Rotary e-Club of Austin

Margarine Geistweidt-Beaman

    Margarine Geistweidt-Beaman was born in Mason, TX during the time of polio and saw many of my classmates got polio. She played the trumpet during football season, and bartone and French horn during concert season. I liked ranching and farming, picking corn, canning corn, making corn meal, chopping weeds in the peanut fields, topping corn for hay, baling hay; the work was never ending.

    Hobbies are hunting, ranching, quilting, crocheting, tatting.

    I attended Texas Lutheran College, majoring in Accounting secretarial skills like shorthand. Then moved to Austin and worked in the accounting department of the Driskill Hotel – worked in sales and was the comptroller before going to work at the Texas Legislature for two sessions and a special session. Since the pay was so low always worked 4 to 5 jobs during every week and being a woman salaries were less than 50 percent of a mans. Worked at Nixon-Clay Commercial College and taught Business Law and Key-punch machine to deaf individuals. All the deaf were hired by IRS, Post Office or Southwestern Bell Telephone Company, in the 1960 at an hourly wage of $15 to $20. Worked part time for the Radio-Television Association, Bond’s Television Sales and Service, Bohn’s Travel Agency translated foreign money into our USA dollars and sewed clothes and wedding dresses and did alterations for the elite of Austin. In 1972 my husband and I started Beaman Metal Company buying scrap metal for over 45 years.

    I started a project for the blind and visually impaired, that has gone worldwide.  We did the first Braille shopping mall directory in the world in July 1980 and in October, 1980 we put Braille instructions on the first ATM machine in Austin at the American Bank and went on to do Braille instructions on around 20,000 ATMs in 15 different languages by total volunteers.

    I have been a member of Rotary since early 1990’s as a charter member of the East Austin Rotary Club. Started a project in low income elementary schools after seeing in the Austin paper that the Blackshear Elementary school needed help. After working with this school for the remainder of the year with mentoring, teaching computers to the parents, ACC had a GED class for the parents, had a small café for the students after school then did a Reading Rally with Executive Women International and Rotary and then started the Role Model Fair in the school. The Role Model Fair became so popular  in the school that 9 more low income elementary schools also wanted a role model fair. We are in our 24^th year. Our East Austin Rotary Club would have a table and talk about the 4-way test. We usually would have from 35 to 65 role models. We have not had as many role models during and after the pandemic. Our next role model fair is at Campbell Elementary on March 9, 2023.

    I helped organize American YouthWorks, which was 50 years old in 2022; Austin Police Operation Blue Santa, started volunteering there in 1977 and they celebrated their 50^th year in 2022; helped with Meals on Wheels. Volunteer at the LBJ Presidential Library; Bob Bullock Texas History Museum; on the Travis County Historical Commission; an Ambassador at the Carver Museum; Master Gardener since 2002; Certified Florist since the 1980’s and on the board of the Conley Guerrero Senior Center Advisory Board and teach quilting there for the past 18 years; work with the Homeless; On the board of the Braille Revival League of Texas and the Austin Council of the Blind; Volunteered for the American Council of the Blind; helped with the International Blind Sports Assn. (IBSA, this group sanctions the blind and visually impaired to participate at the Paralympics.) In London got to see and briefly greet the Queen as she passed by our VIP places. This gave me the chance to visit many, many different countries. I am a member of Zonta  International and when I went to a Rotary International Convention, Zonta International was honored. A past member of Executive Women International.

    Have received several awards from Rotary. Was Austin’s Outstanding Citizen; Have received the Presidential Award for working with MDAnderson Cancer Hospital as I was president of the Texas Business & Professional Women During President Reagan as President and Vice President Bus. Received the following – Governor’s Volunteer of the year award from Governor Clemens, Austin’s Volunteer of the Year; Freedom Foundation Award; Miguel Medal, highest honor working with the Blind; Outstanding Service at American YouthWorks; helped start CEACO – Central East Austin Community Service Organization and worked with the school to prevent AIDS.

    One of my slogans is “If  It Can Be Done, We Can Do It”.