Chris Draths is a fourth generation Beaumonter and, while trained as an RN, she has been an active volunteer in the community. She admits her most rewarding and interesting work is with foster children as a CASA volunteer.
On Wednesday, Chris will join us as spokesperson for the Magnolia Garden Club, a civic organization focused on conservation, education and horticulture. The Magnolia Garden Club has formed a partnership with the city of Beaumont to construct The Wetlands Education Center at Cattail Marsh. Cattail Marsh, located in Tyrrell Park, is an amazing habitat for many of our native species, a safe landing zone for migrating birds and a perfect example of mankind interacting with nature in a positive way. It is a precursor of future innovative environmental solutions worthy of national attention. Today, Cattail Marsh is a wildlife refuge for a variety of aquatic mammals and more than 250 species of birds annually, including: pelicans, egrets, roseate spoonbills, ducks, ibis, doves and red-winged blackbirds. Let’s explore our own backyard and discover its hidden treasures.
Not to spoil a secret but everyone attending the meeting this week will receive a copy of a beautiful book of photos of this Beaumont attraction and the treasures found there. If that's not enough, the centerpieces will be given away to several lucky winners! How nice! You certainly don't want to miss Rotary this week!
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MEMORIAL RESOLUTION PRESENTED
Since the earliest days of the Rotary Club of Beaumont, it has been a tradition to record the passing of a member into Club history with the writing of a Memorial Resolution to document his/her service and contributions. The reading of the Resolution is an opportunity to reflect on the good deeds and significant impact the Rotarian had on the Club and the community. The formally printed document is given to the family members, added to the Club's archives, and entered into the records of the Tyrrell Historical Library.
On May 9, the club will recognized the life of former Rotarian Louis Henry Beard.
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Head Table for May 9
Invocation:
Jim Baxter
RCIA Director
St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church
Pledges to USA & Texas Flags:
Beakal "B. K." Alemayehu
Managing Partner
Ethio Texan, LLC
Introduction of Guests:
John Rollins
Public Relations/Community Impact Director
United Way of Beaumont & North Jefferson County
Introduction of Guest Speaker:
Lynn Castle
Executive Director
Art Museum of Southeast Texas
Would you like to take part in the weekly meetings in a more active role? Don't wait to be asked. Volunteer for one of the weekly assignments! Choose your role and a date that is convenient. Contact Barry Bryant at 409-656-4108 or bbryant@billclarkbugsperts.com.
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CALENDAR OF ROTARY EVENTS
(Club events & opportunities for meeting makeups)
MAY
22
Board of Directors meeting, 11:45 a.m., Art Museum of Southeast Texas
28
Flag Distribution for Memorial Day; 5:00 a.m., Dishman Scout Office on Cardinal Drive at Fannett Road
31
Rotary After Hours, 5:30-7:00 p.m.; Beaumont Childrens Museum
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WE DID IT! WE had excellent involvement from the club to the Membership Survey!
Thank you to all Rotarians who participated in the Strategic Planning process by completing a Membership Survey. Your input is helpful as we move forward with this important Club process.
The winner of the gift certificate from Debb's was selected by random drawing done at the meeting on May 2 by our speaker, Chris Hebert. And the winner is . . . Alan Sampson.
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The South Park Community Garden is an initiative by Lamar University and the Greater South Park Neighborhoods Partnership to provide access to gardening space, training and nutritious food for local residents and students.
As a Quarterly Service project, the Beaumont Rotary Foundation purchased and donated fruit trees which were planted last Saturday. Soon the garden will be growing satsumas, peaches, blackberries, blueberries, figs, loquat, and grapefruit. Delicious!
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Spindletop Soap Box Derby Pit Crew!
The dark skies and a little rain did not dampen the mood of Rotarians as they prepared and served food to Spindletop Club Rotarians who were hard at work running races at the annual Spindletop Soap Box Derby. Chair Allan Higgins worked for days in preparation and arrived early each day with coffee and breakfast items for those preparing for the day. With his classy pit, Gerald Condon of Collision & Classics, took care of the cooking and providing the delicious food and that special aroma of outdoor cooking. Rotarians were on task and served the workers burgers and smoked boudain along with words of encouragement and support.
2018 Chair Allan Higgins
Pictured here are chef-extraordinaire Gerald Condon (far left), his assistant, Gary Moncla (in front, right) with Chair Allan Higgins (on the right-back). More photos on Facebook and here.
Thank you to Allan Higgins, Gerald Condon, Pat Anderson, Lynn Castle, Deborah Drago, Steve Gilbert, Rob Glassey, Jennifer Gregory, Fred Kristiansen, Rebekah Maxwell, Allen Lea, Gary Moncla, John Rollins, and Laura Winegeart.
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Thank you to Dan Jeans and The H.O.W. Center of Beaumont for the donation of $100 to the Beaumont Rotary Foundation. The 2017 H.O.W. Center Golf Tournament was a successful event and when he promoted it last year as Rotarian of the Day, Dan promised to make a contribution of a portion of the proceeds if Rotarians were involved playing in the tournament and sponsoring holes. His donation this year is in advance of the 2018 event which will take place on Saturday, June 9 when he would welcome your participation once again.
Dan Jeans, Executive Director of the H.O.W. and Diane Bass, Secretary of the HOW Board of Directors presented a check to President Tim Sudela.
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LOOK WHO'S IN THE NEWS!
This was taken on April 20 at Martin Elementary as Rotarians finished taking the children's orders for summer reading books for our literacy project underway at the school. The children are from one of the first grade classes.
Members of the Rotary Club of Beaumont recently visited Martin Elementary to distribute books and promote literacy.
- Beaumont Enterprise, May 5, 2018
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Joe Fisher
May 8
Debbie Frazier
May 9
Gary Moncla
May 9
Todd Simoneaux
May 10
Sam Fazio
May 13
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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 and support.
Rob Glassey
Jay Johnson
Roger McCabe
Michael Wolf
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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You are invited to attend District 5910 Family of Rotary Social as we travel to see the Astros v. Red Sox baseball game at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
WHEN? Sunday, June 3, 2018 @ 6:35 PM
HOW MUCH ARE THE TICKETS? $66.00 per person
(Astros ticket sales are nonrefundable.)
May I invite my spouse, children, grandchildren, friends? Yes
WHO DO PAY? Lufkin Rotary Club
WHERE DO I MAIL MY CHECK*?
Mail to:
Jayne McCurry
1207 Wildbriar Drive
Lufkin, TX 75904
(*Lufkin Rotary takes checks only. No credit cards, debit cards, or Pay Pal)
WHAT IS THE DEADLINE TO GET TICKETS? May 15, 2018
YOUR CHECK MUST BE RECEIVED BY MAY 15, 2018. Tickets will then be ordered as a group and picked up at Minute Maid Park upon your arrival.
Vernon Pierce, a now out-of-work Rotarian (aka retired), introduced our dear friend Chris Hebert. Vernon presented him with a Certificate of Appreciation for being the most requested speaker. Chris manages the TropicsWatch team and is StormGeo’s lead hurricane forecaster. When he is not forecasting hurricanes, he is busy with cyclones and other major storm formations.
Chris gave us a historical perspective of past storms and how they rank. He provided pictures of our most recent storms - Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria. This was a very active storm season as we all know in our area. Hurricane Harvey was a rare event – never seen before as far as the trajectory, the slow movement and the amount of rainfall. Fifteen or more cities received twenty-five or more inches of rain. It was a 5 in 10,000 event and hopefully will hold this record for another 10,000 years.
Due to the devastation and magnitude of the storms, the following names have been retired for 2017 – Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate. They will no longer be used for an Atlantic tropical storm or hurricane.
Chris knows that we were all interested in the forecast for this 2018 hurricane season. Unfortunately the predictions are a little unreliable during the months of April and May. So the best he could do was let us know that we could have 13 named ntorms, 7 reaching Category 3-4, and 4 could be intense. That is the best he could do at this time. Stay Tuned! These are only important if they come to our area, so hopefully they will all go to a thinly populated region and travel quickly with little rainfall.
We always look forward to a visit from Chris. We know that he will be invited back to share his vast knowledge of storms past and future. Now is the time to prepare and we certainly should have experience in how to do that.
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On May 9, the club will recognized the life of former Rotarian Louis Henry Beard. .jpg)
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WE DID IT! WE had excellent involvement from the club to the Membership Survey
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