Monthly Archives: November 2014

Trees – November 18

Scott Courtright Rotary     On Tuesday, November 18, 2014, the members of the Rotary Club of Thibodaux had the privilege of meeting, once again, Scott Courtright, who spoke to us on trees.
Mr. Courtright is well-versed in trees as he has earned a B.S. in Forest Management. He is also a licensed arborist and is a member of the Louisiana Urban Forestry Council and the American Society of Consulting Arborists.
Trees have three parts. The crown is the top of the tree and the condition of the crown allows arborists to make evaluations on the health of the tree. The second part is the stem or trunk. It is the most abused part of the tree. The third and final part is the root system. There are anchoring roots as well as fibrous hair roots.
There are many things to consider when one desires to plant a tree. Each tree fits a certain space. One must look at the amount of space allowed to plant the tree as well as factors such as the PH level of the soil, saturation level and the overall expected growth of the tree. An interesting fact that Courtright taught us is that we can determine how far the root system of a tree will extend out in a particular area by multiplying the height of the tree one and a half times.
Trees can be separated into two categories. Trees are native or non-native. Native trees are naturally occurring trees in a particular area. A few examples in South Louisiana are the southern magnolia and the live oak. Non-native trees are not naturally occurring in a particular area. A tallow tree is an example of such. Natives are much easier to obtain and have a higher success rate when planted.
Another important factor to be considered when one desires to plant a tree is to know the planting season. In Louisiana the planting season is from November to March. Thus, now would be the time for all Rotarians to plant their favorite native tree.

November 4 – Board Updates and Nicholls State Football

Rotary President Sandy Holloway provided an update of club activities at our last meeting, and here is a brief recap of items addressed:
• Amy Flores and Laynie Barrilleaux are in charge of the second grade Child Literacy and Nutrition Project proposed by District Governor Proctor. Thibodaux Regional has sponsored the project and will provide the funds necessary to purchase 4 books for each second grade student in all Lafourche public, parochial and charter schools.
• Kathy Benoit is still accepting names for volunteer positions for the organizational chart. We ask that each member consider volunteering one hour of their time for one project which Rotary assists in during the year.
• Dino Benoit and Kathy Benoit have club volunteer shirts to purchase for any members interested. Please see Dino for the order form.
• Janice Tregre is in charge of the food bank drive this year. We ask members to bring any contributions to our meetings on November 11th and November 18th.
• Bryce Ledet and Sandy Holloway also recognized Lenny Waguespack and Patrice Oncale for sponsoring new members who have recently joined our club. Also recognized for sponsoring new members were Laynie Barrilleaux, David Waitz and Preston Lejeune whom were unable to attend.
Skipper Holloway is asking for members interested in becoming Paul Harris Fellows to participate in “Groups of 5.” This is a process where five rotary members make commitments to donate $200 / year for five years. Each year, one member of the group is chosen as a Paul Harris Fellow until all five members have become Paul Harris Fellows.

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Steve Axman spoke briefly at our past meeting and is serving as the interim head football coach at Nicholls State University. Coach Axman has coached quarterbacks for the majority of his 41 year career, and spent eight years as the head coach of the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. One notable student of Coach Axman while he was quarterbacks coach at UCLA was Troy Aikman, who enjoyed a 12 year career in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys.
Coach Axman has filled in since Coach Charlie Stubbs’ resignation due to health issues, early in the season. Unfortunately for the NSU football program, injuries to key players have depleted the depth on the team, and wins have been hard to find.
For the future of the program, Coach Axman stressed the importance of hiring a head coach that can build solid relationships with the high school coaches along the I-10 corridor from Houston to Biloxi. His opinion is that a great recruiter must be hired as the next head coach to build a program the can be competitive in the Southland Conference.

Rotary District Foundation Chair – November 11, 2014

??????????The Rotary Club of Thibodaux was honored to have Greg Landry speak to us about the Rotary Foundation. Greg is a member of the Lafayette-North Rotary Club and has served as club president, assistant governor and governor.
The Rotary Foundation was established by Rotary International to give away money and grants for various activities. One-Hundred percent of the money donated is held for three years and then given away. There are many ways for a Rotarian to donate, but the easiest way is online. The goal of our district Rotary organization is to have each member donate $100 per year to the foundation. A donation of $100 makes the donor a sustaining member. A cumulative donation of $1,000 makes the donor a Paul Harris fellow.

The following Thibodaux Rotarians were awarded their first Paul Harris pins:

??????????Sheard Ber
Ron Bourgeois
Jay Griffin
Claudio Guillermo
Larry Howell

In addition, Lainey Barrilleaux was awarded a Paul Harris +1 stone and Jennifer Ledet was awarded a Paul Harris +3 stone.
Sandy and Skipper Holloway were acknowledged as Major Donors. Greg Landry informed us that the Thibodaux club had donated $153,000 since the inception of the foundation. If every member in our district was a sustaining member, the district would be donating $243,000 to the foundation, of which, half is returned to the district in the form of grants.
The Rotary Foundation has three main areas of focused. The first one is Polio Plus which is an effort that was start in the nineteen eighties to eradicate polio. There are now only three countries in the world that have polio and the fight continues. The second area of focus is establishing Peace Centers around the world to train individuals in peace and conflict resolution. There are six peace centers around the world. The final area of focus is global and district grants.
Greg Landry encouraged all Rotarians to donate to the Rotary Foundation where the money is put to good use.

 

St. Francis Vegetable Garden – October 28

Kimber Ratcliff and Gkimber radcliffermaine Jackson – October 28, 2014

Kimber Ratcliff was the guest speaker on Tuesday, October 28, 2014. She represented the St. Francis Vegetable Garden. She is originally from Texas but has been living in Thibodaux with her family. She is a master gardener who has worked with the LSU-Ag center. Along with Chris Ledet, she helped found the St. Francis Vegetable Garden. The garden aims to provide fresh vegetables to local people in need and also to provide a place for children to learn the importance of growing and consuming fresh food.
The garden was made possible by the willing support of many people. Kimber said the Mayor was very responsive to the idea, and the City of Thibodaux provided the property and the water for the garden. Numerous families, non-profit groups, high school and college organization, and corporations donated financial support and hard work to help with planting, maintenance, and harvesting.
Last season the garden produced 2600 pounds of fresh food that was donated to the local Good Samaritan Food Bank. The volunteers grew many things including squash, zucchini, cucumber, pumpkin, corn, watermelon, and other vegetables. The garden is now in it’s second growing season and the support for the garden continues to grow. More information on the garden can be found on their Facebook page.
Germaine Jackson is a Thibodaux native who works as the Director for Social Services for Catholic Charities in the Houma/Thibodaux area. She spoke about the important mission of the Good Samaritan Food Bank. She expressed excitement for the fresh produce that the garden was now producing and reported that all the produce was given to families in the area. She also noted that Lafourche is the only parish in the state with a community garden whose produce goes directly to a food bank.

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