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, September 18, 2023.
Amanda Yarbrough
Executive Director
Beaumont Children's Museum
Amanda Yarbrough has been the Executive Director at the Beaumont Children’s Museum for the past 6.5 years, where she has worked with a team of staff and board members to impact our Southeast Texas families and schools with more interactive STEAM based opportunities, play, and fun!
Amanda believes that the future of Southeast Texas is in the hands of our children. She knows that their success begins with a good foundation of learning through interactive programs, inspiration for their future, and most importantly, imaginative play which is enhanced with the help of the Beaumont Children’s Museum.
Amanda joined the museum in May of 2017 and came with a wealth of non-profit and business management knowledge and experience from her time with BG Foods, the Julie Rogers Gift of Life Program, and the American Diabetes Association in Austin, TX. Amanda was among one of the recipients for the 40 under 40 in 2019. She is also one of the founding members of the Small Children’s Museum Texas Collective and spoke at the Association of Children’s Museums national conference, InterActivity, because of this group’s support structure for each museum. Locally, she organizes the Jefferson County museums quarterly meetings and manages the Museum Madness group marketing efforts with the Beaumont CVB. Her main goals focus on expanding the impact and reach of the Beaumont Children’s Museum by designing exciting new STEAM exhibits, growing educational programs, and creating sensational events that generate lots of enthusiasm through our greater SETX community.
Amanda juggles her professional and personal goals with her two children, Jaxon (12) and Linley (9). She is married to Blake Yarbrough for 16 years. Blake and Amanda came to Southeast Texas 12 years ago when Blake joined Motiva. She serves on the Nederland Little League Board of Directors, Nederland Education Foundation Board and is a member of the Junior League of Beaumont. Her family enjoys RV travel together while also hunting and fishing in the outdoors.
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September 20, 2023
Invocation
Virtue Alexander
Executive Assistant to the Mayor
City of Beaumont
Pledges to USA & Texas Flags
Mark Sonnier
Vice President
Coastal Industrial Services
Introduction of Guests
Nate Jennings
Sales Manager
Bill Clark Pest Control
Introduction of Speaker
Becky Mason
Retired
Please volunteer for Head Table responsibilities through the
The Board of Directors meets monthly and the meetings are open to all members. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 26. If you would like to attend the lunch meeting, please make a reservation in advance with the Executive Director.
Thank you to our sponsors who have generously shown their support for Wine Down With Rotary 2023.
We are looking forward to a great evening.
Please make sure to write down the name, phone number and return the stub.
Click on image to go to donation page.
If you have not yet purchased tickets, they are available at every meeting, by phoning the Rotary office at 409-842-1913 or by visiting the link on the website.
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ROTARY AFTER HOURS RECAP
Rotary After Hours was Sept. 14th 4:30-6:30 pm at the 17th Floor of Edison Plaza with Hancock Whitney as host. Light hors d'oeuvres and beverages was provided. It was a great turnout! Thank you to our sponsors for making this possible and to Ty Coudrain, Chair of the Rotary After Hours Committee and his committee.
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Would you like to be a part of the Rotary Holiday Chorus? Once again Rotarian Dr. James Han has graciously agreed to direct the 2023 Chorus which will perform at the Holiday Party. He is picking some great music. Don't miss out on the fun! Join now and invite family and friends too.
If you know of others who enjoy singing and would want to join us, please invite them. They don’t have to be Rotarians to participate. (Maybe they will be inspired to join the club if they enjoy it!)
The first rehearsal will be
Monday, September 18, 7:30
1665 Thomas Rd.
We will discuss our rehearsal schedule that evening.
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WALK TO END ALZHEIMER'S
Saturday, October 7, 2023
To order your shirt for this event, please click HERE.
John Lee introduced Diane Thompson, the Executive Director of the Big Thicket Association. Diane is home grown and was raised to appreciate our natural resources and how important conservation is. Her mom took her camping, hiking, bird watching, and anything else that involved outdoors. She became fascinated with birding in High Island and knew she wanted to become a park ranger. As a volunteer with the National Park Service, she took down old fences, put up new fences and cleared canoe trails which involved cutting fallen trees while staying out of the way of snakes and other critters.
The Big Thicket Association (BTA) was founded in 1964 and was key to getting legislation passed to establish the Big Thicket Preserve – the first National Preserve in the Nation in 1974. BTA is a Friends Group of the Big Thicket National Preserve.
The Big Thicket Field Research and Learning Center is the headquarters for scientific research. It is responsible for All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI). The ATBI inventories every insect, plant and animal. New species are still being found, and this is the place where the discoveries are documented.
The Ivory Bill is a pontoon boat that is used to provide tours of the Big Thicket Preserve. There are private and public tours. The local schools are given educational tours at no charge and the students can do lab experiments of water and organisms. Other tours include Watercolor Classes, Poetry & Art, History by the Texas Rivermen and Photography Classes. The floating classroom is an extremely important asset to students, and anyone interested in the waterways, marshes, and natural habitats. A new feature coming in November is a bus tour on November 4, 2023. Early Bird registration is thru October 21st and is only $30.00.
Big Thicket Day is November 7th and is a fundraiser for BTA. The community is invited to attend, and information can be found at www.bigthicket.org. Come be a part of one of the BTA experiences. We appreciate Diane and her passionate leadership. Take a ride on the Ivory Bill, go birding, go canoeing, take a bus tour and attend Big Thicket Day. Book your private parties, receptions and family fun tours. All of this is available right in our own back yard.
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