VOL. 60, No. 47, September 28, 2006

Counting presidents as the US counts them (Cleveland is counted twice, so we count Sanderson and Castelli twice) Sidney Sandridge was duly sworn in as our club's 60th president last evening at the Optimist Recreation Center. Incoming District Governor Tom Casteel officiated at the installation of our officers and board members for the 2006/2007 Optimist year. Fortunately we have the Gov. and Zone 3 Lt. Gov. Alberto as members of our club. No doubt the clubs in Zone 3 will get a history lesson this year.

Past- President to be Will Dawes recounted several events that were successfully carried out during his watch, and he distributed awards to those responsible for achieving Optimist International goals as well as our own unique band instrument program which has enjoyed steady growth since its inception a decade ago. Will read an account of the latter written by Bill Clarke. It will be submitted to OI for possible publication. Will also recognized spouses and others who constantly support our youth work, and called for a round of applause.

Duane Plank, PGI (personal growth and involvement) chairman for both our club and-the District presented numerous awards to members advancing in PGI.-_Will then had one final award to make before turning the meeting over to Sidney. He announced that Al Renz was our "Optimist of the Year", and he presented him with a beautiful engraved plaque. Since becoming a member less than a year ago Al has worked on various club committees, has sponsored many new members, conducted a training course, and has cheerfully assisted the president as needed. The enthusiastic applause that followed indicated this to be a popular choice. Al will be PGI chairman next year, so we can expect the spirit of Optimism to be well served.

Sidney started his remarks by singing, and soon all in attendance joined in with him. It was refreshing to hear his take on things. As important as our community service projects are he looked at something more important - fellowship. He feels the impact of fellowship will be contagious, making all other goals then possible. I feel like we have a new captain at the Wheel of our Optimist ship, and we are about to embark on a cruise through the next year. The key words here are through & fellowship. These are our weekly get-togethers. Don't miss them. Invite guests. Recruit members. We have much to share, and a leader with prestigious credentials. We can each reflect his Optimism. All Aboard!!

This week we'll be back at the Downtown Holiday Inn, however the meeting will be in the Azalea Room rather than in our regular room. Go through the buffet line as usual, and then carry your meal to the Azalea Room. Pres. Sidney will be handing out our assignments for the year. Sidney said he likes an expression given emphasis by one of our recent past presidents. He wants us to know ours is not his club, but our club, and we can each contribute to this cruise. I understand Sidney has agreed to also be District Chaplain this year, adding to the quality of the meetings.

Personally I'm dedicated to doing my best this year, as I'm sure others are also so dedicated. As someone once said, "There is no limit to the amount of good work that can be accomplished if it doesn't matter who gets the credit. I've had to use a little smaller font this week and included less space between paragraphs and haven't even used the word mafia.



CALENDAR

Oct 5		Thursday		11:45 am		Downtown Holiday Inn		Azalea Room - Kickoff
Oct 12		Thursday		11:45 am		Downtown Holiday Inn		Tom Howell - Old Cars
Carl W.