INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: David VanStrien introduced his guest Tom Rasler from AAA in Niles. Tom will soon be inducted as a new member. President Capron also introduced Jennifer Williams, Branch Manager of Chemical Bank Shoreline who is a guest of Jazmine Kyles and Scott Crouch a firefighter and driver for the Niles City Fire Department. President Capron also remarked how good it was to see John Tanke join us today. He has been so busy he was unable to attend our meetings. Welcome to everyone!

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES: Jack Frost celebrates his birthday this Wednesday. Happy Birthday to Jack.

FIRST READING: President Capron performed a First Reading for prospective new Optimist Scott Crouch. Scott is a Niles City firefighter. He enjoys fishing, camping, bird watching and anything else that deals with the great outdoors. He is very active in his church and is in charge of the public safety education programs for children at the fire department. Scott is interested in being an Optimist because he likes working with youth.

BRAGS: John Willis bragged on all the people who came out to help with the past two week’s soccer signups. He said that all Optimists showed up for their assigned times and some came early or even left late. John said that everything went perfectly well. Butch Harrison bragged that his company has moved into the new TCU building we have all been watching built. Butch offered a tour to anyone who wanted to stop by the new building. Tom Rasler bragged that he and his wife brought home a new addition to their family. She is a two-pound, six week old York terrier named Lillie Rose. Tom says she’s the smartest little puppy in world. Congratulations guys! Have fun with Lillie Rose.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: John Willis announced that this year’s soccer signup went well. He’s got lots of applications and expects that about 800 kids will be involved this year. He also said that Optimists will be sorting applications and placing the kids into teams this Saturday morning at 9 am at the offices of President Capron, the old Bell-South building on Third and Sycamore Streets. Please come out to help for a few hours. Robert Todd announced that guest speakers are booked up until April 1^st. We need speakers for the first three weeks only of April. Sgt. At Arms Andrew Plym announced that members are to wear RED on Tuesday, February 9^th in honor of Valentines Day. Past President Erika Kirtdoll announced that members are all asked to park on the side of the road closest to the building. She said that when we park on both sides of the road we make it difficult in the slippery snow for others to get by. We don’t want to cause an accident now do we?

50/50 RAFFLE DRAWING: Past President Erika Kirtdoll conducted the 50/50 raffle. Dave Morse took home the $14 pot! Congratulations Dave!

STUDENTS OF THE MONTH: Our Students of the Month were from Buchanan High School. Jennifer Williams, from Chemical Bank helped to introduce them and stood in for Jazmine Kyles, who normally handles this segment of our meeting. The three seniors each approached the podium and told us the following about themselves:

Michelle Johnson is 18 years old. Her parents are Jeffery and Joan Johnson. She says her father owns his own company called Johnson Construction and her mother is a daycare provider. Michelle is an only child. At school she is involved in Varsity Basketball, Varsity Volleyball, Varsity Softball, the Yearbook committee and is an All-Star. Outside of school she spends a lot of time with friends and family. She also raises animals for the Berrien County Youth Fair. Michelle says that what she enjoys most about school is learning something new and being with her peers. After graduation she plans to attend Southwestern Michigan College to pursue a career as a registered nurse. She has already taken a jump start by being part of the professional Health Careers Academy and doing clinical rotations at Lakeland Hospital. She said that youth are judged unfairly these days and that many are goal oriented like her and do know what they want in life. She said that many teens go to great lengths to plan out their futures.

Sara Loeffler is also 18 years old. Her parents are William and Diane Loeffler and she has a 20-year old brother named Brian and a 24-year old sister named Monica. In school she is the treasurer of the National Honor Society, involved in the All-Star program and is also a role model for the DARE program. Outside of school she is on the student board for United Federal Credit Union and spends a lot of time with her horse. She is in the Happy Landings 4-H group and she competes with her horse at the Berrien County Youth Fair. She also takes part in rodeos and barrel races with her horse. She recently took home the Grand Champion award in barrel racing. At school she enjoys being with friends. After graduating she plans to enter the pre-veterinarian program at Purdue University. Sara says that she also thinks that grown-ups sometimes unfairly judge youth of today. They think that all teenagers cause trouble and create problems. But that is not so. Sara believes that when kids are given a chance they might be able to do some good in the world.

Ray Hinds is 17 years old. He lives with his mom and five other brothers and sisters. Ray is involved in Varsity Basketball, Varsity Baseball and the baseball league. He is also in the All-Star program and loves working with elementary school kids in the program. Ray also loves conversing with others and can usually be found debating one idea or another with fellow students. He is very passionate about and good at math, but plans on majoring in history, which he is very passionate about also. He plans to begin his education at Southwestern Michigan College. He would love to become a history teacher. Ray also feels that adults today misjudge youth and tend to look at them and place them in specific categories. He said that most adults think teenagers are lazy and don’t want to work. He said that is simply not true. Most students want to find meaningful work and if given half a chance will do a good job at whatever career they pursue.

CLOSING CREED: Dave Morse led the group in reciting the Closing Creed at the end of the meeting.

Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can't be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people. - Lee Iacocca

People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily. - Zig Ziglar

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. - Jim Rohn

TODAY IN HISTORY: January 27^th

1880: The electric light bulb is patented by Thomas Edison.

1888: The National Geographic Society is established for the purpose of increasing and diffusing geographical knowledge.

1945: The Soviet army marches into the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz, liberating about 7600 prisoners abandoned there.

1967: Astronauts Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee are killed in the cockpit of the Apollo I spacecraft. The cause was a flash fire that broke out during a flight simulation test.

1973: The United States, North and South Vietnam, and the Vietcong sign a cease-fire agreement in France.

1984: Michael Jackson's head catches on fire while filming an ad for Pepsi. ß Is this really history? Now if he had died. . . ?

Jackson Pollock, American artist (1912)

Anna Ivanovna, Russian empress (1693)

Susan Sontag, writer (1933)

A Frenchman, an Englishman, an American man, and a lawyer were sitting on a train.

The Frenchman offered everyone some of his baguette, then threw it out the window, saying, "Don't worry - we have plenty of those where I come from."

The Englishman offered everyone a crumpet, then threw the rest out of the window, saying, "Don't worry - we have plenty of those where I come from."

Then the American threw the lawyer out the window, saying...

Born on this day in 1948, I co-founded the White Oak Dance Project with Mark Morris in 1990, and have appeared in several Hollywood films.

Mikhail Baryshnikov, seen here performing Giselle with Antoinette Sibley, is considered one of the greatest male dancers of the 20th century. The lead dancer for Russia’s Kirov Ballet in the late 1960s, Baryshnikov became unhappy with official restrictions, especially those against performing contemporary foreign ballets. Baryshnikov defected from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) while touring Canada with the Bolshoi Ballet in 1974. He subsequently danced with the American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet, and was the director of the American Ballet Theatre from 1980 to 1989.