Jamie Smith found his way to the Jefferson County District Clerk's Office after a path that took him from serving in the U.S. Army, to work in the Sheriff's office, then as a classroom mathematics teacher and a school coach, and lastly, a Beaumont City Council Member for seven years. He was elected to the position of District Clerk and took office on January 1 of 2015.
Most of us likely know the District Clerk's position administers the Jury pool upon which the court system relies. But do you know the other responsibilities of this important office in the Jefferson County Courthouse? Come learn about the functions of the office and the goals District Clerk Jamie Smith and his staff have to improve the operation and services they provide to Jefferson County residents.
Rotary Goes Home, the popular fun event where the weekly Rotary meeting is moved to Rotarian homes, will take place October 26- 30. We have some very gracious members who have volunteered and are hosting some fun events! Sure hope you reserved your place. Watch for more information via email from your host.
Thank you to Becky & Chuck Mason, Lynn & Kris Castle, Mellie & Sam Bevilacqua, Lori & Allan Higgins, Sheree & Vernon Pierce, Connie & Paul Szuch, Elizabeth & Gene Arnold for your gracious hospitality. We are looking forward to it!
The next project work the Club will take on is "Brush With Kindness" for Habitat for Humanity. This wonderful effort will involve building wheelchair ramps for those people who cannot get out of their own homes due to stairs or steps on the entry ways.
With enough people, it should be a "Done in a Day" project. Good feelings for your work should be priceless and will last much longer than one day!
Chair Shannon Williamson will explain more at upcoming meetings but plan now to give "Service Above Self" to someone who needs you.
Watch this video from Lincolnshire on their involvement in the "Brush With Kindness" program. It will convince you to come out and help with our first Habitat "Brush with Kindness" project on Saturday, October 24.
Nominations Requested for Coveted VOCATIONAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS
In recognition of “Service Above Self,” the Rotary Club of Beaumont will recognize and honor individuals who exemplify a “service above self” attitude in their vocation on Wednesday, November 18.
These coveted awards are given annually to community members who demonstrate exceptional service, honesty, and friendliness in performing their jobs.Some past recipients describe receiving this honor as "a treasure," "very special," and "the only time I've received anything like this."
With the chosen date so near Thanksgiving, it will be a wonderful time to give thanks for the good work of others in our community.
We appreciate your support of this honor with your nominations of deserving people who you have come in contact with through your business transactions. Please submit your nomination to Jane Burns at email jane@wdjcpa.comby Friday, November 6, 2015.
Interact and Rotaract clubs are joining together to pack toiletry bags for local youth rescued from human trafficking. Please help by saving small personal care items such as soap, deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, lotion, ponytail bands, combs, and hairbrushes. You can bring donations to any meeting and we will see that it is given to the youth organizations.
Our speaker today was Kirk Blackard from the "Bridges To Life" Prison Program. Mr. Blackard was introduced by Uliana Trylowsky. Jesse Doiron, a long-time member of the "Bridges To Life" program and Uliana's husband, accompanied today's speaker.
Mr. Blackard is the current Chairman of the Board of the "Bridges To Life" Program, a restorative justice program that got its start here in Beaumont at the Richard P. LeBlanc State Prison. "Bridges To Life" is a faith-based program offered in 50 Texas State Prisons.
The LeBlanc Unit is a Pre-Release Substance Abuse Program with 1,224 inmates/offenders. LeBlanc is one of the largest prison programs in the world.
Mr. Blackard spoke of "recidivism" which is the rate at which paroled offenders are returned to the prison as the result of committing new crimes or violations of the conditions of their parole. Using his current statistics, Kirk stated there are 160,000 offenders (male & female) in Texas State Prisons on any given day (this does not include city, county, and Federal facilities). According to Mr. Blackard, the national recidivism rate is 45%, the recidivism rate for Texas is 34%, 14 % for those who complete rehabilitation programs, and 3% for those who have participated in and completed the "Bridges To Life Program."
"Bridges To Life Program" is designed to accomplish several objectives:
this process offers a measure of peace/comfort/healing to victims and /or the victims' loved ones.
this process is designed to awaken empathy in the heart of an inmate/offender through a 14-week program (4 hours per week). It involves a specific text along with homework assignments and classes which lead the inmate/offender into a forum, where they can be confronted by the families and/or the victims of similar crimes that resulted in the incarceration of the offender.
We are very grateful to the many Rotarians and friends who are sponsors and underwriters for the event, and promised to acknowledge their generosity throughout the month of October. Please click on image below to read it full screen, and patronize these businesses if appropriate and otherwise express thanks to those individuals who made such significant donations.
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