Thibodaux Rotary Club
Mandy and Shay Holloway-The Non-Profit Organization, Refuge 127
November 6, 2012
By: Amy Connor-Flores
Our guests on November 6th were Mandy and Shay Holloway, owners of Mandylens Photography and founders of the non-profit organization, Refuge 127.
Shay, the son of Skipper and Sandy Holloway, graduated from Thibodaux Christian Academy in 1996. He attended NSU and received an undergraduate degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in Industrial Design in 2002.
Mandy is the daughter of Tom and Ann Buisson. She graduated from E.D. White in 1999 and received her undergraduate degree in Art from NSU in 2004. The two have received acknowledgements for their work including the Bobby Jindal
Community Support Award in 2011 and have been named the Best Photographers in Lafourche Parish in 2011 and 2012. Mandy and Shay have three children and two foster children. Mandy is an active community volunteer and Shay leads Dave Ramsey classes which assist families and finances.
They also volunteer photography services for children who are up for adoption in our area as well as those who have been diagnosed with cancer.
Mandy and Shay spoke to us about their organization, Refuge 127, on which they both serve as Board Members and Shay serves as Treasurer.
Refuge 127 Ministries is a Christian-based organization located in Thibodaux that reaches out to local orphans and foster children of the Lafourche Parish Juvenile Justice Facility since 2009. It’s name is inspired by the bible verse James 1:27 regarding visiting and helping to care for orphans.
They provide skills training, bible studies, visitation resources and foster care for children that have been removed from their homes due to abuse, neglect, or the death of parents or guardians. “127 Kids” is a program under Refuge 127 that links church families with children in the Juvenile Justice Facility and encourages them with notes, letters and treats that are delivered on Monday nights.
Prayers are said for each child and gifts are sent on birthdays and holidays to show the children that there is a family that loves and cares about them. “Michael’s Home” is another portion of Refuge 127 that provides an alternative for individuals to transition from foster care to a safe home rather than having to return to the harmful environment that they came from. Their goal is to break the generational cycle of poverty and help these individuals to become successful while allowing God to heal them.
Refuge 127 is also making an impact in improving the quality of life for the impoverished people of Mbale, Uganda in Africa. The city has over 1600 orphans. The organization is currently helping to build the HOPE REFUGE SCHOOL, which will ultimately include 25 buildings for the housing of orphans, medical facilities, and classrooms.
A water well was recently completed which provides clean water to over 5000 people. The first four buildings on the grounds have been completed thanks to recent donations by Refuge 127, which inspired the naming of the school.
Various fund raisers are organized to help with the expenses of Refuge 127 Ministries including the annual Tour of Homes, a semi-annual Zumba event called Zumba Love, and Grace Dolls, which Mandy is currently patenting. These adorable plush dolls will include a children’s book written to educate about orphans.
For more information on the programs above visit www.refuge127.org or find them on Facebook.
Robert Travis Scott-President Of The Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana (PAR)
October 30, 2012
By: Amy Connor-Flores
Robert Travis Scott is currently the president of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana (PAR). Before joining PAR, Scott worked for 14 years at The Times-Picayune.
It was here where he received awards for his political, business and investigative reporting. Scott also served as a business editor, columnist, and investigative journalist for a non for profit think tank based in Washington, D.C.
PAR (Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana) was founded in 1950 and is a private, nonprofit, non-partisan public policy research organization. It focuses on the most pressing problems of state and local governments in Louisiana. Through PAR’s research, the organization recommends ways of solving these problems.
Although PAR does not lobby, PAR’s research gets results. Many significant governmental reforms can be traced to PAR recommendations. Through its extensive research and public information programs, PAR contributes constructive ideas and solutions to the mainstream political thinking.
The primary purpose of PAR is to educate the media and public officials’ accurate and objective information on these problems and well as specific recommendations to solve these issues.
PAR differs from other organizations through the following:
- PAR is an independent, unbiased source of information on state and local government issues.
- PAR’s only business is research.
- PAR does not lobby or have a PAC, believing that the best way to improve government operations in Louisiana is through an informed citizenry. Louisiana government will never be any better than its citizens demand.
- PAR’s recommendations are not determined by its members or its board, but by the findings of its research studies. PAR’s research program is not designed to support a predetermined point of view but to find the truth.
- PAR can and does tackle issues others can’t or won’t.
- No other group does what PAR does the way PAR does it.
Louisiana has a significant number of far-reaching problems that require study. PAR has a full research agenda planned. Permeating the list are problems that have plagued the state for a long time: the tax structure, education and governmental ethics. Louisiana needs PAR today for the same reason it did 50 years ago.
PAR also prints out a guide to voting as well as information on the amendments being proposed for that specific election. They also provide an updated handbook known as “The PAR Guide to Louisiana Legislature”
To order additional guides contact PAR at (225) 926-8414 and for more information on PAR please visit their website at
PAR Guide to the 2012 Constitutional Amendments
1. Medicaid Trust Fund for the Elderly
2. Strict Scrutiny Review for Gun Laws
3. Earlier Notice of Public Retirement Bills
4. Homestead Exemption for Veterans’ Spouses
5. Forfeiture of Public Retirement Benefits
6. Property Tax Exemption Authority for New Iberia
7. Membership of Certain Boards and Commissions
8. Non-Manufacturing Tax Exemption Program
9. More Notice for Crime Prevention District Bills
Flip Out Over Uganda’s Hope Refuge Orphanage School | BCA’s Early Act Club
October 5, 2012
The Early Act Club is pleased to announce our first service project of the year. Our project is titled, “Flip Out Over Uganda’s Hope Refuge Orphanage School!” This is an international project that our club will take part in for the purpose of providing flip flops to the Hope Refuge Orphanage School in Uganda.
If you choose to participate, you may donate any new flip flops from now until October 31. Although we ask the flip flops to be new, you may prefer to purchase less expensive pairs, which we recommend. Stores such as Wal-Mart, Fred’s, and Family Dollar usually have inexpensive flip flops. Mrs. Sandy Holloway, our director, will travel to Uganda in January and bring all the collected flip flops to the orphanage.
We would like to inform you of the tentative service projects that we have planned for this year. The projects are as follows:
September/October – Flip Flop Collection for Uganda Orphanage
November/December – Thibodaux Toy Drive Collection
January – Collection of Items for Children’s Hospital
February – Valentine Cards for Heart Patients at TRMC
March – Mardi Gras Bead Drive for Granier Industries
April/May – Hope for Animals Collection
As always, thank you for your support. With your help, we can truly live up to our motto, “Come to Learn. Learn to Serve.”
Thank you,
Mrs. Tabor, Ms. Prejean, Mrs. Bryan
Early Act Sponsors
BCA’s Early Act club is sponsored by the Thibodaux Rotary Club.
Thibodaux Rotary Club – Helen Terrebonne
September 25, 2012
By: Amy Connor-Flores
Helen Terrebonne, with Crossroads Crisis Pregnancy Center spoke to rotary on Tuesday to give an overview of the Center’s mission in the community. Helen grew up volunteering for many different organizations and has been helping to empower women through Crossroads since she was hired as an executive assistant in 2010.
Crossroads is located in downtown Thibodaux and is an education and counseling resource for women who are vulnerable to choosing abortion due to unplanned pregnancy. The organization is 10 years old and is the first of its type in the Bayou Region.
Founded in 2003 by a hotline volunteer, Crossroads has served over 1800 clients in our area and welcomed approximately 800 babies into its family. More than 3000 Crisis Pregnancy Centers of this type exist nationwide.
Thibodaux Rotary Club | LA Secretary of State J. Thomas “Tom” Schedler
September 25, 2012
By: Jamie Gros
J. Thomas “Tom” Schedler was born and raised in New Orleans. Upon graduating from De La Salle High School in 1967, he went on to receive his Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 1971.
Schedler first started his legislative career when he was elected in to Louisiana State Senate in 1996, where he served three terms representing Senate District 11 in St Tammany and Tangipahoa Parish. He received numerous awards and honors during his career; such as: Legislator of the Year, Republican of the Year, as well as champion of business several times over.
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.
Thibodaux Rotary Club | Glen Duncan Business Development Director for Global Environmental Solutions, Inc.
August 14, 2012
By: Luci Sposito
Glen Duncan, Business Development Director for Global Environmental Solutions, Inc. and co-creator of the new state flag, presented the history of the 200 year old flag and described the re-design process.
Duncan explained that Joseph Louviere, an eighth grade student from Vandebilt Catholic High School, researched the state flag and it was determined that there were multiple versions. Louviere persuaded legislators to more adequately outline requirements of the flag and in the 2006 legislative session, a bill was passed with specific requirements for the official state flag.
In 2008, Duncan asked Secretary of State, Jay Darden, to allow him to take on the task of redesign; believing that it was simply a matter of adding three drops of blood to the existing official flag. Unfortunately, Duncan not only encountered multiple versions of the flag and seal, he realized that an entirely new design was needed to accommodate the specifications.
He then contacted Curtis Van, a wildlife artist, to assist with the task and petitioned Secretary Darden to approve a complete re-design of the official flag. Continue reading
Thibodaux Rotary Club | Hugh Caffery-Bayou Lafourche Fresh Water District
August 7, 2012
By: Amy Connor-Flores
Hugh Caffery, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners for the Bayou Lafourche Fresh Water District, updated us on the state of Bayou Lafourche on Tuesday.
In recent decades the bed of Bayou Lafourche has been steadily building up, significantly reducing flow from the Mississippi River.
In 2011 the BLFWD held its first Bayou Lafourche Summit, bringing together 200 customers, partners, citizens, and elected officials to determine what needs to be done to achieve the District’s goal of getting freshwater to the people of the area and to the keep the Bayou clean and beautiful. They developed a Master Plan to provide guidance to the District as it attempts to manage Bayou Lafourche.
$200,000,000 CIAP Funding – The first dredge project is currently underway and has helped to identify additional areas near the current dredge project and above Thibodaux that will require work. Continue reading
