The Rotary Club of Beaumont, TX, is a large and diverse fellowship of inspired business, professional, and civic leaders with significant community connections that foster the ideals of Service Above Self and high ethical standards.
On June 9, 2020, Pope Francis announced the appointment of Bishop David Toups as the 6th bishop of the Diocese of Beaumont. The 49-year-old Bishop is the youngest diocesan bishop in the United States. He was installed at St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica on August 21, 2020.
Bishop Toups, the youngest of three children, was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Houma, Louisiana. His family relocated to Clearwater, Florida, when he was a junior in high school. He attended Florida Southern College before transferring and graduating from St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, Florida. His theological studies were pursued at the Pontifical North American College in Rome while attending the Pontifical Gregorian University. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 14, 1997, for the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida. He has served as both a pastor and a professor for seminarians as well as serving for several years in Washington with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops prior to becoming rector at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, Florida. Bishop Toups is an international presenter and accomplished writer authoring two books about the priesthood.
On August 26, just days after being officially installed to lead the Diocese of Beaumont, the new Bishop joined with all of Beaumont to face Hurricane Laura as it approached Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana. He went to the Neches River and offered prayer for safety of all the citizens of the area as the major hurricane approached.
Bishop Toups will be our speaker. His talk is aptly titled "Gens Una Sumus" which is Latin for "We are One People."
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Head Table for October 21
Invocation:
Ty Coudrain
Owner
Ty Coudrain Aflac Insurance Agency
Pledges to USA and Texas:
Frank Maida
Senior Attorney / Deacon
Maida Law Firm, PC / Diocese of Beaumont
Introduction of Guest Speaker:
Lynn Hill
Co-Owner
NuVation Tek
If you would like to serve on the head table at a date in the future, please sign up online at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054ba5a62fa3f49-head or phone chair, Mandy Clayton at 409-718-7056 or email arclayton@lit.edu
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CALENDAR OF ROTARY EVENTS
(Club events & opportunities for meeting makeups)
October
For the health and safety of members, CLUB MEETINGS WILL CONTINUE WEEKLY USING ZOOM until further notice.
27
Board of Directors meeting; 11:30 a.m.as a hybrid meeting; there will be no more than 16 people (in addition to staff and tech crew) allowed to attend in person; Zoom will accommodate all others. If you would like to join the meeting, ask Jacque for the link.
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WORLD POLIO DAY - OCTOBER 24, 2020
by Arne Almquist, Polio Chair
Time flies—once again it is World Polio Day. Interestingly, this year it occurs as the world is contending with another virus, COVID-19. But, while our attention is focused on the current disease, we cannot lose track of a scourge that sickened and killed millions over the course of the 20th century and which is always just one plane flight away from our children and grandchildren as long as it remains in circulation in the wild.
We are now down to just 4 countries in which polio is endemic: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Iran. Nigeria has now been without cases for 4 years. Iran, which is still on the list has not had a case for over 5 years. However, Pakistan and Afghanistan, after dipping to lows in 2017, have been rising. Pakistan’s cases grew from just 8 in 2017 to a total of 147 in 2019 and the rate has increased in 2020. Afghanistan had a total of 14 cases in 2017, but more than doubled in 2019 to 29 and is currently at 47 in 2020.1 We are so close to finishing the job that we cannot risk losing ground.
Those of us who are more seasoned probably knew polio survivors and may remember the fear with which parents met each summer when their children faced the possibility of infection through something as simple as swimming in the local pool or in a local river or lake. Happily, we in America no longer face that fear, but many in the world still do.
Polio will be just the second disease eradicated from the earth after smallpox—that took thousands of years to accomplish. If we succeed, we will rid the world of polio in less than a century. If we are to be successful, it is incredibly important to keep up the pressure—support End Polio Now!
Yes, we are currently fighting COVID-19 and continuing the fight against polio under those circumstances is difficult, however, we must keep up the fight and the Rotary Foundation needs your dollars. To make a donation, you can make a direct gift to the foundation through your MyRotary account at www.rotary.org. Every Rotarian has a MyRotary account—if you haven’t used it, you will find a lot of good information about Rotary and its activities, as well as a detailed report of your giving, which can be useful at tax time.
If you prefer, you can also make a donation to the Rotary Foundation through our club. You can make a gift at the time that you renew your club membership. Either way, it is important for every Rotarian to contribute every year.
Please help Rotary to prevent and eliminate this debilitating disease.
1. Lancia, Floyd. “Polio Headlines, 6 October”
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Would you like to be a part of the Rotary Holiday Chorus? Vocalist will perform solo in the comfort of their own home, recording himself/herself singing the selected music to the accompaniment that will be provided. The music will be sent to each recording artist. Once you have made your recordings, you will send the video to Dr. James Han, who has graciously agreed to arrange it into a beautiful video recording that any Club can use for a 2020 Holiday Party. Join now and invite family and friends too. (Please sign up each person separately.)
Rotarians, we really need you to become a part of the weekly meeting! Very few people are volunteering for the head table assignments and we spend a lot of time each week trying to recruit talented Rotarians! Look at your calendar and select a date that is convenient for your schedule. Red Badges are strongly encouraged to volunteer for this opportunity so you can move closer to your blue badge and members can get to know you better too.
We send wishes for a quick recovery to our friends and fellow Rotarians who are ill, are anticipating or recovering from surgery, or just in need of encouragement, support and good wishes.
W. L. Pate
All Rotarians
especially those who are unable to attend meetings via Zoom
We miss you and look forward to when it will safe for Rotary to meet in-person again!
If you know of members who should be added to this list, please advise the office staff at 409-842-1913.
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After speaking at the Club meeting on October 7, Judy Linsley sent a list of four books that provide more information than she could present about the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic and polio epidemic. If you would like to investigate more thoroughly, pick up one of these books at the library or bookstore.
John Barry. The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History, Penguin Books, 2005.
Laura Spinney, Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World, Hachette Book Group, 2017.
Maryn McKenna, “The Virus Hunt,” Smithsonian, July-August 2020.
Heather Green Wooten, The Polio Years in Texas: Battling a Terrifying Unknown, Texas A&M Press, 2009.
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PROGRAM REVIEW
October 14, 2020
"The Making of a First-Class Museum"
Tom Neal
Director
Museum of the Gulf Coast
by Chris Ayers
Tom Neal is the director of The Museum of the Gulf Coast. The museum has 36,000 square feet that houses permanent exhibits and tells the story of Southeast Texas including the history of the land and people. The museum’s hall of fame is highlighted by (although many, many more are in the hall): George Jones, Janis Joplin, ZZ Top, The Big Bopper, ToTo, Tex Ritter, and Wayne Toups. The sports hall of fame is the home to: Babe Zaharias, R.C. Slocum, Bum and Wade Philips, Bruce Lietzke, Mark Henry, and Jay Bruce. Finally, the Notable People exhibit includes Jack Brooks, Medal of Honor recipient Lucian Adams, and Kelly Asbury.
The Museum of The Gulf Coast is celebrating its 26th year and is open for business.
700 Procter St.
Port Arthur, TX 77640
409-982-7000
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Link to the Zoom page which includes this and the recorded meetings for October - December 2020.
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We are giving a big shout-out to the newest advertiser/sponsor of our website and RotaryGrams!
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After speaking at the Club meeting on October 7, Judy Linsley sent a list of four books that provide more information than she could present about the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic and polio epidemic. If you would like to investigate more thoroughly, pick up one of these books at the library or bookstore. 
