Indeed, “Rotary has heart,” and the Rotary Club of Beaumont has a BIG heart, giving time and resources in Service Above Self year round. How appropriate that we designate a date close to Valentine’s Day as our Club Service Day, providing hands-on service to multiple projects and collectively having a BIG impact!
We have plans for several different hands-on service projects to work on and complete on Service Day. Wear your casual working clothes and come prepared to enjoy lunch and a very quick meeting followed by plenty of time to get some work done.
The first priority is to assemble 200 Layette bags for women and children of Nicaragua. Everyone will have the opportunity to roll up his/her sleeves and lend a hand also to Gift of Life, Habitat for Humanity, and the American Cancer Society.
Bring co-workers and friends who also believe in having fun while helping others. Don't miss it!
Thank you to the many volunteers who helped with the "Show Your Colors" Flag Project this morning. While it was a day of gloomy weather, the flags still looked beautiful across the streets of Beaumont. You make us all proud and we are grateful for your Service Above Self.
The Rotary Club of Beaumont will host the 2015 District Conference!
On May 1 - 3, the Rotary Club of Beaumont will host the District 5910 Conference for delegates from 40 clubs. Registration is open and we are ready to see your name on the list of Conference participants. Go to the District website to register here.
The local Interact Clubs - West Brook, Kelly, Vidor and Orangefield - are joining together to do a project for children in Mexico. They plan to put together some "candy tubes" and ship them to a school or orphanage there. They need paper tubes and individually wrapped hard or chewy candies (not chocolate).
Please save paper tubes from paper towels, toilet paper or gift wrapping paper and bring to a Rotary meeting before March 18. Your candy donation will help too and will be gratefully accepted.
The Beaumont Rotary Foundation continues to fund college scholarships for graduating high school seniors. The scholarship applications are available through the high school counselor or from the Club's website by linking here. The deadline to submit an application is March 1.
This District Conference is held annually for Rotarians in D5910 to learn of the successful projects of other Clubs and the many committees of the District, share information and enhance collaboration on future efforts among the 40 clubs. With our club as the hosts, you have an ideal opportunity to take part in a District-level function. Read more about it and plan to attend some, if not all, of the Conference on May 1-3.
In conjunction with the event, a pre-conference activity will be a "Shoot Down Polio" Clay Shoot. Come join the fun and know that your "shooting" will benefit Polio eradicating efforts.
Amtrak operates more than 300 weekday trains over 21,000 miles of track. Todd Stennis, III, Director of Government Affairs – South, gave members an upbeat discussion on Amtrak, ridership and possible future routes.
Todd identified three types of corridors being operated by Amtrak: Northeast, Long and Short distances. Overall, the trend in ridership is increasing at a very good percentage each year. In terms of government support of Amtrak, the subsidy is decreasing and at the end of 2014 the subsidized cost of operations federally was down to $350 million. Amtrak is proud of the fact that that the company itself is paying 93% of its operating costs and that the capital investment of debt is down remarkably.
On time performance is the biggest issue as Amtrak relates to the public. Legislation had been passed during the Bush administration to demand that 80% on time performance was the goal for railroads to be on time, or be fined. Presently the Supreme Court is dealing with this legislation and an opinion is expected this year on whether the law will stand or not.
In 2006, Todd Stennis had his first view of the Beaumont Amtrak depot and he resolved to do something about it. With Union Pacific railroad, City of Beaumont and Amtrak, a plan was devised to build a standard design station (shelter) by the federal government and the City built the Police Substation. With that partnership, things have started looking brighter and ridership is definitely up.
Texas has one short distance corridor (Fort Worth to Oklahoma City) and then stops on the long distance corridors. There are 193 Amtrak employees in Texas who are contributing to the Texas economy. With the central bus and airline traffic dwindling in small markets, Amtrak has definitely got a place to increase growth. The goal is to increase the frequency of trains, the safety of the trains and the reliability of the train system.
It was a beautiful day to meet in downtown Beaumont and many compliments on the meeting space and food were heard.
Sponsor ads appear on the website continuously and are included in the sidebar of the RotaryGrams each week. One will be spotlighted weekly to express our appreciation.
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