Baton Rouge Rotarians Prepare for IFMR Arrival

Volunteers from the Baton Rouge Capital City Rotary Club are gearing up to make the arrival of IFMR POLIO PLUS riders on May 19 an exciting but safe event. Mark Shirley, past president of the Capital City Rotary Club and board member of the local HOG chapter, is coordinating details with local motorcycle dealers, state and local police, hotels, tourism agencies, news media, and others.

Phillipa Blair, a Capital City Rotary member and director of visitation services at Visit Baton Rouge, offered the help of her office, including their brochure on interesting motorcycling routes in Louisiana for those who may want to explore the area on day trips during the Rotary convention.

Anticipating perhaps 100 IFMR riders and their passengers arriving in Baton Rouge on May 19, Shirley has talked with local Harley and other motorcycle dealers about hospitality and fellowship events to greet arriving riders. He is also discussing arrangements for police escorts that may be needed for the group in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and in between on May 20, as well as contacting local hotels to make sure there are adequate rooms to accommodate everyone, including the possibility of a larger-than-expected turn-out.

Both Shirley and Blair are working directly with IFMR Ride Captains on details, which the Ride Captains will pass along to their riders. However, if you have specific questions about possible day-trip routes or other local details, you can contact the directly at

   Mark Shirley (marks@dandwcpa.org) 1-225-769-5711
   Phillipa Blair (Philipa@visitbatonrouge.com) 1-225-382-3586

If you contact them directly, be sure to thank them for their volunteer support of IFMR and POLIO PLUS riders.

Lodging enroute and in Baton Rouge and New Orleans

Lodging information for New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and stops enroute is now being posted.  Information for the Albany-New Orleans group is now posted at left; New Orleans information is now posted at right.  The room situation in New Orleans is tight.  Additional rooms are also being arranged in Baton Rouge to accommodate everyone despite the fact that LSU graduation is going on that week and consuming many rooms in that area.  Lodging information for other routes will be posted as it becomes available.  Meanwhile, contact the Ride Captain for your route if you have questions.

The RV Fellowship of Rotary has campground space arranged at the University of New Orleans and has extended an invitation to IFMR members interested in camping there during the convention. If you wish to explore that option, contact RVF president Reba Lovrien at 505-350-3386 (president@rvfweb.org) or president-elect Bob Craig at 315-668-1362 (preselect@rvfweb.org) for more information.