President Rick McKernan rang the Optimist bell at 12:15. The invocation was given by Pat Brown. Ed Harre led the Pledge of Allegiance. 

GUESTS 
One guest joined us this week. We were pleased to have Layli Terrell with us as a guest of Cynthia Mitchell. Welcome, Layli! 

MYSTERY GUEST
Looks like the club saved $8.00 not giving away a free lunch next week! Our mystery guest was, well...a mystery.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES 
We had a full week of birthdays and anniversaries. This week we are proud to honor the birthdays of Rocky Moellering, 30th; Cyrilla Galbreath, 31st; Bob Bellinghausen, September 2nd; Paul Clark, Marc Laferrier, and Brenda Gibbs-Brown, all on the 3rd.
   Anniversaries this week include Sid and Joan Sullivan on August 30th, and Jim and Sabra Murphy on September 3rd.
   Since there is no meeting next week because of Labor Day, we also want to celebrate birthdays with Mike Reilly, 7th; John Sanders, Charlie Langrader, and Richard Ellsworth, all on the 9th; 
Congratulations to all!


TAIL TWISTER
Just who is Steve Henderson and where was he hiding on Monday??

ANNOUNCEMENTS 
S   ix club members attended the East Missouri District meeting in St. Louis this past week-end for fellowship and training. Kerry Bramon, Bob Merriman, Carl Scott, Sid Sullivan, Red Leighton, and Rick McKernan represented the Downtown Optimist Club.
   Cynthia Mitchell still has tickets for the grand opening celebration for Macy's, formerly Famous Barr, on Saturday, September 16th. We offer tickets for sale for $5.00, and the club keeps the whole amount for our club projects. Cynthia has the tickets individually or in groups of ten. This can be a win-win-win if you have friends, neighbors, and co-workers who love to shop. Your spouse is going to spend your money anyway, so you might as well get more mileage out of your dollars by getting a discount coupon. 
   The membership of the Downtown Optimist Club, in accordance with our bylaw provisions, voted Monday and unanimously approved the new recommended language as an amendment to our bylaws. This will now be forwarded on to OI for approval to complete the bylaw change process. The amended bylaws will be posted on our website once approved by OI. 
Along with the coming of fall comes time to pay your annual dues. The new Optimist year starts on October 1, 2006. Checks payable to Downtown Optimist Club for $60.00 should be sent to DOC at P.O. Box 1959, Columbia, MO 65205. 
   Our condolences to Joe Sestak on the recent death of his mother. You're in our thoughts and prayers, Joe.

PROGRAM
Our own Cynthia Mitchell presented our program this week on the operation of the city's solid waste disposal program. Columbia serves as a leader in its operation of solid waste management services to the community.
   The three options of what to do with solid waste, in their order of preference, are 1) Recycling, 2) Composting, and 3)Landfill. 
   Quite naturally, the method of preference is to return the product to a useable form through recycling. This not only saves precious space in our landfill, but it allows the city to recover some of its expenses through the sale of recyclable materials. 

NEXT WEEK: Monday, September 4th No Meeting - Celebrate Labor Day

Monday, August 21, 2006

GUESTS 
We had one cheerful guest with us today. Roz Young, a social worker from LFCS, was a guest of Christine White. Welcome, Roz! 

MYSTERY GUEST
Our Mystery Guest this week was Jake Jolley. Jake said the magic number this week was 12, the number of Tiger Woods' major wins . The 12th person to shake Mr. Jolley's hand today was Wayne Taylor. Congratulations, Wayne - it's certainly par for the course that a fine member like yourself wins a free lunch next week!

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES 
Our ever cheerful Fellowship reporter Dottie Stoerker-Peters was away today, but reported one anniversary: Valerie and Richard Goodin on the 26th, and one birthday: Harold Hinshaw on the 21st.
Congratulations!

TAIL TWISTER
Tail twister Steve Henderson was absent today as he researched the racing pig our Downtown Optimist Club was sponsoring in the Food Bank's fundraiser on Tuesday, and prepared his bio. "His,"meaning the pig, not his, meaning Steve's. Stay tuned for exciting details of the race next week. Our pig, Hambone Hockelberry, is destined for greatness.

ANNOUNCEMENTS 
Incoming officers and directors, as well as any other interested members, should make plans to attend the East Missouri District meeting in St. Louis on August 25-26. We have eight members who are attending.
   The proposed bylaw change wording regarding the transition to a 501(c)3 entity will be voted on at the next club meeting on Monday, August 28th.
   Cynthia Mitchell has tickets for the grand opening celebration for Macy's, formerly Famous Barr, on Saturday, September 16th. We offer tickets for sale for $5.00, and the club keeps the whole amount for our club projects. Cynthia has the tickets individually or in groups of ten. This can be a win-win-win if you have friends, neighbors, and co-workers who love to shop. Your spouse is going to spend your money anyway, so you might as well get more mileage out of your dollars by getting a discount coupon. 
   At the regular board meeting last Thursday, your board made two funding authorizations. The first was $500 in support of Daniel Boone Little League's team traveling to Williamsport for the national tournament. The second funding authorization was an additional $500 to support the work of the Central Missouri Food Bank. 
   The Tree Lot Committee met last Thursday. One of the principle topics of discussion was security for the Grand Avenue lot. Detective Vance Pittman from CPD came to offer suggestions. 

PROGRAM
Leigh Voltmer shared information with us today about The Shelter, located here in Columbia. Although The Shelter itself was formed to support battered and abused women, there are almost always children who are affected as well. 
   Children who grow up in an environment with abuse are far more likely to carry that over into their own adult behavior toward their spouse and/or kids. Besides the counseling and other support services provided, The Shelter and its related organizations strive to break that cycle by intervening early in the child's life. 

NEXT PROGRAM 
Monday, August 28th - Cynthia Mitchell: Recycling: "Play it again, Sam."

Monday, August 14, 2006

We rang the Optimist bell at 12:15 today. President Rick McKernan welcomed a full house. Pat Brown gave the invocation, and Jim Murphy led the Pledge of Allegiance. 

GUESTS 
We had the pleasure of some good company today as some wonderful people joined us for lunch: James Schmidt, brand-new MU student and his Optimist parents, Sandy and Marty Schmidt, from Silvis, Illinois, guests of Rick McKernan; Tim Rich, aide to Rep. Hulshof; Joe Wulff and Marty Walker, guests of Tom Marrero; "Pete" Peters, husband of Dottie Stoerker-Peters; Ruchi Aggarwal, fiancee of Jim Yankee; Sunrise Optimists Jack Andrewson, Dan Fischbach, Leo Teel, and Bob Nichols; Allen Rogers, guest of Jim Pinkstaff; and last but not least, Jake Jacobs, guest of Jerry Carrington.
Welcome to one and all! 

GREETER
Our smiling face at the door today was Brandon Beddoe. Brandon works for the new Courtyard Marriott. A relatively graduate of MU, Brandon and his wife recently moved back to Columbia after a brief sojourn in Kansas City.

MYSTERY GUEST
Our Mystery Guest this week was Tom Marrero. Tom awarded the bounty of next week's free gourmet lunch to Luke Chase, who was probably the seventh or eighth person to shake Tom's hand this week.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES 
Dottie Stoerker-Peters reported one anniversary: Don Woodson on the 20th, and one birthday: Akbar Hussein on the 14th. Congratulations!

TAIL TWISTER
Tail twister Steve Henderson shared with us a joke about a man standing in the river who "failed to get the message," indirectly reminding all of us to remember to share the message of Optimism clearly and succinctly with all our friends and acquaintances. And in a conservation-related moment, Steve spoke about the virtues of clean air. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS 
   Incoming officers and directors, as well as any other interested members, should make plans to attend the East Missouri District meeting in St. Louis on August 25-27. We need to submit our registration form by Friday. Please confirm with Rick that you will attend.
   The proposed bylaw change regarding the transition to a 501(c)3 entity, as worded by "suggestion" from the IRS and OI, was read. Per our bylaws, this was mailed to all active members on August 11, 2006. We voted a year ago on similar, but apparently insufficient, language. The vote on this will take place at the club meting on Monday, August 28th.
   Let's go hog wild for the Pinkel Pigskin 100 as they raise money for the Central Missouri food Bank on Tuesday, August 22nd, at 11:30 at the Hearnes Center. Featured will be actual pig races and a Parade of Harley Hogs. There are five DOC members already planning to attend, and more are welcome if they get their RSVP in pronto to Rick.
   The grand opening celebration for Macy's, formerly Famous Barr, will be marked by a civic group fundraiser selling discount coupons for Saturday, September 16th. Project chair Cynthia Mitchell has tickets we can offer for sale for $5.00, and the club keeps the whole amount for our club projects. Cynthia has the tickets individually or in groups of ten. This can be a win-win-win if you have friends, neighbors, and co-workers who love to shop anyway; they will save as much as 30%in exchange for the $5.00 donation for the discount coupon.
   Your board meets this Thursday, August 17th, at the clubhouse at 7:00 pm. Anyone is welcome. 
The Tree Lot Committee will meet Thursday at 6:00 pm just prior to the regular board meeting.
One of our guests, James Schmidt, is working to develop a student based Optimist club on the MU campus, and our board has voted to help support this effort. Please send any student referrals you may run across to James at jpschmidt@mizzou.edu. The goal is to have this up and running by October 1st. Let's help scout up some prospects! (PS-don't forget about prospects for our club, too.)

PROGRAM
Rick Guilford introduced our guest speaker today. Kenny Hulshof, representing Missouri's 9th Congressional District, was our guest speaker Monday. Kenny shared ideas on a broad range of topics, including comments about his trip to Iraq and the Middle East. 
   Questions from the audience included concerns about our border security, immigration policies, and administrative issues such as how and where our elected representatives get their massive doses of input on the many issues they deal with on our behalf.

NEXT PROGRAM 
Monday, August 21st - Leigh Voltmer, from The Shelter

Monday, August 7, 2006

The Optimist bell rang at 12:15. President Rick McKernan verified that we're all still feelin' goo-oo-o-ood!. Dottie Stoerker-Peters gave the invocation. Denise Payne led the Pledge of Allegiance. 

GUESTS 
What nice folks we had as guests this week! Mike Cusack, a guest last week of Bo Bossaller, came to see us again, and submitted his application and his check to join this fine organization. Ed Harre brought his fellow banker Rick Poe for a repeat visit as well. Show Me State Games was well represented by Larry Luetjen and Ken Ash, both of whom have been threatening to join, and just might consummate the deal in the near future. 
   We're always happy to have good folks join us for lunch as we share the task of helping kids. 

MYSTERY GUEST
Our Mystery Guest this week was John Sapp. Despite all the numbers John works with on a daily basis, he managed to narrow it down to one lucky and deserving winner for next week's free lunch: Chuck Boots, for all he has done making the Soap Box Derby a great success.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES 
Dottie Stoerker-Peters reports no anniversaries this week, but we do have some birthdays to celebrate: Brent Jones on the 7th, and Pat Brown and Brock Bukowsky on the 9th. Congratulations!

TAIL TWISTER
Tail twister Steve Henderson apparently wasn't hungry today - we missed him and his jokes. Well, anyhow, we missed him...

ANNOUNCEMENTS 
Incoming officers and directors, as well as any other interested members, should make plans to attend the East Missouri District meeting in St. Louis on August 25-27. We need to submit our registration form soon. Please confirm with Rick that you will attend.
   Tuesday Election Reminder: whatever your political affiliation, we can honor the sacrifices our soldiers are making by exercising your right to vote. One of our own, Sid Sullivan is a candidate for office in the 24th District.
   Member Bill Plank is headed to "jail" as part of the MDA "lockup." Anyone willing to help "spring" him should contact Bill at 442-1444.
   Let's go hog wild for the Pinkel Pigskin 100 as they raise money for the Central Missouri food Bank on August 22nd. Featured will be pig races and a Parade of Harley Hogs.
Another longtime DOC member, John Daly, passed away this past week. We also extend our condolences to Kelly Buxton on the death of his father. These families are in our thoughts and prayers.

PROGRAM
Art and Vera Gelder have been teaching and entertaining kids of all ages just northeast of Columbia at WalkAbout Acres. They host a number of critters that spark the attention of grade-school visitors including ostriches, pigs, goats, emus, llamas, chickens, and lots and lots of bees. 
   Art and Vera have a number of hives throughout the county, and process and sell wildflower honey both directly and through the local Farmers Market. As a registered nurse, Art has taken a special interest in some of the medical benefits associated with honey. One such benefit appears to be a reduction in allergies in people who consume honey collected from the area where they live. The pollens gathered by the bees and converted into honey help trigger natural antibodies that reduce one's allergies. 
   Another interesting fact is that honey does not spoil; honey has been found buried with mummies inside the pyramids.
   Each year about 3000 school children walk their way around WalkAbout Acres.

NEXT PROGRAM Monday, August 14th Representative, Kenny Hulshof 
9th Congressional District