Optimist Meeting Minutes 4/3/14

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 25^th.  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 9^th.  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 26^th and 27^th.  Riders will be in Gettysburg on Sunday, April 27^th.  More details will be available at the next meeting.

 

Next Meeting:  Wednesday, April 16^th 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.