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.
Because of the generous donations of Rotarians to the Beaumont Rotary Foundation, the Rotary Club of Beaumont was able to send 16 students to the weekend RYLA camp. Rain and inclement weather did not dampen the excitement as the students departed on Saturday morning instead of Friday afternoon due to the threats of severe weather.
We hope each of the "RYLA-rians" will be able to join us for our meeting on Wednesday, January 15 and we hope you will be in attendance to hear of their experiences. Be prepared to live vicariously as we hear of the weekend fun and learning!
Leading the presentation on January 15 will be Randy Shelton and Teresa Simpson, RYLA Co-Chairs for the Club with Michael Perez, District 5910 RYLA Chair. We can't wait to hear about it!
* * * * * * *
Head Table for January 15
Invocation:
Christine deJongh
Community Practice Manager
UT Physicians Multispecialty Beaumont
Pledges to USA & Texas Flags:
Alan Sampson
Partner
Benckenstein & Oxford, LLP
Introduction of Guests:
Diane Bass
President
Advanced Pediatric Care, Inc.
Would you like to take part in the weekly meetings in a more active role? Don't wait to be asked. Volunteer for one of the weekly assignments! Choose your role and a date that is convenient. Link to the online signup systemor contact Jennifer Burch, Chair, at409-201-3016.
* * * * * * *
CALENDAR OF ROTARY EVENTS
(Club events & opportunities for meeting makeups)
JANUARY
28
Board of Directors meeting; 11:45 a.m. at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas (make reservation by Friday, January 24
29
Last day to sign-up to participate in Rotary Goes to Work on February 5.
* * * * * * *
Rotary dues were due by January 1.
If you have not paid yet, please do so this week.
Thank you to those who took submitted payment so promptly!
You can easily pay online using the link on your invoice or visit the secure payment page (click here).
If you prefer, mail a check to:
2355 IH 10 South, Suite 213
Beaumont, TX 77705
Please save the office staff and the Board of Directors considerable time and expense by paying your dues now!
* * * * * * *
February 5: Rotary Goes to Work!
No meeting at the Elegante on February 5.
Where will YOU attend YOUR meeting?
Our 1.2 million-member organization started with the vision of one man—Paul P. Harris. The Chicago attorney formed one of the world’s first service organizations, the Rotary Club of Chicago, on 23 February 1905 as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of each member.
In the initial years of the organization, Rotarians learned about one another and the various diverse professions of the members by meeting in the offices, factories, businesses and firms of the club members. How about doing as one of the original members did back in the early 1900s?
DEADLINE TO SIGN UP IS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29.
Please sign up before the deadline to help the hosts with planning food/lunches.
SIGN UP:
HOSTS
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5
Tim Sudela
American Valve & Hydrant
3525 Hollywood Avenue
Beaumont
Tour the manufacturing facility at AVH and learn about what they do. Lunch will be served!
Lynn Castle
Art Museum of Southeast Texas
500 Main Street
Beaumont
Lunch and learn about the art exhibits on display at this Beaumont showcase!
Jennifer Burch
Best Hospice Care of Texas
3120 Fannin
Beaumont
Come visit t Best Hospice in the new office complex and enjoy lunch while learning about the services they offer.
Pat Anderson
Jefferson County Sheriff's Department
5030 Highway 69 S
Beaumont
Have you been inside the Jefferson County Correctional Facility? Come take a guided tour with Sheriff Zena Stephens.
Lunch will be provided.
Coby Roberts
Sandy Moschettieri
Primerica
6432 Concord Road
Beaumont
This is one business and one event with two hosts. Come learn about Primerica and enjoy lunch.
* * * * * * *
Calling all Rotary Superheroes! It's time to build upon your super strengths and gain new ones! Join us for our Mid-Year Meeting and Pre-PETS training on Saturday, February 1, 2020 at Lone Star College--Montgomery.
This meeting is for everyone! Current Presidents, Presidents Elect and Presidents Nominee will build more muscle for their respective years. All will get a laser-focus on Rotary initiatives. Meet other Rotary Superheroes like Past Rotary International Director Greg Podd!
Registration is now open! $35 will build your Rotary Superhero Muscles! Credit card payments can be made online. Checks can be made payable to Rotary 5910 and mailed to: League City Rotary PO Box 643 League City, TX 77574. Please write Mid-Year Meeting in the memo line.
If you register to attend, we will try to arrange a group ride-share for those interested in traveling together.
* * * * * * *
Kerry Moncla
January 13
Barry Bryant
January 16
Kimberly Huber
January 19
David Shoemaker
January 19
* * * * * * *
CELEBRATING ROTARY ANNIVERSARIES!
Your membership in our Club is important to us!
Barry Bryant
January 19, 2011
9 years
Joe Domino
January 19, 2005
15 years
Randall Fluke
January 19, 2005
15 years
* * * * * * *
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.
Denise Berry
Roy Huckaby
Ray Baker* (Angela Baker's husband)
If you know of others who should be added to this list, please advise the office staff at 409-842-1913.
*Ray is home! We are so happy to hear he was released from TIRR on Thursday, January 9 and will continue therapy locally. He has made a great deal of progress but still needs your prayers for a full recovery.
* * * * * * *
PROGRAM REVIEW
January 8, 2020
"The Long Shadow : The Lutcher-Stark Lumber Dynasty"
Ellen Rienstra
Historian & Author
by Diane Bass
Ted Moor introduced Ellen Rienstra with warmth and his usual charm. Ms. Rienstra is the premier authority on many historical events and families of Southeast Texas. She is a graduate of Lamar University with a BA in English Literature, a minor in History and her MA in English Literature. She is from Beaumont and has dedicated her career to the rich stories and sagas of our oil and lumber industries. Her books include GiantUnder the Hill: A History of the Spindletop Oil Discovery at Beaumont, Texas in 1901, A Pride of Kin, and TheLong Shadow: The Lutcher-Stark Lumber Dynasty. She has published more than 10 historical nonfiction books, journals, plays and articles. Her keynote addresses and speaking engagements are very popular and she presents at a variety of clubs, organizations, workshops and programs.
In addition to her literary accomplishments, she is a concert violinist and has been with the Symphony of Southeast Texas for over 30 years. She has also played with the Lake Charles Symphony and other freelance orchestras as well as a soloist. She has many talents and she is a meticulous historian with curiosity and dedication to the historical truth. In her words she is “not smart enough to quit” and there is always another story or symphony.
Her latest publication about the Lutcher-Stark lumber dynasty is a fascinating story of three families who were visionaries and leaders in Southeast Texas. The Starks, the Lutchers and the Browns all contributed to the development of sawmills and lumber companies in our area. The story of how they came to know each other and become members of each other’s families and communities is fascinating. Much like the fictional television drama Downton Abbey, these families carved out history with flair.
In addition to developing the timber industry, the Stark family was responsible for the Orange Bengal Guards. Henry Jacob Lutcher Stark spared no expense and paid out of his own pocket for the Bengal Guards travel, uniforms, and in some cases, the education tuition for individual members of the Guard.
The most impressive project was the gardens of Shangri La in Orange. Stark opened the gardens in 1946 and closed them in the 1950’s. They were reopened in 2008 and are considered a true treasure. The star of Shangri La is The Survivor Tree – a Pond Cypress that is over 1,200 years old. It is in the waters of Adams Bayou and has survived all that Southeast Texas has thrown at it.
The story of the marriages, deaths, divorces, dramas and history is what makes this book an interesting read. Although this is an accurate historical account of the Stark family and the timber industry, it is also a history of the three generations of the families who altered the future of all of us in the Southeast Texas area. We truly appreciate Ms. Rienstra for her dedication to detail and her commitment to the story. We look forward to having her come back to Rotary with another presentation about whatever she writes about in the future.
.png)
.jpg)
