See you Tuesday!

We'll have a busy meeting this Tuesday morning as we combine a fellowship meeting with a Board Meeting.  We hope to finalize our budget, chat about the upcoming Winter Carnival Teen Dances, hear several reports, and more.  Hope you plan to attend - Tuesday, December 21st, 7:00 am at the Pancake House.  We'll be in Santa's Sweet Shoppe.

See you Tuesday!

Jim

PS - No meeting on the following Tuesday (December 28th), as we take a Holiday Break.

Next meeting December 14

Greetings!

Please join us for this Tuesday's Optimist meeting.  Scoutmaster Tom Crawford of Cub Scout Pack #246 will be with us, along with District Executive Adam Binder, to talk about the Cub Scout Program.  Pack #246 is very new here in McCall, and Scoutmaster Crawford has a contagious enthusiasm for the scouting program.  I'm looking forward to hearing what he has to share with us.  I hope you'll plan to attend - Tuesday, December 14th, 7:00 am at the Pancake House.  We'll be in Santa's Sweet Shoppe, just to the left as you enter the restaurant.

See you Tuesday!

Jim

A couple of important Optimist messages

Greetings!

Flint McDaniel will be working in the Boise area for the next six months (and hopefully we'll get him back after that!).  We appreciate all that Flint has done in supporting the club and all our Optimist activities.  If he doesn't have perfect attendance at our Tuesday morning meetings, he's darned close.  Flint will be sorely missed during his absence, and we wish him the very best in his new endeavors in the Treasure Valley. 

And, that leads to the second message....

Flint was scheduled to be the Chairman of this year's Senior Party Committee.  Since he'll be gone, we're looking for someone to step forward to take on this very important role.  The Senior Party will be held on (or about) Saturday, June 4th.  The Chairman (and the Committee) will also be involved in the necessary up-front work in preparation for a successful event.  Fortunately, we have several members with past experience who can provide excellent guidance, and the Optimist Board will assist in planning and organizing.  This is a very popular activity, and I believe the Chairman will have solid support both from Optimist members and from the community in general.  Will you consider heading up this year's Senior Party?  Please contact President Hank at  to discuss further.

Thanks!!

Jim

Optimist meeting on November 30

Greetings!

George Pool will be with us this Tuesday morning to talk about the After School Program.  George was recently recognized for his outstanding volunteer service in our community, and I know you'll enjoy and appreciate his comments.  He may also be accompanied by Ms. Jennifer "Jen" Enna, who is new in her leadership role with the After School Program.

I hope you'll plan to attend - Tueday, November 30th, 7:00 am at the Pancake House.  Look for us in Santa's Sweet Shoppe, just to the left as you enter the restaurant.

See you Tuesday!

Jim

Contribution to the Optimist Club

Good Evening -

I am thrilled to announce that we received a contribution of $450.00 today from the Heartland Employee Community Fund, Idaho Power and IDACORP, Inc.  Idaho Power employees have made voluntarily contributions, which were then matched by Idaho Power.  They feel our Optimist activities are valuable in our community, and they hope their contribution can help us to continue with our endeavors.

Obviously this donation will help us immensely.  When you see Idaho Power employees, please take a moment to thank them for their generosity.

Thanks,

Jim

Our next meeting is on Tuesday, November 16

Greetings!

Have you noticed the new transit buses and the bus stops around McCall?  Are you aware of our transit system and free service?  Some of the recent developments with the system have been quite visible, while others are not so obvious.  Local Manager Richard Kuntz will join our meeting this week to enlighten us about the Mountain Community Transit system, and his presentation promises to be interesting.  Mr. Kuntz has been instrumental in the development of our local system, and he has a long experience in transportation in other Idaho communities.  Treasure Valley Transit Operations Manager Jay Mentzer may join us as well, depending on schedules. 

I hope you'll plan to attend - Tuesday, November 16th, 7:00 a.m. at the Pancake House.  Look for us in Santa's Sweet Shoppe, just to the left as you enter the restaurant.

Thanks,

Jim

Veterans Day

Greetings, and Happy Veterans Day! 

Our Optimist Flag Service went very well today.  McCall looked sharp, and Old Glory flew proudly in honor of our nation's Veterans.  We respect, honor and give sincere thanks to those who have served selflessly to protect the freedoms we all enjoy.  

Thanks to Eric Watson, Randy Basabe, Mike Kohout, Dennis Coyle, Guy Jeppe, and Jim Thackeray for putting up and taking flags down.   A few photos of today's activities are attached.

Thanks,

Jim

And... A note from a member of our community: 

Jim,

Just a simple little note to say Thank You to the group of guys for their dedication and hard work of displaying flags each year as a symbol of appreciation to all the men and women that serve our country.   God Bless you one and all,  Helen 

Pictures and Optimist meeting reminder

Good Afternoon!

Kimmi Onthank will join our meeting this Tuesday to visit about the Optimist Football Program.  I understand that Kimmi has been a driving force in keeping the program organized, on track, and moving ahead.  We're looking forward to hearing Kimmi's comments and visiting with her about the future of the program!

This week we'll also discuss the proposed increase in our annual membership dues, as mentioned in President Hank's recent message. 

If you didn't attend last week's meeting, you missed a good one!  Assistant Fire Chief Garrett de Jong and Captain Freddie Van Middendorp enlightened us about the McCall Fire and EMS, shared a few "war stories", explained Department procedures, offered safety tips, responded to questions, etc.  Our thanks go to Assistant Chief de Jong, Captain Van Middendorp, and all the staff and volunteers of McCall Fire and EMS for their superb service to our area.  (I've attached a few photos from last week's meeting).

Hope you'll plan to attend - Tuesday, November 9th, 7:00 am at the Pancake House.  Look for us in Santa's Sweet Shoppe, just to the left as you enter the restaurant.

Thanks,

Jim

Veteran's Day Flag Service

Good Afternoon -

As we're preparing to celebrate Veterans Day this coming Thursday, Flag Program Co-Chairman Randy Basabe is looking for a few eager volunteers to put up and take down flags.  Can you help for a couple hours?  We especially need some folks for the Down Crew, but we could use another two folks on the Up Crew as well.

The Up Crew will meet at the Pancake House at 7:00 am on Thursday.  The Down Crew will meet at our storage unit (Airport Storage Unit #54, behind the Dept of Labor Office) at 5:15 pm on Thursday.  We should be able to wrap up in 1 1/2 hours, and even faster if we have more volunteers.  If you're interested in the Down Crew but can't make it until a little later, that's okay.  Your help will certainly be appreciated.

Please let Randy know if you can give a couple hours of your time for this important activity.  Click to email Randy.  

Thanks!!!

Jim

  

A message from President Hank...

Dear Optimists:
 
The Board is considering an increase in our annual membership dues, and we need your input. Presently our dues are $80 per year. $75 of those dues go to Optimist International and Regional, so our McCall Club nets $5 per year from each member's dues, not nearly enough to pay for basics such as guest breakfasts, postage to send out membership dues, flag account billings, Post Office box rent and so on.
 
The Board discussed the possibility of increasing our annual dues $10 to a total of $90, and allowing the option of two equal payments six months apart. This would raise about $240, which would cover operational costs and probably also cover costs of events like our annual BBQ. On the other hand, we know times are tough, and the last thing we want to do is price anyone out of our club.

We, the Board, need your input. Please give this issue some thought, and share those thoughts with us either via email response or at our regular breakfast meeting next Tuesday.
 
We are anxious to get our budget set for the year, and the Board will meet again on the 15th to do just that.
 
Thanks in advance for your Optimistic suggestions to the Board!
 
 
President Hank

November 2nd - Meeting's a go!

Good Morning!

This week's program is not yet confirmed, but our meeting is a definite "go".   Hope you can be there - Tuesday, November 2nd, Pancake House, 7:00 am.

See you Tuesday!

Jim

Reminder and follow-up - Next Meeting, October 26

Good Morning!

McCall City Recreation Director Dennis Coyle will join our meeting this week to chat about the proposed Riverfront Park, as well as other updates from the Rec Department.  Dennis has spoken to us before, and he's always interesting and a wealth of information.  I hope you'll plan to attend - Tuesday, October 26th, 7:00 am at the Pancake House.  We'll be in Santa's Sweet Shoppe, just to the left as you enter the restaurant.

On a follow-up note, two weeks ago we had a great presentation by Kenny Pyle regarding the Judo Program.  We were also honored at that same meeting to have a visit from Eddie and Carol Murphy.  Both are active Optimists, and Eddie made a brief presentation to us about the Optimist Foundation.  Eddie is truly part of American history, although he made little mention of it.  He served aboard the USS Pueblo when it was attacked and seized by North Korea in 1968.  If you're interested in learning more about the Pueblo incident and  that part of Eddie's life, or in purchasing his book Second In Command, go to www.puebloexec.com.

Again, I hope you'll attend this week's meeting.

Thanks,

Jim

McCall Optimist Club Officer Installation

It was a beautiful evening at Jug Mountain Ranch in McCall, Idaho and the guests at the annual installation banquet enjoyed the mountain setting and beautiful sunset.

The Honorable Henry Boomer, President presided over the festivities. Susan Thompson, Lt. Governor Zone 8 and Linda Jackson, Immediate Past Governor joined the club for the evening.










John Mansisidor was named Optimist of the Year.













Jim Thackeray received the first ever special President's Award.

What a great evening! Everyone enjoyed the event.

Please click here for more pictures. 

Meeting reminder

Good Evening!

Kenny and/or Lannea Pyle are tentatively scheduled to join us Tuesday morning to chat about the Judo Club. The Pyles have headed up Judo in the area for as long as I can remember, and they've had some extremely impressive results.

Hope you'll plan to join us - Tuesday, October 12th, 7:00 am at the Pancake House. We'll be in Santa's Sweet Shoppe, just to the left as you enter the restaurant.

See you then!

Jim

Planning the installation banquet

Good Morning!

Our annual Optimist Installation Banquet is scheduled for Tuesday, October 19th. We're still working out some of the final details. We anticipate that social hour will begin at 6:00 pm, and dinner will begin around 7:00 pm.

As we work out the final details, we need to have an idea as to how many we can expect. Please let me know as soon as possible if you will be attending and how many might be in your party. (Of course, we welcome spouses, significant others, friends, kids, guests, etc)

Thanks!

Jim

Summer Barbecue for McCall Optimists

Good morning!
Plans are being formulated for an Optimist Barbecue on Sunday, August 15th, and we're hoping for a great turnout of Optimists, families, and friends

Preliminary Info:
Kermit Peterson has invited us to his place (southwest of Donnelly) for this grand event. We'll begin at 1:00 with a work party to refurbish the flag poles. Barbecuing and activities will begin around 3:00. The Club will provide hotdogs and hamburgers; attendees will bring their own drinks and side dishes to share. Paul Gullickson is planning several activities for our enjoyment.


Details will be provided in the next few weeks. Please mark your calendar for August 15th, and plan to come. We're gonna have fun!!!

Have a great weekend!

from Jim Thackeray, Secretary

Happy 4th of July

Greetings!

The "Up Crew" did a splendid job this morning, and our flags are flying proudly around town once again.  Many thanks to John Mansisidor, Mike Kohout, and Randy Basabe for their early-morning efforts!  And thanks again to John and Randy for their work in establishing new flag accounts and putting up more brackets.  John tells me we now have 97 active accounts.  And, there's potential for more....

The "Down Crew" will meet at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, July 5th at Airport Storage unit #54 (behind the Department of Labor office).  Eric Watson and Hank Boomer have committed to take down, and we still need a few more hands.  Please call John Mansisidor at 315-1389 as soon as possible to let him know you can help.
 

--------------------

Mike Kohout shared the following tidbits of wisdom this morning as we sipped some coffee before putting up the flags.  Very appropriate!  Thanks Mike!!

 

BE OPTIMISTIC

Martin Seligman and his colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania found that the main difference between optimists and pessimists is how they explain setbacks to themselves.  When something bad happens, optimists think of it as temporary, limited in its effect, and not entirely their fault.  Pessimists do the opposite.  They consider the setback to be permanent, far-reaching, and entirely their fault.  There are varying degrees of this, and most people fall somewhere between the two extremes. 

Using these definitions, researchers find that optimism contributes to good health and pessimism contributes to illness.

In several large-scale, long-term, carefully controlled experiments, Seligman discovered that optimists are more successful than pessimists - optimistic politicians win more elections, optimistic students get better grades, optimist athletes win more contest, and optimistic salespeople make more money.

Why?  Because optimism and pessimism both tend to be self-fulfilling prophecies.  If you think a setback is permanent, why would you try to change it?  Pessimistic explanations tend to make you feel defeated, making you less likely to take constructive action.  Optimistic explanations, on the other hand, make you more likely to act.  If you think the setback is only temporary, you're apt to try to do something about it, and because you take action, you make it temporary.  It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The good news is that a pessimist can learn to be an optimist.  Pessimists can learn to see the temporary aspects of setbacks.  They can be more specific about the effects of it.  They can learn to share the blame and take credit for the good they do.  All it takes is practice.  Optimism is simply a way of thinking about good and bad; it's a cognitive skill anyone can learn.  (From First Draft)

----------------------

Man's real life is happy, chiefly because he is ever expecting that it soon will be so.  (Edgar Allen Poe)

----------------------

Hope you have a very safe and happy Independence Day Weekend!!

Thanks,

Jim

Flag Duty for the 4th of July

Looks like we may FINALLY be into summer!  What a weekend!  And, next weekend should be a beauty, as well.

John Mansisidor and Randy Basabe have been doing a bang-up job with our Flag Program.  They've been out and about making contacts, and they've set up a number of new accounts.  Of course, this means more revenue to support our youth programs, a great display of community patriotism, and a bright and colorful holiday dress-up for our town.  They've also obtained new flags to meet the demand and to replace some of the older flags that are wearing out.  Thanks for your excellent work, guys!!

We need to line folks up for flag service for the Independence Day weekend.  We should have Old Glory flying proudly and prominently this holiday! 

Mike Kohout, Randy Basabe and myself have committed for the Up Crew on Saturday, July 3rd.  We need at least one more person (and it would be great to have a back-up or two available).  We'll depart from the Pancake House to post the flags at 7:00 a.m.  (Come a little earlier if you want coffee and/or breakfast). 

Eric Watson is the sole volunteer so far for the Down Crew on Monday.  We need at least three more folks to take down (and a back-up or two would be welcome!).  The Down Crew will meet at Airport Storage unit #54 behind the Department of Labor office at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, July 5th.

Can you help?  Plan on about two hours, whether you're putting up or taking down.  It may go a little faster.  Please call John Mansisidor at 315-1389 to volunteer.

Have a safe and wonderful 4th of July!