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.
If you are attending in person, we ask that you use this linkto make a reservation by Monday, June 5, 2023.
Keith Giblin Brit Featherston
District Attorney United States Attorney
Jefferson County Eastern District of Texas
Keith Giblin was a United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Texas. He originally took his oath of office on October 1, 2004 and was re-appointed for this third term on October 1, 2020. He is currently a Jefferson County District Attorney. He served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and recently retired as a U.S. Magistrate Judge after 12 years of service. Giblin is a Beaumont native who attended French High School and worked shift work at the Goodyear Chemical Plant while attending Lamar University part-time. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Physics in 1986 and his jurisprudence degree from South Texas College of Law in 1989.
After graduation from law school, Giblin was appointed as an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Texas, investigating and prosecuting hundreds of federal criminal cases involving a wide range of matters. He has extensive trial experience, has argued numerous cases before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, served as attorney-in-charge of the Beaumont Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office and taught trial advocacy at the Department of Justice's National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina. While serving on the bench, Giblin attended the University of Houston Law Center and received his Master of Law degree in intellectual property law in May 2010.
Giblin served as an adjunct instructor of criminal law at LU, and is also an ordained Episcopal priest and volunteers as a priest serving smaller churches in the area. He has also taught religion at All Saints' Episcopal School.
Brit Featherston graduate of the 1979 class of Thomas Jefferson High School, U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston proudly hails from Port Arthur, where he matriculated from a young man into a seasoned, 10-year veteran of the city’s police force.
He propelled himself from that position into the federal spotlight, joining the DOJ office he now leads back in 1996. The Examiner sat down with Featherston on the anniversary of his appointment to the position by Attorney General Merrick Garland to discuss his ascension to the top prosecutor in Eastern Texas’ 43 counties and his enduring endeavor to toil for justice’s sake. In the spring of 2022, judges in the Eastern District of Texas voted to keep Featherston in the position he was assigned to Nov. 16, 2021, effectively sealing his role until the President chooses to appoint a new lawyer. Featherston was one of three federal prosecutors assigned to prosecute the three individuals charged with the 1999 infamous dragging death of James Byrd Jr. After obtaining three convictions, Featherston and the prosecution team received the Attorney General’s highest Award for Exceptional Service.
Featherston, along with the FBI, established the primary command post, and led the criminal investigation response for the space shuttle crash in 2003. In 2010, he was appointed Counsel for Critical Incident Response for all U.S. Attorney’s Offices and worked on the 2011 National Level Exercise as the Department of Justice representative. In 2018, he was awarded a Department of Justice Director’s Award for his efforts during Hurricane Harvey and, in 2019, he received a Department of Justice commendation for outstanding service for his work as the 2018 Justice Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul.
We look forward to seeing you there!
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June 7, 2023
Invocation
Mitchell Templeton
Judge at 172nd District Court
Jefferson County
Pledges to USA & Texas Flags
Marcia Crone
District Judge
U.S. District Court
Introduction of Guests
Terri Potter
Vice President of Marketing & Public Relations
American Air Systems, Inc.
Introduction of Speaker
Vernon Pierce
Commissioner- Precinct 1
Jefferson County
Please volunteer for Head Table responsibilities through the
New Member Orientation; 10:30 AM; MCM Elegante, Rotary Office
14
"Show Your Colors" Flag Project- Flag Day
14
New Member Orientation; 10:30 AM; MCM Elegante, Rotary Office
21
New Member Orientation; 10:30 AM; MCM Elegante, Rotary Office
27
Board of Directors Meeting; 11:30 AM; MCM Elegante, Fountainview Room
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"Show Your Colors" Flag Project
Volunteers needed to deliver flags for Flag Day, Wednesday, June 14, 2023. Please contact Pat Anderson (409) 782-4057 for more information and to sign up. This is our biggest fundraiser and the funds help literacy projects with children at Martin Elementary, provide college scholarships, host high school educational opportunities like Camp RYLA, and support numerous other projects benefitting our community and mankind through Rotary International.
We will be paying Rotary International dues on your behalf and appreciate your prompt payment. If you need a mailed statement or if your company needs a separate invoice, please let MiKayla know by emailing admin@beaumontrotaryclub.org. You can use this link HERE to pay.
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Regina Rogers
June 12
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Annette Harmon-Edwards
June 8, 2022
1 year
Matthew Lighty
June 8, 2022
1 year
Regina Rogers
June 12, 2002
21years
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PROGRAM REVIEW
May 31, 2023
Angela Derry
Assistant Principal
Martin Elementary
By Diane Bass
The Rotary Club of Beaumont has partnered with Martin Elementary for the Literacy Program as well as the ROAR program. Because of this, May 23rd was a great day for the Rotary Club of Beaumont. Rotarians and family members gathered at Martin Elementary School to assemble and distribute book bags for the students in their ‘Rotary Goes to School’ program. Martin Elementary students previously selected the books that they wanted to read during the summer break. This program supports one of Rotary International’s 7 Areas of Focus: Basic Education and Literacy.
Lynn Hill, Co-Owner of NuVation Tek, introduced Assistant Principal Angela Derry by reminding all of us of the many programs and projects that our Rotary Club has partnered with Martin Elementary. She reminded all of us of the profound impact that our community involvement has had on the students and the staff.
Angela graduated from Central High School, received her bachelor’s from Atlanta Clark University and returned to Beaumont to receive her master’s degree from Lamar University. She was a fourth-grade teacher at Martin, left to become an education diagnostician and returned as Assistant Principal.
Angela gave us a year of review of Martin Elementary. Since Martin had a TEA rating of F, the goal became that by May of 2023 the rating would be raised to at least a C rating from TEA. She reported exciting news that they not only met the goal but surpassed that goal and received a B rating for last school year.
Other goals were important for the success of the school. The Learner Experience goal empowers students through innovative learning experiences that amplify their voice and agency, while building conviction, culture, and community. They introduced a schoolwide Passion Day every Friday, providing students in grades 3-5 with the opportunity to explore their interest through a diverse range of electives. The aim was to ignite curiosity and enthusiasm for lifelong learning.
The Passion Block numbers tell the story of the program’s success. Attendance increased from 83.5% to 90.31%, reading scores improved 7.6% in grades 3-5, and Behavior incidents decreased in those grades by 5%. The number of students impacted by this program increased by 39% from August 2022 to March 2023. Students meeting the eligibility requirement increased.
We are so proud of the work that all the students, their families, and the Martin Elementary staff have done. They have shown that programs can work and that the goals can be exceeded. Ways in which Rotary can continue to help include teaching a class, providing resources, making monetary donations, making donations of items and supplies, and volunteer time. We are now an important part of this team. We have provided shoes, books, and most of all hope for these children. The recent pandemic was devastating to a school with problems, but the success of these initiatives proves that children benefit when the community becomes involved.
Thank you to Ms. Derry for speaking to us about Martin Elementary School. We look forward to more participation and collaboration and to watching these children become future leaders and innovators
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