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