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.
Though we are warned not to believe everything we read online, the astonishing data reported by a multitude of agencies and organizations is so overwhelming that it cannot be ignored either.
Just what is the state of mental health in Beaumont or Jefferson County? Moreover, what can be done to help individuals living with the illness obtain the treatment they need? To learn more, come hear Dr. Michael Gillespie, Medical Director of Behavioral Health at Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas at the Rotary meeting on November 20.
Dr. Michael Gillespie, MD is a psychiatry specialist in Beaumont, and has been practicing for 3 years. He graduated from University of Texas Medical Branch in 2014. Dr. Gillespie will be introduced by Mary Poole.
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CALENDAR OF ROTARY EVENTS
(Club events & opportunities for meeting makeups)
NOVEMBER
19
Board of Directors meeting, 11:45 a.m. at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas
21
Foundation Board of Trustees meeting, 11:45 a.m. at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas
27
No meeting - Thanksgiving holiday
DECEMBER
4
Election of 4 Board members and a Foundation Trustee; at meeting (A member must be present to vote.)
14
Salvation Army Red Kettle Bell-Ringing; 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.; Parkdale Mall, Food Court entrance
17
Board of Directors meeting, 11:45 a.m. at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas
17
Holiday Party; Amelia Farms and Market; 6:00 p.m.; make reservation and purchase tickets online or at meeting
18
No meeting; please attend Holiday Party as the meeting for the week
25
No meeting; Happy Holidays!
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Election for 2020-2023 Board of Directors and Board of Trustees
On Wednesday, December 4, the membership will elect four Rotarians to serve on the Club's Board of Directors and one new trustee for the Beaumont Rotary Foundation. The newly-elected will serve for a three-year term beginning July 1, 2020.
The Nominating Committee selected qualified candidates who will appear on the ballot. A sample ballot will appear in the next two RotaryGrams and will be available at the Club meeting on November 20 as well.
You must be present at the meeting on December 4 to cast a ballot, so please make plans to attend.
As you consider your vote, please remember that according to the Club bylaws, a person must have been elected to a 3-year term on the Board of Directors to be selected to serve as Club President. Article 3, Section 4 reads: ".. the president-nominee shall have been a director elected by the membership at some time previous to his or her election." In other words, you could be voting for a future club president!
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How do these 3 pictures go together? And how can you be a part of it? On Thursday, November 21, the Interact Clubs will have a district-wide mixer. As part of it, they will learn a little about the South East Texas FOOD BANK and what it does to help in our area. They will be collecting and packing items for the Food Bank to include in their Thanksgiving boxes. We need CAKE MIXES, ICING, and SPRINKLES. Please consider donating to this effort. Bring items to the meeting on Wednesday November 20 and drop them in the collection box at the door. Thank you!
You hear it everywhere - that ding-a-linging at the doorway of a business.
Every year, nearly 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army in the form of meals, shelter, after-school programs, job referrals, youth shelter intervention programs, rehabilitation services, and more. The gifts you help collect through the Red Kettle will enable these local Salvation Army programs and services to continue providing help and hope to those in need.
For a number of years, the Rotary Club of Beaumont has been one of the many organizations that tend a booth at Parkdale Mall and participate in the collection process. It is a demonstration of "Service Above Self."
Stephanie Shoemaker is our Chair and Phil Dunlap is assisting her. They ask you to sign up in advance for the hour(s) you can help on Saturday, December 14. We need you! Please go to the online sign-up or add your name to the paper list at the meeting this week, or phone the Rotary Office (842-1913) to volunteer an hour. Thank you.
It's the most wonderful time for the year! To celebrate together is a special highlight of the season! There will be delicious food, fabulous music by the Rotary & Friends Chorus, and friends to share in the merriment! Those in attendance get to hear first the announcement of who will become the 2021-2022 Rotary Club of Beaumont President. You don't want to miss!
This year, we will participate in the Home Instead Senior Care program which will be providing gifts to the seniors in the areas. Pick a tag from the tree at the Club meeting, purchase and bring that item to the Holiday Party. You do not need to wrap the gift, just put the tag on it and holiday elves will take care of the rest!
Reservations can be made at any of the Rotary meetings, by phoning the Rotary Office at 409-842-1913, or online through our event page. Reservations need to be made by Wednesday, December 11 so don't hesitate!
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Did you enjoy a particular wine that you tasted at Wine Down With Rotary? Or perhaps you had to miss the event but would like to taste a wine that was served.
Would you like to serve some delicious wine at your Thanksgiving meal?
Do you need some to serve for your holiday party?
Would you like to give a bottle as a holiday gift for a neighbor or friend?
We have bottles of both red and white wine left from Wine Down With Rotary and we are making them available for a minimum donation of $25 for reds and $15 for whites. Please call the Rotary office at 409-842-1913 if you are interested in purchasing one or more bottles. At the same time, you will be making a donation to the Beaumont Rotary Foundation!
The white wines are already chilled! Let the party begin!
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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.
Rob Glassey
Roy Huckaby
If you know of others who should be added to this list, please advise the office staff at 409-842-1913.
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Jeff Beaver
November 19
Jim Broussard
November 20
Tim Gaddis
November 20
Dan French
November 21
Kevin Dodson
November 22
David Locke
November 23
Charlie Weinbaum
November 23
Glenn McWherter
November 24
Ana Pereda
November 24
Larry Beaulieu
November 25
Carol Fernandez
November 25
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PROGRAM REVIEW
November 136, 2019
"We've Got A Lot on Our Plate!"
Dan Maher
Executive Director
Southeast Texas Food Bank
by Paula Bothe
Rotary was in a celebratory mood today with recognition of President Joe Domino’s birthday, and the addition of new Paul Harris Fellow Gary Moncla, and a second Paul Harris by Rebecca Maxwell and Wesley Shipley. Also noted were the accomplishments of the greatest number of flags ever distributed on one of the "Show Your Colors" days and the largest number of volunteers ever putting them out.
Ellen Zimmerman gave a brief introduction of our guest speaker, Dan Maher, Executive Director of the Southeast Texas Food Bank, “The hidden gem” of the fight against hunger in our area. Mr. Maher proceeded to “unhide” the gem with a presentation called “We’ve Got A Lot On Our Plate.”
Mr. Maher clarified the mission of the Food Bank stating that the Food Bank is not in competition with other charitable organizations, but rather the facilitator of distribution. The Food Bank does not give food directly to the needy, but supplies those organizations that do. Only in emergencies such as tropical storms does the Food Bank deal directly with the hungry. After Imelda, lines for direct distribution stretched more than a mile in each direction in front of the facility.
According to our speaker, there is great diversity of hunger that includes children, the elderly, the working poor, and grandparents. He related that the new definition of hunger in America is “food uncertainty or insecurity” and that it affects 21 percent of the population.
The Southeast Texas Food Bank is part of “Feeding America” that consists of 200 Food Banks across the country. To be designated a member a Food Bank must be “strong enough to serve a portion of a state.” For that reason, the Southeast Texas Food Bank moved from being a satellite to Houston and became a stand-alone operation serving eight counties.
Food insecurity affects fifteen percent of the people in America. Twenty three percent of the people in Jefferson County and twenty seven percent of the children under eighteen years of age are affected. In Sabine County, that rate reaches thirty two percent. Mr. Maher does not consider those numbers depressing. Rather, he finds them motivating.
Statistics show that it only costs $2.95 to put a meal on the table in our area. More people are affected than ever and there is a shortfall of approximately five million dollars in Food Banks nationwide.
Some people misunderstand the function of the Food Bank on Martin Luther King Boulevard. The staff and volunteers do not provide meals. It provides a network based largely on faith based organizations and schools that solicit, gather, collect, coordinate, re-package and redistribute free food provided by retailers such as HEB, Kroger, and Wal-Mart that provide consumables at no cost. The Food Bank also has a leveraged labor pool of volunteers without whom the mission would be impossible. In addition to providing food to charitable organizations, the Food Bank also provides elementary school children with evening and weekend meals and gives school supplies to those most in need. They also assist in enrolling families below the poverty level ($20,000 per year for a family of four) in programs such as WIC, SNAP and CHIP. In addition, they provide nutrition information to the families.
Currently, a new 70,000 square foot warehouse better equipped to accommodate freezer/coolers than the existing facility is planned for construction adjacent to the current location.
The Food Bank’s Giving Community Campaign in cooperation with KBMT TV will continue through December 19th.
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You hear it everywhere - that ding-a-linging at the doorway of a business.
Did you enjoy a particular wine that you tasted at Wine Down With Rotary? Or perhaps you had to miss the event but would like to taste a wine that was served. 
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