Eleven members gathered, both “live” and electronically for this week’s meeting, and Dan Crannie provided the photo above as a proposal for the backyard fence at Optimist House. Dan also reported that over $300 had been generated by the Club’s support of a bottle/can collection donated to the Scouts. This prompted many swapped stories about members’ early “Boy Scout” experiences as we shared breakfast. Additional discussion revolved around Election Day experiences and results.

Reminders: that John Losinski will be undergoing surgery this coming week, that Bill Hentgen is still recuperating, that the Optimist Michigan District First Quarter Conference is this weekend, and that next week includes Veterans Day.

Until next time, “Promise Yourself…”

The Flint YMCA opened in 1879 and 2015 was the 100th anniversary of Camp Copneconic. The downtown based organization runs the Y on Pierson Rd, the Y downtown and Camp Copneconic. They also have 5 locations of Safe Places which are open to youth between 4pm and 7pm each night. Safe Places provide a location for kids to get a meal, do homework and play. Streets are the most dangerous between 3pm and 8pm.

So theYMCA has run Camp Copneconic since 1915. Folklore says the lake was named after “Lake of Pineapple” and some say “Lake of Snakes” and yet others “Lake of Bread”. Please visit their History page to learn more. CS Mott donated the property and hunting lodge. In 1940 the camp started Indian Guides. Currently the camp utilizes 100 staff for summer camp. Changes through the years include:

• 1970’s when girls were first welcomed to the camp
• 1980’s when the camp was just 1 vote away from closing gave birth to funding by the Mott Foundation
• 1990’s when the camp took on partners for specialized camping experiences with partners like American Diabetes

These changes and an incredible leadership have helped the camp to be listed in the Top 30 Camps in the US now serving more than 25,000 children each year.

As for the fellowship before Pam’s presentation, Pete led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and Lynn said a short invocation. Kevin was nominated to be our tail twister with the absence of Jack. Bonnie won the 50/50 John Losinski was late as usual and Mic was early late. We all suspect they had something awry brewing in the parking lot.

Until next time …….

It has been well over a year since our club has been updated by Jack on all the great stuff taking place along the University Corridor. We got to hear about the upcoming ribbon cutting ceremony for the new robotic vehicle testing facility. The facility is a source of income to the university and already has international companies like Nexteer and Continental involved. Mott Park Golf Course is looking to once again engage the community. It now has a Disc-Golf Course that is packed on a regular basis. For you older members, disc is the real name for a Frisbee. The park is also slated to open a kayak launch. And Jack tells Crys that it is perfectly fine to eat the small mouth bass that he and his wife catch on the bridges in the park. Jack provided updates and other various happenings about individual properties along the corridor. We all expressed our deepest gratitude to Jack and Kettering University for the great work they have done in breathing new life back into our city and our community.

President-Elect Phil Holmblade opened the meeting promptly at 7:30 am and asked Bill Hentgen to lead us in the pledge followed with an invocation by Lieutenant Governor-Elect Jack Proffitt. Crys showed up and took over leading the meeting just in time to open fines. The abuse by our new King, Jeff Dennings, was horrific to say the least. Nobody escaped his wrath. Steve Schlott presented two updates. He let us know that there was a total of $650 donated to the club on behalf of Floyd Olmsted. He sent cards out to all that donated money and one to Floyd’s family. The other update was about the CANUSA Games Operation Feedbag. There is still time to sign up for the trip to Port Huron this coming Sunday. Jack Proffitt told us that his Lt Governor Training this past weekend was good and that he has big plans for our Zone this coming year. The Michigan District Annual Convention is coming up August 24-26 at Soaring Eagle. RSVP ASAP. We need speakers so check the calendar on this website for open dates and let us know.

The annual Steak Dinner Board Meeting will be held next Thursday starting at 6:00 pm at the national headquarters of Signs by Crannie. Dan Crannie and Joe Farah need you to RSVP so they can get a the appropriate amount of food. By food, I mean delicious steaks. Also coming up in 2 weeks from today, August 23rd, will be the voting for Optimist of the Year. Be sure to be at breakfast that morning to ensure your choice for this distinguished honor gets your vote. This year we are also planning on a combined Zone 9 Installation Banquet, so details will be forthcoming.

There is a comment section below where you can add anything that I may have forgotten. Replacing Greg Hilliker is not the easiest thing to do. He does such a great job on the newsletters.

Until next week, Promise yourself …..

Pictured left to right: Jeff Dennings, Ken Cullen, Jack Medemar, Matthew Dennings (Carol’s younger brother), Carol Dennings, Art Ridley, Steve Schlott and our President-Elect Phil Holmblade.

Next is the trip to Port Huron. Contact Steve to join the Road Trip of a Lifetime!

President-Elect Phil Holmblade opened the meeting this morning by asking our soon-to-be member Carol Dennings to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Jack Proffitt followed the pledge with the invocation. This morning’s fines were quite corrupted. Phil being both the King and the person determining the number of Yay’s and Nay’s led to quite the confusion on us ordinary member-folk.

We did not have a speaker since this is a holiday week. We did have a discussion about the $5000 Raffle. The license is complete, just need a check and a stamp. The venue will once again be Atlas Valley Country Club on October 26th. Everyone is wanting a good turnout on July 12th so we can further discuss what each of us can do to  make the $5000 Raffle a success this year. This is our major fund-raising event for the year. In case that is not clear enough, This is how we HELP CHILDREN. WE hope to see you on July 12th.

There was some clammer amongst the ordinary member-folk when Phil asked Carol Dennings to lead us in the Optimist Creed to close the meeting. Several were wondering if there may be some type of favoritism going on.

Until Next Week ……

Promise yourself to make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

Kayla did inform us that her need for funds next year will not currently be necessary. Her class which included cognitively impaired students in 6th, 7th and 8th grade would have had too few students next year, so the school system is discontinuing the class for next year and having her work with students having behavioral issues. Currently there were no known incoming 5th graders and a couple of students will be attending the High School next year and one student will be transferring to the program at GISD. While her cognitively impaired class may be ending, her passion for helping children with special needs has not wavered. Her undying spirit is an inspiration to us all.

Kayla also gave us an update on the success of the Special Day for Special Needs event that happens at the Swartz Creek Hometown Days. The event offers people with special needs and their families a free day at the carnival. It has grown over the past few years as Kayla has served as the Director of the program on the Hometown Days Board. This year there were over 900 people. Great work Kayla!

President Crys Reed rang the bell to start the meeting at 7:30, which proved to almost be too early for him as he walked in just in time to start the meeting. Fines were brutal as the club left not a single member with a dollar in their pocket. Crys closed fine and called Kevin Wainwright and Phil Holmblade up to the front. Crys installed Kevin as our newest member. Please welcome Kevin into our family of optimists the next time you see him. After Kayla Bright finished her presentation and after our barrage of questions for her, Phil Holmblade announced his desire to serve as President for the 2018/2019 Optimist Year.