Armed with the knowledge that it is cheaper to send a person to school than it is to send them to jail, Percy Pitzer and his wife, Sununt, founded Creative Corrections Education Foundation (CCEF) in March of 2012. The CCEF focuses on the educational needs of an at-risk group of young people: the children of the incarcerated.
Mr. Pitzer will share his vision and plan called The Right Path program in Beaumont. With this program, low-income individuals who do not have a trade or skills to enter the workforce and be successful at obtaining long term employment will get the opportunity. Through partnership with Lamar Institute of Technology, the individual can earn a degree or certificate that will equip them with the skills and knowledge to obtain long term employment.
The Club Assembly took place at the end of the weekly meeting on July 22 allowing Board members and Committee Chairs to visit with Rotarians about sharing their talents to "Be a Gift to the World." Looks like we are off to a great start this Rotary year!
If you were not at the meeting and did not have the opportunity to express your interest in a project or committee, refer to the organizational chart (link here) and give the Chair a call right away.
It was hot but that did not deter the Rotarian spirit! With many eager and enthusiastic volunteers, the work was accomplished and this phase of the project at Nutrition and Services for Seniors is done!
Special thanks to Beaumont Rotaracters who came out to help us. They were awesome!
The next workday will be to build beds and prepare the area where the vegetables will be planted.
Enjoy all the photos from Judy Kelfstrom, Shannon Williamson, Michael Wolf, and Tim Sudela on our website or Facebook page. You are sure to enjoy the video Tim produced from his photos and with time-lapsed photography. You can actually watch the progress happen before your eyes. (And much quicker than it actually did!) You can open the video in full screen; if it does not appear within your bulletin below, you can link to it here: https://youtu.be/FkZxzJAWT7E
COMING SOON: ANNOUNCEMENT OF PHASE 2 when we get to construct and prepare the planter beds!
That's right! It might have not been the thing to do in elementary school but now we WANT you to tell on your friends! Tell us of their accomplishments and recognition so we can share that with Rotary friends too.
Tell on your friends about what they are doing when they are not at work! Tell about the ways you and your friends are being of service within the community so we can spread information of the many places where Rotarians can give "Service Above Self" on a non-club project or with a non-profit organization. Knowing of a fellow Rotarian giving of their time and talents prompts another to know it is a good way to get involved too.
First New Member of the Year Welcomed to the Club!
President Pat Anderson was thrilled to welcome the first new member of the Rotary year to the Club, Lee Dula (second from right). Lee is Beaumont Public and Government Affairs Manager with ExxonMobil and was also welcomed by Rotary District 5910 Governor Doris Lockey. Joining Lee for his introduction to the club is his sponsor Michael Perez. Congratulations, Lee!
The downtown Rotary Club of Chattanooga was holding their weekly meeting as they normally do on any given Thursday. It soon turned into anything but normal in the city as they learned of the shootings at the military recruiting offices just across town.
The following week, Rotary was a place for members to gather and "Stand Strong" together. As another large Rotary club, the Executive Director Erin Kelly shared this moving and inspiring photo as they began the healing process.
Our dear friend and former club member, Oney Fitzpatrick, was proud of his Rotary membership. While visiting Kemah about two summers ago, he spotted this adorable pelican carving bearing the Rotary logo and sent the picture for the RotaryGrams. Oney and this photo were the inspiration for "Where's Rotary?" in your summer travels.
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.
Our District 5910 Governor, Doris Lockey, was the speaker for this past week's meeting. Doris began her address by presenting Pat Anderson with the District Grant check in the amount of $3,000 to help fund our Layette project.
She also presented Paul Harris awards to Joe Fisher, Kevin Roy and Sharon McCabe. Each of these individuals is multiple Paul Harris Fellows.
Doris went on to talk about the importance of donating to our local Rotary foundation and the international Rotary foundation. These foundations are the vehicles that allow Rotarians to fund worthy projects ranging from eradicating polio all the way down to local projects such as Nutrition for Seniors garden project.
Doris then went on to talk about Ravi Ravindran, the Rotary International President for this year. Although most people would consider Ravi a "self-made man," he points out that is not accurate because he needed bankers to provide loans, he needed a wife to provide support, and he needed workers to staff his packaging company. Ravi’s motto is “Be a gift to the World.” He wants all Rotarians to try to help people from all walks of life in whatever way they are able.
Doris also announced that it has now been one year since the last case of polio was found in Nigeria (not Nicaragua as Vernon previously announced). As such, Nigeria has been declared polio free. Unfortunately, there were 3 new cases of polio reported in Pakistan this past month, so the battle against this awful disease continues.
(It was also noted that the number of mispronunciations was down 85% from prior meetings. Coincidence? You decide…)
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