Kirk Blackard's message will cover the story of the Bridges To Life restorative justice prison ministry from founding to today's impact. It is a story that is near to his heart after devoting 12 years as a volunteer with the organization.
Kirk is Chairman of the Board of Directors for Bridges To Life, a faith-based restorative justice ministry that works in prisons to help victims heal their wounds and inmates change their lives and avoid a return to prison after their release. He has worked directly with hundreds of crime victims and perpetrators and has been on the organization’s Board of Directors for eight years.
Kirk holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Texas A&M University and a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Texas School of Law. He is retired from a career with Shell Oil Company, where he held several senior executive positions in Houston and London.
Lamar Rotaract fundraiser at Jason's Deli on Dowlen Road; 5-10:00 p.m.
October 15
Rotary After Hours "Cruisin' With Rotary!" down the Neches River on the Ivory Bill; 5:30-7:30 p.m.; $10 per person (includes snacks and drinks on board); sign up on line (Events list on left column)
October 20
Board of Directors Meeting, 11:45 a.m., The Beaumont Club
October 21
Meeting moved to the Fountainview Room of the MCM Eleganté
October 24
Done in a Day Project with Habitat for Humanity
October 28
No meeting at the Eleganté today; attend Rotary Goes Home this week as your meeting obligation
The Board of Directors announces the following membership proposal has been approved:
Mary Jane Benning
Executive Director of the Neches River Festival
CLASSIFICATION: ASSOCIATIONS – NECHES RIVER FESTIVAL
Proposed by Douglas Fair
Jim Malain
Claims Management, Entergy
Classification: PUBLIC UTILITIES – ELECTRIC – CLAIMS MANAGEMENT
Proposed by John Weitzel
In accordance with our bylaws (Article 13, Section 8), please submit written objections related to the aforementioned within 10 days (of October 7) to the board of directors, stating the reason for your objection.
Rotary After Hours: A Lovely Fall Evening on the Neches!
Whether this is your first trip or you've been many times, you are sure to enjoy this Rotary After Hours which will take you on a cruise down the Neches River on a pleasant fall evening.
Mark your calendar and plan to reserve your spot on the Ivory Bill on Thursday, October 15for a two-hour tour. Snacks and drinks will be available. Tickets are $10 per person and we can only take 35 people (spouses and guests are welcome), so don't delay.
DEADLINE FOR RESERVATIONS IS 8:00 A.M. on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13. WITHOUT 35 PAID RESERVATIONS, WE MUST CANCEL THE TRIP.
Rotary Goes Home is the popular fun event where the weekly Rotary meeting is moved to Rotarian homes. Thanks to our generous hosts, you have the option of a number of dates, times, and options offered at the events. It's the host's choice of what and when, and you have the luxury of making a reservation that works conveniently with your busy schedule.
The number of reservations is growing quickly. Make your reservation for a place now right away and no later than Friday so we can provide our hosts with lists and counts to make their preparations as easy as possible.
The next project work the Club will take on is "Brush With Kindness" for Habitat for Humanity. This wonderful effort will involve building wheelchair ramps for those people who cannot get out of their own homes due to stairs or steps on the entry ways.
With enough people, it should be a "Done in a Day" project. Good feelings for your work should be priceless and will last much longer than one day!
Chair Shannon Williamson will explain more at upcoming meetings but plan now to give "Service Above Self" to someone who needs you.
Watch this video from Lincolnshire on their involvement in the "Brush With Kindness" program and then sign up to help with our first build on October 24.
Order dinner and tell the cashier you are there to support Rotaract! Jason's Deli will donate 15% of each meal that is purchased in support of the LU Rotaract Club.
This also works for to-go orders!
Interact and Rotaract clubs are joining together to pack toiletry bags for local youth rescued from human trafficking. Please help by saving small personal care items such as soap, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, lotion, ponytail bands, combs, and hairbrushes. You can bring donations to any meeting and we will see that it is given to the youth organizations.
The next couple of years are critical. Even in Africa, where there have been no new cases for a year, we still have a couple more years of hard pushing to go before we can be confident that we have no polio.
These three Rotarians are traveling on the upper East Coast, spied the Rotary logo in New York, and submitted the photo for the RotaryGrams.
(Actually, they are probably thinking it will be considered a makeup meeting since there was a Rotary logo and surely they heard a bell ringing somewhere!)
Have you traveled and found the Rotary logo somewhere along your journey? It's fun to see what clubs around the world have done as a project in service to their communities. Send us a photo and we will share with everyone.
Mr. Gibbs’ presentation on identity theft should be a wake-up call in our technology age. Our personal information is out there waiting to be seized.
Google normally has a billion hits on Facebook in one day. The connections made on Facebook can be utilized to learn everything about us (if we share it). Someone is waiting to get your information and it could be due to marketing, information or identity theft. When someone turns that information into utilization for their use and not yours, it becomes fraudulent.
The estimated cost of this type of theft is $22 billion dollars a year. $3 million fake tax returns have been e filed with the IRS. And of that amount banks are not the most active “market” at only 17%. Social security numbers and drivers’ licenses can be manufactured readily. Houston is a prime manufacturer market. Doctors’ offices are another target for this type of crime due to the large amount of “private” data that they store.
Identity theft occurs from Facebook, medical institutions, tax returns, credit cards, drivers’ licenses, social security cards, banking information, and even deceased persons. These criminals are “staying at home in their pajamas and stealing identity.” The criminals are creating malware to get into your information. They have even been known to create an entirely “new” person by a combination of different people’s social security numbers, drivers’ license and birth dates.
The average expense of any victim to clear up the theft is $13,500.
What can you do? Don’t leave any personal information in your car, keep your items private and in your possession, be aware of who and why you are giving out personal information, check your credit score at least annually, use a good virus protector on your computer, be aware that the attack can come from someone you normally receive email from, and consider some type of identity theft protection with insurance. If you have an employee who has this problem, give them the time to resolve the issue during day time working hours.
There is no good news on the issue of identity theft.
We are very grateful to the many Rotarians and friends who are sponsors and underwriters for the event, and promised to acknowledge their generosity throughout the month of October. Please click on image below to read it full screen, and patronize these businesses if appropriate and otherwise express thanks to those individuals who made such significant donations.
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