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.
"American conductor Chelsea Tipton, II, has won over audiences and critics alike with his vibrant musicality, accessibility, versatility, and commitment to Arts education. He is in his twelfth season as Music Director of The Symphony of Southeast Texas and seventh season as Principal Pops Conductor with New Haven Symphony Orchestra." That quote is taken directly from the Symphony of Southeast Texas' website, but you need to read the entire page to fully appreciate the magnitude of influence Chelsea Tipton has had across the United States and Europe where he toured and performed with Pop artist Sting. He continues to be in great demand as "Resident Conductor," "Associate Conductor," and "Guest Conductor" of symphonies around the United States. By attending a SOST performance you see how he mesmerizes and captivates the audience, teaching how to appreciate the music. How fortunate we are to have him as Musical Director of the Symphony of Southeast Texas!
Moreover, we love and admire him as a member of the Rotary Club of Beaumont!
As our speaker, Maestro Tipton will tell about the upcoming 2020-21 Season for the Symphony of Southeast Texas - OUR Symphony. He will tell about the Classic series, the Pops Concert series, and the special holiday program planned for this year's ticket holders. Brighten up your day on Wednesday by hearing delightful musical clips from some of the scheduled shows, and then make plans to attend. Though required accommodations will be in place to protect guests' health and safety, the show must go on!
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Head Table for September 16
Invocation:
Nakisha Burns
Beaumont Area Public & Government Affairs Manager
ExxonMobil
Pledges to USA and Texas:
Virtue Alexander
Beauty Consultant & Director
Mary Kay Cosmetics
Introduction of Guest Speaker:
Douglas Fair
Executive Director
Symphony of Southeast Texas
If you would like to serve on the head table at a date in the future, please sign up online at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904054ba5a62fa3f49-head or phone chair, Mandy Clayton at 409-718-7056 or email arclayton@lit.edu
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CALENDAR OF ROTARY EVENTS
(Club events & opportunities for meeting makeups)
September
FOR THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF OUR MEMBERS, CLUB MEETINGS WILL CONTINUE USING ZOOM UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
22-24
Rotary Socials; various days, times and locations; sign up system will be available soon
26
"Sleep in Heavenly Peace" project; 8:00 a.m.-Noon
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As you well know, Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, as a strong Category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph. We waited and watched as Laura cut her way across the Gulf of Mexico and soon Beaumont was named as her target. Things got serious indeed. Thankfully for us, with a slight change, Hurricane Laura continued her path of destruction into Louisiana. With grateful hearts for our own good fortune, we now hurt for all those in Louisiana who are in recovery mode from the destruction of Hurricane Laura.
Understanding what they are going through, many Texans have stepped up to offer assistance to our neighbors. The Rotary Club of Beaumont has been collecting a vast array of supplies and monetary donations since late August. The Plant Manager of Goodyear Chemical, Michael Lockwood, is a friend of Rotarian Lynn Castle, and when he heard of our effort from Lynn, he made a huge donation of water, work gloves, cleaning tools like brooms, rakes, shovels, etc. from the plant.
We are finally able to deliver your generous gifts and those from Goodyear! On Tuesday, September 15, members Pat Anderson, Chris Ayers, and Gary Moncla are loading two trucks and a panel van with the items we have collected. (They are leaving at 9:00 in the morning so if you want to contribute still, please bring your donations to the Rotary office before 9:00 a.m. tomorrow!)
If you would like to make a monetary donation still, you have a few more days to do that, but please send it in by Friday. We will be sending the Lake Charles Rotary one check, combining all cash or check donations received. The Lake Charles' Board of Directors decided the Lake Charles Club will match our club's donation dollar-for-dollar and it will all be donated to help restore St. Nicholas Center which serves children diagnosed on the autism spectrum. They provide speech, occupational, and physical therapy. The Center, located in Lake Charles, was completely destroyed, disrupting life and learning for nearly 200 children and parents who rely on the services of this center. Their website says:
On August 27th, Hurricane Laura blew across Lake Charles, leaving very few structures standing. Unfortunately, where SNC’s roof once was, there are now gaping holes and punctures. Laura’s rains flooded all portions of the building, saturating therapy tools and supplies on which the SNC children heavily rely. We lost 95% of our contents including all of our technology, therapy materials, furniture, and office equipment. We now have to replace 2 roofs, 8 air conditioning units, Cat 6 wiring for our IT, all camera systems for our 80 rooms, sheetrock, insulation, and flooring throughout the center, and restructure the outside of our warehouse. In addition, all of the children and staff members have been displaced from their homes, many losing everything.
If you can, please consider donating to help get our kids back into their much needed therapy as quickly as possible. (http://www.stnickcenter.org/)
Thank you to everyone who donated supplies, gift cards, or money to this disaster relief effort. Thanks to Pat Anderson, Gary Moncla and Kevin Reed for helping pick up the very large donation from Goodyear. Thanks to Angela Baker for helping to organize and pack the donations. And, a big thanks to Chris Ayers, Pat Anderson and Gary Moncla for transporting the donations to Lake Charles.
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Can you imagine your children or grandchildren having to sleep on the floor every night? It's hard to believe that there are hundreds of children in our local area doing that. The request for beds is staggering! Let's do something about that staggering number. A local non-profit named "Sleep in Heavenly Peace" is working diligently to construct twin beds and fulfill the needs. A mattress and bedding is also given to each child so they can sleep in their own bed "in heavenly peace."
Chair John Lee has arranged for Rotarians and friends to work together at the assembly warehouse at 2950 Milam in Beaumont. No tools are needed and no carpentry skills are required! Wear your "Rotarian at Work" shirt and come get a little sawdust in your hair and let's see how many beds we can complete that day. Work will begin at 8:00 a.m. and last until Noon. Children and teens are invited to take part too, but a parent must be present with each minor child.
We need two dozen or more volunteers in order to get a lot done! The work takes place in a warehouse with open doors, and social distancing is always the practice. Sign up online please at: SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE.
If you cannot work on September 26 but would still like to help, we would welcome your donation of a "bed-in-a-bag" twin-size linen set. They can be found at WalMart for $30-$35. Bring it to the Rotary office (Room 213 in the Elegante Hotel) and we will be happy to deliver it to the charity for you.
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THANK YOU, FLAG VOLUNTEERS!
Thank you to the Rotarians who demonstrated "Service Above Self" by posting 470 flags for "Show Your Colors" subscribers on Patriot Day.
We are appreciative and proud of this team:
Virtue Alexander
Allan Higgins
Bill Allen
David James
Pat Anderson
Dan Jeans & Paula
B. Eddie Arnold
Robert Kocot
Larry Beaulieu
John Lee
Brad Brown
Chuck Mason
Kris Castle
Gary Moncla
Cindy Cherry
Lane Olson
Ty Coudrain
Michael Perez
Deborah Drago
Vernon Pierce
Phil Dunlap
Kevin Reed
Carolyn Fernandez
Alan Sampson
Rene Greenwald
Amber Sawyer
Jennifer Gregory
Tim Sudela
Mark Hall
Dana Timaeus
Chuck Heare
Ellen Zimmerman
Gary Hidalgo
You are great examples of Service Above Self!
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Martin Elementary School students in grades 3-5 will soon have new challenges!
Last year, when the chance to apply for a second District Grant became available, then President-Elect of the Rotary Club of Beaumont Cindy Cherry met with school principal Dr. Tamara Long and Assistant Principal Ariane Moore (pictured left to right in the photo) to determine if there was a way the club could assist in challenging the students to reach higher goals with reading. The administrators were quick to say that they needed classroom sets of classic children's literature to enhance the reading curriculum. With the help of a District Grant and discounted purchasing from Barnes & Nobles Booksellers, the children will soon be reading and doing projects from their reading assignments of Charlotte's Web, Hidden Figures, Ramona the Pest, Because of Winn Dixie and more.
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Rotarians, we really need you to become a part of the weekly meeting! Sign up for a role at the virtual head table at an upcoming meeting. Look at your calendar and select a date that is convenient for your schedule. Red Badges are strongly encouraged to volunteer for this opportunity so you can move closer to your blue badge and members can get to know you better too.
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.
Karyn Husbands
All those affected by Hurricane Laura
in southern Louisiana
We miss you and look forward to when we will be able to meet in-person again!
If you know of members who should be added to this list, please advise the office staff at 409-842-1913.
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PROGRAM REVIEW
September 9, 2020
"Answering Needs Amid the COVID Pandemic"
Robin McCutcheon
Executive Director
Samaritan Counseling Center
by Marianne Laine
On September 9, 2020, Rotary welcomed Robin McCutcheon, a Southeast Texas native, as the guest speaker. Robin is the Executive Director of Samaritan Counseling Center of Southeast Texas, a nonprofit counseling organization that uses the concept of mind, body, and spirit to promote the healing and growth of people and the reconciliation of couples, families, and organizations. Samaritan has served Southeast Texas with mental and behavioral health services since 1984.
Robin is a Lamar University and McNeese State University graduate. Her career has spanned public school teaching to regional, state, and national educational consulting and, among other things, she has worked in higher education.
Robin’s lecture focused on how her mission has changed since the onset of the COVID19 pandemic, which has been coined the “disease of despair” because it deals with depression, addiction, anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. More specifically, Samaritan has seen a 10% increase in clients who use fee assistance for mental health services and a 12% increase in Medicaid clients. Totaled, this reveals that more than 1/3 of clients have obtained some form of assistance for mental health services. This trend is expected to rise as long as the COVID19 pandemic remains in effect. Additionally, Robin noted that she has seen an increase in family units seeing counselors.
The increase in clients/patients is not only due to COVID19, though the pandemic certainly has exacerbated existing issues, and it has caused health care and mental health workers to significantly modify how they help the community. Robin explained that many Southeast Texans have endured different types of trauma beyond physical and social distancing including: grief/loss, accidents, financial hardships, neglect/abuse, violence, and natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods. Samaritan therapists are seeing complex trauma (i.e., exposure to varied and multiple and traumatic events), PTSD (evidenced by flashbacks, nightmares, and uncontrollable thoughts) and catastrophic trauma (trauma with no end in sight, such as the current pandemic).
Robin next offered strategies for coping with the current state of affairs. Some include yoga, counseling, and taking a few minutes each day to “check-in,” meaning that a person should set aside a few moments each day for a break, to meditate, or to mentally decompress from the stresses of the day. Lastly, she informed Rotary of a free mental health screening available to the public. The online screening is available on Samaritan’s website and is completely anonymous.
Robin encouraged us all to “allow a childlike moment to come through,” meaning that if, we, as adults, can step back and view life through the lens of a child, we might experience each new day as it is; that is, with more optimism and less despair.
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Link to the Zoom page which includes this and the recorded meetings for July-August 2020.
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