UPTOWN OPTIMIST CLUB

February 18, 2010

We welcomed back our President Tom Hogan back today as he missed last week's meeting due to problems with one of his rentals. As today was Tom's first meeting back since the District Meeting, there was the a fine in order for Tom as he forgot to take the Club's Banner to the District Meeting. Of course, "The Ghost" saved the day and brought the banner so we would not miss out on any awards due us at the end of the year. Tom, thanks for your "Contribution" to "Uptown's Piggy Bank".

We had Leslie Franzblau, a member and the advisor to our JOOI Club, as a Guest our Speaker. She brought with her, Brandon Day, our Essay Contest winner and Brandon read us his Essay. He did an excellent job. Brandon is Valedictorian of his Class at Rincon High School. He also has a high SAT score and is President of the National Honor Society. They have changed the name of their Club to "Community Unity Optimist Club", as this reflects what they are doing. They are very active with us and also and in their own Community . They participate with us in Oktoberfest, The children's Christmas party, bowling tournament and Soap Box Derby, just to mention a few.

We also had Nancy LaVigne of the "Desert Dachshund Race". They have had Dachshund Races at Oktoberfest the last couple of years. They also work with the Tucson Dachshund Rescue Club who rescue lost Dachshunds, mistreated dogs or ones that no one wants. They adopted out 18 dogs last year. It was a very interesting program. They also raised $600.00 for Disaster Relief for Haiti. She gave an interesting talk.

I am proud to announce that the following members have become members of Optimist International "Dime A Day Club". They are Ricardo Aguayo, Leslie Franzblau, Keith Nichols, Bill Merodias, Bill St. Louis & Tom Robeson. Thanks to all of you. As Tom Hogan and I are already members, I need two more members to join and meet my goal of 10 members. Anyone care to help me out?

This week's speaker is Jim Roberts who will enlighten us on the Hugh O'Brien Foundation. See you all tomorrow.

February 7, 2010

Nancy & I just came back from the Arizona District's 2nd. Quarter Meeting at the Grace Inn in Awatukee. It was an excellent meeting. We were very fortunate to have Optimist International President Mark Shriver & his lovely wife Patricia with us. We also had Sam Keiffer & his wife Mary visiting. Sam was our International Vice President last year. Highlights of the Meeting was the CCDHH Oratorical Contest. CCDHH stand for the Communication Contest for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing. This year's subject was "Cyber Communication: Progress or Problem?" It was really very interesting to see these kids give their speeches using sign language and jesters with an interpreter who let us know what the students were saying. The students gave excellent presentations. The student that we sponsored, Ashleigh Warden, a Sophomore at ASDB (Arizona School for the Deaf & Blind) was awarded third place. Congratulations Ashleigh.

The Uptown Optimist Club received awards as both as both an "Honor Club" and a "Distinguished Club" , thanks to the efforts of our President Tom Hogan and all the club members who made it possible for us to reach this Goal. Tom Hogan is also a "Distinguished President". For a club as small as ours, that is quite an accomplishment. We are on track to be a "Distinguished" Club again this year. For those of you who did not attend the 2nd Quarter Meeting, you missed attending various training sessions that would be a benefit for both you and the Club. You also missed out on the fellowship that goes on at District Meetings especially in the District's Hospitality Suite. The 3rd Quarter District Meeting will be here in Tucson at the Holiday Inn North, which is on Palo Verde, just North of I-10. You won't have to pay for a Hotel Room, so I hope and expect that most of you will attend. Otherwise, I will expect large contributions to the "Uptown Piggy Bank". Mentioning the "Uptown Piggy Bank", President Tom did not bring the club Banner, I did. Tom, I expect a nice, say $5.00 contribution to the Piggy Bank

Another point I would like to Mention. As of the end of the 2nd Quarter, Uptown is in first place in the "Awards & Achievements" competition. I would like to see us to continue to work hard and doing everything we can to maintain that leadership position. Now this is something we always achieved in the early to mid 90's just in the normal case of our youth work. That is what it's based on and that is what Optimist are all about. So don't think of it as a completion, but just that we are doing more for the youth than anyone else. I will try to put our Award Banners out at the next few meetings so you can see all that we have done over the years.The other thing I want to mention is that we need to work on changing the image of "Uptown" from an "Old Man's Club" to a younger more dynamic club. Tom Hogan is working on this. Keith Nichols and Ricardo Aguayo and Brad Barnett are helping us do that by volunteering to serve as officers for the 2010-2011 year. This will help us attract new younger members

January 28, 2010

We continued to have good entertaining and productive meetings. Attendance is continuing to be good. We have already have our officers for next year and they all volunteered. Normally we have to beg someone to serve. I personally want to thank Brad Barnett, who has just been back in the club for two months, to agree to be one of our two Vice-Presidents. Uptown is on target to be a Distinguished Club this year.