Thibodaux Rotary Youth Clubs
Thibodaux Rotary Club sponsors: two Earlyact Clubs, St. Charles Elementary School and Bayou Community Academy Charter School; one Youthact Club, East Thibodaux Elementary School; 
and one Interact Club, Thibodaux High School.
Through Earlyact, Youthact and Interact students learn to take responsibility for real-life problems and realize the significant impact of their involvement. Members are taught leadership and learn service responsibility in their community, state, country and internationally. Our Ladder of Service shows how a young individual can make a difference.
Steve & Addy Panzram – Crawfish Aquatics
Rotary 5/6/14
Presenter: Steve & Addy Panzram
Steve Panzram is a Marinette, Wisconsin native and has over 35 years of competitive swimming coaching experience and coached at all levels of swimming from beginning to national level. He has coached several #1 Nationally Ranked Age Group Swimmers along with both Junior National and Senior National Qualifiers. He has produced over 30 Top 16 Nationally Ranked Age Group swimmers and several Top Ten United States Masters Swimmers. Several of his swimmers were finalists at Junior Nationals. In 2012 his swimmer participated in the Olympic Trials in Omaha, Nebraska swimming in six events and placing among the Top 50 in each event. He has coached in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Nevada. He has won several coach of the year awards during his career and has visited the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs six times. In 2012 Steve was recognized as one of the top 100 coaches in competitive swimming in the country. Steve is a graduate of Auburn University. Steve serves as the 13 & Over coach of Crawfish Aquatics and is the Director of Crawfish Aquatics at Nicholls State.
Addy Panzram, born in Upland, California brings a wealth of experience at the highest levels of competitive swimming in our country. Graduating from the University of Washington in 1999, she was the first swimmer to earn a full scholarship to UW. Addy lettered all four years in addition to being named Most Valuable Freshman and Most Valuable Swimmer her remaining three years. She was a Senior National Qualifier and Top 16 finisher, Record Holder at UW, PAC-10 finalist, and Junior Nationals-West High Point Swimmer. She attended the Division I NCAA Championships all four years while at the University of Washington. In 2013 Addy won the 200 meter backstroke at the United States Master Nationals in Mission Viejo, CA. Addy works with the 12 & Unders at Crawfish Aquatics and serves as the program administrator.
Sam Irwin | Thibodaux Rotary Club
April 8, 2014
Sam Irwin is a freelance journalist and writer who lives in Baton Rouge. He is the former editor of the Louisiana Market Bulletin, a state agricultural journal, and served as the press secretary for the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry under Mike Strain. He is currently the public relations director of the American Sugar Cane League. In addition to writing numerous news articles and features for the Advocate, Country Roads, Louisiana Cookin’, Offbeat and other journals, Irwin’s fiction has been published in a number of online magazines. He invites you to read The Ransom of Red Goat, a comic crime novel of New Orleans, Jefferson Parish and the Barataria. It’s available on e-book.
A product of a mixed marriage (his mother is from South Louisiana, his father’s roots are north of Alexandria, Irwin has traveled the state in search of the story. He is the author of Louisiana Crawfish: A Succulent History of the Cajun Crustacean, a new book released by History Press of Charleston, South Carolina, which makes him the foremost historian of Louisiana crawfish lore.
GSE Australian Team – Thibodaux Rotary Club
Dear Rotary Members:
At next Tuesday’s meeting, we will welcome the GSE Australian Team. The team will make a presentation at our meeting. Please see attached picture of the team. On Monday, the Golden Meadow Club tours the team down the bayou and the Lockport Club has a dinner that evening for the hosts and team. On Tuesday, the team tours John Deer in the morning and has a historical presentation in the afternoon. On Wednesday morning, they depart for Houma.
Team Leader: Lindsay Wilkin: A farmer/grazier from Coonabarabran NSW….A Rotarian of many years….former GSE Team Leader.
Team Members:
Cameron Wood: Non Rotarian; farmer/grazier/wool classer…. from Uralla NSW
Michelle Webb: Non Rotarian; Agricultural High School Teacher also a farmer / grazier….. from Coonabarabran NSW
Tamara Campbell: Non Rotarian; Senior Forester with the NSW Department of Forestry….from Wauchope NSW
Paul Arnott: Non Rotarian: Senior Farmer Manager University of New England…..from Armidale NSW
Thanks to the host families: Bobby and Leslie Marcello, Vera and Seth Holloway, Hugh and Tonya Caffery and Skip and Sandy Holloway.
Thanks!
Sandy (District 6200 Area 4 GSE Coordinator)
Sandy Holloway
BCA Director
985.414.3131
sholloway@bcacharter.org
John M. Barry |
January 21, 2014
By: Brian Rodrigue
John M. Barry is a prize-winning and New York Times best-selling author whose books have won multiple awards. Barry is best known as the author of the bestselling book, Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How it Changed America.
John Barry is a consultant for storm protection for all major storms anywhere in the world and is also the leader of the lawsuit against oil and gas companies filed in August by the local Flood Protection Authority.
Since leaving the levee board last year, a website was established by John Barry called Restorelouisiananow.org . The levee board saw themselves as a group tasked not to oversee levees, but as a group responsible for protecting people’s lives.
When considering what is happening to the Louisiana coast, this task is becoming more and more difficult. Louisiana has already lost nearly 2,000 square miles of coast. That land lost is not stopping and the lost rate is actually increasing even though it has leveled off recently.
The storm surge is increasing due to multiple causes. The levees are a cause in coastal loses even though without the levees there would be no Baton Rouge, no New Orleans and no industry between those two cities. The levees cannot be taken down; however, diversions could be built. Another reason is due to the oil and gas industry.
Many people agree that the land loss is caused by oil and gas operations. Some areas have zero loss and other areas are as high as 90 percent land loss. The oil and gas companies were allowed to exploit the Louisiana resources and in return they agreed to restore what they destroyed.
Using Delecroix area as an example, one can see the minimal losses over time before the oil and gas industry arrived. Thus, the coast can sustain itself if the oil and gas industry does not dig canals in the coastal areas. The law reads that when an area is damaged, the vegetation must be restored and the land be put back in its original condition.
Coastal restoration is absolutely necessary for maintaining storm surge protection. The govenor’s office was asked to have industry to pay for the restoration and the answer was no. The governor’s office opposes the lawsuit while every parish has supported the lawsuit.
Mr. Barry’s latest book is related to the lawsuit because the first 100 pages are about constitutional law which is summarized in that everyone is equal before the law, even the oil and gas companies.
The Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce |
February 11, 2014
By: Shay Holloway
Presenter: Patrice Oncale
The Mission of the Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce is to promote economic prosperity by connecting business with the community. There vision is to bridge business to business, and business to community. The Thibodaux Chamber of Commerce was established June 22, 1966. At the end of the first year of the establishment of the chamber membership had grown to 211. Currently Membership averages 600. Thibodaux was first accredited in 2008. Out of 7,077 Chambers in the United States – 222 are Accredited.
17 are accredited – 8%
40 are accredited with 3 stars – 18%
80 are accredited with 4 stars – 37%
79 are accredited with 5 stars – 37%
The Chamber serves as a catalyst and a resource center for business, residents and visitors. It publishes and distributes various publications. The Chamber sponsors workshops, seminars and professional development programs.
The Chamber is a co-sponsor of Leadership Lafourche, with the Chamber of Lafourche. It has a business reference library that is available to members. The Chamber works very closely with local educational institutions, hosting Job Shadow Day and Career Days with local high schools. Involved in higher education, the Chamber is represented on the Advisory Council of the Louisiana Technical College, as well as N.S.U.’s Free Enterprise Week Advisory Board.
2014 Plans
Revitalize the Ambassador Program
Technology Upgrades
More Thibodeauxville Improvements
Senatorial Forum
Legislative Issues Forum – February 27
Legislative Issues Update
Continue to Monitor Affordable Health Care Act’s Impacts
Continue to be Involved with the I-49 South Coalition
Continue to be Involved with the Coalition for Sustainable Flood Insurance
Month Business after hours
Quarterly Business at lunch
Quarterly Business at breakfast
And Much More!!
Katherine Toups with Fusion Wellness Solutions |
February 4, 2014
By: Vera Holloway
Katherine Toups is the owner of Fusion Wellness Solutions which is a wellness consultant company that specializes in helping people stay on track with their health and fitness goals. Katherine has a BS degree in Kinesiology from Louisiana State University. She has over 8 years of experience in corporate wellness and has previously worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield in their weight loss program. Katherine is a certified wellness consultant, certified personal trainer, and certified bootcamp instructor.
The types of services Fusion Wellness Solutions offers are initial wellness consulting which includes lifestyle assessment and guidance to eating healthy, exercising, stress management, and goal setting. Fusion also offers services like regular follow up appointments, ongoing coaching, in home workout plans, pantry makeover and grocery planning, and bootcamp classes. Katherine feels that it is necessary to create individual wellness plans for each client and she provides the motivation, support, and accountability that is necessary to achieve those individual goals.
Katherine has recently joined Advance Physical Therapy in Thibodaux and is looking to expand her services. She is currently working on location space so she can begin to offer yoga classes and more bootcamp classes. In March, she has plans to begin teaching various kid fitness programs.
Katherine informed us that Louisiana is now the most obese state in the United States. She stated that 34.7% (including children) are obese in Louisiana and that statistic has risen by 22% between 1990 to 2013. She stated that over 60% of adults don’t get the recommended diet and exercise and 70% of diseases and illnesses can be prevent if diet and exercise is done. Katherine gave some reminders of things to avoid:
- Overeating – Eat when your hungry not full!
- Eat Natural Foods – If it can’t rot it is probably not good for you!
- Take baby steps!
- Move more!
Scott Courtright -Trinity Tree Consultants
Thibodaux Rotary Club
January 14, 2014
Mr. Courtright has been in the “green industry” his entire professional career. He currently owns and operates Trinity Tree Consultants. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Forest Management from Louisiana State University in 1996 and has been a Louisiana Licensed Arborist for 15 years.
As a Forester/Arborist, Scott has provided Expert Witness Testimony, conducted tree evaluations, produced tree management plans, tree inventories, tree restoration plans, tree evaluations, and tree appraisals. He was chief consultant for New Orleans City Park after Hurricane Katrina, in the effort to restore the park’s many old oak trees.
Additionally, Mr. Courtright conducts seminars, talks, and forums addressing urban forestry/arboriculture, traditional forestry, Geographic Information Systems/Global Positioning Systems Technologies, and responses to environmental incidences.
Scott has also been a keynote speaker for several Master Gardener events throughout Louisiana. He currently serves on the Louisiana Urban Forestry Council and is currently serving as the Chairman for the Educational Committee as well as the Educational Chairman for the 2014 Burden Museum and Garden Arbor Day Celebration in Baton Rouge.
One of the great natural symbols of the coastal plain of the Southern United States has to be the live oak tree, of the genus Quercus Virginiana. No one who lives outside of our region can imagine how the graceful, stately tree defines our environment.
When we realize, too, that so many old survivors were here to witness the explorations of the Spanish and French in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, there is nothing less than a sense of mystery, and even awe, about such grand old things.
North Lafourche Levee District
Thibodaux Rotary
December 17, 2013 Meeting
North Lafourche Levee District
Dwayne Bourgeois is the Executive Director of the North Lafourche Levee District. This levee district was formed in 1992 to provide flood protection for Northern Lafourche, eventually including the entire Parish north of the Intracoastal Canal in Larose.
This district protects over two thirds of Lafourche Parish population which is greater than 65,000 people. Our District has greater than 250 miles of levees & drainage canals and 40 pump stations. The main focus is to prevent flooding from heavy rainfalls, river events, tropical storms and hurricanes such as Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike.
Coastal land loss puts North Lafourche at a higher risk for flooding and makes it more difficult to get the water out. The USGS estimates that Louisiana has lost 1,883 square miles. That is 25% of the State’s 1932 coastal footprint. The 2062 Projection has the Potential to lose up to 1,756 square miles of land over the next 50 years. Continue reading
You Could Be The WINNER!
You Could Win A Lifetime Membership!
The Thibodaux Rotary Club is auctioning off – 1 Exclusive Lifetime Membership to the new Bayou Country Children’s Museum. You could be the winner!
Click here to go to Thibodaux Rotary Club Facebook page and look for the Auction Post.
This Exclusive Lifetime Membership Provides…
- lifetime access to the museum for one person
- discounts in the gift shop
- and the ability to book the party rooms – right in the museum for events
But you’re not getting just a membership. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to BCCM.
The auction is now officially on… Click here to go to Thibodaux Rotary Club Facebook page and look for the Auction Post.
To place your bid in, just use the comment section below this post. Check back often to see how your bid is holding up. Feel free to bid as many times as you would like.
The Opening Bid, provided by Beau Brooks is $400.00!
What a great gift to give someone! But hurry…the auction ends 5PM, October 15th. The winner will be announced that evening.
Here’s your chance to contribute to the areas premiere children’s museum and win an exclusive Lifetime Membership. YOU COULD BE THE WINNER! Click here to go to Thibodaux Rotary Club Facebook page and look for the Auction Post.
