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SUNSET OVER LAKEWOOD - MAIN RESEVOIR
The Morning began with a delicious breakfast buffet of French Toast, Fluffy scrambled eggs, juicy sausage patties,  Fresh Fruit, Orange Juice and the bottomless cups of coffee. Once again breakfast was sold out and the dining experience thumbs up. Best deal in town for $8.
The camaraderie was energetic and the gavel came down at exactly 7:01. President Dan Rodriguez  announced our Speaker, Bob Avery was running a little late due to taking attendance and fully enjoying his breakfast plate. Mark Metevia delivered a very thoughtful invocation” respecting all those we meet and sharing the joy and pleasure of optimism with everyone as we go through the day.” The Pledge of Allegiance followed by a rousing cheer of “Play Ball!”
Our hardworking Prez announced there were only 11 more meetings until he was finished, by which a chorus of fun-loving hoots and hoorays filled the air. President Elect Tom Kramis, enjoying the last breakfast served, sat by in quiet anticipation. The day was off to a rousing start. Birthday Boy, Steve Kady was seen trying to cut his cupcake into 4 equal pieces for this fellow table mates. Ron Cisco & John Young were deep in conversation discussing the Junior Golf Tournament crew at Doral, while Oscar Sorensen was contemplating buying another raffle ticket. Karl Geil on ZOOM,  smiled as he watched the morning activity. Scott Pearson. a potential new member recruited by the Avery’s,  was also watching our club in action. Ron Gustas, no longer a stranger and with great anticipation, put his 4 “lucky” raffle tickets into the ever growing jar. Larry Pulaski returning from a tropical vacation looked tanned, rested and ready for whatever was coming his way. “Mr. Baseball” Tom Mauro was lamenting a rumor he had heard.. the Rockies Farm Teams were lagging behind and it might be a long season next year. However, Michael Chavez was optimistically working the room encouraging everyone volunteer for the upcoming Rockies handout/fundraiser. Dr. Bob was merrily managing the drawing participants while expanding the number of cash cups in good spirit.  It is great to see the club alive and well.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Ed Collins: After  a round of chasing the little white ball with some of his buddies told us about how a  pal, who had recently donated 100k to Brent's Place, had balked at buying a raffle ticket because he had no writing instrument to fill out the entry. It came to a surprising conclusion when a waitress listening to the conversation produced a pen and the deal was closed. Good job Ed!
 
 
 Member pictureMichael Chavez: Reminded everyone the Rockies Fundraiser is just around the corner and we need more volunteers. Please sign up for the July 21st event.  Meeting Time   10:15 AM(Please allow time for parking attendant, parking, travel to Coors field and lastly traffic situations.)Main gates open at 11:30 am
Where to Meet:  The Employee entrance is located at the northwest corner of Coors Field directly under the rockpile.
Parking:  Use the Lot C entrance located at 33rd and Blake.
Parking is $1.00. Please tell the attendant you are handing out promotional items. 
A complimentary shuttle service will take you to the field after you have parked. 
Chris Dunphy was acknowledged by President Dan for his work behind the scene making sure coffee was ready and prepared and his assistance with Mike the caterer.
 
RAFFLE REPORT
Ticket free vector icons designed by Eucalyp | Winning lottery ticket,  Winning lottery numbers, Lotto numbersPhil Perington-Raffle manager, reported we  have sold 248 tickets out of 400 through todays meeting.  There will be three added “door prizes” among which is a bag of deluxe Grade A  Rockies Peanuts and 2 seats in back of the Rockies Dugout for the final Day game. We are rapidly approaching the  August 20th Drawing Ceremony at the Breakfast meeting and urge members to help with the sales and promotion of our 1st Annual Raffle in support of our Youth programs.  Thank you all for your support and participation to date. Let’s all work hard to make this event a rousing success.
 
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COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Member pictureMark Metevia share notes of a visit to Firehouse 22:
This morning Steve Kady and myself met with Captain Brian Norton, Captain Ben Bramwell, and Lieutenant Damon Exum at Engine 22 fire station. I’ve been anticipating this meeting all year and I’m happy to report it went better than expected.
 
 
After expressing sincere appreciation that we seldom get to share with fireman I thanked them for the fine effort and Member picturededication to ensuring our safety and protection. And for the opportunity to meet.
First I wanted to overview club history, accomplishments and our website. Well they admitted to taking a quick look at the website already. They appreciated the highlights and samples of newsletters etc prepared as handouts for distribution to the other members of the house.
I inquired how we might get GUMS to any firefighters who might be interested in following us. And promptly got their general email address which they will distribute to all.
It was reported that the board approved our first annual First Responders Appreciation day and asked if they could think about two or three significant firefighters for a presentation at one of our breakfasts in the future. And they said they would be glad to do that.
Upon suggesting it might be fun to arrange a ‘lunch and learn’ at the station so members could see the inside of the fire house, equipment etc.. They said they’d be glad to host anything like that including having a Friday breakfast meeting.
Asked if they might like to give an informal talk some Friday ….they said they could talk for hours!!
When asked if they were any recommendations for other Fire stations or pods in the community that we could plant our seeds of optimism. They need to clear it with their public information officer Greg Pixley. He surely would, they felt and most likely do that even on a citywide basis. I thought this was a big deal because it would connect any shared events to their Facebook and social media platforms.
Lastly we discussed membership and the Raffle. We will be taking that up more seriously on our follow up meeting in 2 to 3 weeks. 
All in all I’m very pleased that this relationship is a win-win for our service club and the community. They even want to bring a fire engine out at some of our events like Brent‘s Place pancake breakfast or Super Citizenship awards.
I hope everyone agrees this is an exciting opportunity for MSOC.
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SPEAKER
Past President (1989-90) and current Master of Attendance opened with the question, “Do you believe in freedom of speech” a matter of “6 degrees of separation”.  Bob Grew up in an early version of a planned community replete with swimming pool, common grounds, Meeting facility, etc. in Washington D.C. It was also the first time he became associated with the Boy Scouts. The Scouts has  been a lifelong  journey and adventure. His growing up was a series of constant change in as much as his Father’s business and administration obligations took the family  from country to country. He learned early that he had to either buck up or get beat up when getting acquainted with new associates. However,  he quickly discovered that starting positive conversations lead to some rather fascinating stories..
 
 
The Boy Scouts always led to great experiences, including an extraordinary opportunity that allowed him  the honor of presenting the silver buffalo award to the President of the United States. He noted how times have changed by describing his visit to the White House. His Scoutmaster drove up to the entrance gate and just dropped him off. After announcing who he was they simply whisked him with a wave of encouragement. After the press released photos of the ceremony in the Oval Office Oval Office Bob got a wave calls from around the country. Every major newspaper had covered the human interest story except the Washington. Go figure.  He Then proceeded to share numerous stories on how random conversations led to life changing moments. One that included meeting his wife Dorcas in Las Animas New Mexico. It also turned out that parents of both families attended the same Church and they both had actually lived on the same block when he was  3 years old. As an example of how Volunteering and meeting new people has benefited Monaco South he turned to John Young. Through John’s efforts over the years the Club has enjoyed a tremendous amount of members and new energy.  He has opened up optimism to many people.
 
One time in their favorite Santa Fe Cowgirl Café a young couple sitting next to Bob and Dorcas,  through friendly conversation both discovered they were Eagle Scouts and lived in Denver. Scouting leads to connections everywhere.  In a moment of reflection he shared how a book about American hero’s of the  20th century she had given to him when he 11 years old, magically reappeared 20 years later at her funeral reception. To his surprise when he looked through the book he discovered his Grandma had written notes about people she had actually met and he finally got to read the book  for what it really was. Turns out Bob has a cousin who lives two doors away from our past beloved and always entertaining member, Fred Pasternack, and a fellow rider for the Sugar Bees team in the MS 150 actually bought Freddie’s  house. Bob ended by proclaiming he believes  ½ the world is adopted(as is the Avery family). That was supported by how many members raised their hands when asked if they had a personal association with adoption. God seems to be stalking Bob,  as proven by the many stories he shared about all the folks he has randomly met over the years, through starting friendly conversations and then being linked to a life changing moment. The moral of the story and presentation was don’t be afraid to reach out and talk to strangers… they may actually be connected to a part of your life.
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FUTURE SPEAKERS
August 6   Bob Meyer     Junior golf participants
August 20 Bill Litchfield   Biking
Sept  3     Joe Marci        My baseball days
Sept 10    Tom Mauro      The great Pueblo flood of 1921
Sept 17    Bob Sweeney  Tales from Barbwire Bob 
Oct 15      John Caldera   Tax reform
Oct 29      Harry Fegley   Overview of model boat building
Nov 5       Olivia McGuire Exec Director of Starting from Scratch -  Community that is Better Together
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DRAWING
Is there Drawing for $30? The  3 of Clubs is the lucky card. Cup winners included Don Roth(twice), Phil Perington, Bob Avery & Jon Wachter. Greg Holt and President Dan take a shot at the draw but come up short. Noel Hasselgren gets the Chip Draw but not a winner. The pot grows.
 The Creed was led by all.
OI Foundation Reminder: If you use Amazon to order products, you can earn money for the Foundation by signing on to  http://smileamazon.com
 
 
See the Online Events Calendar @http://www.monacosouth.org/Events/Calendar
 
Commencing May 14 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.
 
 
Optimist Club of Monaco South 2020-2021 45th Year — Chartered in 1976
 
                   2020 - 2021 Officers                                      2020 - 2021 Board of Directors
President           Dan Rodriguez    303-521-512           Perry Allen            303-521-3453 
Vice President   Tom Kramis        303-917-5299         Stephen Avery       720-775-7700
Vice President   Chris Dunphy     720-297-3111          George Buzick      303-803-2268
Secretary            Bill Morgan        303-868-4384          Allen Malask         303-726-3700 
Asst. Secretary  Phil Perington    303-832-4578          David Peck            925-890-2531
Treasurer           Pat Bush             720-747-5482          Larry Pulaski        303-956-1202 
Asst. Treasurer Greg Young         303-759-3921          Mark Smith           303-691-9766 
                                                                                        Bob Meyer             303-919-4532
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
 
 
 
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.