Happy New Year to All!

Here's hoping everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays all around.

Thank you for all your support during 2007. We are preparing to start a new year and still need your continued support.

For those who have been with us consistently, you know, and I have observed, some slight decline in level of commitment and consistency with our meeting attendance, as well as support.

I have enjoyed serving in my "emergency" election as president. However, in order for me to continue in 2008, we will need to make a new commitment to the Midtown Optimists Club. Of course, some of you have chosen to work as Friends of Optimists, paying dues and making contributions. Please continue. We need all of our Friends.

Watch your mail. You will be receiving a return card, asking for your support. Please read, respond and mail the card back as indicated on the card.

Let's make 2008 a banner year for the Jackson Midtown Optimist Club!

Thank you again for all your support and hard work.

Entertainment Update for Holiday Lunch

Holiday Celebration
(and last meeting of 2007)

Holiday Music
Live Performance from Angela DeBerry
(local businesswoman and song stylist)

Happy Holidays!

Come out, have lunch, and celebrate the
holidays with the Midtown Optimists Club
Bring friends, family, co-workers.

Highlights
♦ Special holiday cake
♦ Holiday Lunch
♦ Gifts Exchange
(bring a small gift ($10 or less)
♦ Birthday Celebrations
♦ Awards and Commendations

Jackson Midtown Optimists Meeting

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

12 noon

Royal Reed Restaurant

Program: Update and Return Visit from...
Lt. Patrick Willis, JPD Gang Enforcement Team

Board of Directors - Meeting Minutes
November 27, 2007 – 6 p.m. – Old Country Store

Members Present:
Freddie Mitchell
James Poe
Jean Poe
Harold Pruitte
Eunice Pruitte (Guest)
Yvonne Thompson

Welcome and call to order

Financial Report – James Poe, Treasurer
Balance on Hand - $1741.61
Balance in Charity Account - $450
Incoming amount for dues - $790
o Dues are due for ALL members. All are requested to send payment for $80 for the year or $20/quarter to James Poe, Treasurer.
o Five members were carried for last year. Two members will be dropped, as they requested: Roger Bowles and Harold Swink. Harold Swink asked to be added as a Friend of Optimist instead of a regular member.
o Yvonne Thompson agreed to contact Harrell Carter, again, about the uncleared check for the MOC donation to the Imagination Library.

Other Member Business
o Postcards to be mailed, periodically, to inactive members and members with delinquent dues.
o Member birthdays will be celebrated monthly, with cake, at a regular meeting. All members will be contacted to get their birthday (month/day).

Updates
Fundraiser
o No update on fundraiser was given. Farrell Roe, Fundraiser Chair did not attend this meeting (wedding anniversary celebration).
o These are the costs for ads for the placemats:
$25 – business card
$50 – ¼ page
$100 – ½ page
$200 – full page
o The placemats will be placed in the dining area at Royal Reed, with permission from the management.

Youth Appreciation Week (2nd week of November)
Youth Appreciation Day was held, as planned, on November 13th at Isaac Lane Elementary School. Yvonne Thompson presented thirty-two students with awards. The Jackson Sun covered the event and had an article and pictures in the Local Section on November 14th.

Fall/Winter Meeting Schedule
There will be 2 meetings in December on the 4th and the 11th. The 6th will be a regular meeting and the 11th will be our Holiday Celebration Meeting. There will be a cake and entertainment. Members are asked to bring a guest for this celebration.

Essay Contest
Essays will be solicited from the English Dept. at JCM. Yvonne Thompson will contact Principal Virginia Stackens-Crump at JCM. Essays must be submitted by mid-February 2008. If JCM unable to participate, English Dept. at Southside High will be contacted. Yvonne will contact Assistant Principal at Southside, if necessary.

Member Appreciation Banquet
Banquet is on hold pending contact with Don and Maria Mitchell. The Mitchells are the presented with an award from Optimist International for the formation of the new club in Mongolia.

Meeting adjourned.

Closing – Next Board of Directors meeting: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 (no Board Meeting in December).

Creed

Happy 55th Anniversary!
November 27th
Farrell and Jane Roe

from all your friends at the...
Jackson Midtown Optimists Club

Jackson Midtown Optimist Club

Evening Board Meeting Tuesday, November 27, 2007
6 p.m. - Old Country Store

(ask for Midtown Optimists Reservation)

Agenda Items:
Status of Fundraiser - Place Mat Sale
Member Appreciation Banquet
Membership and Meeting Attendance

Don't let our last Board meeting of 2007 be a "bored" meeting.

Come have dinner with us and make plans for the holidays and the New Year.

Happy Thanksgiving and Meeting Schedule

There is no meeting this Tuesday, November 20th. Have a very happy and thankful Thanksgiving holiday!

Our next meeting will be the monthly Board Meeting. It is an evening meeting at the Old Country Store at 6 p.m. on November 27th. Meeting agenda and other details will be posted prior to the meeting date.

Youth Appreciation Day A Success!

Click here for more pictures.

We had a great time at Isaac Lane Magnet Elementary School on Tuesday! Principal Day and the teachers did an excellent job nominating and helping us select students to be honored. All the children and the parents who attended the ceremony were so proud.

The kids got a nice story about the event in the Jackson Sun today in the Local Section, page 1.

Special thanks to Optimists Terry Wright, Farrell Roe, and James Poe for their help in getting this program done.

More special thanks to the club members who made it to the event:

• Gerald Johnson
• Harold Pruitte
• Terry Wright
• Farrell Roe
• Harold Swink

Now it is time to move forward with plans our next events:
Membership Appreciation Banquet (December)
Essay Contest (February 2008)

So make sure you mark your calendars for the next evening Board Meeting:

November 27, 2007
6:00 p.m.

You will be notified of the place for the Board meeting in a later post.

Youth Appreciation Day - Isaac Lane Technology Magnet Elementary School

November 13, 2007 - 1:30 p.m.

(NO REGULAR MEETING ON THIS DATE)

The Jackson Midtown Optimists Club will recognize 32 students (2 per class) from the Isaac Lane Technology Magnet Elementary School. The program will be held at the school at 1:30 pm., Tuesday, November 13, 2007.

Please be there! We need you to support the students and show that we care as a group.

*****************************

This youth appreciation program is designed to honor students who have shown improvement, effort, and dedication over the last year. It is not intended for only top students, but those who have had difficulty or had adversity and have found a way to prevail and exceed in the areas noted.

Board of Directors - Meeting Minutes

Date: October 16, 2007 – 12 noon, Royal Reed

· Members Present:

• Terry Wright
• Freddie Mitchell
• James Poe
• Farrell Roe
• Harold Pruitt
• Yvonne Thompson

· Welcome and call to order

· Financial Report – James Poe, Treasurer

• Balance on Hand - $1,575.83
• Balance in Charity Account - $450
• Remaining members with ongoing past due dues:

Roger Bowles - $100

Harold Swink - $80

Melvin Wright - $100

David Osborn - $100

Harrell Carter - $30

• Terry Wright, Membership Chair, will send out written notice that membership will be made at the next Board meeting to drop all members with delinquent dues, if past due amounts are not paid by November 20, 2007.
• Dues are due for ALL members. All are requested to send payment for $80 for the year or $20/quarter to James Poe, Treasurer.
• Postcards to be mailed, periodically, to inactive members and members with delinquent dues.

· Updates

¨ Fundraiser

o Farrell Roe reported sales of 2 business card ads, and Terry reported he will be turning in 2 additional sales to Farrell. Fundraiser to continue until November 30, 2007. Everyone must have their $100/area sold by that date.

o Ad costs:

$25 – business card

$50 – ¼ page

$100 – ½ page

$200 – full page

¨ Youth Appreciation Week

o Youth Appreciation will be held at Isaac Lane Technology Magnet Elementary, working with Principal Tisa Day. The suggested date for the event is Tuesday, November 13^th. Date and event venue have been confirmed with Principal Day. There will be an assembly at Isaac Lane at 1:30 p.m. Any members, who are available, are asked to attend. There will be no regular meeting on that day, Tuesday, November 13^th.

o Principal Day also approved the plan to award 2 students from each class.

o Yvonne Thompson sent package to the principal explaining details and a suggested program.

o Yvonne will make and print certificates and Terry will provide certificate paper and folders for presentation.

¨ Member Appreciation Banquet

o Proposed date for banquet is Thursday, November 15^th, 6:30 p.m. Place to be determined.

o Banquet will honor key charter members and MOC members who have made outstanding contributions to the development and growth of the club.

¨ Optimists Foundation Representative

o On hold.

¨ Essay Contest

o Essay contest to be held some time prior to the end of February 2008.

o A suggestion was made to contact Virginia Stackens-Crump to have students at solicit JCM students for the essay contest.

o Yvonne Thompson will review Optimist International guidelines for Essay Contest for dates, format, etc. and club will decide if/when we will sponsor the contest.

Meeting adjourned.

· Closing – Next Board of Directors meeting: Tuesday, November 20, 2007.

· Creed

Fundraiser Update

The Midtown Optimists Club is conducting its' annual fund-raising event. The fundraiser is "Dinner Place Mats". Each place mat has four areas on an 8x14 placemat. Each area may be purchased for $100 or may be sold for in segments of 4 for $25 each, or the size of a business card.

Each member is asked to sell one "area" ($100). Make a sale, acquire logo or business card, and send funds to Farrell Roe (731-424-6161).



We have 4 teams. Team captains are below; you may contact either Farrell Roe or Yvonne Thompson to find out the name of your team captain.

Help make your team a winner. Teams will be recognized at our Installation and Awards Dinner to be held in November. If you do not have a copy of the teams and their captains, please contact Farrell Roe at 731-424-6161.


Fundraiser

o Decision made to accept Farrell Roe’s suggestion for placemat ads for the fundraiser. Ad costs to be:

o $25 – business card

o $50 – ¼ page

o $100 – ½ page

o $200 – full page

o Farrell agreed to mail out the details to all members.

Board of Directors - Meeting Minutes

Date: September 18, 2007 – Old Country Store, 6 p.m. -7:30 p.m.

· Members Present

• Terry Wright
• Judy Truex
• Freddie Mitchell
• James Poe
• Jean Poe
• Farrell Roe
• Harold Pruitt
• Yvonne Thompson

· Dinner, Welcome, and Invocation

· Financial Report – James Poe, Treasurer

• Dues Outstanding - $330
• Balance on Hand - $1,575.83
• Balance in Charity Account - $450
• Discussion – After discussion agreed to continue to carry 2 members with outstanding dues, as strong interest was expressed by those members to remain active and bring dues up to date. Attempts will be made, again, to contact the other 4 members with outstanding dues before removing them from the rolls.

New Member!
The Midtown Optimists Club voted to accept the new member application of David Kwok, Hong Kong. Mr. Kwok was sponsored by Harold Pruitte.

• 
  

· Old Business

¨ Fundraiser

o Decision made to accept Farrell Roe’s suggestion for placemat ads for the fundraiser. Ad costs to be:

o $25 – business card

o $50 – ¼ page

o $100 – ½ page

o $200 – full page

o Farrell agreed to mail out the details to all members.

o Some discussion on production of final placemat. Yvonne Thompson and Terry Wright formed committed to discuss production and printing.

¨ Youth Appreciation Week

o Youth Appreciation will be held at Isaac Lane Technology Magnet Elementary, working with Principal Tisa Day. The suggested date for the event is Tuesday, November 13^th. Date and event venue to be confirmed with Principal Day.

o Suggestion was to honor 2 children (boy/girl) from each class who has shown most improvement in academics, citizenship, and/or comportment.

o Suggestions to be confirmed by Yvonne Thompson with Principal Day.

o Another suggestion was to work with JCM Principal (and MOC member) Virginia Stackens-Crump to award an “Athlete of the Week” to support the football team. No final decision made on this suggestion.

· New Business

¨ Member Appreciation Banquet

o Proposed date for banquet is Thursday, November 15^th, 6:30 p.m. Place to be determined.

o Banquet will honor key MOC members who have made outstanding contributions to the development and growth of the club.

¨ Optimists Foundation Representative

o No decision or suggestion made for representative. Announcement to be made at regular meeting for volunteer.

¨ Essay Contest

o Yvonne Thompson will review Optimist International guidelines for Essay Contest for dates, format, etc. and club will decide if/when we will sponsor the contest.

¨ Maintenance of club PO box

o Members decided to continue to rent PO box so that club will have ongoing address even when Treasurer changes. Presently, all mail is being sent to the private PO box of Treasurer, James Poe. Box # is 7121, zip 38302. Cost for box is $80.

Meeting adjourned.

· Closing – Next Board of Directors meeting: Tuesday, October 16, 2007.

· Creed

Highlights from 86th Annual Tennessee District Convention

86th Annual Tennessee District Convention
HIGHLIGHTS
Gatlinburg August 17-19, 2007

Builder of Excellence Award
Don and Maria Mitchell were awarded a Builder of Excellence Award at the 86th Annual Tennessee District Convention held August 17-19, 2007 in Gatlinburg, TN.

The award was presented by the presiding Gov. Jean Wallen at the Optimists Business Meeting held on Saturday, August 18 for their efforts in building a new international club in Mongolia in 2006.

Yvonne Thompson, President-Elect, accepted the award for Don and Maria, in their absence.

Meeting Overview

President’s Training

• Accepting the challenge
• Resources for succes
• Committees
• Success through growth
• Membership
• New club building
• Service to youth
• PGI – Personal Growth & Involvement

Business Meeting

• Membership Retention & Recruitment
  6.8% of members recruit 100% of new members
  Avg of 21,000 members resigned or let membership expire
  Uncontrollable losses, 15-25% – death, illness, business, moving, military service
  Controllable losses, 75-85% - lack of involvement, boring meetings, etc.
  

Fellowship Breakfast

• Welcome – Gov. Jean Wallen
• Invocation – Rev. Bob Underwood
• Entertainment – Keith Young, Storyteller

Appreciation Dinner

• Invocation – Farrell Roe
• Entertainment – Skelton Bro. Band
• Speaker – Gloria Kloster
• Head Table
  Gov. Wallace & Delmer Wallace
  Gloria Kloster, Membership Chair & Spouse
  Gov. Designate, Willie Banks & Spouse
  Sarah Housewright, District Secy/Treas
  Dist. Past Gov. – Bob Leonard & Spouse