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
This morning were pleased to have Ken Jeung and Michael Chavez as our warm hearted and eager greeters. It was a a bright and crisp morning filled with laughter and good cheer for all. The delicious breakfast buffet was hot and abundant, offering fluffy ham & scrambled eggs, thick rashers of bacon, ranch style potatoes, fresh fruit bowl, vegetable plate with cream cheese, assorted bagels, juice and piping hot coffee. The plates were stacked high
MORNING ACTIVITY
Early Birds included President Larry Pulaski, Bill Morgan and Ed Collins-looking around for his 3 missing guests. To Frank Middleton and other members pleasure, there were many new faces roaming the room and enjoying the early morning camaraderie. Loyal fan Mike White was dressed full Rockies- head to toe purple and blue in celebration of The ROX opening day win in a slugfest over the San Diego Padres. Tom Mauro wearing his Yankees jacket was quietly and politely tolerated by Rockies Team Builder Bob Gebhardt. Al Gapuzan was prowling the room signing up future greeters and finished with a flurry with a full page of volunteers. Thanks Al-you’re a champ. Steve Kady, Frank Ross & Tom Overton were catching up on past and present activities in avid and animated conversation. Good to see them together and back for breakfast. Mike McManon, Josh LiPuma and Pat Bush were sharing and exchanging stories of commerce and collections. Essay Contest Chair, Wyatt McCallie was busy reminding everyone of the upcoming Essay Awards Breakfast on May 5th. It was an active and engaged morning crew.
CALL TO ORDER
President Larry gaveled the gathered sharply at 7 am. Greg Young presented the invocation.. “March 29th honors our Veterans for their service and sacrifice in the 50th anniversary of the war in Viet Nam. We offer our thanks to you, to family and friends and other loved ones for your service and sacrifice. We shall always be indebted to the bravery, commitment and duty given. May God bless and be with you always.” The Pledge of Allegiance followed with a spirited and optimistic cheer of PLAY BALL!
DO WE HAVE ANY GUESTS? Ed Collins: Introduced Orville Sherrie, a retired Commercial Real Estate Broker, whose wife is a member of the Tamarac Club. Also with us today is another of Ed’s guests: John Stomper, a retired Prudential Insurance Broker, and golfing buddy. Both Orville and John are very much interested in what the Optimists do for kids and will hopefully return as new members.
Tom Mauro: Introduced, Bob Loeb “another damn lawyer” to a round of good natured laughter & we all thanked him for being a friend to Tom, and hopefully a new member. He also introduced Stephen Coury a Developer who works with HVAC elements and delivered a “jolting” introduction thank you.
Mike White: His Zoom guest was son Brian who worked on tree lot and other projects with the Club. Welcome aboard Brian-looking forward to seeing you soon.
Mark Metevia: Introduced his Neighbor Pastor David Wassenburger, who is looking forward to hearing our Rockies Guest Speaker and learning more about our kids programs.
Jon Wachter: wit: Introduced John Guttmann, with his new application in hand. He grew up with Bradley School and thanks us for having him. We thank you John for becoming a member of the Optimist Family.
Another new member, Greg Ostravich.
Announcements:
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
Following are candidates for these positions as proposed by the nominating committee:
MONACO SOUTH OPTIMIST BALLOTT APRIL 7, 2023
OFFICER/BOARD ELECTION
PRESIDENT (VOTE FOR 1)
___ FUNK, CASEY
VICE PRESIDENT (VOTE FOR 2)
___ GLAZIER, TOM
___ NELSON, MATT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS (VOTE FOR 4)
___ BROWN, CARL
___ DUNPHY, CHRIS
___ GAPUZAN, AL
___ HOLT, GREG
___ MALASK, ALLEN
___ OLSEN, BUD
___ PERINGTON, PHIL
___ SANI, MARIO
The Nominating Committee this year consists of Joe Marci, Jon Wachter, Greg Young, and Tom Mauro. Please contact one of them if you have any questions.
DIRECTORY
Craig Eley: Still looking for new photos for the Club directory. He will be conducting a phot shoot immediately following the meeting. “If you don’t like the old face-bring a new one!”
MEMBERSHIP -Frank Middleton
Who will be the BIG WINNER of 1 free week in Bob Meyer’s townhome in Frisco, CO during the week April 21 to April 28. To count towards winning the FREE week the new member application AND check (money) must be turned in no later than the April 21, 2023 regular Friday meeting of Monaco South.
In the hunt so far is: How many New Members
Chris Dunphy 2
Mark Metevia 1
Jon Wachter 1
Frank Middleton 1
DENVERSCHOOL BOARD RECALL
Steve Kady: Delivered a Nonpolitical message. Please look at Denver School Board elections RE: the Recall issue. It is an important election and should be treated as such. He also noted that the Chief of Police will be at the April 28th Respect for Law program along with 2 District Commander
ROCKIES TICKETS
Joe Marci; He has season tickets behind home plate available and can also get tickets on the 3rd baseline please call him at 303-847-7844.
INDUCTION
Denny Dressman, sponsored by Mark Metevia was read his rights and installed by President Larry Pulaski who presented with his new member pin and Certificate of Membership. A big hurrah and welcome applause followed. Welcome aboard Denny, its going to be a nice ride.
OUR SPEAKER-BOB GEBHARD
Our newest member Denny Dressman, proudly introduced the Colorado Rockies first General Manager and beloved Father of the Blake Street Bombers.
Father Bob began his presentation with the impregnable words of A-Team Col. John “Hannibal” Smith… “I love it when a plan comes together.” However, there was no cigar lighting involved.
Bob began with the early days of the Rockies:
The process of building a new team literally from scratch, began in June of 1991 when Denver and Florida were awarded a MLB expansion franchise. He was working for the Minnesota Twins at the time. The first major hurdle began in the Summer of 1992 when Rockies part owner, Mickey Monus was arrested for embezzlement and Denver almost lost the franchise. As luck would have it, The Montfort family rode to the rescue and stepped up to replace the pledged financial commitment. The 1st call to the bullpen was a success. Bob began his 1st day at a desk that had 2 paper clips and no roadmap. He wondered to himself, “what the hell have I done? I just left the World Champions Twins and walked into an empty room.”
With a Briefcase full of papers, he hired 4 trusted friends and qualified execs. With only 300k for Scouts he was terribly outgunned How much $ for Scouts. However, he ended up with 11 solid players ad drafted 40 more. John Burke was his 1st choice. He thought he had plenty of time to prepare 11 months for first game. They needed to scout 22 teams that were eligible for the special November 1992 expansion draft. Teams could protect 15 players. It was a very complicated through 3 rounds. He also had to deal with the 38 names he had on his list for possible managers.
He finally reduced the number to 4 and was focused on Don Baylor, a guy with no managerial experience but a tremendous leader. Baylor was baseballs leader in being hit by pitchers and fit the bill to a T. He had always looked up to Don Zimmer and got good recommendation. The rest is history. There was an Amateur Draft from both leagues with over 2000 candidates. He spent hours ranking the top 20 from all 26 teams.
In a moment of baseball magic, just 2 days before draft got a call that 1st baseman Andres Jose Padovan Galarraga was available. Baylor said, “take him!” He signed a 1-year contract for 500k. The Rockies had an 8-million-dollar salary budget in 1993 for a 40-man roster. $30-45 million against other clubs was beyond the pale. There was a lot of forensic baseball statistical checking to say the least.
The Draft unfolded with 1st pick David Neid pitcher from Atlanta. (After signing Galarraga who was the 1993 batting champion @.383. The Rockies signed him to a 4 year contract and he went on to be a 5 time all star, won 2 golden gloves and 2 silver slugger commendations. He also hit 172 HR during his tenure at the Rockies.)
The 2nd pick was Dante Bichette from Milwaukee. A handshake sealed the deal. He hir .299, stole bases and had the best RBI from the 6th inning on. He also hit home runs and won walk-offs. Bob mentioned nobody ever knew which Dante was coming to Spring Training.
The 3rd pick was Vinnie Castillo from the Braves. He was a good guy with a big smile. He told Bob, “If its over the plate I can hit a bullet.” Truer words have never been spoken. In 9 seasons he won awards for golden gloves & silver slugger + hit 320 HR. Hit 299 201 HR. Played hard stole bases.
Ellis Burke from the White Sox was a free agent interested in coming to Rockies. He had a History of bad knees and Bob surveyed him from the outfield bleachers before deciding he was good to go. Ellis went on to 115 HR 5 years. Played as an 2 all-star and in 2012 was inducted in BOSOX Hall of Fame.
Then there was Larry Walker of Montreal. Originally his dream was to be a goalie in NHL. And was from the small town of Maple Ridge Canada. His 1st contract in baseball was for $1500. Larry could hit with Power, run with excellence and throw a bullet from almost everywhere. He graded out at 80-80-80. Undoubtedly the best player around. He loved the number 3 and always wore #33. He smashed 254 HR for the Rockies. In a very magical moment, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as the 333rd member.
Q. Is there a quota for LH Pitchers. Yes we Like to have 2-3 in the Bull Pen.
Q. Is Pitching in Colorado difficult. Probably-Colorado pitchers Smoltz and Maddox were always stiff and sore. Over the years things have changed especially with humidor warm up pen.
Q. As a Cardinal fan with 11 World winners. What is baseball to Denver. Baseball is the only sport in St. Louis. Denver is football country.
Q. Do you like the New Rules. I like them. No shifting. Encourage base runners. It is a good addition to baseball.
The meeting could have gone on for hours.. Please visit again Bob. You are always welcome and we will draft you as our number one baseball Mentor.
DO WE HAVE A DRAWING
$60-2 diamonds
CUPS: Larry Pulaski-Frank Ross- Jack Kleinheksel-Greg Young-Bob Gebhardt-Ken-Jeung-Steve Kady
DRAW:John G- B. Gebhardt-Nope
Chips -Don Thomson-Nope
Creed Gebhardt
VIETNAM VETERANS DAY - MARCH 29
Fifty years have passed since the final American military forces left Vietnam and our remaining prisoners of war were returned. Even after the passage of five decades, we still owe these veterans a large debt of gratitude.
During the conflict, political controversy and disagreement were sadly misdirected toward those who had admirably served our nation. When these brave warriors returned from Vietnam, they received neither a hero’s welcome nor appreciation for their service that they deserved, but instead got apathy, anger and hate. Disappointingly, many were left to struggle alone with self-doubt, shame and the memories of those left behind.
After their wartime service ended, these unsung heroes went to work, served in government and became involved in their communities. Vietnam War-era veterans went on to lead Fortune 500 companies, direct Oscar-winning films, create a prominent computer-programming language, map the human genome and many other outstanding accomplishments. Today, there are approximately 6 million living veterans from the Vietnam era – more than 30% of America’s veteran population.
March 29 – National Vietnam War Veterans Day – is dedicated to these heroes. You can honor them by watching the National Veterans Memorial and Museum’s Welcome Home Ceremony at 10 a.m. EDT. The keynote speaker will be Capt. J. Charles “Charlie” Plumb (USN, Ret.), a naval aviator who was shot down and held prisoner in Vietnam for six years. He’s legendary for his story “Who Packs Your Parachute?”
The 50th National Vietnam War Veterans Day is a national opportunity to share our appreciation for the sacrifices made by a generation of veterans. Thank you, Vietnam veterans, for your courage in war and service to our nation, both in and out of uniform.
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
OCMS President Larry Pulaski is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting
PLEASE NOTE: All 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 2022-2023 47th Year — Chartered in 1976
2022-2023 Officers
President Larry Pulaski 303-956-1202
Vice President Matt Nelson 720-774-0758
Vice President Steve Kady 303-931-1470
Secretary Jake Baker 412-680-0765
Treasurer Pat Bush 303-750-9409
2022- 2023 Board of Directors
Joe Marci 303-847-7844 Tom Glazier 303-522-5214
George Buzick 303-803-2268 Casey Funk 720-656-2255
Vaughn Kendall 303-910-6590 Ken Jeung 720-849-6241
Kent Gloor 303-880- 5444 Tom Kramis 303-917-5299
Tom Hoch 303-332-9338
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
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.
his morning were pleased to have Ken Jeung and Michael Chavez as our warm hearted and eager greeters. It was a a bright and crisp morning filled with laughter and good cheer for all. The delicious breakfast buffet was hot and abundant, offering fluffy ham & scrambled eggs, thick rashers of bacon, ranch style potatoes, fresh fruit bowl, vegetable plate with cream cheese, assorted bagels, juice and piping hot coffee. The plates were stacked high
President Larry Pulaski, Bill Morgan and Ed Collins-looking around for his 3 missing guests. To Frank Middleton and other members pleasure, there were many new faces roaming the room and enjoying the early morning camaraderie. Loyal fan Mike White was dressed full Rockies- head to toe purple and blue in celebration of The ROX opening day win in a slugfest over the San Diego Padres. Tom Mauro wearing his Yankees jacket was quietly and politely tolerated by Rockies Team Builder Bob Gebhardt. Al Gapuzan was prowling the room signing up future greeters and finished with a flurry with a full page of volunteers. Thanks Al-you’re a champ. Steve Kady, Frank Ross & Tom 
Overton were catching up on past and present activities in avid and animated conversation. Good to see them together and back for breakfast. Mike McManon, Josh LiPuma and Pat Bush were sharing and exchanging stories of commerce and collections. Essay Contest Chair, Wyatt McCallie was busy reminding everyone of the upcoming Essay Awards Breakfast on May 5th. It was an active and engaged morning crew.
resident Larry gaveled the gathered sharply at 7 am. Greg Young presented the invocation.. “March 29th honors our Veterans for their service and sacrifice in the 50th anniversary of the war in Viet Nam. We offer our thanks to you, to family and friends and other loved ones for your service and sacrifice. We shall always be indebted to the bravery, commitment and duty given. May God bless and be with you always.” The Pledge of Allegiance followed with a spirited and optimistic cheer of PLAY BALL!
Jon Wachter: wit: Introduced John Guttmann, with his new application in hand. He grew up with Bradley School and thanks us for having him. We thank you John for becoming a member of the Optimist Family. 
Denny Dressman, sponsored by Mark Metevia was read his rights and installed by President Larry Pulaski who presented with his new member pin and Certificate of Membership. A big hurrah and welcome applause followed. Welcome aboard Denny, its going to be a nice ride.
