DATELINE: Tuesday, March 4, 2003. President Erika Kirtdoll opened the meeting and asked Lloyd Phillips to give the invocation and lead us in the pledge of allegiance.

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: Our guests today included perspective Optimist Laurie Ryan who will have her Second Reading today for membership. Also joining us today was the President’s mother Lorraine Urban and her sister-in-law Kim Urban.

BIRTHDAYS: There are no birthdays this week.

SECOND READING: President Kirtdoll conducted a Second Reading for membership for Laurie Ryan. Laurie is the Athletic Director for the Niles School System. She is not married and has 2 cats. Although she works in Niles she actually lives in the Battle Creek area. Lori recently hosted a district basketball game at Niles High School.

BRAGS: Dana Trowbridge bragged that for the second year in a row his 11 year old son, with the assistance of a great dad, created a fantastic assignment for this year’s school wide science project. He received perfect As in each category. Congratulations Young Mr. Trowbridge! Tom Majerek bragged that his wife is buying a new house. Actually, Tom and Nancy will be moving 3 miles closer to Niles. Congratulations to you both. Lloyd Phillips bragged that he had just spent two weeks in Fayetteville, North Carolina where the temperature was 60 or 70 degrees each day (thanks for rubbing it in Lloyd). Lloyd said he got a chance to see the airborne troops perform at an air show. Lorraine Urban bragged on her son Richard Urban who is today’s guest speaker. She says her son is a very good speaker and that we would enjoy hearing his talk.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Sgt. At Arms Andrew Plym announced that members should get ready to put on the Green for St. Patrick’s Day. Green will be required for the meeting of March 11^th. As usual, fines will be doubled to 50 cents for those not in compliance. John Willis announced that we are still in need of coaches for Optimist Soccer. Coaches are needed for the all girl teams for the 3^rd through 5^th graders and for the 6^th through 8^th graders. We also need two coaches for Kindergarten soccer teams. Please contact John if you or someone you know can coach soccer this year. President Kirtdoll announced the next board meeting is Monday, March 10^th. Tom Majerek announced for Amy McKean that the Tri-Star Basketball contest will be held on Saturday, March 22^nd. We need volunteers to help out that morning at the YMCA. We’ll need to be there by 8 am and we will be home about noon. He also announced that the Optimist Youth Festival will be held on Mother’s Day weekend. Robert Todd announced that we need a guest speaker for April 15^th and then for May and beyond. Please contact him if you have a guest speaker for the program

50/50 RAFFLE DRAWING: Dana Trowbridge conducted the 50/50 raffle. Osceola Skinner was the lucky winner of the $9 pot. Congratulations Osceola!

OPTIMIST ESSAY CONTEST: Sherry Bunch reminded the group that our winner was Wendy Simonton. Wendy is a senior and valedictorian of her class. Sherry read for us again the winning essay. The essay was written in the first person narrative. It was the story of a young person who lived in a country where the government was the ultimate authority on everything. The young boy was not allowed to ask questions of a religious nature. In fact, one day he came across a half burned picture of two hands together with palms facing each other and endeavored to ask what the picture was. Others told him to forget the picture and to not ask what the palm to palm hand symbol meant. Finally there was a missionary fronting as a shopkeeper who told him the truth about worshipping. Later, the young man escaped from his country and landed in the U.S. He was so happy now that he could go to church and that he could study the bible. He enrolled in school. On the first day of school he put his hands together, palm to palm, to pray. The teacher smiled at him and said, "Prayer is not allowed in schools".

GUEST SPEAKERS: President Kirtdoll introduced her brother, Richard Urban, as today’s guest speaker. Richard is an Elkhart policeman. He talked to the group about his experiences of being a Presidential Honor Guard at Arlington National Cemetery and at Bowling Air Force Base. He completed duties at the Pentagon, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, during passing reviews by dignitaries and during joint ceremonies with other branches of the military. Richard said that in the air force he was trained in law enforcement. There are four areas of Honor Guard to enter into: Color Teams, Pall Bearers, Drill Teams and Firing Party. He chose to be a pall bearer. Richard then gave us a little background history on the Presidential Honor Guard. The Honor Guard was initiated in May 1948, just after the air force became a separate branch of military service. The Honor Guard is an elite ceremonial unit and at that time was made up from the air police squadron and then in 1949 members where activated from the 1100^th Security Police Squadron. From the beginning until 1972 the Presidential Honor Guards worked in their native field of law enforcement as well as the duties of Honor Guard. In 1972, however, the Honor Guard became a separate unit and those so honored complete the duties of Honor Guard only. It also meant that others within the military other than those just with law enforcement training could now apply to become an Honor Guard after they completed their technical training. Some of the requirements for Honor Guard are that if you are male you must be at least 5ft 10in tall. Females must be at least 5ft 6in tall. (The air force was the first military unit to allow women to be Honor Guards.) There are of course weight standards that must be met and the person must wear contact lenses instead of eyeglasses. Richard said that one of the most important things about being an Honor Guard was to ensure that you were wearing the designated attire and that every item adhered to a meticulous arrangement. He passed around portions of the attire needed including the shoes, which are built up a good 2 inches higher for comfort purposes in regards to long marches, standing, etc. The shoes also have side "cheaters" built on the inside for "clicking your heels together" and horseshoe like taps on the bottom of the heel. The shoes were very heavy. All of the brass on the hat is chromed along with the brass on the belt. Silicon spray is used on the white gloves to ensure that they are able to hold on to their weapon during ceremonies and drill practice. The rifle he passed around was a Springfield M1 Garon Rifle with a fixed bayonet. Richard told us about the meticulous ironing of the shirts, etc and how important it was for their rooms to be immaculate. He even passed around the Honor Guard patch so we could see the emblem. He showed us pictures of the Honor Guards folding the flag, operating as pall bearers and lined up for ceremonies. We very much enjoyed all that Richard Urban had to tell us and we hope that he will be able to join us again someday soon.

If you’d like to see previous issues of the Optizette visit our site at www.nilesoptimist.org or visit the international site at www.optimist.org. Don’t forget the Niles JOOI Club site is www.jooi.org .

CLOSING CREED: Osceola Skinner led the group in reciting the Closing Creed at the end of the meeting.

"There is no statute of limitations on righting a wrong." Unknown

TODAY IN HISTORY: March 4

1681: King Charles II of England grants Quaker landowner William Penn a vast tract of land between New York and Maryland, including the last uncommitted piece of the Atlantic seaboard south of Massachusetts.

1787: The United States Congress meets for the first time in New York City, and the U.S. Constitution goes into effect.

1791: Vermont became the 14th state on this day.

1877: Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake premieres at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia.

1933: Frances Perkins becomes the first woman cabinet member in the United States, as secretary of labor.

1950: Walt Disney's feature-length animated motion picture Cinderella is released.

1966: In an interview, John Lennon announces that the Beatles are more popular than Jesus.

Henry the Navigator, prince of Portugal (1394)

Johann Wyss, Swiss author (1743)

Dazzy Vance, baseball player (1891)

George Gamow, theoretical physicist (1904)

Miriam Makeba, South African singer (1932)

When a fire broke out on an airplane, a panicking passenger opened the emergency hatch and threw himself out even though he had no parachute. How was it that when the rescue services found him, he was alive and well and without injury?

I was born on this day in 1888. As captain of the Notre Dame football team, I stressed the forward pass as an offensive weapon.

The airplane was on the ground when he leapt.

As a player and team captain, Knute Rockne developed the forward pass, opening new areas of offense and helping popularize the game of football. As a coach, Rockne’s brilliant strategies and inspirational talks made him one of football’s most successful coaches ever.