Journalists, New Directors Share their Expertise

Journalists, news directors, and public relations practitioners educated area high school students and Lamar University journalism students on how to succeed in the business. The Annual "Journalism 101: Surviving the Newsroom" seminar was held at Lamar University's Setzer Student Center. It was sponsored by the Southeast Texas Association of Black Journalists (SETXABJ). The panelists included David Lowell, Angel San Juan, Shelia Friedeck, Nicole Murray, Kevin Steele, Dee Dixon, Ashley Gaston, Brooke Bentley, and myself. Jackie Simien served as the moderator. SETXABJ is an affiliate of the National Association of Black Journalists. Its mission is to mentor students, help raise scholarships, and support Black journalists.

Good Music, Food at Campaign Kickoff

Southeast Texans enjoyed the R&B sounds of the band Clef and some good finger foods at Easy's Restaurant in Beaumont on Monday night at Attorney Anne Bradley's Campaign kickoff party. Bradley even belted out a song. Bradley is running for Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, Place 2. The election will be held in March.

Referral Group Helps Grow Businesses

A local group is helping business owners get new clients. BNI, the Golden Triangle Referral Group, is like having a team of salespeople at your disposal as stated on their website. Each member is encouraged to carry the other members' business cards and when they meet someone who needs their products or services, they hand out the cards. I attended my first meeting today. It was wonderful. It's really great to have that kind of support! During the meeting, each member (and visitors too) stands up to give their 60-second sales pitch. During the pitch, you are encouraged to ask specifically for what you need. For example, one member asked for a contact for Rep. Joe Deshotel and by the end of the meeting he had it. The group has referred more than one million dollars worth of business to its members.
For more information, go to www.bnigold.com

IEA Golf Tournament

Inspire, Encourage, Achieve’s Second Annual Golf Tournament is scheduled for Monday, October 12, at Bayou Din Golf Club. Last year’s successful inaugural tournament attracted participation from more than 120 players. Another well-attended and exciting tournament is planned next month with Desselle-Maggard Corporation as Champion – Presenting Sponsor.

IEA, which provides programming for young people involved in the juvenile justice system, has contributed to a substantial decrease in the level of juvenile crime in Southeast Texas. Through creative strategies that empower youth to make wiser choices about their futures, the organization reaches over 400 young people annually.

Playing in the tournament are Tracy Byrd and Zona Jones, along with the following current and former Major League Baseball players, as well as other local prominent sports figures: Jay Bruce, Kevin Millar, Mark Petkovsek, Brian Sanches, Morgan Walker, Ben Weber, and Lamar University Head Baseball Coach Jim Gilligan and Head Football Coach Ray Woodard.

Dick Townsend, ExxonMobil Chemical Company Site Manager, is once again serving as Honorary Chair of the tournament. Co-Chairs are Randy Sonnier, Total Port Arthur Refinery Material & Services Supervisor, and IEA board member, Brit Featherston, First Assistant United States Attorney Eastern District of Texas.

Proceeds from this year’s event will raise funds for the renovation and purchase of a building that will accommodate IEA's community-based programming needs, including space for meetings, activities, and extended outreach, as well as offices for counselors, case managers, college interns and volunteers.

There will be delicious food, raffle items, and opportunities to win hole-in-one prizes (including a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Mercedes Benz, Chevrolet, or Toyota). Various levels of sponsorship are available. For additional information, please call (409)861-2733(BRDE) or visit www.ieainspires.org.

University of Phoenix Looking to Hire

Officials with the University of Phoenix plan to hire 50 to 60 people to operate a campus in Beaumont next year. The university will open the campus in the first quarter of 2010. Sources tell FRONT ROW, they are looking to hire faculty and administrative staff including enrollment counselors, financial counselors, and graduation coaches. Officials say there are currently 350 students from the Beaumont area enrolled at the university, some of whom are taking classes online and at campuses in Houston so they saw a need to open a facility here. A location for the school is still being worked out. More details to come!

Destination Training Highlights Beaumont's Attractions

Whether you've lived here all your life or you're new in town, Beaumont Destination Training is something you should definitely put on your list of things to do. The training which is sponsored by the Beaumont Convention and Visitors Bureau introduces or reintroduces you to the fun things and historical places that are available here. It's a great way to really get to know your city. I participated in the training yesterday. It was a blast. We (about 28 participants)went to Spindletop, the Texas Fire Museum, a boat ride down the Neches River (it was very beautiful and relaxing), the McFadden Carriage House, the Art Museum, the Energy Museum, and the Ben J. Rogers Regional Visitors Center. It ended with a graduation at the Visitor's Center where every participant received a certificate and a CVB manual which included the touring information. Everyone had a great time and was pleasantly surprised by all the interesting attractions. Special thanks to Beaumont CVB's Stephanie Molina and Elizabeth Eddings who led our tour and Executive Director Dean Conwell(who is one of my favorite people). They did a great job! This is a great outing for families and organizations. For more information, call (409) 880-3749 or go to www.beaumontcvb.com

MCM Elegante Celebrates Anniversary

It's been five years since the MCM Elegante opened in Beaumont and Wednesday night the hotel celebrated with an elegant anniversary party. More than 250 guests attended. The party featured an open bar, lots of delicious food, a huge cake, champagne, and great music by the legendary Innovators. Those attending included GM Bill Bianchi, Virtue Alexander, Kevin Roy, Regina Rogers, Alea Greer, Vernon Pierce, Dean Conwell, Nicole Murray, Jessie Haynes, Shirley Blanks, Christina Henry, Carol Dixon, Mayor Becky Ames, Mario Watkins, Christopher Thomas, Vernon Durden, Georgine Guillory, and Eddie Arnold. It was a great party. Congratulations to Bill and his staff!

New Addition to the KBTV Fox Family

KBTV Fox 4 Reporter Raquel Duncan and Al Boutte are pleased to announce the birth of their baby boy, Ayden Deyon Boutte on Tuesday, Sept. 22. Ayden weighed 8 pounds and 7 ounces. His mother labored for 18 hours before giving birth, but I'm happy to report that both she and the baby are doing fine! Congrats to the Boutte family! The baby is beautiful!

Andrea Porter's Book Signing

Author Andrea Porter will be signing her new book "Love is All We're After" on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Turn-N-Point Beauty and Barber Salon, 2300 Bluebonnet Avenue in Port Arthur at 11 a.m. Come out and support this local author! For more information, go to www.boldmovespublications.net or www.andreaporter.net.

Beaumont's New Communications Manager

The City of Beaumont recently hired a communications manager. Her name is Danielle Underferth. She recently moved to Beaumont from Baltimore. She will serve as the city's spokesperson and help increase awareness about its programs and services. I'm sure you'll be seeing and hearing more from her in the near future. Welcome to SETX!

Wesley's Pumpkin Patch Opens Sunday

Are you in search of Charlie Brown’s “great pumpkin”? Well you might just find it at Wesley United Methodist Church’s annual Pumpkin Patch. The Pumpkin Patch opens September 27th through October 31st 9am-8pm, Monday through Saturday, 12-8pm on Sunday.

The Pumpkin Patch, in its 15th year, serves as the major fundraiser for Wesley United Methodist Church’s youth group benefiting the youth’s summer mission trips, Big House & U.M. A.R.M.Y. Big House and U.M. A.R.M.Y. help the less fortunate and physically disabled with general home projects.

“Last year the youth built four wheelchair ramps for people who could not get out of their homes,” said Michael Stewart, Wesley United Methodist Church.

New to this year’s patch are official Pumpkin Patch t-shirts, which will be sold for $10. Wesley United Methodist Church members will compete again this year in the scarecrow contest, which will be on display throughout the five-week period.

The Wesley United Methodist Church family provides opportunities for pre-school classes to visit the patch for a tour and story time during the week. For those interested in making a reservation please call 892-7733.

For more information, please contact Michael Stewart, 892-7733 or michaelstewart@wesleyumc.com.

A Vaccine for AIDS

BANGKOK--For the first time, an experimental vaccine has prevented infection with the AIDS virus, a watershed event in the deadly epidemic and a surprising result. Recent failures led many scientists to think such a vaccine might never be possible.

The World Health Organization and the U.N. agency UNAIDS said the results "instilled new hope" in the field of HIV vaccine research.

The vaccine — a combination of two previously unsuccessful vaccines — cut the risk of becoming infected with HIV by more than 31 percent in the world's largest AIDS vaccine trial of more than 16,000 volunteers in Thailand, researchers announced Thursday in Bangkok.

Even though the benefit is modest, "it's the first evidence that we could have a safe and effective preventive vaccine," Col. Jerome Kim told The Associated Press. He helped lead the study for the U.S. Army, which sponsored it with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

The institute's director, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned that this is "not the end of the road," but said he was surprised and very pleased by the outcome.

"It gives me cautious optimism about the possibility of improving this result" and developing a more effective AIDS vaccine, Fauci said. "This is something that we can do."

The Thailand Ministry of Public Health conducted the study, which used strains of HIV common in Thailand. Whether such a vaccine would work against other strains in the U.S., Africa or elsewhere in the world is unknown, scientists stressed.

Even a marginally helpful vaccine could have a big impact. Every day, 7,500 people worldwide are newly infected with HIV; 2 million died of AIDS in 2007, UNAIDS estimates.

"Today marks a historic milestone," said Mitchell Warren, executive director of the AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition, an international group that has worked toward developing a vaccine. Warren was not involved in the study.

"It will take time and resources to fully analyze and understand the data, but there is little doubt that this finding will energize and redirect the AIDS vaccine field," he said in a statement.

University of Phoenix coming to Beaumont

The University of Phoenix is bringing a campus to Beaumont. Sources tell FRONT ROW, the campus will be moving into a vacant building in Beaumont and it is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2010. According to their website, more than 420,700 students are enrolled at University of Phoenix, the largest private university in North America. University of Phoenix serves a diverse student population, offering associate's, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs from campuses and learning centers across the U.S. as well as online throughout the world.

Shred It and Forget It Attracts Record Numbers

The Better Business Bureau of Southeast Texas is proud to announce that our seventh “Shred It & Forget It!” was another tremendous success! A new all-time record was set with 416 vehicles being served and over 30,000 pounds of shredded documents being collected! For seven events, this puts the BBB in Southeast Texas at a grand total of 2,121 vehicles served and 168,000 pounds collected!


The event, which was held on Saturday, September 19, on the Parkdale Mall parking lot, was an effort to reduce identity theft. The BBB thanks Shred-It, MCT Credit Union, Bill Clark Pest Control, A-OK Moving, Shredding & Storage, Beaumont Coca-Cola, Papa John’s Pizza, Lamar University’s Alpha Kappa Psi, West Brook High School Key Club, Clear Channel Radio, and Parkdale Mall for their help in making this event possible.


”Shred It & Forget It!” will be available to consumers in Southeast Texas twice a year (spring and fall), returning to Port Arthur in April of 2010. The BBB continues to stress the importance to shred your confidential documents; when improperly disposed of, it can lead to identity theft. For more information, call 409/835-5951, Ext. 117, or e-mail debbiebridgeman@bbbsetexas.org.

Great Day at the Car Wash

Saturday was a great day for the owners of Bay Bright Car Wash on Dowlen. The place was packed with cars that were waiting to be detailed as well as cars in line waiting to be washed. I go there pretty regularly and I'd never seen it that busy. I even asked one of the employees and she said it was really busy day. I guess everyone had the same idea!

Funeral Services Set for Former Channel 12 Photographer

Jeff Bell, a former photographer at Channel 12, passed away Thursday. He was 34 years old. Viewing is set for tonight at Grammier Oberle Funeral Home in Port Arthur from 5 to 9 p.m. and the funeral will be tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 19, at 1 p.m. at St. James Catholic Church, 3503 Gulfway Dr. in Port Arthur. The father of two young girls was a native of Port Arthur. He also worked as a photographer at KBTV Channel 4. He and I worked together at Channel 12. This picture was taken on my last day at Channel 12 in October 2007. He was one of the best photographers in SETX and a nice guy. He'll definitely be missed. Our hearts and prayers go out to the family!

No Hurricanes in SETX this year, Local Meteorologists Say

According to KFDM Channel 6 Meteorologist Greg Bostwick, residents in Southeast Texas can rest easy. While hurricane season doesn't officially end until November, he predicts no hurricanes will hit our area this year. For all practical purposes hurricane season is over, Bostwick told the Press Club of Southeast Texas during its monthly luncheon. His colleagues KBMT Channel 12's Gary Childress and KBTV 4's Dana Melancon agreed. The three weathermen were the featured guests at the luncheon. They talked about the various hurricanes that have hit the area in the last few years ("We've become the hurricane capital," Bostwick says) and gave a general overview of the science of hurricanes. Bostwick also told the members that Hurricane Ike's storm surge came one foot away from breaking the levees in Port Arthur, avoiding what could have been a Katrina-like catastrophe.

Take Yourself and a Loved One to the Doctor Day, Saturday, Sept. 19

It was time for a checkup and many Southeast Texans did their part by attending the Seventh Annual Take Yourself and a Loved One to the Doctor Day Tuesday. The event is sponsored by Commissioner Bo Alfred. It was held at the Precinct 4 Service Center in the Cheek community. Blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes screenings were provided. There were also a variety of vendors. If you missed it, you'll have a second chance Saturday, Sept. 19 to attend a "Doctor Day" at Mt. Gilead Missionary Baptist Church in Beaumont from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.