"Canadian - US Trading Partnership & the Keystone Pipeline"
The Honourable Paula Caldwell St-Onge
Consulate General of Canada, Dallas
The Beaumont Business Journal recently reported on the completion of the Gulf Coast Project on the Keystone XL Pipeline from Canada to Nederland. An honored guest on hand for that special event was the Canadian Consul Paula Caldwell St-Onge. We are delighted to welcome her back to the area and especially honored that she will speak to the club about the Keystone Pipeline and the Canadian-US relationship.
Paula Caldwell St-Onge was appointed Consul General of Canada to the South Central United States in the summer of 2010. She was Minister Counsellor (Trade) at the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City from 2008 to 2010. She served as Consul Senior Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Consulate in Sao Paulo, Brazil from 2005 to 2008.
Formerly, Ms. Caldwell St-Onge was Director General at Environment Canada of Federal National Programs on Enforcement, Environmental Assessment and Emergency Management and Security.
During the Installation of President Vernon Pierce, he announced the Rotarians who are assuming roles as Lane and Committee Chairs for the 2014-15 Rotary year. We thank them for their service and following the Rotary practice of never declining the opportunity to serve.
Because of new procedures being implemented by Rotary International regarding dues payments, the Club must tighten up our practices of dues collection as well. Invoices will be sent earlier, as they were in June, and payments will be expected within 30 days. Those who have not paid on the first day of the dues cycle will receive a repeat invoice. The Board will review membership payments monthly.
Invoices for July-December 2014 dues were sent electronically to all active members on June 2. Please check your email for it. If you did not receive the invoice, you will want to check your "spam" folder or phone the office. If you need a paper copy of your invoice sent to you or your company's accounting department, please contact the office at 842-1913 for assistance.
President Vernon has said his main goal is to grow the club with increased attendance and participation in projects. It will take a commitment from every member to help him reach his goal. Mark your weekly calendar as "Rotary meeting" on Wednesday and come enjoy lunch, fellowship and a great program!
Welcome to the Beaumont Rotary Centennial Playground!
Have you visited the Centennial Playground lately? If so, you have seen, and surely admired, the newest addition. We now have some great looking signs welcoming the visitors, thanking our major donors and commemorating the facility as the club's 100th anniversary project.
If you haven't been there, pack a picnic and the kids or grandkids and go enjoy a great summer day!
Ask any student who has lived in another country for an entire school year, or ask any family that has hosted an international student for a few months about their experience. Without exception, they will describe it as life changing.
Rotary’s ideals include “the advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace” – and how better to accomplish that than by sharing your home with a student from another country for just a few months?
Our club will be hosting a young lady, Tatarina, a 16-year-old from Brazil for the next school year. We must find families who are willing to let this student be a part of their family for three to four months during the coming year. Rotarian Rene Greenwald and his wife, Liliana, have agreed to host for the beginning months of her stay.
We still need two host families who will welcome Tatarina into their home for the remainder of her stay. Please consider this wonderful opportunity for you and your family or suggest it to someone you know. The host families do not need to include a Rotarian to serve as a host.
Read the testimonials of current and recent exchange students who have stayed in our district by clicking this link: SitePage/youth-exchange-program. Families who have hosted a student report that their own children were deeply enriched by the experience as well.
Would you consider hosting a student for a portion of the next school year? Do you have any ideas of other families that might consider it? Email Jacque (admin@beaumontrotaryclub.org) or Lauren Brooks if you would like more information or know of other families who might be interested.
Before coming to the meeting, clean out your desk drawers and the drink holders in your vehicle, and bring it into the meeting. Feed the Polio Pig! The effort to eradicate polio from the globe will continue until complete.
Dollar bills and your checks to The Rotary Foundation are accepted too!
Does adherence to the Four Way Test become part of a Rotarian's life, or does one become a Rotarian because of adherence to the Four Way Test? That could be a good philosophical discussion sometime! But without regard for the title on the publication, the local news features Rotarians who are considered to be highly ethical and doing great things in our community.
We turn the spotlight on some of those Rotarians recognized in the media lately.
Carol Fernandez, President and CEO of Catholic Charities, was selected to be a panelist of the Women in Leadership Symposium of the Texas Diversity Council.
Kevin Dodson was appointed Dean of the Honors College at Lamar University.
Jim Rich was named recipient of the Marvin Hurley Award, the highest recognition given to a Chamber executive by the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives.
While every firm's initials would not conjure up the same slogan, the firm of Wathen, DeShong & Juncker has used W, D & J to stand for "Wearing, Duds & Jeans for Charity." Cute, clever, and the best part of all is that the Beaumont Rotary Foundation was selected as recipient of the employee donations generated from participating in Friday casual wear, which along with a company match totaled a whopping donation of $422.50. That will go a long way toward one of our service projects funded by the Beaumont Rotary Foundation. Thank you W, D, & J!
For more information on the initiative (an idea of Uliana Trylowsky and Habitat for Humanity) and how your company can participate, please contact the Rotary Office.
Luke Legate is a consultant for G. Fox Consulting in Austin, Texas. Some of his responsibilities include media relations and strategic development for the Texas Oil and Gas Association. He gave an enlightening presentation regarding the energy industry in our state.
Some of his facts and figures include:
In 2004, Texas had a $16B shortfall and in 2013, Texas had an estimated $18B surplus. This difference in the financially stability of the state is due to the economic recovery which has been spearheaded by oil and natural gas exploration, drilling and refining.
The oil and natural gas industry owes all of its success to ‘fracking’ and horizontal drilling. Fracking allows producers to tap dry wells and use a combination of explosives and pressurized materials to force pockets of oil and gas to a well head. Horizontal drilling allows drillers to drill down 10,000 feet and over another 10,000 feet to be able to tap an area the size of a quarter.
Current markets for oil and gas production include the Eagle Ford Shale which encompasses 20 counties, the Permian Basin, the Barnett Shale, and the Bakken Oil Fields in North Dakota.
The total production in some of the fields was as little as 1,500 barrels per day 7 years ago. Today, their production is upwards of 2 MILLION barrels of oil per day.
Finally, 7 years ago, companies in our area were building facilities to import natural gas to the U.S. However, because of new advancements in existing technologies, our area is building facilities to export natural gas to Asian and European markets.
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