NOW - New Optimists Wanted Update

Background
The big push for the Midtown Optimists Club for the 2008-2009 year is to increase membership. As you may or may not know, we presently have 16 active, paid members. Remember... email or call your president with the names and contact information of your suggestion for a new, prospective member that you would like to sponsor for the 2008-2009
year.

Meeting Update: September 23, 2008
At our meeting held on September 23rd we discussed plans to make the Optimists International NOW Program to increase membership our primary program for this year. To that end, we are planning to have a NOW Dinner. Each member is asked to sponsor at least one new member to inducted at our NOW dinner.

Angela Lang, JCM Community Liaison, attended for Ms. Crump. She is chairing a committee to plan a community cabaret with the friends and family of JCM. Ms. Lang suggested and Midtown Optimists members agreed it would be advantageous for us to incorporate our NOW dinner with the community event for JCM. Both events target the same people and we both can reach a larger group by working together.

Meeting Update: October 14, 2008
Ms. Lang submitted a proposal, detailing the proposed plans for the JCM community event, "Friends and Family of Jackson Central-Merry Denim Cabaret", tentatively scheduled for December 20, 2008. Location is to be determined. The tickets will be $10, with sales for premier tables, entertainment, etc.

The goal of the event is:
To unite the surrounding communities of Jackson Central-Merry High in order to promote parental involvement and build a stronger relationship between JCM and its community members. This will be a fun entertaining event but will also address the goals of JCM and a call for more parental/community involvement.


As the entire program includes dinner, entertainment, and dancing, we discussed having the Optimists NOW presentation in the early part of the evening. We will use only a portion of the official NOW dinner agenda. For example:

• Introduction of Members/Officers
• Introductions of Prospective Members
• Presentation/Info on Optimist International & Midtown Optimists
• Questions & Answers

Last of all, the president just reminded everyone to please email or call with names, addresses, and email addresses of at least one new prospective member. We will start sending them info and updates about Optimists International and then an official invitation to the community event.

Meeting Update: October 28, 2008
No meeting held. Please send in your suggestion and contact information for your NOW prospective member.

Next Meeting: November 11, 2008, 12 noon Royal Reed

Jackson Midtown Optimists Meeting

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

12 noon

Royal Reed Restaurant
507 N. Royal, Jackson

Please remember, we are having our regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 23^rd at Royal Reed, 23 noon. This is a special meeting, as we are planning our new year which starts the new Optimists International year October 2008-October 2009.

We will be possibly adding 2 new members and discussing the addition of a new Vice President at this meeting. Pastor Jerrell Beard from the Zion Church and a member of his congregation will be joining us to discuss these items. Please plan to attend, if at all possible as discussed at our last meeting.

Agenda:

• Intro of guests and overview of Optimists Club
• Intro of Officers for 2008-09

o President – Yvonne Thompson

o Vice President/Elect – Jerrell Beard (Pending Membership and Board approval)

o Secretary – Farrell Roe

o Treasurer – James Poe

• Club Goals
• Open Discussion
• Creed

Jackson Midtown Optimists Meeting

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

12 noon

Royal Reed Restaurant
507 N. Royal, Jackson

Latest News

Pastor Jerrell Beard at The Zion Church is very much interested in having us present the iKeep Safe Internet Safety program from the Optimists Internation Youth Safety Program to the youth at The Zion Church weeklyYouth Computer Class. The class is held every Saturday from 11 am – 12 noon at The ZionCommunity Center on McCowat St. I will volunteer my time to make the presentation to the class. I plan to meet with him and/or his representative to discuss the program in detail with the next week.

The placemats are ready! I have picked up the fully printed and laminated placemats. Mr. Minor Reed at Royal Reed has agreed to let us place 1 of each of the 3 placemats on each of the 16 tables at the Restaurant on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, and of course, we can use them in our meetings. We have several unlaminated copies left over, as I only printed a total of 48 to keep costs down.

That’s the latest news for today!

Remember our monthly Board meeting is Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 12 noon at Royal Reed. The placemats will be placed on the tables for the first time that day. Please try to make the meeting.

Jackson Midtown Optimists Club

Board of Directors Meeting

Tuesday, April 22, 2008 - 12 noon
Royal Reed Restaurant

Jackson Midtown Optimists Meeting

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

12 noon

Royal Reed Restaurant
507 N. Royal, Jackson

Board of Directors Meeting

Board of Directors - Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, March 24, 2008 - Royal Reed Restaurant

Members Present:
James Poe
Farrell Roe
Yvonne Thompson

Welcome and call to order

Financial Report – James Poe, Treasurer

• Balance on Hand - $2430.91
• Balance in Charity Account - $450

Updates

Fundraiser- Business Card Placemats

• $575 raised as of 3/24/08. Goal is $1,000, excluding any funds required for design and printing.
• The club agreed to accept Yvonne's offer to make and design the placemat layout and Terry's offer to do the printing to defray costs.
• Farrell will send out reminder notice again to members who have not sent in their minimum $100 sales.

Membership

• Willie Banks, Jr., TN District Governor has paired us with an Optimist Club to work together to build membership. Our partner is the Claxton Optimist Club in Clinton, TN. The president is Charles Chandler.
• We are to talk and even compete to build membership in our respective clubs, thus improving Optimist International membership overall. We can't Bring Out the Best in Kids if we don't have the members to do the work.
  
• Also, in our next meeting invitation, each member will be urged to attend an bring at least 1 new potential member to the meeting. Please plan to participate. We have buttons, brochures, and other materials to hand for you to hand out to potential new members.
  

Meeting Programs

• As the club is now meeting only twice a month now, on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month, we will only plan programs for the 2nd Tuesday of the month.
• For the 2nd Tuesday in April, we plan to invite Steve Vantrease, Lt. Governor, Zone 3 to speak.

Essay Contest
We had no participants from JCM for the Essay Contest. However, 3 top essays were submitted to Optimists International from South Side High by Farrell Roe representing our Midtown Club, the Jackson Club, and the South Side Club.

Meeting adjourned.

Next Board of Directors meeting: Tuesday, April 23, 2008.

Creed

Midtown Optimists Board Meeting

Jackson Midtown Optimists Club

Board of Directors Meeting

Tuesday, March 24, 2008 - 12 noon
Royal Reed Restaurant

Meeting Agenda

• Membership
• Meeting Attendance Brainstorm
• Meeting Programs
• Fundraiser
• Update on Essay Contest

Jackson Midtown Optimist Club


No Meeting on Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Remember...the Midtown Optimists Club is meeting
ONLY on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday until further notice

Next Meeting
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 - 12 noon
Royal Reed Restaurant

No Meeting on Tuesday, March 3rd

Jackson Midtown Optimist Club


No Meeting on Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Remember...the Midtown Optimists Club is meeting
ONLY on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday until further notice

Next Meeting
Tuesday, March 11, 2008 - 12 noon
Royal Reed Restaurant
Terry Wright, Vice President will be leading the meeting

Hello!

Jackson Midtown Optimist Club Meeting
Tuesday, February 26, 2007 - 12 noon
Royal Reed Restaurant

We have guests traveling all the way from the Knoxville area to visit with us. Let's show them a warm welcome. This is a great opportunity to plan a program to work in conjunction with Harmony Adoptions, the TN Adoptions Tour, and local groups like DCS and Agape Child and Family Services!

We will have a short Board Meeting after the presentation, for those who are able to stay.

Come out, have lunch, and see the presentation. See details below.

Focus on Adoption

The Jackson Midtown Optimist Club is having a very special meeting on Tuesday, February 26^th. The Club will meet for a great lunch and program at Royal Reed Restaurant, located on the corner of Royal and Hale, at 12 noon.

We have representatives from the Tennessee Adoption Tour and Harmony Adoptions coming from Knoxville to talk about the 4^th annual bicycle ride across Tennessee in honor of families who have recently adopted children or actually finalized their adoption during the Adoption Tour. The Adoption Tour highlights the efforts of Adoption Support and Preservation, a program that supports adoptive and foster families.

Jesse O’Hatnick, Adoption Awareness Tour Director, will be coming in from Knoxville and presenting, along with Jason White and Michael McDonald from Agape Child and Family Services, here in Jackson. Jason is a family counselor with ASAP (Adoption Support and Preservation) and Michael is the Western Regional Manager for ASAP. In addition, we will have Camecia Springfield, a CM4 case manager for DCS (Department of Children Services), also from Jackson.

There will be a video from previous bicycle tours, information about the program, discussion, and small prize give-aways. The tour is an extraordinary feat as the riders bike from Memphis to Knoxville over the course of one week! All in support of adoptions! Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about the wonderful work being done to support adoptions here in Tennessee.

Come out and learn about adoption programs here in Tennessee and get any questions answered that you may have about these programs.

Jackson Midtown Optimists Club

Tuesday, February 12, 2007 - 12 noon
Royal Reed Restaurant

Terry Wright, Club VP will lead this meeting.

Fundraiser

Our fundraiser is still in progress. Please contact Farrell Roe at (731) 424-6161 or email him at Roerockingr@aol.com for updates and details.

Upcoming Program - February 26, 2008

Jesse O'Hatnick, Tour Director of the TN Adoption Tour, Adoption Awareness in association with Harmony Adoptions Tennessee, Inc. has agreed to come to speak with us on Tuesday,
February 26, 2008. He will be discussing the upcoming Adoption Tour. Mr. O'Hatnick will be traveling from the Knoxville area to visit with us.

Please plan to attend this important program. Mr. O'Hatnick will also be bringing the manager of Harmony Adoptions with him, as well as local representatives from the Dept. of Children Services and AGAPE.

Let's Get Charged for 2008!

Jackson Midtown Optimists

NO MEETING - Tuesday, February 5, 2007 - ELECTION DAY

NEXT MEETING - Tuesday, February 12, 2007 - 12 noon
Royal Reed Restaurant
Terry Wright, Club VP will lead this meeting

Upcoming Program

Jesse O'Hatnick, Tour Director of the TN Adoption Tour, Adoption Awareness in association with Harmony Adoptions Tennessee, Inc. has agreed to come to speak with us on Tuesday, February 26, 2008. He will be discussing the upcoming Adoption Tour. Mr. O'Hatnick will be traveling from Knoxville to visit with us.

Please mark your calendars for this event!

MEETING SCHEDULES

Meetings for 2008: For the next 2 months, we will only on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month. The meeting on the 4th Tuesday will be our Board meeting. All members are welcome to attend the Board meeting.

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS WITH MEETING REMINDERS
FOR FEBRUARY AND MARCH 2008
__________________________________

CLUB UPDATES

Essay Contest: JCM was provided with a program package in December 2007 with rules, posters, and timeline for the Essay Contest. No submissions have been made, as of this date. As the deadline is mid-February, the Essay Contest will likely be cancelled for this year.

Fundraiser - So far, we have raised $500 on our business card placemat fundraiser. If you have not yet turned in your sales for the fundraiser, please do so as soon as possible. For information, please contact our Fundraiser Chair, Farrell Roe, (731) 424-6161.

REMEMBER...Upcoming Program

Jesse O'Hatnick, Tour Director of the TN Adoption Tour, Adoption Awareness in association with Harmony Adoptions Tennessee, Inc. has agreed to come to speak with us on Tuesday, February 26, 2008. He will be discussing the upcoming Adoption Tour. Mr. O'Hatnick will be traveling from Knoxville to visit with us.

Please mark your calendars for this event!

Jackson Midtown Optimists Meeting

Tuesday, January 29, 2007

12 noon

Royal Reed Restaurant

Meeting Discusssion Topics:

• Status of Essay Contest
• Club Organization
• Mongolia Club Dues
• Visit from Representatives of theTN Adoption Awareness Tour:
  Jesse O'Hatnick (http://www.adoptiontour.org)
  

Jackson Midtown Optimists Meeting

Tuesday, January 8, 2007

12 noon

Royal Reed Restaurant
Membership Commitment and Planning