Monday, March 20, 2006  

President Rick McKernan rang the Optimist Bell rang at 12:15 and began the meeting with a rousing "I feel good!" Our invocation this week was presented by Rick Guilford, and Jess Weaver led the Pledge of Allegiance. 

GUESTS 
Wes Brown welcomed guest Beth Lammers from Juice Plus. Red Leighton had three guests Monday: Jim Fitzmaurice from the Columbia Missourian, Cynthia Mitchell from the City of Columbia Landfill Management, and Greg Johnson from Boone Imaging Center. 

Thanks for visiting us for lunch today. We hope you will come back soon!

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES 
Brian Hudspeth performed admirably in a stand-in role for Dottie Stoerker-Peters as he presented three special birthdays this week: Jim Ballenger on March 21st, Josephine Bossaller on March 22nd, and Travis Kempf on March 26th. Congratulations and Happy Birthday to all!

TAIL TWISTER:
Tail Twister Steve Henderson was notably absent, but Rick Guilford provided a stand-in joke of comparable quality in Steve's absence and as a result won a handsome set of Optimist coasters.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 
Our computer give-away in partnership with the Voluntary Action Center and the City of Columbia went exceedingly well this past weekend. Cindy Mustard from VAC commented this was the smoothest it has ever gone. Special thanks to our members who helped: Jim Dyer, Max Miller, Tim Rappleano, Jim Yankee, Rick Guilford, Sid Sullivan, Dottie Stoerker-Peters, Scott Stager, Rick McKernan. 
Your board funded the following at the DOC board meeting March 16th: Big Brothers/Big Sisters: $2500. for the school-based mentoring program; Day with Wildlife: $1890; Hickman Dugout Club: $300; The Pinnacles: $631; DOC 70th Anniversary Banquet: $500.; Carry-over funding from 2004-2005 for Imani Center Peacemaker Program: $1000. 
The Board voted unanimously to seek some alternative method of showing our support for the Salute To Veterans Air Show. Staffing the Souvenir Tents has not proven to be in our best interest as an organization, but we are certainly ready and willing to consider other ways to show our support. We await a response from the Air Show Committee. 
Jay Creasy reports The Bicycle Safety Program has been set for Saturday, May 20th. Signup sheets will be available next week. This program has many partners from many organizations throughout the city. 
Day With Wildlife program is set for Sunday, April 2nd. A number of volunteers will be needed for the set-up, for help with the safety of the participants, and for the tear-down of the exhibits. Watch for the sign-up sheets next week, or contact Spence Turner or Al Jones for more details. 
In an ongoing effort to explore new ways to find funding for the many youth programs we support, your board is seeking your input to find additional fundraising avenues. Please give this careful consideration and send your ideas and suggestions to Kerry Bramon.

PROGRAM 
Tom Marrero introduced our guest speaker today. Kim Dude-Lammy from MU's Wellness Resource Center brought us information about the university's efforts to help students make better, less harmful, decisions primarily about their use of alcohol. A high percentage of students report use of drugs and/or alcohol even before they ever set foot on MU's campus. Compounding the problems are many students' misperceptions about the extent to which their peers are "partying." Myths pervade most students' concepts about their peers, including the oft-quoted myth about MU being rated by Playboy Magazine as one of the top "party" schools in the country. 

Our meeting adjourned at 1:00 pm with the Optimist Creed. 

April Program Chairman: Pete Bakutes