DATELINE: Tuesday, August 5, 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: President Kirtdoll introduced her guests Mike Robertson from American Express and a former Optimist Soccer Coach. She also introduced Tasha Rifenburg, daughter of Optimist Paul Rifenburg. Tasha works for the Daily Star. Dave VanStrien introduced his guest Tom Rasler from AAA who is also a past president of the Optimist Club. Sgt. At Arms Andy Plym introduced his guest Nancy Kulesia. 
Welcome All!

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES: There were no birthdays or anniversaries to report this week.

BRAGS: Osceola Skinner bragged on the JOOI Club members who helped so much with getting the Duck Race set up. He said the JOOI group members did an excellent job and he thanked them for their efforts. Robert Rhynard bragged that we would not have "hot dogs" two weeks in a row. Seems Bob thinks we only have them when he shows up. He said he will be at the meeting next week so we can count on not having them then. Lloyd Phillips bragged on Dave Morse who won two prizes in the Optimist Duck Race contest. Lloyd also bragged on how energetic Mike Listenberger is when working with the JOOI group. John Willis bragged that not only was Mike Robertson an Optimist soccer coach, but that Mike had actually called us wanting to volunteer his time. Thanks for your help Mike. Mike Listenberger bragged on the wonderful job Past President Tom Majerek did with this past weekend’s Riverfest activities. Tom did a wonderful job in lining up all the bands for four days of music and the "Anything That Floats" raft race that Tom coordinated was a lot of fun and well received. Thanks Tom for making Riverfest such a successful event! Dana Trowbridge bragged that his favorite part of Riverfest was listening to Irv Cass, the Elvis impersonator. He said that somehow Irv managed to be singing "Kentucky Rain" just as it started to rain. The show went on though and it was wonderful! Past President Tom Majerek bragged on how good President Kirtdoll looked on the front page of the newspaper the other day. She was in living color accepting a presentation from a business in the city. He also bragged on Tom Rasler who he said was the first chairman of Riverfest years ago and is partially responsible for how successful the event is today. Past President Majerek also bragged that he was able to stay dry this year during the Optimist Duck Race event because the JOOI kids got wet for him and handled almost everything that needed to be done. He thanked the JOOI group for their help. President Kirtdoll bragged on the work the Dragon Boat Committee did for this year’s event. Special thanks to committee members: President Elect Liz Capron, Gil Brazo and David VanStrien. Thank you guys for such a wonderful job! The president also bragged on the JOOI Club who not only helped out with the Dragon Boat Challenge, but also took 4^th place in the youth competition.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Robert Rhynard reminded Optimists that this weekend the race timing volunteers will be handling the Children’s Triathlon at Pottawatomie Park. Volunteers should be on site at 8:15 Saturday morning. There are estimates that we will have at least 500 kids with parents in tow. We need help folks! Please contact Bob Rhynard at 684-4694 to sign up to help. Bob also announced that the following week we would be in Three Rivers for their triathlon. And don’t forget the Optimist’s own Niles Triathlon on Saturday Labor Day Weekend. We will need people to help set up the course, etc. on Friday August 29^th. All Niles Optimists are obligated to be in attendance for the race on Saturday, August 30^th by 6:30 a.m. JOOI club members will be helping with the triathlon also. Robert Todd announced that programs are needed for September 16^th and 23^rd. Please contact John Armitage to schedule a speaker. President Kirtdoll announced that there is no meeting on September 2^nd because of the Labor Day holiday. There is a Board Meeting on Monday, August 11^th at 5:30. The annual banquet is scheduled for September 30^th. There will be no lunch meeting on the day of the banquet.

50/50 RAFFLE DRAWING: Dana Trowbridge conducted the 50/50 raffle. Robert Todd took home the $17 pot! Congratulations Bob.!

GUEST SPEAKER: Optimist Advisors Michel Listenberger and Lisa Croteau introduced the members of the Niles Optimist JOOI Club who each told us something about their trip to the national convention. The group thanked Sgt At Arms Andy Plym whose foundation provided the group with "seed" money to start their fundraising efforts for the trip. The group also thanked the Optimists for allowing them to keep all the proceeds from the Duck Race tickets they sold. Finally the group thanked all the Optimist members for their support in helping the club and in buying items at the club’s concession stands during the summer. Nine JOOI members went to Kansas City and seven of them came to our meeting today. Those who couldn’t be here today are Steven Rhynard, the Lt. Governor and Michigan state Secretary/Treasurer and Brendan North. Here’s what the kids had to say:

Sarah Geneung is one of the co-presidents. She said they leaned a lot in the workshops including how to lead fundraisers. She talked about a possible fundraiser involving "buying" an egg. She said the trip was a lot of fun.

Timothy Brandt says he just a dedicated member of the JOOI Club and that his favorite part of the trip was the service project they got to do. He said it was a park service project and he got to spend time with younger children and play games with them. He really liked interacting with them.

Ashley Mechem said that meeting all the other people at the convention was the best part for her. She also said she like working with the smaller children and that she had a great time.

Jeremy Croteau is the Secretary/Treasurer of the group. He acted as the groups delegate at the convention. He said this meant that he got to vote in all the elections. He said that the JOOI group decided together how they wanted to vote and he got to cast the vote for everyone.

Heather Croteau is also a co-president for the group. She said she liked everything about the trip, but that her favorite thing was the train ride home. She told a funny quip about a stuck turkey.

Angel Brown is the vice president and she said the whole trip was a blast and that it was not too serious so they were able to work and have fun. Her favorite part was the talent show and watching all of the dancers.

Jonathan Poole said that the part he liked the most was playing basketball with the younger kids. He said they were very good and they gave him a "run for his money". He said they played in "like 115 degrees" and the kids seemed use to the heat, but he was sweating. He also said he liked the general sessions that were held because there were good speakers and an oratorical and essay contest.

Jonathan took second place in the essay contest and Sarah did a great job on the impromptu oratorical contest and garnered a second place win.

Our thanks to all the members of the JOOI club who joined us today. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!

CLOSING CREED: Robert Todd led the group in reciting the Closing Creed at the end of the meeting.

"The first rule for success? Show Up!" Jeannie Robertson, professional speaker

"Even if you fall on your face, you are still moving forward." Victor Kiam (1926 – 2001), Business leader

"An intellectual snob is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture and not think of The Lone Ranger." Dan Rather, News Anchor

TODAY IN HISTORY: August 5th

1962: Movie star Marilyn Monroe is found dead of a barbiturate overdose at her home in Los Angeles, California

1912: The Progressive Party, also known as the Bull Moose Party, chooses former president Theodore Roosevelt, who led the group's break from the Republican Party, as their presidential candidate.

1305: Scottish hero Sir William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance to an English invasion in 1298, is captured near Glasgow by the English. He will later be executed for treason.

1963: The United States, the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United Kingdom sign a nuclear test ban treaty. Ninety-six other nations sign the pact, but France declines.

1583: English explorer Sir Humphrey Gilbert founds the first English colony in North America, near Saint John's, Newfoundland. The colonists soon return to England, however.

Mary Beard, historian and feminist (1876)
Naum Gabo, sculptor (1890)
John Huston, film director and actor (1906)
Neil Armstrong, astronaut (1930)
Wassily Leontief, economist (1906)
Patrick Ewing, basketball player (1962)

When Mozart passed away, he was buried in a churchyard. A couple days later, the town drunk was walking through the cemetery and heard some strange noise coming from the area where Mozart was buried.

Terrified, the drunk ran and got the town magistrate to come and listen to it.

When the magistrate arrived, he bent his ear to the grave, listened for a moment, and said, "Ah, yes, that's Mozart's Ninth Symphony, being played backwards."

He listened a while longer, and said, "There's the Eighth Symphony, and it's backwards, too. Most puzzling."

So the magistrate kept listening; "There's the Seventh... the Sixth... the Fifth..."

Suddenly the realization of what was happening dawned on the magistrate; he stood up and announced to the crowd that had gathered in the cemetery, "My fellow citizens, there's nothing to worry about. It's just Mozart decomposing."

Born on this day in 1850, I wrote nearly 300 short stories in a career of fewer than a dozen years..

The 19th-century French author Guy de Maupassant is deemed one of the greatest short-story writers of all time. Known for its realism, simplicity, and directness, Maupassant’s fiction addresses the theme of human cruelty and incorporates his observations on French society. In addition to his more than 200 short stories, Maupassant also wrote travel sketches and six novels.