The Gettysburg Optimist will hold their first business meeting with the newly electric officers this Wednesday,  October 15th at 6:30 pm at Mamma Venturas.  A donation will be presented to the Boy Scouts.

The Dobbin House will once again host the Gettysburg Optimist Club for the Installation Banquet.  We will thank the outgoing officers and welcome in the new.  Fellowship begins at 6pm.

Tom hosted a great evening at his home, complete with delicious steaks!  Much was accomplished as the club approved the budget, member dues, and officers for the coming year.   Members will receive an email with specific details shortly.

 

Officer for 2014-2015

President: Kris Accardi

Vice President: Bruce Bradshaw

Secretary: Joe Macdowell

Treasurer: Tom Barako

Board of Directors: Walt Jones, Fred Darling, Mindy Accardi

 

President Report: Kris looks forward to continuing as President next year.  He hopes to host some social events next year to recruit new members.  Please start thinking of some ideas.  He also hopes to once again sponsor the oratorical and essay contests for local youth.  The Club will begin planning shortly for several of our big events, including: Optimist Basketball, Optimist Oyster/Shrimp Feed, and the Optimist Golf Tournament.

 

Installation Banquet: The Optimist Club will hold the Installation Banquet at the Dobbin House.  The Banquet is scheduled for Wednesday, October 8^th at 6pm.   The cost will be $25 per member and guest.  Payment is due at the time of the event.  Please RSVP to [email protected] as soon as possible.  If you RSVP, but do not attend you will still be responsible for the fee.

 

Halloween Parade: Daryl has agreed to head the planning for the parade this year.  It is scheduled for Tuesday, October 21^st with a rain date of Tuesday, October 28^th.   We would like to have a great turnout for this event, so please mark your calendars!

 

 

Upcoming Events

10/3 1^st Quarter District meeting in NJ (contact Kris for details if you would like to attend)

10/8 Installation Banquet at 6pm at the Dobbin House

10/15 Regular Business Meeting at Mamma Ventura’s at 6:30pm

10/21 Halloween Parade (rain date 10/28)

5/21 Optimist Golf Tournament

We will have our last our door meeting of the summer this Wednesday, September 17th at 6:30pm.  Tom Barako will be hosting.  We will be wrapping up some business for the 2013-2014 year and preparing for 2015.  This is also the steak dinner so you won’t want to miss it!

The 4^th Quarter Zone Meeting and Pig Roast, which was hosted by the Gettysburg Club, had a great turnout.  There were representatives from East York, Lancaster and Gettysburg.   We even had a guest from the Stroudsburgs Optimist Club and John Breidenbach spoke about the A&A reports.

Governor Kathleen Mancheck led the meeting.  She spoke of how the last two years have been some of her most rewarding experiences as an Optimist member.  While the Optimist mission is “bringing out the best in kids”, we are also “bringing out the best in ourselves and each other”.

Kathleen spoke of the need for a Lt. Governor for Zone 7.  She strongly encouraged those in attendance (and those who could not attend) to consider the Lt. Governor position.  Tom McGlynn, who was recently inducted into the Optimist District Hall of Fame, did an amazing job serving as our Lt. Governor.  Marion Duarte and Elmo Vestal volunteered to help the incoming Lt.  Governor in any way possible.  Generally, the Lt. Governor has served as a past Club President.  If you do not meet this requirement, you could function as an Assistant Lt. Governor.  The Lt. Governor leads zone meetings, visits clubs within the zone and submits 2 reports annually.  Please consider taking on this role.

Thirty-one new Optimist Clubs have been created this year through Optimist International.  Our district has added 186 new members.  The Optimists of East York and Lancaster have increased their net membership in the last year.

 

Club Reports

East York: The East York Club had an active year.  Their annual Pig Roast was a fundraising success.  They participated in several service projects, including Optimist Olympics, Pillowcase Project for kids with cancer, and they took youth who are on the waiting list for York/Adams Big Brothers/Big Sisters to a Revolution Baseball game.

Gettysburg: The Gettysburg Club’s big service project was the 8 week Optimist Basketball program.  The Golf Tournament and Oyster/Shrimp Feed were both very successful fundraisers.  The next Oyster/Shrimp Feed is scheduled for Saturday, February 28^th.  The Club was able to donate more than $20,000 to local youth organizations.

Lancaster: The Lancaster Club is coming up on a big milestone.  They will be celebrating their 70^th anniversary on September 16^th.   They have also been very busy this year.  The Lancaster Club received a matching grant from Optimist International for a 4 week healthy food prep course.  They have walked in several local parades and approximately 50 youth participated in a Fishing Derby.