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.
Greeters Jon Wachter and Denny Dressman were up to the challenge of making us feel welcome. Warm greetings were dished out like turkey and all the trimmings on this Friday morning, November 17th, 2023.
President Casey Funk starting our meeting promptly on time, and called upon Bob Avery to deliver our invocation. Bob’s message was a Thanksgiving reminder about gratitude and acknowledging the bounty we enjoy. He then led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Overheard during breakfast:
“If you are in a hurry and need to get a pair of pants hemmed, take them to Taylor Swift.” Ed Collins.
GUESTS (BEARING GIFTS)
Michael Chavez introduced Kevin Dempsey, who joins us from Bethany Lutheran Church. Kevin brought 20 people to help last night at the Boys and Girls club Thanksgiving dinner, and this morning he brought a check for $1,000 to our club. Kevin has also signed up to work a shift at the tree lot. Now that’s what I call a welcome guest! Come anytime Kevin, and bring friends!
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB THANKSGIVING DINNER
I was a great time this year for our Bill Walters Thanksgiving Dinner. The Weather was the best in years.
This Marks our 40th year in providing a meal for the folks at Boys n Girls Club. And Girls Inc.
This year we served 569 at Boys n Girls Club and 230 at Girls Inc.
Thank you to the Following for volunteering at the Boys n Girls Club.
Bill Morgan, Allen Malask, Tom Mauro Phil Perington, Geroge Buzick, Ken and Jacqueline Jeung, Casey Funk
Bob Avery,Paul Stratton, Larry & Ashleigh Pulaski Curt Boell, Gary Strorebidge, Denny Dressman, Brian Williams,Krent Gloor, Bryce Slaby, Tom Kramis, Ed Collins,
We also had volunteers from Bethany Lutheran Church for providing Volunteers at the Boys and Girls Club
And from the Girls inc. thank you to.
Tom And Luara Hoch,Pat Bush Don Roth, Robert Wardlaw, Al and Donagene Gapuzan, Don Roth, Robert Wardlaw, Greg Holt,Matt Dollarhide, Joe Marci, Jake Baker
Special Thanks to Tom Glazier and Greg Young for helping out and providing transportation of our supplies to and from the storage unit.
To All Have a wonderful Thanksgiving
Michael
Ellis
On Thursday, November 16th a Super Citizen Presentation was held at Ellis Elementary where three students, one for the kindergarten, one from First Grade and one from Second Grade were awarded Super Citizen plaques and T Shirts. Prior to each presentation a discussion was held about Optimism and being thankful for our teachers.
Bradley
On Friday, November 17th Bradley Elementary held its November Super Citizen presentation where thirteen students from the second, third, fourth and fifth grades were recognized. Jon Wachter and Vaughn Kendall made the presentations. Prior to the presentations discussion was held about the meaning of some of the lines of the Optimist Creed. The attached picture is of Jon, Vaughn and Jodi Leatherman, who is the assistant principal, and is very supportive of the program.
THE BRAIN BOWL IS COMING! THE BRAIN BOWL IS COMING!
The Optimist Brain Bowl is an academic competition for 6th, 7th and 8th graders fashioned after the College Bowl, or Jeopardy with teams. This year there are two regional tournaments, and the top nine teams at each regional compete in a championship tournament. There are many, many volunteer opportunities at each tournament. We need Readers (think Alex Trebek), Score Keepers, Time Keepers, Runners to get the questions to the competition rooms and the score sheets to Command Central after each round, and more. Volunteers show up by 7 am. We provide coffee and donuts in the morning. Most volunteers are done at lunchtime, but we do feed you lunch. We then need some volunteers to stay until about 3 pm for the playoff portion of the tournament. Readers need to attend a Reader training session in advance of the tournament; other volunteers receive training on game day.
This year’s tournaments are again all on Saturdays: 1/20/2024 at Heritage High School in Littleton, January 27, 2024 at Standley Lake High School in Westminster, and the Championship Tournament on February 10, 2024 at Hamilton Middle School here in Denver.
Reader Trainings are Saturday, January 6, from 9 am to noon and Tuesday, January 9 from 6:30 pm to 9 at Heritage High School in Room 2841, and on Saturday, January 13 at the Law Firm of Osgood and Osgood, LLC, 2586 Trailridge Dr., Lafayette, CO 80026.
All this information and more can be found at www.optimistbrainbowl.org. You can also sign up to volunteer and for a Reader training session there by clicking the “Optimists and Volunteers” link and then the “Brain Bowl Volunteer Registration” link. Put the dates on your calendar and prepare to be amazed by what these middle school kids know and amused by what they don’t know.
Christmas/Holiday Party coming up!
Frank Middleton reminds us that our party will be:
Day - Saturday, December 2nd
Time - 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Location - The Assistance League at 6265 E Evans Ave.
Please enter from the back of the building. Bring spouses or significant others, and invite potential members! The club is providing honey baked ham and turkey, plus wine and soft drinks. Sign up for what you will bring: appetizer, salad, vegetable, starch or dessert. You can also bring other drinks you may prefer. The cost is $25 per person, and the dress is Christmas casual. For a good time, sign up! Please pay at next week's meeting!
Children 12 and under and Boy Scouts in uniform get in free!
WHITE ELEPHANT
Craig Eley announced that our White Elephant gift exchange is coming up on December 22nd during our regular Friday meeting. So keep that in mind between now and then - before you throw something away, think if you should instead wrap up and pass it off as a gift to one of your fellow Optimists. Craig also said that there are only four slots left for Santas during the tree lot season, so reach out to him if you are interested.
Tom Kramis says that the tree lot opens in one week! The Friday after Thanksgiving will be the first day of sales, but there is much to be done between now and then. Stayed tuned to your email for announcements when the trees arrive. There will be two deliveries - one on Monday, and the other should be Tuesday or Wednesday. We will need lots of members to pitch in with off-loading this precious cargo. Once the trees are unloaded, drilled, priced, and put on pegs, it will be time to sell them. So go to:
Go the schedule website. The link above or the link on the website (www.monacosouth.org).
Each shift time slot shows the required LOT staffing level IN ADDITION TO CASHIER. EACH SHIFT MUST HAVE ONE OCMS MEMBER SIGNED UP AS LEAD.
On a day you can work at least one 3-hour shift, click on EDIT. Shifts begin November 24th. You are allowed to work consecutive shifts and multiple days. We ask that you work at least 8 shifts. You will see a CASHIER: and then blank space below that. Cashier spots are reserved for Volunteers who absolutely cannot work the lot and lift trees. If you are a Cashier, enter your name and phone number.
Using the arrow key (NOT THE ENTER KEY), drop down below the Cashier and under LEAD or LOT VOLUNTEER, enter your name and phone number.
IMPORTANT: IF THE SHIFT IS FULLY MANNED TO THE STAFFING LEVEL INDICATED BY(**), DO NOT ADD YOUR NAME. CHOOSE ANOTHER SHIFT OR DAY. DO NOT JUST SHOW UP AT THE LOT WITHOUT FIRST ADDING YOUR NAME TO THE SCHEDULE.
IMPORTANT: ONCE YOU HAVE ADDED YOUR NAME, scroll to the bottom and CLICK ON SAVE RECORD THE DAY AND TIME FOR YOUR PERSONAL CALENDAR. IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND, OR NEED TO GO TO ANOTHER DAY, CLICK CANCEL.
If you sign up, show up. Always try to arrive 10 minutes early for your shift. If circumstances require you to cancel, you are responsible for finding a replacement and updating the schedule.
Be courteous and helpful to the day managers and other volunteers. Help them recruit workers. Family and friends are welcome if over 16. Be sure to put them on the schedule.
To just view the schedule to see where there are empty slots, click on view on a day, or at the end of each row: VIEW WEEK or VIEW WEEKEND.
After completing your shift, post your work hours to the Log in the Trailer.
IF YOU NEED HELP TO UPDATE THE ONLINE SCHEDULE, CALL A DAY MANAGER TO DO IT FOR YOU. Day managers are listed on the top row of the schedule.
A STAR IN OUR MIDST
Per official head-counter extraordinaire Bob Avery, there were 53 club members in attendance at today’s meeting. That is the largest number at a meeting since the onset of the pandemic. To what do we attribute this excellent level of participation? Clearly, it must be due to today’s speaker. No one wanted to miss our own Greg Young! Greg delivered a power point presentation for cashiers working at the tree lot. He gave a demonstration on how to ring up trees and other sale items, and showed how the tax is automatically taken into account when appropriate. He also showed how to use the credit card reader. Detailed instructions will be given to cashiers and day lot managers, and there will be a manual in the drawer in the trailer. Also, Greg will be at the lot on Wednesday next week from approximately 12:00 noon - 3:00 pm. He’ll be setting up the system and can answer questions or do some hands-on training for cashiers.
MEMBER NEWS
Peter Dimond reports from Arizona that he recently underwent successful surgery to replace a faulty heart valve. Peter says that he is resting well and hopes to be able to attend a meeting sometime after Christmas.
DRAWING
Dr. Bob Finkelmeier informed us that $60 was lurking in the pot for the fortunate Optimist who was able to select the 4 of spades from the card deck. The following men chose to pass on the draw and take the easy money:
Dick Nickoloff
Jake Baker
Bob Avery
Matt Dollarhide
Greg Holt
Craig Eley
Our esteemed treasurer Pat Bush made the no-so-sound financial decision to go for the big money, but no luck.
Tom “I met him while pumping gas” Glazier also came up short.
Nametag
Tom Hoch was paying attention and sporting his nametag at just the right time, but alas, twas not to be. His consolation prize was concluding our meeting by leading the recitation of the Optimist Creed: “Promise Yourself…”
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.
Greeters Jon Wachter and Denny Dressman were up to the challenge of making us feel welcome. Warm greetings were dished out like turkey and all the trimmings on this Friday morning, November 17th, 2023.
On Friday, November 17th Bradley Elementary held its November Super Citizen presentation where thirteen students from the second, third, fourth and fifth grades were recognized. Jon Wachter and Vaughn Kendall made the presentations. Prior to the presentations discussion was held about the meaning of some of the lines of the Optimist Creed. The attached picture is of Jon, Vaughn and Jodi Leatherman, who is the assistant principal, and is very supportive of the program.
e Optimist Brain Bowl is an academic competition for 6th, 7th and 8th graders fashioned after the College Bowl, or Jeopardy with teams. This year there are two regional tournaments, and the top nine teams at each regional compete in a championship tournament. There are many, many volunteer opportunities at each tournament. We need Readers (think Alex Trebek), Score Keepers, Time Keepers, Runners to get the questions to the competition rooms and the score sheets to Command Central after each round, and more. Volunteers show up by 7 am. We provide coffee and donuts in the morning. Most volunteers are done at lunchtime, but we do feed you lunch. We then need some volunteers to stay until about 3 pm for the playoff portion of the tournament. Readers need to attend a Reader training session in advance of the tournament; other volunteers receive training on game day.
om Kramis says that the tree lot opens in one week! The Friday after Thanksgiving will be the first day of sales, but there is much to be done between now and then. Stayed tuned to your email for announcements when the trees arrive. There will be two deliveries - one on Monday, and the other should be Tuesday or Wednesday. We will need lots of members to pitch in with off-loading this precious cargo. Once the trees are unloaded, drilled, priced, and put on pegs, it will be time to sell them. So go to:
Per official head-counter extraordinaire Bob Avery, there were 53 club members in attendance at today’s meeting. That is the largest number at a meeting since the onset of the pandemic. To what do we attribute this excellent level of participation? Clearly, it must be due to today’s speaker. No one wanted to miss our own Greg Young! Greg delivered a power point presentation for cashiers working at the tree lot. He gave a demonstration on how to ring up trees and other sale items, and showed how the tax is automatically taken into account when appropriate. He also showed how to use the credit card reader. Detailed instructions will be given to cashiers and day lot managers, and there will be a manual in the drawer in the trailer. Also, Greg will be at the lot on Wednesday next week from approximately 12:00 noon - 3:00 pm. He’ll be setting up the system and can answer questions or do some hands-on training for cashiers.
eter Dimond reports from Arizona that he recently underwent successful surgery to replace a faulty heart valve. Peter says that he is resting well and hopes to be able to attend a meeting sometime after Christmas.
Dick Nickoloff