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.
Ron Saikowski's interest in wine began at an early age. He credits his mother with providing his first lesson on wine, but that's a story for a different occasion. Ron is a native Texan, born and raised in Wichita Falls. He is a Texas Tech Red Raider, graduating in 1973 with a degree in Civil Engineering.
Ron’s wine interests peaked after selling his consulting engineer firm in 2003. Ron has made numerous week-long trips to California visiting various wine regions for the purpose of enhancing his wine knowledge. He interned at Alexander Valley Vineyards as a “cellar rat” and at Bernhardt Winery as an “assistant winemaker.”
Ron has been a wine columnist for 15 years, initially writing weekly wine columns in The Courier which eventually resulted in a syndicated wine column in Hearst Publications. As a result of his wine writing, he received the 2010 Texas Wine Media Award from the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association.
If Noon is not too early in the day for you and you are working, or not working, from home, you are welcome to open a bottle of your favorite Texas wine and enjoy a glass or two while learning about the best of Texas wines. Salute!
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Head Table for October 28
Invocation:
Pledges to USA and Texas:
Lynn Hill
Co-Owner
NuVation-Tek
Introduction of Guest Speaker:
Lynn Castle
Executive Director
Art Museum 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)
October
For the health and safety of members, CLUB MEETINGS WILL CONTINUE WEEKLY USING ZOOM until further notice.
27
Board of Directors meeting; 11:30 a.m.as a hybrid meeting; there will be no more than 16 people (in addition to staff and tech crew) allowed to attend in person; Zoom will accommodate all others. If you would like to join the meeting, ask Jacque for the link.
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Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans. It is a time to honor and recognize the sacrifice made by these men and women, and their valor and unselfish courage.
In honor of veterans, the Rotary Club of Beaumont will put flags at homes and businesses on Wednesday, November 11. Volunteers and trucks are needed. Please bring gloves and a hammer. With an early start to the day, your route will be completed and you will be at work before you know it!
Please call Pat Anderson (409-782-4057) or Gary Moncla (409-781-3778) and volunteer!
We want you!
We need you!
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Would you like to be a part of the Rotary Holiday Chorus? Vocalists will perform solo in the comfort of their own home, recording himself/herself singing the selected music to the accompaniment that will be provided. The music will be sent to each recording artist. Once you have made your recordings, you will send the video to Dr. James Han, who has graciously agreed to arrange it into a beautiful video recording that any Club can use for a 2020 Holiday Party. Join now and invite family and friends too. (Please sign up each person separately.)
Congratulations to President Cindy Cherry who graduated from the District 5910 Rotary Leadership Institute! If you want to learn about the Leadership Institute, give Cindy a call. She would love to share about it with you.
That is Cindy on the far left of the third row of pictures.
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Chad Mason
October 28
Paul Skinner
October 29
Robert Kocot
October 30
Toby Castro
October 31
Dean Conwell
October 31
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CELEBRATING
ROTARY ANNIVERSARIES!
We celebrate your
membership in our Club!
Charlie Weinbaum
October 26, 1949
71 years
Dan Jeans
October 28, 2009
11 years
Tim Sudela
October 28, 2009
11 years
Mellie Bevilacqua
October 29, 2014
6 years
Carly Broussard
November 1, 2017
3 years
Frank Eastman
November 1, 1981
39 years
Joe Fisher
November 1, 1981
39 years
Jane Burns
November 2, 2010
10 years
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It is with great sadness
that we acknowledge the death of
Honorary Member
Marie Broussard
September 6, 1934 - October 23, 2020
Marie Broussard became an Honorary Member
of the Rotary Club of Beaumont on June 30, 2008.
She will be greatly missed.
May she rest in peace.
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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.
All Rotarians
especially those who are unable to attend meetings via Zoom
We miss you and look forward to when it will safe for Rotary 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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Rotarians, we really need you to become a part of the weekly meeting! Very few people are volunteering for the head table assignments and we spend a lot of time each week trying to recruit talented Rotarians! 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.
The 49-year-old David Toups, the youngest diocesan bishop in the United States, was our speaker last Wednesday. Bishop Toups was installed as the bishop for the Beaumont Diocese on August 21st, and immediately faced a challenge on his first day in the position – Hurricane Laura was about to make landfall forcing him to close everything down in the diocese. He decided to go to the nearest body of water and pray for protection, which took him to the Neches River. His prayers were answered, for Beaumont, that is, as it was spared the devastation that Lake Charles experienced from the storm. He told us God gets all the credit for the protection, not him.
He then spoke about a letter the Pope wrote to the world recently in which he used the Latin phrase “Fratelli Tutti” which means “Brothers and Sisters All.” His point was that it seams we have lost a sense of respect in the world today. He said just imagine if everyone returned to a sense of respect for each other, what an impact that would make. If we are united, we can make a significant impact and he said that Rotary does.
Then the bishop addressed the pandemic by pointing out some of the good things that have come out of the quarantine. People have recognized the importance of family and friends and the need to simplify our lives. But there are a lot of people alone and feeling lonely – you just cannot replace human interaction. He stressed that we need to have patience with ourselves and others, that we need to give others a wide birth. These are difficult times; we should not take it personal.
He then quoted Christ’s words that we should keep in mind during this difficult time – “Be not afraid.” He said that if you can go to HEB and get groceries, you can go to church and get fed. We should encourage people to get back to church. Jesus didn’t intend for us to be Christians in isolation. He asked what’s the worst that could happen – we could die. Then he made the point that we are here to get out of here. People of faith are expected to be leaders in society. We need to remember the words in scripture – if God is with us, who can be against us.
Bishop Toups finished by saying he is happy to be here. He said that he wants to be a Barnabas for our area. The name Barnabas means “Son of an encourager.” He said we are all in this together, we are all vulnerable, and we must work together. He wants to help us work together.
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Link to the Zoom page which includes this and the recorded meetings for October - December 2020.
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