Thibodaux Rotary Club | Benjamin Bernard – WWII Reenactment
September 18, 2012
By: Kevin Gros
Tuesday’s presentation was by Benjamin Bernard, a sales representative from Hyundai of Houma and Living Historian. Ben is a native of Cut Off and now lives in Thibodaux with his wife Lara and son Logan.
Ben is a historian and when he’s not selling cars, he’s busy teaching history through living reenactments for the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Regional Reenactments, and visiting area schools teaching children about the life of the soldier in wars from the American Revolution, the Civil War, Vietnam and everything in between.
Ben has appeared in several History Channel programs based on World War II and the Vietnam War and assisted with the development of World War II Video games such as the popular “Call of Duty”. Ben’s grandfather was a Major in the Korean War and he became interested in war history at an early age. Ben has spent many hours with our fighting soldiers gaining an understanding of how war feels, and what is life really like for the men on the front lines.
Thibodaux Rotary Club – Lieutenant Colonel Chris D. Landry
September 11, 2012
By: Luci Sposito
Lieutenant Colonel Chris D. Landry is a native of Thibodaux, a 1980 E.D. White Catholic High School graduate, earned his BA from Nicholls State University in 1985, and later earned a Masters from Marine Corps University. He assumed his most recent assignment as the Deputy Operations and Plans Officer, G-3/5, Headquarters, Marine Forces Reserve in July 2011. He supervises the operational planning and employment of over 39,000 Marine Reserves to meet global demands.
Lieutenant Colonel Landry discussed the emerging security environment along with the sources of stress that are competing for resources including natural disasters, social unrest, hostile cyber activity, violent extremism (criminal, terrorist, religious), regional conflict, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and advanced weaponry in the hands of the irresponsible.
Statistics illustrate:
-70% of the world is water
-95% of international communications travels via underwater cables
-21 of the world’s 28 mega-cities are within 62 mi/100 km of the sea
-50% of the world’s population lives within 62 mi/100 km of a coast
-49% of the world’s oil travels through 7 major sea chokepoints
-42,000 trading ships are underway daily
-95% of the world’s commerce moves by sea
-95% of all commercial cargo travels through the littorals
According to Lieutenant Colonel Landry, a few of the matters worth considering are:
-China and the US are inextricably linked
-U.S. Military posture must be geographically distributed, operationally resilient, and politically sustainable
-U.S. must develop allies and coalitions
-Cyber security is critical to military operations and defense of homeland
He also discussed the pivotal role of the Asia-Pacific
-Twelve of the top 15 U.S. trading partners (import/export) are in Asia-Pacific
-From 2001-2010, approximately 70,000 people a year were killed in the Asia Pacific region due to natural disasters, resulting in -65% of world’s total death from such causes and approximately $35 billion of economic damage per year.
-Thirteen of the fifteen Megacities in the Asia-Pacific are within 100 km of the sea
-Fifteen of the world’s twenty-eight Megacities are in the Asia Pacific region
-Asia Pacific region contains 61% of the world population
-U.S. maintains five security treaties in the Asia-Pacific region
Lieutenant Colonel Landry discussed his experiences in Iraq and stated, “…I believe the military and all forms of government are strong… we are in good hands with those men and women in combat… they are doing an incredible job.”
He answered questions posed by the audience and stated that Bin Laden was just one target, but there were many other security issues to contend with regarding the Taliban. When asked about Iran, Lieutenant Colonel Landry stated, “We are keeping a close eye on things and that’s all I really want to say about that.” When asked if Pakistan was a friend or foe, Lieutenant Colonel Landry said, “It is not that simple to define as friend or foe. To be a friend, one has to find mutual goals and that is difficult in Pakistan.”
Finally, Lieutenant Colonel Landry explained that marine recruiting is successful and a recruiting goal has never been missed. His presentation ended with a standing ovation from our members.
Thibodaux Rotary Club | Education: Roast & Toast | Diane T. Martin and Linda V. Thomas
August 21, 2012
By: Amy Connor-Flores
Tuesday’s speakers were Diane T. Martin and Linda V. Thomas, co-authors of the book Education: Roast & Toast: Anecdotes of 60+ years of Teaching. Martin and Thomas shared with us a light-hearted glimpse into their process of pulling together laughable stories and experiences from their years of teaching and ultimately publishing a book.
Martin attended LSU and received her B.A. from Nicholls State University. She studied rhetoric at Purdue University in Lafayette, in and completed a writing seminar in Copper Mountain, CO for Colorado State University. She is certified in English, composition, speech, and ESL. She has taught fourth graders through college freshmen in Louisiana and speech therapy for Onslow School District in North Carolina. She calls Morgan City and Napoleonville, LA home.
Linda V. Thomas received a B.A. from Nicholls State University and is certified to teach English, French, and ESL. She has studied French at UL Lafayette, Université Catholique de L’Ouest in Angers, France, and Université du Québec à Trois-Riviéres in Québec, Canada. She has also taught elementary, high school, and adult French classes. She lives with her husband, Deeda, in Berwick, LA.
For many years Martin and Thomas taught across the hall from each other, meeting at lunch and after school to “cuss” and discuss the backward evolution of education. Long before their retirement they set out to “write the book” on the hilarity that is seen in the world of education.
Over the course of 2 ½ years the two worked diligently (and sometimes not-so-diligently) to compile a book full of anecdotes highlighting the eccentricities, vulnerabilities, and imperfections of educators and students seen over their shared 60-plus years of experience. The book is a tongue-in-cheek exploration of the comical adventures, unpredictable mishaps, and baffling challenges that teachers encounter on a daily basis. 
It reinforces the notion that simple communication really can be stifled by misinterpretation. Education: Roast & Toast: Anecdotes of 60+ years of Teaching can be purchased from local booksellers as well as on Amazon.com.
