Mission Statement. By providing hope and positive vision, Optimists bring out the best in youth, our communities and ourselves.
Vision Statement. Optimist International will be recognized worldwide as the premier volunteer organization that values all children and helps them develop to their full potential.
THANK YOU!
To everyone who helped make the tree lot such a great success! Because of your efforts, we raised over $48,000 to further our community projects. Congratulations to The Tree Lot Committee! Your efforts and careful planning guided this successful endeavor.
Bob Avery got up early just so he could personally greet the members who attended today's meeting. Each was greeted with a smile and a handshake. The person who signed up to also be a greeter was at the meeting, but totally forgot that he was signed up. I'm sorry, I won't do that again. Greg Hurd and Ron Gustas joined us via Zoom. Ed Collins read the invocation, regarding "aiding in the development of youth".
BRAIN BOWL- Reported by Karl Geil.
The Central/South Optimist Brain Bowl tournament was held on Saturday, January 20, and it was a great success. 65 teams, approximately 325 students, from 20 different schools competed. The champions were: McCauliffe 6A, Slavens 7B, and Cheyenne Mountain 8B. We had 119 volunteers, including 18 from Monaco South. They were Bob Avery, Pat Bush, George Buzick, Craig Eley, Tom Glazier, Kent Gloor, Tom Kramis, Larry Pulaski, Mark Metevia, Harry Fegley, Don Roth, Bill Morgan, Tom Overton, Bryce Slaby, Jon Wachter, Phil Perington, Paul Simon, and Karl Geil. So, Monaco South provided over 15% of the volunteers. Thanks everyone for showing up. Next up is the North tournament at Standley Lake High School in Westminster on January 27. Once again, if you signed up, please show up. If you didn't sign up, show up anyway. There's always a job for you.
PRESIDENT'S CORNER
President Casey announced that there will be a Board Meeting on February 12... but he will not be there because he will be in Thailand and Cambodia for the next few weeks. Casey said it was on his wife's "bucket list" to see Ankor Wat. Angkor Wat is a Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia, located on a site measuring 402 acres), and is one of the cultural wonders of the World. Casey said, all he wanted to do was go to Casa Bonita!
Casey also mentioned that there was a Super Citizen at Most Precious Blood, thanks to Joe Marci and Greg Young, and thanked Mark Metevia for arranging for Jim Saccamono to be our speaker last week.
NAME BADGES
Ever vigilant, Greg Young noticed that, over a period of time, the boxes holding the name badges have been completely jumbled, so he took the time to put them back in alphabetical order. That is why you couldn't find your name tag this morning. See Greg if you couldn't find yours. If it's really lost, Greg can make a new one.
SWEETHEARTS TO BREAKFAST
In the absence of Jon Wachter, the organizer of this event, Tom Mauro announced that we will not have a regular meeting on February 12, but will meet a Cafe du France for breakfast, instead. You are welcome to bring your sweetheart, but don't necessarily need to. You can come by yourself. Bets are being taken on how many members will show up at the Legion Hall that day. Tom also mentioned that he had discovered at last week's meeting, Jim Saccamono and he are distant cousins.
Don Thomson said that McMeen Elementary still could use more clothing. He is also taking monetary donations. Don also mentioned that the principal he had worked when he coached at West High School, Tony Salazar, recently died.
ESSAY CONTEST
Phil Perington, Essay Contest Chair announced that the topic for this year's essay contest is "Optimism: How It Connects Us”. We be working with Thomas Jefferson English Department to get these essays.
There is a $500 cash prize.
Report and photos by Andy Towt
Holm Elementary
There were two Super Citizen Events yesterday, Friday, January 26th. Mark Metevia was the master of ceremonies at Holm Elementary. He was assisted by Don Roth. Mark took pictures of the kids in the auditorium along with a life size mascot that was present.
Bradley Elementary
Jon Wachter was master of ceremonies at Bradley Elementary where eleven students received awards. Participating was Bradley's new principal, Kimberly Ulery, (picture attached). For the first time, twins, each from a different second grade class, received Super Citizen Awards.
NEW BYLAWS ARE AVAILABLE FOR YOUR REVIEW
Casey Funk has updated our Club Bylaws to incorporate changes required by OI. Please review these bylaws and be prepared to vote on them on March 15th.
The Proposed Bylaws can be downloaded from our website. Go to www.monacosouth.org and click on the LINK: Proposed Bylaws. You will be prompted to sign on to view and download. While you are signed on, check your member profile, and update any missing or changed information. Please contact Casey with any questions on the Bylaws.
Please contact Greg Young if you have any questions about the website or need help with logon.
SPEAKER
Our speaker today was Dr. Kelly Cvanciger, Associate Director of Natural History Day in Colorado. Kelly explained that Natural History Day is a pre-collegiate social studies and literacy program. From their website: National History Day in Colorado is a social studies and literacy program that equips students in elementary, middle, and high school with the skills necessary to succeed in college and the real world. Students participate in a project-based learning curriculum that emphasizes critical reading and thinking, research, analysis, and the drawing of meaningful conclusions. Students can complete these projects in groups or as individuals in one of five categories: documentary, paper, exhibit, performance, or website. They then compete in one of our thirteen regions across the state in either the junior (middle school) or senior (high school) division, or in the elementary poster contest (4th and 5th graders). Regional winners compete at the State Contests in May on the University of Colorado Denver campus. First and second place state winners compete in Nationals at the University of Maryland, College Park in June.
According to Dr. Cvanciger, the theme this year is "Turning Points in History" and she is looking for volunteers to judge the entries. There will be 12 contests in March in various places throughout Colorado. Training is provided to judges, and you can pick the media you would like to judge. For further information and to sign up for judging, go to their website at: https://clas.ucdenver.edu/nhdc/judging. You can also check with Karl Geil, who has been involved with this activity for many years. Thank to Kelly for an interesting presentation. Hopefully we can supply some judges.
DRAWING
After OI President Tracy Huxley clean out the pot of $150 last week, the winner this morning would win only $20...if he could draw the nine of clubs. No luck! Six people, including our speaker, elected to take the money and run and the three who attempted to win the big money were all unsuccessful. More money, next week!
Vegetarians live up to nine years longer than meat-eaters. Nine horrible, worthless, bacon-less years.
We all know Albert Einstein was a genius. But his brother Frank was a monster.
Meetings will be held at the American Legion Hall 5400 E Yale Ave. While there be no two way communication, you may observe (and listen to) the meeting on Zoom
PLEASE NOTE: Some Friday meetings will be simulcast on Zoom in “listen and watch only” mode. All members are encouraged to attend the live meeting when possible.
Optimist Club of Monaco South 2023-2024 47th Year — Chartered in 1976
2022-2023 Officers
Officers:
Casey Funk, President
Matt Nelson, Vice President
Tom Glazier, Vice President
Jake Baker, Secretary
Pat Bush, Treasurer
Larry Pulaski, Immediate Past President
Directors:
Second Year: Vaughan Kendall, George Buzick, Tom Hoch, Ken Jeung,
First Year: Carl Brown, Al Gapuzan, Greg Holt, Mario Sani
PAST PRESIDENTS
Bob Rhue 1976-77
Jerry Whitlow 1977-78
Bill Kosena 1978-79
Duane Wehrer 1979-80
Curt Jefferies 1980-81
Frank Middleton 1981-82
John Young 1982-83
Pat Bush 1983-84
Bob Hugo 1984-85
Tom Mauro 1985-86
Curt Lorenzen 1986-87
Oscar Sorensen 1987-88
Lupe Salinas 1988-89
Bob Avery 1989-90
Bill Litchfield 1990-91
Bill Walters 1991-92
Kent Gloor 1992-93
Gary Strowbridge 1993-94
Mark Metevia 1994-95
Bob Safe 1995-96
Tom Overton 1996-97
Peter Dimond 1997-98
Ralph Symalla 1998-99
Cy Regan 1999-00
Stan Cohen 2000-01
Don St. John 2001-02
Jack Rife 2002-03
Karl Geil 2003-04
Bryce Slaby 2004-05
Donlie Smith 2005-06
Paul Bernard 2006-07
Greg Young 2007-08
Phil Perington 2008-09
Ron Cisco 2009-10
Ed Collins 2010-11
Randy Marcove 2011-12
Paul Simon 2012-13
Jon Wachter 2013-14
John Oss 2014-15
Michael Chavez 2015-16
Craig Eley 2016-17
Jim Easton 2017-18
Everett Gardner 2018-19
Bob Meyer 2019-20
Dan Rodriguez 2020-2021
Tom Kramis 2021-2022
Larry Pulaski 2022-2023
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.
Bob Avery got up early just so he could personally greet the members who attended today's meeting. Each was greeted with a smile and a handshake. The person who signed up to also be a greeter was at the meeting, but totally forgot that he was signed up. I'm sorry, I won't do that again. Greg Hurd and Ron Gustas joined us via Zoom. Ed Collins read the invocation, regarding "aiding in the development of youth".
The Central/South Optimist Brain Bowl tournament was held on Saturday, January 20, and it was a great success. 65 teams, approximately 325 students, from 20 different schools competed. The champions were: McCauliffe 6A, Slavens 7B, and Cheyenne Mountain 8B. We had 119 volunteers, including 18 from Monaco South. They were Bob Avery, Pat Bush, George Buzick, Craig Eley, Tom Glazier, Kent Gloor, Tom Kramis, Larry Pulaski, Mark Metevia, Harry Fegley, Don Roth, Bill Morgan, Tom Overton, Bryce Slaby, Jon Wachter, Phil Perington, Paul Simon, and Karl Geil. So, Monaco South provided over 15% of the volunteers. Thanks everyone for showing up. Next up is the North tournament at Standley Lake High School in Westminster on January 27. Once again, if you signed up, please show up. If you didn't sign up, show up anyway. There's always a job for you.
President Casey announced that there will be a Board Meeting on February 12... but he will not be there because he will be in Thailand and Cambodia for the next few weeks. Casey said it was on his wife's "bucket list" to see Ankor Wat. Angkor Wat is a Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia, located on a site measuring 402 acres), and is one of the cultural wonders of the World. Casey said, all he wanted to do was go to Casa Bonita!
Ever vigilant, Greg Young noticed that, over a period of time, the boxes holding the name badges have been completely jumbled, so he took the time to put them back in alphabetical order. That is why you couldn't find your name tag this morning. See Greg if you couldn't find yours. If it's really lost, Greg can make a new one.
There were two Super Citizen Events yesterday, Friday, January 26th. Mark Metevia was the master of ceremonies at Holm Elementary. He was assisted by Don Roth. Mark took pictures of the kids in the auditorium along with a life size mascot that was present. 
on Wachter was master of ceremonies at Bradley Elementary where eleven students received awards. Participating was Bradley's new principal, Kimberly Ulery, (picture attached). For the first time, twins, each from a different second grade class, received Super Citizen Awards.
Our speaker today was Dr. Kelly Cvanciger, Associate Director of Natural History Day in Colorado. Kelly explained that Natural History Day is a pre-collegiate social studies and literacy program. From their website: National History Day in Colorado is a social studies and literacy program that equips students in elementary, middle, and high school with the skills necessary to succeed in college and the real world. Students participate in a project-based learning curriculum that emphasizes critical reading and thinking, research, analysis, and the drawing of meaningful conclusions. Students can complete these projects in groups or as individuals in one of five categories: documentary, paper, exhibit, performance, or website. They then compete in one of our thirteen regions across the state in either the junior (middle school) or senior (high school) division, or in the elementary poster contest (4th and 5th graders). Regional winners compete at the State Contests in May on the University of Colorado Denver campus. First and second place state winners compete in Nationals at the University of Maryland, College Park in June.