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.
In breaking news on Friday, the world learned that President Donald Trump had tested positive for the Coronavirus. Within a very short period of time, historians were writing and sharing that this is not the first time a sitting President has become a victim of a severe illness during a pandemic. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson contracted the Spanish Flu that killed so many people during the span of February 1918-April 1920. A singular coincidence? Likely not. To confirm that speculation, we welcome local historian Judith Linsley to tell us of the many similarities and difference between what we are living through now and that of our predecessors in those early years.
A graduate of Lamar University with a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and a Master of Arts in History, Judith Linsley is an experienced and respected history researcher and writer. She has published extensively on the history of Beaumont and Southeast Texas, co-authoring “Beaumont: A Chronicle of Promise,” “The McFaddin-Ward House” and the award-winning “Giant Under the Hill: A History of the Spindletop Oil Discovery at Beaumont, Texas, in 1901.”
Linsley’s historical interests include the African American experience, women, nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Texas and oral interviews. In addition to her work with the Center for History and Culture, Linsley is also a researcher at the McFaddin-Ward House Museum, where she previously served as curator.
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Head Table for October 7
Invocation:
Rebekah Maxwell
Director of the Scholarships Office
Lamar University
Pledges to USA and Texas:
Jennifer Gregory
Human Resource Officer
Beaumont Housing Authority
Introduction of Guest Speaker:
Joanne Brown
Major Gifts Officer
Lamar University
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 OUR MEMBERS, CLUB MEETINGS WILL CONTINUE USING ZOOM UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.
27
Board of Directors meeting; 11:30 a.m.; hybrid meeting with no more than 18 in person; Zoom will accommodate all others (if you would like to join the meeting, ask Jacque for the link)
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Rotary's seven areas of focus which are categories of service activities supported by global grants:
Peacebuilding and conflict prevention
Disease prevention and treatment
Water, sanitation and hygiene
Maternal and child health
Basic education and literacy
Community economic development
Supporting the environment
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BOARD ACTION
Your engagement in the Club is of paramount importance to us. We will continue with weekly Zoom meetings until such time as it is determined to be safe for us to meet together in person again, and until enough members are comfortable with and want to attend in person. We will continue using Zoom at least through the end of October and the Board will reassess the situation at that time.
The small groups that gathered for "Fun & Fellowship Socials" in September enjoyed them a great deal. The Board will consider continuing these social gatherings in the future. Watch for announcements.
In Membership business, the Board terminated three members:
Becky Ames
John Arcana
Derwin Samuels
The Board accepted resignations from two members with regret:
Sue Bard
Ruby Martin
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There are still many days of cleanup, clearing and restoration to be done in southwestern Louisiana. If you can and want to volunteer, please contact the District 5910 coordinator, Ruth Leah Finkelstein Suhler, Assistant Governor, at leahone@aol.com.
Disaster Aid USA (DAUSA) is on site and coordinating the clean up in Lake Charles. It is a moving target as to where the site crew will be on any given day as it all depends on how much gets done each day. So, there are two options:
If you are not staying overnight, email me by 5:00pm the afternoon prior to the day you plan on volunteering. I will forward your information to the site coordinator who will email you back as to where to arrive.
If you are planning on utilizing the overnight accommodations available at the First United Methodist Church, please report directly to the Church which is located at 501 North Main, Vidor Texas. You will need to bring your own cot and bedding or sleeping bag. You will get your assignment at the Church.
General information:
Be sure to wear closed toe shoes.
Bring a pair of utility gloves.
Bring safety goggles.
Be careful.
Do not touch any downed power lines or phone lines.
Remember to lift using your legs.
Bug spray and suntan lotion will be provided, but if you can bring your own, that is appreciated.
Pandemic guidelines are your personal choice.
Please bring a wheel barrel/chain saw if you own one.
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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.
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.
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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PROGRAM REVIEW
September 30, 2020
"OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE:
PROVIDING A HIGH LEVEL OF WELLNESS"
DR. STEPHEN McKERNAN, DO
Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs Family Practice Progress
Sam Houston State University
College of Osteopathic Medicine
by Bobbie Applegate
The program for Osteopathic Medicine in the Texas State University System (TSUS) began its path to accreditation in 2013. In 2017 the TSUS Regents approved the new College at Sam Houston as the first official step in building the program. In 2018 the Texas Higher Education Board approved the plan and in May of 2019 the Texas Legislature and Governor gave their approval.
In September of 2019 full accreditation was given to the program and applicants were given interviews between October of 2019 and January of this year. Eventually, the program will build to 600 students. The first class was oriented the first week of August and the first day of class was August 10th. Seventy-five students are in the program.
The pandemic has had an impact on the program and curriculum changes had to be made to accommodate this first class. The students work in groups of 6-10. Safety measures were developed and in place on July 1.
A hybrid delivery is being used: pre-recorded sessions, in-person small groups for instruction in osteopathic and clinical skills and anatomy labs in groups of 10. This has increased teaching time for faculty from 6 to 12 sessions. No more than 20 students are allowed in the building at one time (2 groups of 10). Masks are required, social distancing is required, temperatures are taken upon entry and surfaces are sanitized between sessions. Working in small groups will help limit the number of students affected in case of a positive covid test.
In the Beaumont area affiliations have been secured with Baptist of SE Texas, Christus of SE Texas and the Medical Center of SE Texas. Legacy Community Health Center and Gulf Coast Health Center are federal agencies who will be affiliated with the program. Internal residency has been developed at Baptist and the first residents are expected in 2021.
In general, the program hopes to develop a strong core of General Practitioners for the rural areas and our communities at large. Recruitment is crucial to this program and there is a strong focus to recruit in the smaller communities of the state.
Rotary’s Bridget Johnson will be working as a coordinator for the program in this area.
View the virtual building tour of the College of Osteopathic Medicine
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