DATELINE: Tuesday, July 8, 2003. President Erika Kirtdoll opened the meeting and Mike Listenberger gave the invocation and led us in the pledge of allegiance.

INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: Barbara Williams introduced her guest and our speaker Jeanine C. Wicker. Jazmine Kyles introduced her guest Becky Bookout of Chemical Shoreline Bank.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES: Rick Schpok celebrates his anniversary today, July 8^th. Dana Trowbridge also celebrates his anniversary on July 11^th. Happy Anniversary Guys! Susan Armstrong celebrates her birthday today. Happy Birthday Susan!

SECOND READING: President Kirtdoll conducted a Second Reading for prospective new member Jack Arbanas. Jack is a resident of Buchanan who works for Flight Options of Cleveland, an aircraft business. Jack is a pilot. He was born in St. Joseph, MI and is married to Jeanne. They have one daughter named Lucille. He is interested in doing community service work with the Optimists.

BRAGS: John Willis bragged that we had a great crew of volunteers out on July 3^rd to help with parking at the Chamber sponsored Fireworks. It was a lot of fun and the show was very good. He also bragged on the group of volunteers who helped out on July 4^th with the timing race in Fort Wayne, IN. He commended those members who either drove up the night before or got up at 3 am in the morning to get there. There were more than 600 participants. John said that everything went very smooth, except for the ride he took in the back of Bob Rhynard’s truck. John bragged that they had a new race timing program that will give them overall results separated by age categories now. Rick Schpok bragged on the way that Mike Listenberger made announcements over the microphone during the Bluegrass Festival. Seems Mike has the voice of a professional announcer. President Kirtdoll bragged on the six Optimists who helped out at the Fireworks this past weekend. She said that Craig Krassow, Paul Crouch, John Willis, Diane Bass, Lisa Croteau and her husband (along with President Kirtdoll) all did a wonderful job and that the event was a lot of fun. We even received a $100 check from the Chamber of Commerce for helping out. The Chamber set a record and collected $3,980.00 to help with next year’s fireworks. President Kirtdoll also bragged on the Fort Wayne race. She said that she and her husband Tim had a great time.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Robert Todd announced that guest speakers are needed for the month of August as well as July 22^nd. Please contact him to schedule a guest speaker. President Kirtdoll announced that we had a Congratulations card going around for signatures for Amy and Brian McKean whose baby boy was born last month. She also announced that next week’s Board of Directors meeting will probably be cancelled. Check your emails for a notice regarding this. John Willis announced that the next race will be held during the Venetian Festival in St. Joseph, MI on July 19^th. The race will be held at Whitcomb Towers. Dates for the next races are August 2^nd, 9^th and 16^th. Don’t forget the Optimist’s Labor Day weekend triathlon on August 30^th.

50/50 RAFFLE DRAWING: Osceola Skinner conducted the 50/50 raffle. President Erika Kirtdoll took home the $11 pot! Congratulations Erika!

GUEST SPEAKER Barbara Williams introduced our guest speaker today as Jeanine Wicker of Safe Haven Therapeutic Massage here in Niles. Jeanine is a registered and legitimate message therapist who was born in Queens, NY. Jeannie says she served four years in the military as a hospital core man with nursing skills. She told the group a little more about how she got into the field and told us that she wanted to help people to feel better without the use of a lot of medication and surgery. Some of the benefits of message is that: it relieves physical and mental stress, enhances muscle and joint function, enriches blood an lymph circulation, improves flexibility and range of motion, accelerates illness recovery, strengthens immune system and promotes better posture. There are five types of message therapies conducted at Safe Haven. Therapeutic Massage is the use of many different modalities to maximize the greatest results. In therapeutic massage, the depth of pressure is different for all clients and is adjusted accordingly. Therapeutic massage can effectively treat aches and pains, can reduce the need for medication and can assist the body in its own natural healing process. Cranial Sacral Therapy is a revolutionary method of releasing restrictions around the brain and spinal cord to relieve stress on the central nervous system. It uses gentle techniques to alleviate any number of sensory, motor or neurological disabilities. Acupressure massage is based on the study of Acupuncture and is done using the thumbs instead of needles. It has the potential to release energy blocks in the body which can lead to the advancement of harmful diseases and or pain. Pain Management/Sports massage is good not only for the athlete but for anyone suffering from injuries due to repetitive use or those suffering from immunosuppressive conditions such as fibromyalgia, hepatitis, HIV and AIDS. Pregnancy/Infant Massage can be a great asset to a normal and healthy pregnancy as well as lead to a more productive and manageable delivery. It helps to relieve low back pain, reduce conditions such as anemia and headaches and assist in the natural stimulation of pain reducing hormones. Infant massage helps connect mothers and fathers to heir new baby and is a wonderful way for parents to bond with their babies. Jeanine finished her speech today by using a massage chair to give some of our members a message. Thank you Jeanine for being with us today.

CLOSING CREED: President Kirtdoll led the group in reciting the Closing Creed at the end of the meeting.

"Life Whether or not you reach your goals I life depends entirely on how well you prepare for them and how badly you want them" Ronald McNair (1950 1986), Astronaut

"There are really only three types of people: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who say, "What happened?" Author Unknown

"Conduct is three-fourths of our life and its largest concern." Matthew Arnold (1822-1888), Poet

TODAY IN HISTORY: July 8th

1816: Delegates from colonies in southern South America declare their independence from Spain as the United Provinces of South America, later known as Argentina.

1850: U.S. president Zachary Taylor dies after an attack of food poisoning five days earlier. He will be succeeded by Vice President Millard Fillmore.
1900: Queen Victoria of Great Britain gives the royal assent to the Australian Federation Bill, establishing an autonomous Commonwealth of Australia on January 1, 1901.

1924: The Democratic Party convention takes over 100 ballots to nominate a compromise candidate, John W. Davis, a lawyer and former ambassador, for president against incumbent Calvin Coolidge.

1967: American Leonard Bernstein conducts a concert with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra to celebrate Israel's victory in the Six-Day War.
1992: Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton chooses Tennessee senator Al Gore to be his running mate.

O.J. Simpson, running back and defendant (1947)

Franz Boas, anthropologist (1858)

David Hockney, painter and graphic artist (1937)

Edward Heath, British prime minister (1916)

Tom Hanks, actor (1956)

Elias Howe, sewing machine inventor (1819)

ON A KOREAN KITCHEN KNIFE:

Warning keep out of children.

ON A HAIR DRYER:

Do not use while sleeping.

ON A BAG OF FRITOS:

You could be a winner! No purchase necessary. Details inside.

ON A BAR OF DIAL SOAP:

Directions: Use like regular soap.

ON A FROZEN DINNER:

Serving suggestion: Defrost.

ON A HOTEL-PROVIDED SHOWER CAP:

Fits one head.

ON TESCO''S TIRAMISU DESERT:

Do not turn upside down. (Printed on the bottom of the box.)

ON MARKS & SPENCER BREAD PUDDING:

Product will be hot after heating.

ON PACKAGING FOR A ROWENTA IRON:

Do not iron clothes on body.

ON BOOTS CHILDRENS'' COUGH MEDICINE:

Do not drive car or operate machinery.

ON NYTOL (A SLEEP AID):

Warning: may cause drowsiness.

ON A STRING OF CHINESE MADE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS:

For indoor or outdoor use only.

ON A JAPANESE FOOD PROCESSOR:

Not to be used for the other use.

ON SAINSBURY''S PEANUTS:

Warning: contains nuts.

ON AN AMERICAN AIRLINES PACKET OF NUTS:

Instructions: open packet, eat nuts.

ON A SWEDISH CHAINSAW:

Do not attempt to stop chain with your hands.

I was born on this day in 1856. My inventions laid the basis for our current system of electrical power.

Inventor of the first practical electric motor powered by alternating current, electrical engineer Nikola Tesla sold his patent to George Westinghouse. Westinghouse put the motor to commercial use in projects such as the Niagara Falls power project. Tesla is noted for many valuable inventions, such as high-frequency generators and the Tesla coil, a transformer used in radio communication.