GUMS May 5, 2023 (May 05, 2023)

Our greeters this morning are Mike White and Don Thomson. A beautiful spring morning and start to the day.

President Larry Pulaski rings the bell promptly at 7 and asks John Van Ness to read the invocation this morning. Heavenly Father, help us to work only for the best. The challenge is to leave this place in a better place than we found it. John then leads us in the pledge of allegiance.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Al Gapuzan is looking for Greeters for the month of May. A great way to see old friends and meet some new ones.

Craig Eley tells us the new directory is available and ready for distribution.

Andy Towt with his official OI Foundation baseball cap, rings the bell for Dime A Day Program, he is taking donations.

Tom Mauro recognizes 3 wonderful programs coming up, today we have the Essay Contest winners, next week will be the Brain Bowl featuring Monaco South Optimists vs members of Tamarac Optimist Club, The following week, we hopefully will have both Mayoral candidates, answering questions.

Mike Chavez tells us he is taking shirts order. There is a new logo available and Mike wonders if we would like that?

Rockies hand out is coming up, June 8. It’s an afternoon game and you will receive a ticket to the game for your efforts. June 25 will be the rest stop for the MS Ride, this club has done this for many years and Mike needs volunteers to help serve water and snacks for the riders.

Bill Morgan tells us that new member orientation will be coming up May 17 from 7-8. The event will be done via zoom so mark your calendar.

Tom Yagley tells us that tomorrow is Derby Day at the Legion post. Gun raffle is back, and Mother’s Day breakfast is coming up, Mothers eat free May 14.

Mark Metevia passed around the speaker schedule and asks anyone for ideas on who we can have for speakers. Mark tells us he has been reading the Villager Newspaper, regularly, and has been enjoying the column by Denny Dressman. Denny is the former Rocky Mountain News Sports reporter who spoke at our club recently and is a new member to our club.

President Larry tells us that today is upcoming Super Citizen at Samuels with Kent Gloor, Dick Nickoloff handling the duties, and Noel Hasselgren taking photos. The TJ Jazz Band enjoyed their trip starting in New Orleans. Jr. Golf has an outing upcoming. Larry tells us that a few members from Monaco South attended the recent District meeting

DENVER POLICE DISTRICT THREE

Commander Carlos Aragon

(Article by Dr. Bob)

This past week Steve Kady and Bob Finkelmeier met with District 3 Commander Carlos Aragon. We both came away from the meeting that he/District 3 would like to build a closer relationship with Monaco South. In addition, he shared that Chief Thomas also is supportive of the idea to continue to build on the strategies of “community policing.” Some of the ideas we discussed with Carlos were, 1) to share our Super Citizen presentation calendar with him so he can encorage Community Officers, or patrol officers, to drop in on these presentations. 2) invite the District 3 officers to participate in some of our activties like, Respect for Law, Bike MS, Tree Lot, Rockies Handouts, Scout Programs, Thanksgiving Dinner, and Food Basket Sharing, etc.

It was also shared at the District 3 Community Meeting with Commander Aragon, on Wednesday evening, that the Police Department now has a therapy dog named Shelby that they would like to take to schools. Shelby’s partner is Officer Teresa Gillian. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ2oWeJt5Ls The Commander thought that our Super Citizen schools would be ideal for this as well. The plan is for Bob to share the 2023-2024 academic calendar with the Commander and Officer Gillian once it is developed.

DENVER POLICE LOW RIDER

By the way, the DPD shared with us these upcoming events:

Thursday, May 11th from 9 am to 1 pm. FREE Catalytic Converter Etching, theft deterrent license plate screws and the CLUB steering wheel lock – *limited supply, **by appointment only. Registration opens May 4th. (see attachment for link to register)

Thursday, May 18th – 6 pm Active Shooter Informational Forum – at the District 3 Station 1625 S University Blvd. Taught by our District 3 Officers. Learn how to employ “RUN, HIDE, FIGHT” protocols and discuss police response strategy to neutralizing an active shooter threat in an interactive setting. RSVP to christie.mochoruk@denvergov.org

NEW!!!! Crime Map on Denvergov.org @ https://www.denvergov.org/Government/Agencies-Departments-Offices/Agencies-Departments-Offices-Directory/Police-Department/Crime-Information

Attention Kia and Hyundai Vehicle Owners!!! If you have a key ignition and key fob, and drive a Kia or Hyundai please read https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/hyundai-kia-campaign-prevent-vehicle for more information about FREE anti-theft deterrent software. Please share with your neighbors too.

ESSAY CONTEST

Wyatt McCallie tells us about the resumption of the Essay Contest, which is among the longest serving programs our club sponsors. Joe Marci started this program and it has been ongoing for over 30 years. The Essay Program partners with TJ High School. Teachers at the school gather works and submit to the club reasonable number of Essays. The cover sheets are removed, making each entry anonymous. Judges review each essay and assign a ranking based on several criteria. The winner from this club is then forwarded on to the District for entry into the larger pool, for a chance to win a $2500 scholarship.

It takes a lot of people to make this program work. Joe got this program going back in 1976, and continued it for many years. Judges this year were Tom Mauro, Greg Holt and Ron Gustas. Dr. Bob Finkelmeier supplied the certificates, Phil Perington helped with the operation.

ur liaison with TJ High School is Amber Wilson and this program falls directly in line with our mission: Friend of Youth. The 1^st place winner is Kao Opti who came to this country from Mogadishu, Somalia. Due to recent surgery Kao is not able to join us this morning. Amber Wilson, AP English teacher, reads his essay. The essay starts with a Somali proverb that his late uncle used to repeat to Kao. The proverb, spoke about the good that results from dealing positively with trying times. His uncle was the epitome of the American dream. The proverb his uncle repeated to him many times had a large impact on him. His uncle came to this country through a lottery drawing and sold his 3 camels to afford the plane fare for the trip. Amber tells us that Kao is an extraordinary young man who demonstrates many of the philosophies that help him succeed.

TJ HAPPENINGS

Wyatt introduces Jon Poole who is Assistant Principal at TJ, who tells us what is happening at the High School. Jon notes the Jazz Band trip was incredible. The band just played at the Boat House at Washington Park. TJ will be about 1400 student

s next year, and the growth has continued. This year they will have the largest graduating class in the school’s history. The school plans to install air conditioning this summer. They boast many students going on the college. DECA program will have 10 students going on to Nationals. TJ will have a submarine entry for robotics competition. Jon thanks the club and says the school has many wonderful kids. The school has about 60% of students taking AP classes. 13 AP courses and concurrent coursed that allow students complete classes that will earn them college credit. Jon has been at TJ for 19 years and has really enjoyed his time at the school. Tom Mauro asks regarding School Resource Officer, Jon tells us that their SRO officer had been at the school for 12 years and had exemplified how the program should work, and they are happy to have him back. Officer Cueva. There are over 30 languages spoken at TJ High School and the culture is rich. John started as an English teacher and has taught several classes before becoming Vice Principal. We thank you students and teachers for supporting this program.

DRAWING

Do we have a drawing? There is $110 in the pot this week, 8 of Hearts is the lucky card. 21 cards are left to draw from.

Pat Bush draws a card. Amber Wilson draws a card. President Larry takes a cup. Bill Litchfield wins a cup. Al Gapuzan takes a cup, Greg Holt takes a cup. Craig Eley, Frank Ross takes a cup. John Poole gets to draw a card. But no lucky card is picked this week, the pot grows.
We then recite the Creed. Go forth and promote Optimism.