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A Publication of the Niles Noon Optimist Club Meetings every Tuesday at Noon at the Signal Point Country Club on West River Rd. in Niles, MI ¨ Zone 19 Michigan Regional District |
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VOL. XXX, NO. 111803 ¨ ELIZABETH CAPRON, PRESIDENT ¨ DIANE BASS, EDITOR ¨ P.O. BOX 63 NILES, MI 49120 ¨ DECEMBER 2, 2003 |
DATELINE: Tuesday, December 2, 2003. President Liz Capron opened the meeting and asked Lloyd Phillips to give the invocation then lead us in the pledge of allegiance.
INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: John Willis introduced his guest Brent W. Braaksma from 5th/3rd Bank. Brent has applied for membership. Tom Majerek introduced his guest Joyce Cronin, also from 5th/3rd Bank. Susan Armstrong and Carol Milburn introduced their guest today who is Andrea Vajdic. Andrea is an intern with Big Brothers Big Sisters. Welcome Brent, Andrea and Joyce! Visit us again soon.
BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES: Susan Cipares will celebrate her anniversary tomorrow, December 3rd. Happy Anniversary Susan!
BRAGS: Past President Erika Kirtdoll bragged that she is overwhelmed with dogs and is definitely a dog lover. She has five of them. At the present time she is looking for someone who can provide a temporary puppy home. Seems her full-blood rottweiler has puppies on the way. She needs a temporary inside home for the puppies during the winter, until they are old enough to be separated from their mom. Erika is looking for someone to provide a safe, warm puppy home. Please contact her at
urbanl@qtm.net .
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Osceola Skinner announced that sign-ups were still needed to volunteer for the Salvation Army Bell Ringing campaign. Please call or email him to sign up for a time at
OSMary2035@aol.com or 684-1740. Michel Listenberger announced that the JOOI Club is helping out in the community again this weekend. They will be Elves helping Santa with the Breakfast with Rudolph event and the All I Want for Christmas Santa Shop. JOOI members will be helping the little ones, running errands and manning the free gift wrapping booth at Santa’s Shop this weekend, December 6th. It all takes place at Apple Tree Restaurant in downtown Niles Saturday morning. Breakfast with Rudolph is from 8 am to 11 am. Then Santa’s Shop will be open so that little kids can do their own Christmas shopping. The JOOI members will also be helping Santa every Thursday until Christmas. Robert Rhynard announced the annual Jingle Bell Run this Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. at the Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, IN. Volunteers are needed to help with the race. The Hall of Fame is just next door to the South Bend Chocolate Factory so volunteers are sure to get the best cup of hot chocolate in the land. Please contact John Willis or Robert Rhynard if you have questions and can help out with the race. Contact them at jwillis@nilesoptimist.org or rlrhynard@direcway.com . Robert Todd announced that we need guest speakers for the first week of January. Please call him at 683-0050 with ideas for guest speakers or to schedule a guest speaker. Your help would be appreciated. Don’t forget -- Big Brothers Big Sisters will be having a Crystal Ball Auction on Friday, December 5th at Zsa Zous Restaurant in downtown Niles. There will be a silent auction for many great prizes (including a trip to St. Martin!). Advance tickets are $30 each. Cocktails at 5:30 and Auction at 7 pm. President Capron announced that we are running out of time for Tri-Star Basketball. We still need someone to help with this endeavor. We also still need someone to chair the Optimist Oratorical contest. Please contact her at csb@datacruz.com to volunteer to help. She also announced that there would be a Board of Director’s meeting next Monday, December 8th at 5:30 p.m. at the Riverfront Café in downtown Niles. There will be a Zone Meeting held directly after the board meeting. Also, please note that the Niles Fire Department will be presenting a sample of their children’s fire safety program on Tuesday, January 13th. Please try to attend to see this great show.
FIRST READING: President Capron conducted a First Reading for perspective Optimist Brent Braaksma. Brent is a financial specialist who handles investment loans and insurance at Fifth/Third Bank. His firm is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Brent has recently also become a candidate for the Elks Club and has an interest in doing community services. Brent was a senior leader of the Ohio State Football team. He is also interested in golf and other sports. He has a business economic degree and is interested in helping with the Niles Veteran’s committee project to erect a veteran’s memorial.
50/50 RAFFLE DRAWING: Past President Erika Kirtdoll conducted the 50/50 raffle. Dee Capron took home the $18 pot! Congratulations Dee!
GUEST SPEAKER: Today’s guest speaker was John Willis who told us some very exciting things about the formation of Optimist International. He said that he is always searching the internet for interesting things about the City of Niles and has come across some true gems. He showed us a book he got online from Ebay two years ago entitled, "Of Dreams and Deeds, the Story of Optimist International" which was written in 1966 by Gordon Bisch Thompson. John is a very interesting speaker. We thank him for making history so much fun. Outlined here are some very interesting Optimist facts:
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Year |
Item |
Year |
Item |
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1911 |
First Club with name of Optimist formed in Buffalo New York |
1912 |
What we know as the Optimist Creed today, was not written for the Optimists. Appeared in a book by Christian D. Larson. |
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1916 |
American Optimist Club formed in Indianapolis (considered first true Optimist Club. |
1917 |
First International Convention held in Louisville, KY |
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1919 |
Name changed to International Optimist Club. |
1919 |
First time creed is used – Los Angeles, CA |
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1920 |
First JOOI Club formed in Milwaukee. |
1923 |
Original Logo different and sported the motto, "Friend of the Delinquent Boy" |
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1924 |
First Canadian Club formed in Toronto |
1924 |
Optimist Creed appears in International Magazine with 2 additional lines. Also, motto changed to "Friend of the Boy" |
SECOND READING: President Capron conducted a Second Reading for perspective Optimist Brent Braaksma. Brent is a financial specialist who handles investment loans and insurance at Fifth/Third Bank. His firm is a member of the Chamber of Commerce. Brent has recently also become a candidate for the Elks Club and has an interest in doing community services. Brent was a senior leader of the Ohio State Football team. He is also interested in golf and other sports. He has a business economic degree and is interested in helping with the Niles Veteran’s committee project to erect a veteran’s memorial.
CLOSING CREED: Dee Capron led the group in reciting the Closing Creed at the end of the meeting.
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’s site is www.jooi.org .
THOUGHTS FOR TODAY:
"Happiness is an attitude of mind, born of the simple determination to be happy under all outward circumstances." J. Donald Walters
"Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when; whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees." Victor Hugo
TODAY IN HISTORY: December 2nd
1804: In Notre Dame Cathedral, Napoleon Bonaparte is crowned Napoleon I, the first emperor of France.
1805: The French army under Napoleon I defeats Russian and Austrian forces at the Battle of Austerlitz.
1823: During his annual address to Congress, President James Monroe proclaims a new U.S. foreign policy initiative that becomes known as the Monroe Doctrine.
1859: In Charlestown, Virginia, militant abolitionist John Brown is executed for his raid on a Harpers Ferry arsenal.
1877: French physicist Louis Paul Cailletet liquefies oxygen; he later liquefies hydrogen, nitrogen, and air.
1942: Italian physicist Enrico Fermi produces the first nuclear chain reaction at the University of Chicago, Illinois.
2001: Houston-based energy company Enron files for bankruptcy. Less than a year before, Enron had ranked seventh among American companies in terms of revenue.
FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS: December 2nd
Georges Seurat, French painter (1859)
Charles
Ringling, circus organizer (1863)
Peter
Goldmark, Hungarian-born American engineer (1906)
DAILY JOKES:
What did the mother turkey say?
What did the mother turkey say to her disobedient children?
If your father could see you now, he'd turn over in his gravy!
Mad Cows
Two cows were talking in the field. One cow says, "Have you heard about the Mad Cow disease that’s going around?"
The other cow answers, "Yeah, makes you glad you’re a penguin, doesn’t it?"
Born on this day in 1924, I served in the White House under Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan.
WHO AM I ANSWER:
Army officer and diplomat Alexander Haig was White House chief of staff during the last days of the administration of United States President Richard Nixon (1969-1974). Haig kept the government running while Nixon was preoccupied with the Watergate scandal. This involved a break-in and burglary that Nixon had ordered at the national headquarters of the Democratic Party at the Watergate building in Washington, D.C.
