The Equalizer
Sabine District Transportation Club
Member of Traffic Clubs International
Please keep our troops and their families in your thoughts and prayers.
Volume 09 Issue 02, February 2009 S.D.T.C., PO Box 20103, Beaumont, TX 77720
Recognizing our Ports
–noun
1. a city, town, or other place where ships load or unload.
2. a place along a coast in which ships may take refuge from storms; harbor.
3. Also called port of entry. Law. any place where persons and merchandise are allowed to pass, by water or land, into and out of a country and where customs officers are stationed to inspect or appraise imported goods.
4. a geographical area that forms a harbor: the largest port on the eastern seaboard.
Customers have access to bulk cargo terminals, freight forwarders, customhouse brokers, stevedores, chandlers, ship repair services and other related maritime firm at the Port of Beaumont.
Three major rail carriers, five major roadways, the Intracoastal Waterway and global steamship lines feed into the Port of Beaumont.
Item of recent interest was the Zeppelin Airship Ventures, unloaded at the Port from the vessel, made 6 stops en-route to its new home in the San Francisco Bay area.
Check out the picture of this airship in the monthly newsletter for the Port of Beaumont, Welcome Aboard which can be reached from their website!
For more information – please visit their web site at: http://www.portofbeaumont.com
Port of Port Arthur is strategically located midway on the barge shipping routes of the intra-coastal waterway that extends from St. Marks, Florida to Brownsville, Texas.
The Sabine-Neches Ship Channel is part of that system with channel depths to safely accommodate large petro-chemical tankers and cargo ships.
The Port is 19 miles from the Gulf of Mexico with 24-hour channel and dock accessibility.
For more information – please visit their web site at: http://www.portofportarthur.com
Located at a crossroads of railways, Interstate 10, and the Intracoastal Waterway, and near Southeast Texas Regional Airport, the Port of Orange is the place to dock.
Conveniently, Houston is 2 hours to the west and New Orleans 4 hours to the east.
Rail Access Provided by Union Pacific, Sabine River, and BNSF Railroads.
For more information – please visit their web site at: http://www.portoforange.com
NTW Raffle Tickets on sale April 14, 2009 at Shrimp Boil or from any Board member beginning March 10, 2009!
We are still gathering prizes for our annual raffle but just to give you a peak-
Grand prize is two round trip tickets to anywhere in the Continental US by Southwest Airlines!
Spring Golf outing May 12, 2009 in the planning as part of NTW Celebration!
Other NTW Activities to be announced!
National Transportation
Person of the year to be honored on
May 12, 2009!
Our many thanks to TCI for their representation at the February installation: Lynn Donovick, and Danny Schnautz
Also, a special thanks to Lynn Donovick from TCI for installing our 2009-2010 officers & Board of Directors!
Hats off to our president, Danny Phillips for another successful year, 2008-2009.
Reservation Form for March 10, 2009 Luncheon
Please make reservations for _________persons at $17.50/ea.
Check is attached (___) Bill me (___) Will pay at the door (___)
Signed_____________________________________Date _________________
Firm_______________________________________Phone________________
Address_________________________________________________________
Clip and mail to S.D.T.C., PO Box 20103, Beaumont, TX. 77720, fax (409) 842-5154, Ph 651-1708 Robert Ferguson, or Sherry Eckerle (409) 842-5290, or (409) 791-3259. You can also e-mail your reservations to: Sherry.Eckerle@sbcglobal.net or make them from the web site
2009-2010 Officers & Board Members:
Annual Shrimp Boil: Joe Ochoa-Chairman,
All Board Members & Officers
Attendance & Telephone: Sherry Eckerle, Robert Ferguson
Auditing & Budget: Gene Landry, Robert Ferguson, Sandy Olson
Constitution & By-laws: Joe Ochoa, Mike Garza, Robert Ferguson, Buz Brown, Sam Serio
Education/Scholarship: Mike Garza, Joe Ochoa, Gene Landry
Golf Outings: Bubba Metz-Chairman, Al Anselmo, John Cole
Historian: Seth Farris
House & Reception: Danny Phillips, Joe Ochoa, Buz Brown
Membership: Joe Ochoa, Seth Farris, Sandy Olson
National Transportation Week: Robert Ferguson, Sherry Eckerle, Danny
Phillips, Joe Ochoa, Chris Popjoy
Fish & Shrimp Fry: Sherry Eckerle, Robert Ferguson
Program & Entertainment: Ronnie Hicks, Danny Phillips, Joe Ochoa, John Cole
Publicity & TCI Affairs: Mike Garza, Joe Ochoa
Visitations: Joe Ochoa, Gene Landry, Bubba MetzCalendar of Scheduled Events:
April 14, 2009 – Annual Shrimp Boil
At Nederland Pipefitter Hall on Hwy 69S
May 12, 2009 – National Transportation Week
National Transportation
Man of the year
Spring Golf Outing
NTW raffle drawing
June 9, 2009 – TBA
July 14, 2009 – Fish Fry
It is time to start making reservations for the Shrimp Boil!
Change of location: Nederland Pipefitter’s Hall off of Hwy 69.(Close to the airport)
Web Site Update: To reach the web site from the Internet: http://www.txsdtc.org
To retrieve the Equalizer from the server: http://www.txsdtc.org/equalizer/february2009/ or from the web site: txsdtc.org
Board Meeting Announcements:
There will be a Board of Director’s at 11 am on March 10, 2009 at the Cattle Company.
Be sure to visit our sponsors listed on the web site!
A special thanks to David McKay for being our guest speaker for the February luncheon. He covered a lot of ground on retirement plans for small businesses and the different options available. He also answered a number of our questions regarding the different plans and gave us a much encouragement as possible in these difficult times.
As we all were hoping, he did not have a crystal ball to be able to tell us about our 401K plans future.
Our congratulations to Danny Schnautz, of Clark Freight for being named our Regional Vice President for TCI, Transportation Clubs International.
Danny can be reached at 281-487-4656, or by e-mail at: danny@clarkfreight.com
Well, according to the federal government, the holiday observed on the third Monday in February is officially Washington's Birthday. But many Americans believe that this holiday is now called "Presidents' Day," in honor of both Presidents Washington and Lincoln, whose birthdays are Feb. 22 and Feb. 12, respectively. It turns out that whether you honor one or the other or both of these presidents may depend on where you live.
States Decide on Holidays
The states are not obliged to adopt federal holidays, which only affect federal offices and agencies. While most states have adopted Washington's Birthday, a dozen of them officially celebrate Presidents' Day. A number of the states that celebrate Washington's Birthday also recognize Lincoln's Birthday as a separate legal holiday.
Origins of the Monday Holiday
In 1968, Congress passed the Monday Holidays Act, which moved the official observance of Washington's birthday from Feb. 22 to the third Monday in February. Some reformers had wanted to change the name of the holiday as well, to Presidents' Day, in honor of both Lincoln and Washington, but that proposal was rejected by Congress, and the holiday remained officially Washington's Birthday.
Nevertheless, there was a popular misconception that the day had been officially renamed, a misconception only reinforced by the fact that the third Monday in February can only occur between Feb. 15 and Feb. 21. This means that the holiday is always after Lincoln's birthday and before Washington's birthday, without ever coinciding with either. Furthermore, some states which had previously celebrated Lincoln's Birthday dropped the observance after the federal holiday reforms, supporting the notion that the two presidential birthdays had been combined.
While the name change has never been authorized by Congress, it has gained a strong hold on the public consciousness, and is generally used on calendars, in advertising, and even by many government agencies. There have been attempts to introduce legislation requiring federal agencies to call the day Washington's Birthday, but these have never gotten very far. No matter what's in the law books, the popular usage is now well established.
You Can't Please All of the People...
Many people feel that Lincoln, the president credited with preserving the nation during the Civil War, has been short-changed. To them, having Presidents' Day is a sensible way to recognize both Washington and Lincoln. Others feel just as strongly that having an inclusive Presidents' Day diminishes Washington's importance in American history
