By Bobby Tingle

 

Jefferson Energy Companies is a major entity in the Greater Vidor Area.

Vidor Chamber of Commerce Board President Hal LaPray Sr. took time to stop by for a visit at our office at 1008 Green Avenue this week.

“Are you aware of the company in the Vidor area which contributes a huge share to the welfare of our community, “ asked LaPray.

He thought he had me.  

The name was on the tip of my tongue.  He impatiently began to name the company and I finished it.

Jefferson Energy Companies has been around for some time.  

During their existence, they have continually grown and developed new ways to serve area industry.

They are located on the Neches River in Orange County within the Port of Beaumont.  

According to their website, jeffersonenergyco.com, they are positioned within a highly productive refinery market.  

Their terminal is situated on a 250-acre site at the fifth busiest port by cargo volume in the United States.  They have access to transportation modes including marine, rail, and interstate highway.

Their terminal provides distribution services for products and raw materials such as crude oil, refined products, and ethanol.   They transition materials destined to consumer markets and production facilities.

LaPray discovered this gem while gathering information about the Vidor business environment.  

Ultimately his goal, and the goal of the Vidor Chamber of Commerce is to recruit new members, grow their organization and enhance and expand their promotion of business and industry within their sphere of influence.

We wish them every success!

 

Why do people keep asking if we like our new “digs”?

 

When I was first asked how I like our new “digs” I only knew the proper response because of the context.

Why else would our former landlord ask the question?

I was at our former “dig” in the process of completing the move-out.  Since we were already in our new “dig” a couple of days it made sense the “dig” referred to was our new office location.

A couple of days later we had a visitor to our new location.

“How do you like your new “digs?”, he asked.

It was the second time I had been asked.

The answer is we do like our office.

We miss our old office, because of the absolutely wonderful landlords and facility, but our new place is wonderful also.

You should come by and see our new dig or digs or office.

We have a sign propped up against the building retrieved from our old location.  Our permanent sign will be here soon.

We are between the Greater Orange Area Chamber of Commerce at 10th and Green and next door to the Smith Law office and Lanmark Staffing.  The parking lot is narrow but deep enough, so drop by.

We would love to show off our new “digs”.

 

Trump State of the Union Address

 

President Donald J. Trump delivered a meaningful message Tuesday night as part of his state of the union speech given before a joint session of Congress in the United States House of Representatives building.

In order to provide full disclosure and avoid any possibility of spreading ‘fake news’ I must admit I did not watch his speech.

For the most part, these speeches are pep talks for the sitting president’s base of support.

Trump is a master of doing that.

Though these speeches are given annually, nothing in these speeches is binding.  Nothing in these speeches generally influences decision-makers to change their position on an issue.

It is mostly sound bites and posturing.

I did get a feel for some aspects of the speech from news reports I read.

The aspects of his speech, which resonated with me, were repeated at the National Prayer Breakfast.

It is hard to know if Trump is sincere or merely appealing to his base.

Realistically, there is little he can do to affect change.

It is the nature of our federal government as designed by our Constitution.

But it was good to hear a message promoting good rather than evil.

Research his speech to discover what part of his speech you think I am referring to.

Send me an email disclosing your discovery or any other aspect of the speech or issue, which is important to you.

Let’s keep the conversation flowing.

 

Bobby Tingle is the publisher of The Orange Leader.  You can reach him at bobby.tingle@orangeleader.com.