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.
RYLA 2019 is now part of the history of Rotary District 2019 but it is a vivid memory for the many Rotarians who attended the Camp the weekend of January 11-13. For the students, the "RYLA-rians," the experience, the lessons learned, the friends made, and the skills developed are all a part of the very fabric of their being. They will forever remember what they learned.
Because of the generous donations of Rotarians to the Beaumont Rotary Foundation, the Rotary Club of Beaumont was able to send 16 students to the weekend camp. We hope each one will be able to join us for our meeting on Wednesday, January 16. We look forward to meeting them and hearing what they learned and how they were changed by participation.
Leading the presentation will be Randy Shelton, RYLA Chair for the Club and Michael Perez, District 5910 RYLA Chair.
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Head Table for January 16
Invocation:
John Bullard
Partner
Orgain Bell & Tucker, LLP
Pledges to USA & Texas Flags:
Kathy Chessher
Specialist, Community Events
American Cancer Society
Introduction of Guests:
Deborah Drago
Executive Director
Southeast Texas Nonprofit Development Center
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 Lynn Hill at 409-781-3291 or lynnhillbd@gmail.com.
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CALENDAR OF ROTARY EVENTS
(Club events & opportunities for meeting makeups)
JANUARY
17
Installation celebration for Beaumont United Interact Club; 4:30 p.m.; at the school
21
Show Your Colors Flag project for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (makeup for September 11th delivery)
22
Board of Directors meeting; 11:45 a.m. at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas; please make a reservation by Friday, January 18
30
Rotary Goes to Work! No meeting at the Eleganté today.
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ROTARY DUES ARE DUE!
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PLEASE SAVE THE DATE
The Board of Directors set Monday, January 21, 2019 as a "Show Your Colors" Flag day in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. While this date is not normally observed with the flag display, the cancellation on September 11th was to be made up on December 7 when yet another cancellation had to be made due to rain. Please save the date of January 21 and plan to volunteer if you are able.
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January 30: Rotary Goes to Work!
Where will YOU attend YOUR meeting?
Our 1.2 million-member organization started with the vision of one man—Paul P. Harris. The Chicago attorney formed one of the world’s first service organizations, the Rotary Club of Chicago, on 23 February 1905 as a place where professionals with diverse backgrounds could exchange ideas and form meaningful, lifelong friendships. Rotary’s name came from the group’s early practice of rotating meetings among the offices of each member.
In the initial years of the organization, Rotarians learned about one another and the various diverse professions of the members by meeting in the offices, factories, businesses and firms of the club members. How about doing as one of the original members did back in the early 1900s?
DEADLINE TO SIGN UP IS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23.
Please sign up before the deadline to help the hosts with planning food/lunches.
SIGN UP:
HOSTS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30
Liz Fredrichs
Better Business Bureau of Southeast Texas
550 Fannin Street, Suite 100
Beaumont
Learn what the BBB designation means. Lunch will be served!
Josh Smith
Bill Clark Pest Control, Inc.
2975 N. 11th Street
Beaumont
Fried bugs may not be on the menu, but a yummy lunch will be served!
Natalee Hinson
Bonne Vie
8595 Medical Center Boulevard
Port Arthur
If you work in the mid-county area or would like visit one of the newest facilities, please attend. Lunch is being prepared for you!
Chad Mason
Mason Construction, Ltd.
6285 Walden Road
Beaumont
Come learn about Mason Construction and how they use all that heavy equipment! Perhaps you will "construct" your own sandwich.
Kevin Dodson
Reaud Honors College / Lamar Univeristy
985 Gilligan Way
Beaumont
Now's your chance to be an LU Honors student for a day! Come learn about the Honors curriculum and how these professionals serve the students. Lunch will be provided.
Michael Perez
Thrive Mortgage
2 Acadiana Court
Beaumont
Come get answers to your many questions about the lending business. Lunch will be served with Blue Bell ice cream promised for dessert!
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FEBRUARY 13: Club Service Day
Indeed, “Rotary has heart,” and the Rotary Club of Beaumont has a BIG heart, giving time and resources in Service Above Self year round. How appropriate that we designate a date close to Valentine’s Day as our Club Service Day, providing hands-on service to multiple projects and collectively having a BIG impact!
We have plans for several different hands-on service projects to work on and possibly complete on Service Day. The first priority is to assemble 150 Layette bags for women and children of Nicaragua. Everyone will have the opportunity to roll up his/her sleeves and lend a hand to this project, funded in part with a grant from District 5910.
If you sit on a board or work with an agency in Beaumont that has a need for help with a hands-on project to be done that day, please contact Joy Walker or the Rotary office to learn what will be needed to be included. Joy can be reached at revjoywalker@aol.com or 1-318-426-6136.
Plan now to bring co-workers and friends with you to the meeting on February 13 as the more hands and hearts we have working together, the more we will be able to accomplish on this day of service!
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Meet the Newest Rotarians in our Club!
The Club welcomed four new members at the meeting on Wednesday, January 9, 2019! It certainly was a great way to start the new Rotary year!
Amber Clark has been eager to join Rotary since starting a new position as Program Director at Girls' Haven which certainly keeps her busy. She is also a member of Southeast Texas YPO and is a member of the Lamar University Alumni Advisory Board. In addition, Amber enjoys family time with her husband and two children, music, and exercise.
Robert Kocot, Jr. is not new to Rotary; he was a member of the Vidor, Orange and Port Neches clubs before joining our club. And he may look familiar to members because he joined the Rotary Chorus for the Holiday Party performance! A Lamar University alumni, Robert is Market President for First Financial Bank, N. A., active in his church, and enjoys playing guitar with the special talent of doing so left-handed! He has two children born twenty-one years a part, and is planning to welcome his second grandchild in February.
Robert Laughlin is a graduate of Southern Mississippi, where he played football and competed in powerlifting. After college, he moved to Vina Del Mar, Chile, confident in a Spanish vocabulary of 50 words and went on to earn a Masters degree in Latin American studies while playing rugby against the team that later became the 2011 National team for Argentina Rugby Club. Robert is an IT Consultant for National Networks in Nederland and continues his dedication to fitness and athletics by coaching youth teams.
Tisha Self is a graduate of San Diego State University and returned to the Beaumont area in 2005. After working for twenty years in the family business of David Self Ford, Tisha began a new career in commercial real estate. She is a commercial realtor with Coldwell Banker Commercial Arnold & Associates, and is a member of the professional organizations for realtors. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, gardening and fishing, but is mostly excited to serve with Rotary!
Welcome to all four of the newest Rotarians in the world!
Pictured left to right: Joe Domino, President-Elect and Orientation Chair; Lynn Castle, President, new member Robert Kocot and sponsor Brad Brown; new member Tisha Self with sponsor Angela Baker; new member Robert Laughlin with sponsor Gigi Mazzola, and new member Amber Clark with sponsor Brenda Gray.
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Brenda Gray
January 15
Barry Bryant
January 16
David Shoemaker
January 19
Diane Bass
January 21
Mary Ellen Robertson
January 21
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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, support and good wishes.
Ruby Martin
Alicia McKibbin
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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PROGRAM REVIEW
January 9, 2019
"Using Social Media to Market Your Business or Non-profit Organization"
Rebekah Maxwell
Owner
ReStep Marketing
by Bobbie Applegate
Rebekah began her speech with the question “Is social media a fad?” She gave us some great information to consider and get started if willing. Looking at some numbers to answer this question is the following: It took radio 38 years to contact 50 million people, television took 13 years, and Facebook took one year to contact 200 million.
Questions that are usually asked by potential clients revolve around achieving a return on the investment to put a program in place, how to engage the public, how to respond to negativity on line and how to create a positive contact.
In order to receive a return on investment there are requirements: time and effort, learning about what platform is best and consistency in its usage. In order to learn about the best platform for a business or non-profit group, the organization must first use the platform to see how it is working. Depending on the platform a schedule of daily, weekly or other time period contact should be discussed.
To engage in social media, the group should pick a platform (Facebook, You Tube, Instagram, Twitter or the many other variations that exist). Due to the fact that Facebook is the most commonly used platform the Facebook Page for business or non-profits was discussed. There is no limit to likes or friends. In order to utilize this platform, the following points should be considered: keep it simple, respond and by being personable and not “sales” oriented, use the event tool and share relevant information and give the credit to whatever the source of that is. The use of 40 characters has been found to be the best length for engaging the most people.
While responding to negative posts, it is important to listen carefully, respond in a timely manner, be human, transparent and never negative, respond publicly even if it is to say a further answer will be answered offline. It appears to be important to know when to engage negativity and when not.
Contact can be created by showing pictures of the company or employees, asking questions to those looking at their page, giving important information and sharing other posts.
The following might assist a company or organization in creating a Facebook Page:
What is your main focus?
How to do you serve others?
What organizations are you involved in?
What are the most common questions about your business?
Looking at these questions may help create posts for up to a week.
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Amber Clark has been eager to join Rotary since starting a new position as Program Director at Girls' Haven which certainly keeps her busy. She is also a member of Southeast Texas YPO and is a member of the Lamar University Alumni Advisory Board. In addition, Amber enjoys family time with her husband and two children, music, and exercise.
Robert Kocot, Jr. is not new to Rotary; he was a member of the Vidor, Orange and Port Neches clubs before joining our club. And he may look familiar to members because he joined the Rotary Chorus for the Holiday Party performance! A Lamar University alumni, Robert is Market President for First Financial Bank, N. A., active in his church, and enjoys playing guitar with the special talent of doing so left-handed! He has two children born twenty-one years a part, and is planning to welcome his second grandchild in February. 
Robert Laughlin is a graduate of Southern Mississippi, where he played football and competed in powerlifting. After college, he moved to Vina Del Mar, Chile, confident in a Spanish vocabulary of 50 words and went on to earn a Masters degree in Latin American studies while playing rugby against the team that later became the 2011 National team for Argentina Rugby Club. Robert is an IT Consultant for National Networks in Nederland and continues his dedication to fitness and athletics by coaching youth teams.
Tisha Self is a graduate of San Diego State University and returned to the Beaumont area in 2005. After working for twenty years in the family business of David Self Ford, Tisha began a new career in commercial real estate. She is a commercial realtor with Coldwell Banker Commercial Arnold & Associates, and is a member of the professional organizations for realtors. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, gardening and fishing, but is mostly excited to serve with Rotary!
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