DATELINE: Tuesday, October 29, 2002. President Kirtdoll opened the meeting and asked Michel Listenberger to give the invocation and lead us in the pledge of allegiance.

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: There were no guests other than the Student of the Month and her parents.

BRAGS: Mike Listenberger bragged that the Niles JOOI club assisted with the Safe Halloween Trick or Treat event in downtown Niles on Saturday. He said that about 13 JOOI members helped with the crowd of more than 800 trick or treaters. Good Job JOOI members!! John Armitage bragged that he and wife Lorraine were on their way to Texas. He gave the group a big, "Asta La Vista" and said he’d see us next spring. Robert Rhynard bragged that he had given Sgt. At Arms Andrew Plym the slip. It seems that Bob’s been wearing an Optimist badge with Mike Johnson’s name on it throughout the whole meeting without the Sgt. At Arms noticing. Better keep a watchful eye Andy!

FOR ALL THE MARBLES: Dana Trowbridge conducted the 50/50 raffle. Sue Cipares won a chance at the $93 pot. L L L L L L L She did not pull the Joker. She pulled the King ofª . Try your luck again the next time Sue, there’s bound to be a winner.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Sgt. At Arms Andrew Plym announced that in observance of election day next Tuesday, all members are to wear Red, White and Blue or sport an "I Voted Today" sticker. Failure to be property attired or without the indicated sticker will result in a fine. So let’s get patriotic! Jon Martin announced that Marlin Smith sent a big "Thank you" for our great hospitality. Robert Rhynard announced that the next timing race will be held one week before Thanksgiving. It is called the Turkey Trot and will be held at Battel Center. The last race of the year will be the Jingle Bell Run during the first week of December. Dana Trowbridge announced that we have received a Thank You letter from Big Brothers Big Sisters. He said the letter was accompanied by two completed membership applications for Susan Armstrong and Carol Milburn! President Kirtdoll announced that we will be making one more meeting location change and it will be the only change for the next year. Beginning Tuesday, November 5^th we will begin meeting in the lower level of Angelo’s Restaurant in downtown Niles (the Gallery Building). Lunch will now cost only $6.50. You will also be able to go upstairs and order from the menu. We expect great things at our new location. Please join us. She also announced that the District Meeting will be held November 8^th, 9^th and 10^th. President Kirtdoll acknowledged receiving a completed membership application from Laura Ryan. We are looking forward to all three new applicants becoming members in the near future. President Kirtdoll also announced that Osceola Skinner would be scheduling Optimists for this year’s bell ringing campaign for the Salvation Army. Please make sure you sign up to take a turn or two during the bell ringing campaign. She also passed out the volunteer sign up sheet. With this method members can sign up for any of the club activities that may be of interest to them.

PRESENTATION: President Kirtdoll presented Renae Harrison with an award for her work with the Tri-Star Soccer event and her recognition for serving as Vice President during the 2002 year. Congratulations Renae!!!

STUDENT OF THE MONTH: Dana Armstrong introduced today’s Student of the Month as Ariana Wormbine. Ariana introduced her parents William and Diane. She said that both of her parents are teachers. Her mother teaches Home Economics. Her father is a Physical Education teacher. She has two brothers – Heath and Blair. Ariana is a 17 year old senior at Buchanan High School. She is very much involved in activities at her school including being President of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions). She is also a member of the Ecology Club. She has been a member of the varsity tennis team for four years and this year serves as its captain. She has also been involved in varsity soccer. Ariana works out at Lakeland Fitness club and has been active in many other endeavors including; tap, jazz band, ballet, color guard, etc. She has previously been voted Miss Congeniality. Ariana says that she has traveled to 48 states. The only two states she has not visited are Alaska and Hawaii; however, she will be going to Aruba this winter to enjoy the sunshine of Mexico. She also enjoys skiing. Ariana is preparing to attend Grand Valley State College to major in pre-pharmacology. She will then transfer to Ferris State University to study pharmacy. She says that she really enjoys helping people, especially other students. She believes it is important to give back to the community. We’d like to offer our thanks to Ariana Wormbine and her parents for being our guests today. We wish Ariana the best of luck in all of her future endeavors.

"As I grow older, part of my emotional survival plan must be to actively seek inspiration instead of passively waiting for it to find me." BeBe Moore Campbell, Writer

"Everyone is kneaded out of the same dough, but not baked in the same oven." Jewish Proverb

1. Leaves change colors in the fall because

1. The summer's bright sun dries them out
2. They produce less chlorophyll, which keeps them green
3. The plant sucks the green in to use as strength for the winter, much in the same way Popeye eats his spinach

2. Since the Middle Ages, some communities have celebrated the harvest with a symbolic item made of grain. What is it?

1. A scarecrow
2. A wreath
3. A doll

3. The first person to propose the idea of daylight savings time was

1. Benjamin Franklin
2. Sir Isaac Newton
3. Seth Thomas

4. The full moon that follows the harvest moon is called

1. The hunter's moon
2. The root moon
3. The blue moon

5. The Native American tribe who brought food to the Pilgrims, inspiring the Thanksgiving tradition, were

1. Cree
2. Wampanoag
3. Mohawk

6. The Autumnal Equinox is

1. One of 2 days a year when day and night are of equal length
2. One of the three horse races that comprise the Triple Crown
3. The date when the sun is closest to the earth

7. In Greek mythology, the goddess of the harvest is

1. Hestia
2. Demeter
3. Hera

8. Which of the following meteor showers occurs in November?

1. Perseids
2. Eta Aquarids
3. Leonids

9. In Latin, cornucopia means

1. Lots of corn
2. Horn of plenty
3. Basket of fruit

10. The first jack-o-lanterns were made from

1. Pumpkins
2. Turnips
3. Loaves of bread

What occurs once in June, once in July, but twice in August?

1. b
2. c
3. a
4. a
5. b
6. a
7. b
8. c
9. b
10. b