DATELINE: Tuesday, January 28, 2003. President Erika Kirtdoll opened the meeting and asked Dave Morse to give the invocation and lead us in the pledge of allegiance.

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: There were no guests other than our guest speaker.

BIRTHDAYS: Jack Frost celebrated a birthday today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!

BRAGS: Sgt. At Arms Andy Plym bragged on getting over $250 in free software from the company that provides his Global Positioning System. Dana Trowbridge bragged on South Bend native, Chuckie from Clay High School who was on the coaching staff of the winning Super Bowl team. John Willis bragged that the webpage is totally updated and that he spent 4 hours with a technician at the ISP company trying to get it up and running. The tech couldn’t get it going, but John was able to work magic and it worked – for a time anyway. Back to the drawing board John. He also bragged on President Kirtdoll who took home the last of the dried fruit he got at Christmas time. Lloyd Phillips’ grandson Jeff in North Carolina was one of a few to get into pharmaceutical school at the University of North Carolina. Congratulations Jeff! Sherry Bunch bragged on Jazmine Kyles who was able to get our Students of the Month to the meeting at the last minute. President Kirtdoll bragged on those who came out to help with Optimist Soccer registration including: Lyle McMullen who brought the donuts, John Willis who brought the dried fruit and put in more than 6 hours between the two registration signups and Dave Morse. The president also thanked Sherry Bunch for her work on the Optimist Essay Contest.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Don’t forget the deadline for the Optimist Essay Contest is February 3^rd. If you know of any children interested encourage them to pick up an application at their school. Robert Todd announced that we are filled up for guest speakers for February. We now need to schedule speakers for the month of March and beyond. Please contact him if you would like to schedule a guest speaker. Sgt. At Arms Andy Plym announced that all Optimists are to wear Red or Pink (preferably with a heart) on Tuesday February 11^th in honor of Valentines Day. Fines will be doubled for nonconforming attire. John Willis announced that the deadline for Optimist Soccer registration is tomorrow, Wednesday. Also, sponsorships for teams are coming in but if you know a company that can sponsor a soccer team for $150 please contact him. Last year there were 91 teams but we don’t yet know how many teams there will be this year. All teams need company sponsors. President Kirtdoll reminded the group that we still need a volunteer to assist Rudy Kappe with contacting referees. She also told us that Jazmine Kyles had agreed to help Amy with the Optimist Basketball Skills contest in March. Also, the next Board Meeting will be held on February 10^th.

50/50 RAFFLE DRAWING: Dana Trowbridge conducted the 50/50 raffle. Jazmine Kyles won the $11 pot. Congratulations Jazmine!

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH: President Kirtdoll introduced today’s Students of the Month from Buchanan High School.

Bryce Coward is a senior at not only Buchanan High School, but also the Berrien County Math/Science Center. His parents are Marti and David who are both teachers. He has a brother attending DePaul University. Bryce is an active member of the National Honor Society and the Spanish National Honor society. He is involved with varsity tennis, Spanish Club, Science Olympiad and student government. Bryce spends most of his spare time practicing for and playing national tennis tournaments outside of high school athletics. He said that throughout his high school career he has challenged himself scholastically as well as physically and as a result he will be attending the University of Denver next year on an academic scholarship and will be playing Division I tennis. His field of study will be International Business. Bryce says that youth in today’s society have a unique obligation to not only be successful leaders, but to continue to advance humanity and our great culture.

Kara Leitz is also a senior and is the 2^nd oldest of nine children born to Theresa and James Zacher. Kara says that she participates in soccer and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions). She is also a member of the National Honors Society and the Redbud Choral. She enjoys dancing and having fun with her friends. She says that school is an important part of her life and she takes it very seriously, but realizes that you just have to laugh a little to have a good day. Her favorite part of school is the friends that she gets to make and the time she spends with them. Kara will be attending Lake Michigan College for the first year and will then transfer to St. Mary’s College in South Bend to study pre-law. She will then attend a graduate school to obtain a law degree in criminal or corporate law. She believes that the youth of today can make a difference by going out in to the world and doing their best to be prepared and by improving themselves and their lives. She believes that youth will need to also learn to help those around them so as to make everyone’s life a little better.

Dan Summers is also a senior. He has two brothers and is the son of Garrett and Marie Summers. He has played soccer for four years and baseball for the past three. However, this year he is going to be playing tennis. He is a member of the Art Club. He says art is the coolest thing for him because it allows him to be creative. He has very much enjoyed taking ceramics and sculpture over the last two years and has entered and won prizes at art shows. This year he is also an elementary school aid working with 4^th graders. He said that this is a lot of fun and that he has made a few more friends. His favorite subjects in school are Math and English. He has taken honors in composition class. Dan really enjoys the friends he has made in school and will try to spend more time with them this year because most everybody is going away to college. Dan plans to attend Lake Michigan College for two years to get a degree in Radiology Technology. He would then like to attend a university to major in Radiational Therapy. He says that he has always wanted to do something in the medical field. He says that he feels there is an unfair judgment being made about youth today. Dan says that there are some youth getting into trouble and that there aren’t a lot of programs that show the good in youth today. That’s why he likes the Optimist club. Instead of promoting the bad things, this organization is supporting the good.

The Niles Noon Optimists would like to offer their thanks to Bryce, Kara and Dan for being our Students of the Month.

CLOSING CREED: Jazmine Kyles led the group in reciting the Closing Creed at the end of the meeting.

"Success without honor is an unseasoned dish; it will satisfy your hunger, but it won’t taste good." Joe Paterno, College Football Coach

TODAY IN HISTORY: January 28th

1866: Scottish explorer David Livingstone embarks on his final expedition in Africa to establish the true source of the Nile. All outside contact with him is lost after he reaches Lake Tanganyika.

1908: Julia Ward Howe, author and reformer, is the first woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, in part for writing the famous poem "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

1916: Louis D. Brandeis is nominated to the United States Supreme Court, becoming the first Jew to attain this position.

1968: Aretha Franklin tops the charts with her hit "Chain of Fools." She goes on to earn a string of awards including lifetime achievement awards from the Grammys and from the Kennedy Center of the Arts.

1986: The space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Anna Ivonovna, Russian empress (1693)

Jackson Pollock, American artist (1912)

Susan Sontag, writer (1933)

A snail crawls slowly up a garden wall 48 cm high. If it crawls forward 8 cm a day and slips back 3 cm each night, how long will it take to reach the top of the wall?

Nine days. If it travels 8 cm forward and 3 cm back during each 24 hours then it is progressing at the rate of 5 cm per day. After eight days it will be 40cm up the wall, so on the ninth day it will reach the top.