Wow! Can you believe that it is already the second week of 2009? I hope it’s not too late to share a wish with you that Oprah Winfrey shared with her guests on her popular television show. She said, “Welcome to 2009. It’s another chance to get things right!”
What a great approach If you feel that you already are successful, then keep on keeping on. If you didn’t quite make your goals, then try a little harder. And if you just blew it – didn’t keep any of your resolutions or didn’t make any – then this is your chance to try again.
I believe that most Optimists get it right when they strive to carry out the tenets of the Optimist Creed. Join us every week and double your chances for a successful year!
Holiday Season equals Fund Raising Season
The Meridian Optimist Club celebrated the holidays by holding two great fund raisers. According to S/T Bill Garcia, the Christmas Tree lot brought in $600 less than last year and spent $300 less than last year. Sounds like whatever we did, we doubled our money!
In dollars, that should compute to approximately $22,900 gross and $10,900 net. That’s approximately $400 more than budgeted and with this economy, that deserves a BIG HIGH 5! Well done team! Special thanks to Chairman Kirk Farnsworth and every Optimist and Rifle Club member that made up the sales force and set-up/tear-down team. We appreciate you!
A fun-filled, value-added activity was headed up by Ron Petersen, Casino Chairman. Instead of just renting out the casino tables, he rented our Optimist members as dealers. Our Optimist team got to enjoy a little holiday fun with Idaho Power and others and earn approximately $1,700 to boot. Ron says, “Children are our best ‘bet’.” Great job Ron! Thank you dealers!
Scholarship contestsThe Optimist International Essay Contest is underway and MOC is hoping to receive essays from students at area schools. The topic is “The Power of Youth.” Students under 19 years of age as of December 31, 2008 are eligible to participate. Deadline for entry is January 31, 2009.
The Optimist International Oratorical Contest is also seeking participants. Students must be under the age of 16 as of December 31, 2008. The topic is “To me, optimism is…”. The club level competition will take place in mid-March.
Complete rules and entry forms can be found at http://www.meridianoptimist.org/. Please help spread the word! Homeschoolers are welcome too!
Recent visitors and activities include:
Tracy Shaw from the Wishing Star Foundation shared some heartwarming stories about helping kids with life-threatening illnesses. According to Tracy, Wishing Star is unique in
that they help out “beyond the wish” for birthdays, holidays, and any other time a helping hand is needed. The Foundation was formed in the Coeur d’Alene area in 1993. Tracy is shown here with Kevin Orth.Melissa Delaney from the Meridian Police Department made a presentation to the club on the same day that Tom McKinstry pulled the winning card and pocketed $214. Guess what? If you missed it, Tom still owes us breakfast! It’s a tradition that the winner buys!
Breck Thompson joined Cassie Lynch, Sue Thompson, Linda Jackson and a volunteer from St. Luke’s to wrap Christmas presents for Santa’s Toy Box. Santa’s Toy Box provides gifts to children who are in the hospital during Christmas. Special thanks to Sue for answering the call to help find more gifts when their toy box ran low. With donations from the community, she added 73 more gifts to their program.
Tina Ellis, Founder and Executive Director of Angel Cakes Charity told us all about her pet project of baking and delivering cakes to people just to help them feel special on their birthdays or other days as needed. She started working with hospice clients, branched out to kids in foster care and is now expanding her reach to area rescue missions. She has a team of Angel Bakers that share her passion including Donna Petersen. Donna claims her baking style is “grandma baker.”
What’s happening next?
New Member Induction
January 14 – 7:00 a.m. Help us welcome our newest members to the Club! Each new member will learn about the purposes of Optimist International and get the opportunity to tell us about themselves! New member inductions will be held on the 2nd Wednesday of every month. Sponsor a member today!
Board Meeting at a NEW LOCATION!
January 21—7:00 p.m. The Board Meeting is moving across Main Street to Corkscrews. We’ll meet some new people and still be a fan of Rick’s. Rick has offered to fix “to-go” dinners and Trenna has volunteered to be our go-fer! Board meetings are open to all.
Essay Contest Deadline
January 31 – All essays must be received by the club on this day.
Regional Meeting in Twin Falls
March 7 – Plan ahead and join the MOC contingent for a District Meeting. It’s a great opportunity to meet other Idaho Optimists, plus our District Governor Peter Smith will be there to welcome you. Keep your ears open and you may find out more about a side trip to Jackpot!
Club meetings!
Every Wednesday – We hope to see you at 7:00 a.m. Join us at Kal’s Big Breakfast, 39 E. State Street, Meridian.
In Memory
John Dodge will be remembered at a memorial service on Jan. 21 in Vancouver WA. John was a past PNW District Governor and member of the Portland-Lloyd Center Optimist Club.
