Come on out Optimist Members for what is sure to be a great evening with youth from the Children’s Musical Theatre. We will meet at 6:30pm at Mamma Ventura’s.
The next Optimist Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 16th at 6:30pm at Mamma Ventura’s. We will be hosting guests from the Gettysburg Musical Theatre.
Back Row – Left to Right
Club President Kris Accardi, Vikki Slaybaugh, Renee Winters, Valerie Stone
Font Row
Zachary Slaybaugh (grade 2 at Lincoln), Zach Tipton (grade 3 at Lincoln), Grace Stone (grade 2 at Lincoln)
Guests: We had a great turnout of representatives from James Gettys Reading is Fundamental, Franklin Township Reading is Fundamental, Lincoln Drop Everything And Read, Vida School Reading Program, and Outdoor Education. Each group briefly described how our donation is impacting their program.
-James Gettys will have 3 RIF days this year. As a part of the first RIF day, each class from 2021-2026 chose a book to donate to the school’s library. Along with dispensing book, there was a trivia contest during the second RIF day. Optimist members are encouraged to attend the next program on Arbor Day, April 25th. Each student will receive a book and also a tree from Adams County Conservancy.
-Franklin Township will also have 3 RIF days this year. In September, the focus was on the solar system and a blow-up planetarium was brought in to allow students to walk through constellations. December, brought the Polar Express to town as a professional story-teller brought this book to life. The details for the Spring RIF day will be announced at a later time.
-Lincoln DEAR started the year with “fractured fairytales” which put a twist on some classic stories. The second RIF event was a night at the museum. Each student went home with a book, hieroglyph bookmark, and fossil. Optimists are welcome to attend the final RIF day on May 9th. The science-focused program is called “Fizz, Boom, Read”. The club was presented with a beautiful thank you card from the students at Lincoln. Each student added their print to the thumbprint tree seen above.
-Vida Charter School is in the second year of their reading program. The representatives from Vida were very grateful to be a part of our evening. They talked about the dual immersion classes that are teaching children to read and write in both English and Spanish. The hope is that the reading program will be able to provide each student with a book to take home to share with their family.
-Dr. O’Connor, the representative for the Outdoor Education program has long been a proponent of emotionally engaging students to help them learn. So much more knowledge is retained when the students are actively participating in the learning process. That is why the Outdoor Education program is such a vital part of local students’ school experience.
Also in attendance was Barb Kingsley, Communications Coordinator for GASD. Barb has put together a great video highlighting some of the ways that the Gettysburg Optimists have positively impacted local students. A permanent link to the video will be shared once it is available.
Treasurer: Please remember to keep your dues coming in to Tom.
Oyster Feed wrap: Wayne was very happy with the turn-out and monies raised at the Oyster Feed. The oysters were huge and all the patrons seemed to be well-satisfied.
Golf Tournament: Bruce update the club with the latest news from the committee meeting. Members were assigned to follow-up with previous sponsors. Please see Bruce’s last email for the list. If you have a personal relationship with any of these potential returning sponsors please consider contacting them. At this time we have 9 committed gold sponsors and we are looking for new sponsorships. Each member is challenged to try and bring in a sponsor. Also be thinking of potential foursomes. We are hoping for 36. Our record to date is 33 foursomes. If you would like to partake in the next committee meeting, please contact Bruce ([email protected]) and he will add you to the email list. This is a very important fundraiser for the club, so let’s put the work in to make it a great success!
Soccer Parking: Don sent around the initial sign-up for the soccer parking. The tournaments are scheduled for 5/24-5/25 and 8/29-8/30. At this time, we will only need to staff the historical lot as most of the games will be played in the Biglerville area.
Pig roasts: Several of our members attended the Pig Roast sponsored by the Optimists of East York. They all had a great evening and Joe came out the big winner with a “life supply” of animal crackers!
Member Comments: Darlene reported that there are a few tickets left for the production of Jesus Christ Superstar which is playing this weekend at the Gettysburg Community Theatre.
-Mark and Marci are participating again with the Wounded Warrior Project. The ride is set for April 26th and 27th. Riders will be in Gettysburg on Sunday, April 27th. More details will be available at the next meeting.
Next Meeting: Wednesday, April 16th at 6:30pm at Mamma Ventura’s. We will be hosting the Children’s Musical Theatre. There will be a Board of Directors meeting following the regular business meeting.
The Optimist Club of Gettysburg held its annual Reading Is Fundamental/Drop Everything And Read and The Gettysburg Middle School Outdoor Education Donation Dinner on April 2, 2014. Each year the Optimist Club of Gettysburg supports more than 19 youth related programs throughout the Gettysburg area that “Bring Out The Best In Kids”.
Representatives from Vida Charter School, Franklin Township Elementary, Lincoln Elementary and James Gettys Elementary attended this year’s meeting and made presentations of their respective reading programs. It was wonderful to hear the plans of this past years events and for the upcoming reading programs.
In addition to the local elementary schools, the Gettysburg Middle School was on hand to receive a contribution for their Outdoor Education Program which is just around the corner.
Come out and support the Reading is Fundamental and Outdoor Education programs at the Optimist meeting tonight. We will gather at 6:30pm at Mamma Ventura’s.
April is soon upon us and hopefully we will see some warmer temps! The Optimist Club of Gettysburg will have their next regular meeting on Wednesday, April 2nd at 6:30pm at Mamma Ventura’s. We will be hosting guests from the Reading is Fundamental and Outdoor Education programs.
The Optimist Club was well taken care of last night as the Adams County Arts Council hosted our meeting and Stacey provided our meal from Biggerstaff’s Catering. Chris Gladfelter gave a very informative presentation describing all the wonderful ways that the Adams County Art Council benefits the local youth. While county funding significantly decreased last year, the Arts Council was still able to serve more than 1100 children and seniors through classes and workshops. They actually increased their services to low income families by 29%. The Arts Council also tries to bring back cultural experiences to the schools through their Roots and Wings outreach program. Upcoming events include: Dining in the Lincoln White House, CenturyLink Gettysburg ChiliBrew & BBQ2,and Tea with Mamie. For more information on these events or membership please go to adamsarts.org
Oyster Feed: The Optimist would like to thank the community for another very successful fundraiser. We received a lot of positive feedback from our guests. 218 tickets were purchased and 209 people attended this event. Final bills are being paid and monies are coming in. More than $3000 will go towards funding local youth programs. Thank you Optimists and volunteers for all your hard work! Click here to see photos from the event.
Optimist Basketball: The club finished up the basketball season on Saturday, March 15th. We had a great group of players and volunteer coaches. We appreciate all the hard work from the participants and hope to see everyone back next year. Click here to see pictures from this season.
Golf Tournament: Optimist members check your email for upcoming Golf committee meetings. Again we stress the importance of each Optimist member seeking out a sponsor and foursome. Click here for more information about the Tournament which is scheduled for Thursday, May 22nd.
Optimist of East York Pig Roast: Several members from our club will be traveling to the All-You-Can-Eat Pig Roast in York on Tuesday, March 25th. The event is located at 3562 Gillespie Dr., York. It begins at 6:30pm. Tickets are $40 for the meal and chances to win raffle prizes. Contact Walt for more information. If you would like to carpool a group will be leaving from the Peebles parking lot at 6pm.
Special Guest: Barb Kingsley attended the meeting to learn more about what our club does for the community. She is the Communications Coordinator for Gettysburg Area School District and she hopes to increase awareness between the district and the community through print and online media. Barb was gracious enough to design a very creative advertisement promoting the Oyster Feed. She has been a long-time supporter of the Optimist mission and she plans to attend future meetings to gather additional information on our club.
Upcoming meetings:
Wednesday, April 2nd at 6:30pm at Mamma Ventura’s. We will have guests from RIF and the Outdoor Education program.
Wednesday, April 16th at 6:30pm at Mamma Ventura’s. We will have guests from the Musical Theatre.
The Optimist meeting tonight will begin at 6:30pm at the Adams County Art Council building which is located on 125 S Washington St.
The East York Optimist Club Pig Roast Fundraiser is scheduled for Tuesday, March 25th at 6:30 PM. This years event will be held at 3562 Gillespie Dr., York. Tickets are $40.00 for an all you can eat menu to include; BBQ & Pulled Pork, Chicken, Potatoes, Veggies, Cole Slaw, Sheet Cake, Coffee, Beer, Water….AND A TON OF FUN! More than $1700.00 in prizes will be given away to some lucky attendees. Contact Walt Jones for your tickets to this fun-tasty event.
The next Optimist meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 19th at 6:30pm at the Adams County Art Council Building on 125 S Washington St.
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