St. Louis and the entire Katrina affected area. We will need your help to make this dream a reality. Please consider giving your support to this project so that we may help the people of Bay St. Louis regain their community and their lives with a place that will be a beacon of recovery for all. Read more...