November 25, 2014 – JW Toups
J. W. Toups was founded in 1976 by John Toups.
The business has grown not only in the sheer number of clients, but also its reputation for excellence. In 1983, the Louisiana Department of Commerce named Mr. Toups Small Business Person of the Year from Region III. In 1986, the Governor appointment Mr. Toups as one of five Louisiana businessmen to serve in the state’s Small Business Development Corporation. In 1987, J. W. Toups received the SAAI Silver Pyramid of Excellence for outstanding work in the field of accident reduction. Mr. Toups was named the Specialty Advertising Association International Ambassador for his region in 1990. In June of 1993, J. W. Toups Inc. formed a new division called Bottom Line Improvements specializing in performance consulting. In 2001, Mr. Toups partnered with Dr. E. Scott Geller to build an e-learning company, the Safety Performance Coach. Its’ focus is to teach management principles and strategies of human dynamics applied to performance and accident reduction. In 2003, J. W. Toups was awarded the Construction Industry Cost Effectiveness and Chemical Industry Innovation Awards by the Greater New Orleans Business Roundtable. That same year, Mr. Toups assisted Boh Bros. in achieving the status of “Safest Construction Company in the Nation” awarded by Association of Building Contractors.
Trees – November 18
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.
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 G
ermaine 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.
Camp RYLA – Tim McNabb
Tim McNabb was the guest speaker at Rotary on July 29. He has been the lead counselor for the District 6200 RYLA program for the past seven years. Tim is the owner of Pinnacle Computer Services, Inc., has been an active member of Rotary for fifteen years, and is a past president of the Houma Rotary Club and a past assistant District Governor for District 6200.
RYLA is an acronym for “Rotary Youth Leadership Awards” which is a leadership development program for Sophmores, Juniors and Seniors in high school that District 6200 hosts at Lake Fausse Point State Park in St Martinville. The four day camp includes presentations, activities, and workshops that cover a variety of topics such as leadership fundamentals and ethics, communication skills, problem solving and conflict management, and community and global citizenship.
Fifty eight campers from District 6200 attended the June 2014 RYLA camp, of which four participants were sponsored by our own club. Each participant completes a questionnaire to place them in one of four categories based on personality. With those results, each participant is assigned a primary and secondary personality type and assigned to a group. As a group, campers participate in team building excercises focusing on the ability of individuals with various personalities to interact together to achieve a common goal centering on the concept that team competition builds better leadership.
Camp RYLA program was June 12-15. Location was Lake Fosse Point State Park. District 6200 puts on the event. Our club sponsored four students. Two atte
nded our Tuesday meeting. Emma Bourgeois, daughter of club member Ron Bourgeois won the speak off competition at camp. She was able to deliver her talk to our club as well. She will be entering her junior year at EDW. Chloe Collins, a senior at EDW also attended the meeting. She commented on the value of attending the camp and how much she got from it. Her personality characteristic was Gold, which she felt was right up her comfort level. Both thanked the club for sending them. They both thought that a big part of the learning process was working together as a team. Other students who attended the camp were Molly Delatte, a senior at THS and Lauren Bergeron, a senior at EDW. They will carry this leadership training into their futures as role models for their generation. By Steve Landry
Donner-Peltier Distillers – Thibodaux Rotary Club
January 8, 2013
By: Luci Sposito
Dr. Henry Peltier and John Couchot presented at the January 10th Rotary Meeting. They discussed the inception and processes of the Donner-Peltier Distillers (DPD), located on St. Patrick Hwy. in Thibodaux.
Dr. Peltier explained that DPD began as the dream of four friends. About three years ago, Dr. Henry and Jennifer Peltier and Dr. Tom and Beth Donner began researching the industry, attending conferences, and visiting distilleries all over the country. When they had acquired sufficient knowledge, the foursome got serious about the facility and finding the right person to oversee daily operations.
John Couchot, a Master Distiller, also called the mad scientist, was recruited by the Peltiers and Donners. Mr. Couchot has extensive experience in the industry and was willing to leave his Oregon job and home and start a new life in Louisiana. Mr. and Mrs. Couchot along with two others are full time employees at the facility making distilled spirits. Rum and vodka are currently produced, but more products, including gin and absinthe, are on the horizon.
Dr. Peltier explained, “Initially, the idea was to make rum simply because we live in the heart of sugar cane country and yet nobody in the immediate area was making rum.” Many rum types have to age, so in order to generate more immediate revenue; the idea of producing vodka was entertained. The foursome wanted to continue with the local theme so they decided to make vodka by utilizing Louisiana long grain rice.
Producing vodka from rice is not very common in the United States, but they were able to perfect the process. The rice is milled to the consistency of grits, cooked, and enzymes, yeast, and nutrients are added. In about four days the vodka is ready to be distilled many times until it reaches federal law guidelines of no less than 190 proof. DPD is able to achieve 193 proof.
To produce rum, DP Distillery uses blackstrap molasses and raw sugar. The rum is pasteurized to kill any foreign yeast, cooled; yeast is added, and fermented. In about three days, the product is distilled off to about 170 proof. If it is going to be the white rum, called sugar shine, it is watered down to 101 proof and bottled. If it is going to be dark rum, the product will be aged to give color and flavor, watered down to 80 proof and bottled.
“From cane to cocktail,” DPD makes everything from beginning raw products to the final bottled liquor. Everything is done by hand in the facility which contains a tasting room and bar. DPD hours are Wednesday – Saturday, 12PM – 7PM and 12PM – 4PM on Sunday. Tours are offered Wednesday through Saturday at 4PM and at 2PM on Sunday. You can purchase the products, Rougaroux Sugarshine, Rougaroux Full Moon Dark Rum, and Oryza Vodka at the facility for $28.95 a bottle or product can also be purchased at many other locations including Rouse’s, Go-Bears, and the “Chackbay gas station.”
Representative Dee Richard – Upcoming Session
March 6 Meeting;
Representative Dee Richard
Representative Richard talked about several House Bills related to education and retirement systems. Increase the retirement age for certain state employees to age 67 or the highest retirement age provided for by the federal Social Security Act. Increase the final average compensation for certain state employees to the highest 60 consecutive months.
Increase the employee contribution rate for certain members of LASERS and TRSL by 3%..
Allison Clark Prime Time Reading
March 6 Meeting
Speaker: Allison Clark
Prime Time Reading
Ms. Allison explained that the Lafourche Parish Public Library in Thibodaux has begun a six-week literacy program targeting at-risk families whose children, six to ten years old, are having difficulty learning to read.
The program PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME®, encourages families to read and discuss meaningful children’s books together and enables parents with limited literacy skills to create a home environment supportive of their children education. Each weekly session starts by serving a light meal and ending with a door prize.
She indicated, “I am seeking donations to help feed 50-60 people. Donations are needed for one or any date you are willing to donate.” Dates are March 14, March 21, March 28 and April 4.
