President Dan Rodriguez and a merry band of Optimists gathered virtually and promptly at 7:00:00 on our first Friday meeting of 2021, January 8th. Frank Middleton gave our invocation, mourning the loss of Gary Miller and his 14 years with the club. We were
fortunate to know him and to have his contributions tothe club and our community. Gary clearly was on the mind of all attendees - our hearts are heavy today Frank then led us in the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America
Service for Gary Miller
A service to celebrate Gary's life is scheduled for 10 AM, Saturday, January 16, 2021 at
Bethany Lutheran Church. We regret that due to COVID, there is a strict limit on the number who may attend in-person; therefore, Bethany will stream theservice live. We invite you to join us online at http://Bethanylive.org as we celebrate his life. There is also a contact card there that we will use as a guest book. We hope you will fill it out to let us
know you have attended. You may also use this contact card to post condolences to the family. Burial will follow at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Wheat Ridge, CO. Gary's obituary is available at: https://cfcscolorado.org/obituaries/
In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to donate to:
•Operation One Nation (c/o Bethany Lutheran Church, 4500 East Hampden Ave., Cherry Hills Village, CO,80113)
•The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lutheran Center (the campus Lutheran student chapel at 211 North 14th Street, Lincoln, NE 68508
•The Optimist Club of Monaco South (donations may be made to Optimist International Foundation (for use across the US) or Optimist Club of Monaco South (for use with local projects) in either case donations may be sent to Greg Young, treasurer for Monaco South Optimist, 3983 S. Olive, Denver, CO 80237).
Gary respected and valued the friendships he made while serving kids through the projects of the Monaco South Optimist Club.. He believed in what you do! Thank you for your love, prayers and support,
The Gary Miller Family
(Editors last minute note: According to Mark Metevia, who has been in touch with Linda Miller, the church is just about at capacitiy. She is requesting that, unless you have already made arrangements with Mark to attend, you should watch the stream and sign the book online (see above).
Frank Middleton pointed out that Gary’s wife mentioned our club as a organization for contributions in Gary’s name in lieu of flowers. He suggested that using IRA funds to issue checks to OI could be an idea some clubs members could consider.
Editor’s note - this is referred to as a Qualified Charitable Distribution, and your IRA
custodian can assist you if you are interested.
.
President Dan brought up the idea of resuming in person meetings, thinks we should consider February or March at the earliest. Multiple comments from members were in
agreement, wanting to be more comfortable about gatherings first, rather than start up and have to stop again.
Hoch Joke
Even though no one asked, Tom Hoch shared a Sven and Ole joke: "Hey, Sven," said Ole, "how many Swedes does it take to grease a combine?" After Sven replied that he didn't know, Ole said, "Only two, if you run them through real slow."
Essay Contest
Phil Perington gave a report on the Optimist Essay contest. Connie Ackerman is sending a notice to the teachers leading the Brain Bowl teams, with information for interested kids to respond. Phil is collecting the applications, and he and Joe Marci will distribute them to local clubs for possible sponsorship. Wyatt McCallie will be the chairman for our club, working with kids at Thomas Jefferson High School exclusively. The topic for all kids is: “How Can you use Optimism to Improve the World".
Frank Middleton and Mark Metavia suggest that we read this worthwhile article regarding the benefit of civic organizations in today's society. Frank comments: It is sure nice to see a positive article. The Epoch Times is a good source for positive unbiased news just in case the newspaper name was not familiar to you chaps.
Dick Nickoloff asked question regarding members that haven’t paid dues. President Dan shared the list and volunteers offered to follow up will the 6 or 7 members to remind them.
Boy Scout Eagle Project
Bob Avery asked that Boy Scout Eagle project reviewers to “stay tuned”. Bob is waiting for info on how the review process is going to be done this year
Speakers
Our hard-working and underpaid speaker coordinator PaulBernard requested that if you have good ideas forspeakers at our Friday meetings, please contact him andhe’ll reach out to get them on the calendar.
Today’s speaker was our own Karl Geil. Karl provided an overview of our Brain Bowl event(s), including updates on this year’s challenges and adaptations. For 2021, there will be a one day event, coming up on Saturday, January 30th. There will be 46 teams this year,
which compares to approximately 170 last year (over three events at three locations, with a fourth, championship event also). Other notable changes/adjustments for this year
*The event will be conducted via Google Meet
*No written test
*One day only event
*Readers are also timekeepers.
*Scorekeepers will use an adobe file to submit results
electronically.
*Virtual protest room
*No buzzers - questions will be asked to teams
individually.
Reader training is an annual must, but this year there is plenty for everyone to learn, including how to create a Google email (instructions attached - it’s very easy), how to set up your Google Meet room, and how to receive the questions in advance of the competition. Those members who have volunteered to be readers received an email from Gunar Neumann re: which training day you will attend, how to get your questions, and how long you area vailable on game day. RESPOND to Gunar! The training dates are coming up quickly. There are two dates for reader training:
Saturday, January 16th at 9:00 am
Tuesday, January 19th at 6:00 pm
Scorekeeper training will be:
Saturday, January 23rd at 9:00 am
Karl feels strongly that the Brain Bowl is the best example of what we, as Optimists, can do when we work together. Many Monaco South members have been regular volunteers over the years, and several members thanked and praised Karl for his commitment and hard work to make the Brain Bowl successful.
Passing of Herman Motz
This note from Dick Nickloff: Dan, I was advised by the family of Herman Motz that he passed away this morning. Many members will remember Herman from his days as the last TJ football coach to win state champs. Also the last Latin teacher in DPS. Was an excellent English teacher. The activities field at TJ is named in his honor. I would appreciate the entire club being made aware of his passing! Thanks Dick
What does it mean to be resilient?
The first line of the Optimist Creed tells us to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. The last line tells us to be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
The Optimist Creed begins and ends with resilience: the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; the ability to have faith in oneself; and the hope to keep progressing forward.
We are resilient because we are optimists. Because we are optimists, we are resilient. Any way you look at it, resilience and optimism go hand-in-hand and that is why we are looking to our Optimist Club and District leaders to help us emerge from the doldrums of the pandemic into a positive reality for our now normal.
From Steve Kady
T H E O P T I M I S T C R E E D — Promise Yourself . . . To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind. To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet. To make all your friends feel that there is something in them. To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true. To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own. To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile. To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others. To be too large for worry, too noble for
anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
Newsletter Committee
George Buzick 303-803-2268
Robert Wardlaw 303-525-2532
Phil Perington 303-832-4578
Paul Stratton 303-366-6375 Pat Bush 720-254-3741 Craig Eley 303-758-9499 Greg Young 303-759-3921
