INTRODUCTION OF GUESTS: There were no guests other than the guest speaker.

BIRTHDAYS: Some of the birthdays for the month of May include: Jack Arbanas and Jon Martin. Jack Frost will celebrate an anniversary on May 5^th. Mike Listenberger celebrates an anniversary on May 30^th, Don Boyer’s anniversary is May 17th and Bill Haslett will celebrate an anniversary on May 22^nd. Happy Birthday to all and Congratulations on all the anniversaries next month!

BRAGS: Past President Erika Kirtdoll bragged that she lost track of two of her dogs for 2 ½ hours one night and was very frantic about it. But they turned up later, happy and hungry. Who knows what kind of fun they had been getting into? John Armitage bragged that his son Herb Armitage is a very optimistic (and blessed) person. He took a trip to Kentucky and blew the engine on his truck. After wading through six hours of misery he was able to get a ride back home. He then took another truck to Kentucky to haul the first truck home and wouldn’t you guess it . . . he had an accident with a guard rail. On his third trip to Kentucky to bring both trucks home he was involved in another accident (not his fault) and both of the trucks he went to get were totaled. Herb would end up with 200 stitches, but he is blessed to now be out of the hospital. Through all this, Herb remained a true Optimist!! May you have twice as many blessings this year Herb, for all the trouble you had in Kentucky. . . and no more trips to Kentucky for you. President Capron bragged that the mistaken shipment of 3,600 tulip bulbs last year allowed her to plant more than 1,300 of them and now have the best looking commercial building on Third Street this season!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: President Capron announced that Michigan District Third Quarter Meeting would be held in Ann Arbor on May 15^th. She and husband Dee Capron will be attending. Also the Michigan District Oratorical contest will be held on May 14^th and the Niles Noon Optimists will have a representative present. She also announced the next two races would be on May 1^st in Three Rivers and on May 2^nd at St. Patrick’s Park. She also reminded us that the Optimist Youth Performing Arts Festival would be held in Riverfront Park on May 7^th and 8^th. The Optimist Tri-Star Baseball competition will be held on Saturday May 14^th. Chairman Dave Morse will need all our support to ensure the kids have a great time that day. The president also talked to the group about the membership drive held earlier in the month. She said that the JOOI Club signed up a new member and that our club has two new possibilities to pursue. Past President Erika Kirtdoll announced that Duck Race tickets have been distributed. We need people to start selling the tickets now. The will be offering a prize to the person who sells the most during each week. And don’t forget, the earlier you get them in the better, as you will be in the running for a Millennium Steak House certificate given away at the Thursday Night Concerts in Riverfront Park. Turn your tickets into to Erika or Dave VanStrien. Mike Listenberger announced that the JOOI Club will be helping in the Spring Clean this weekend from 8 am to noon. He asked anyone who could to come on out and help. Robert Todd announced that our program for today had cancelled at the last hour and he thanked Lisa Croteau for agreeing to present today’s program. He also suggested that the Optimists create a list of all the donations that it gives each year so that the community can know how we spend our money. He said that it would also offer a reason for new members to join. In addition, he announced that the House of David has invited Optimists to visit their facility and partake of a real home cooked meal in their restaurant. They use only healthy foods and no preservatives. This would give us a chance to tour the City of David’s carpentry shops and other buildings. Past President Erika Kirtdoll announced that there would be a JOOI meeting tonight to discuss the Dragon Boat races to be held at Riverfest this year in August. She said that the young people were very excited about this activity.

50/50 RAFFLE DRAWING: There was no 50/50 drawing this week.

GUEST SPEAKERS: Our guest speaker today was Optimist Lisa Croteau, Downtown Marketing Director. Lisa talked to us about the efforts of the Main Street Initiative Committee, some of the events taking place downtown and about all the new improvements that are being made in the area. She reminded us about the Celebration Chair Auction taking place on Sunday, May 2^nd. The auction will be held at the Riverfront Café from 4 to 7 pm. Local artists have decorated more than 50 chairs for this event. You can see the chairs in all the store windows downtown. There will be music presented by the Bill Nix Trio and wine from the Southwest Michigan Wineries. Tickets for Hors ‘oeuvres and beverages are $40 per person or $75 per couple and dinner can be had for $50 per person or $100 per couple. A great time will be had by all. This event is a fundraiser for the Main Street Initiative. Please come out to support them. Lisa then told us that construction will begin downtown this week for the sewer separation project. Please remember to patronize the businesses downtown through the construction season this summer. Every effort will be made to make sure that there will always be access to every store. She also told us a little about the streetscape project downtown that will start in June. Lisa talked about the new streetlights that will go up and that there will be some decorative treatments and new crosswalk pavers installed. There are lots of things planned and that there are great designs coming forth that will improve the aesthetic look of downtown. Lisa said that some designs will seem to visually narrow the street, but that actually Main Street will remain the same size. She also talked about new irrigation systems, benches to be added along with water fountains and improved planters. And finally, she asked that we look for the new murals that have been added to the stone façade of the former D & K Variety store. There is so much planned for downtown Niles. Many hope that Main Street will become an exciting art and cultural center. The Niles Noon Optimists offer their thanks to Lisa Croteau for coming in to tell us about all the new changes taking place in downtown Niles.

CLOSING CREED: Lisa Croteau led the group in reciting the Optimist Pledge at the close of the meeting.