Curt Boell ran the show as a solo greeter this morning.  He enthusiastically welcomed a modestly sized and slightly boisterous crowd on this post-Independence Day meeting, Friday, July 5th, 2024.

 

 

Tom Glazier took to the stage, pinch-hitting for President Casey.  It is Camaraderie Day, and Frank Middleton decided to see who was paying attention to the club calendar and would sit at a different table than usual without having to be told.  Either that or he forgot his deck of cards.  Hard to say.

 

Our invocation today was delivered by Bob Halvorson.  Bob’s timely message talked about the promotion of patriotism being a obligation of all Optimist Club members.  Patriotism is the love of one’s country, while nationalism is the hatred of other countries.  He then led us in the Pledge Of Allegiance.

 

Presently, the only presidential announcement is that the President is not present.

 

 

Michael Chavez reported that the MS 150 hydration station was successful and a smooth project.  Thanks to Tom Glazier for helping load the truck at the beginning of the day, and to Pat Bush for unloading at the end of the day.  Thanks to all of the members who participated, including: Craig Eley, Tom Overton, Joe Marci, Zeb Danesh, Kevin Dempsey, Phil Perington, John Burnett, Curt Boell, George Buzick and Tom Kramis.

 This note from Bob Avery (who took part in the ride:

 

Phil Perington gave a Raffle update.  The Raffle Committee has determined beneficiaries of the Raffle profits shall receive contributions up to $500, excluding the J.O.I. District who will receive $1,000. Beneficiaries include new money for The Anchor Center for Blind Children and TJ Latin Club-$500 each. As an important note, O.I. will match $500 for any new Club programs. Our own Bradley J.O.I. Club will also receive a $500 contribution. As of July 5th, we have sold 320 tickets. This puts us over halfway to our goal of 550 tickets. Thank you all for your energetic and loyal support. The drawing is August 16^th and this year we are offering 3 tickets for $50. Individual tickets are $20.  The 1st place winner receives $2,000, 2^nd place $1,000 and 20- 3^rd place winners are each awarded $100. We are optimistic all tickets will sell and distributed. As a reminder, you can buy tickets for your favorite charity, family member, friend, or business entity.

 

Our esteemed treasurer Pat Bush asked, once again, that members email him with budget requests for any projects they would like to see included in our next year’s activities.  Do this soon so the projects you care about don’t get left out!

 

Zabih Danesh let us know that he has taken on a nickname, which he thinks will make it easier for people to pronounce and remember.  So, he asked that we call him Zeb going forward.   Zeb and his family arrived in the U.S. on 07/03/2023, so yesterday was his second 4th of July.  He is an asylum seeker and has the necessary work clearances to be hired by any employer.  He has a master’s in computer science and was halfway to his PhD when he had to flee Afghanistan.  He was a professor teaching computer science in Kabul and also has experience in translating.  He is looking for IT or teaching employment and would appreciate any leads.

 

 

Paul Simon in the house!  Many warm welcomes and pats on the back greeted Past President Paul Simon as he joined our meeting after a too-long absence.